Defending Dez Bryant

The King of College Football

Reid’s Revival

The Bluegrass Miracle

 

By: Levi Dunagan 

I thought it might be nice to shorten our introductions a bit.  I want to encourage you to participate in the blog by commenting, sharing, and continuing to provide us with great feedback.  Follow us on twitter:  @4_DownTerritory 

1^st Down:  Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant had a tumultuous day in Detroit this weekend.  He berated Derek Dooley, the wide receivers coach for Dallas.  He pled his case with Tony Romo and head coach Jason Garrett.  He flew off the handle late in the game after a typical Cowboy collapse.  Unfortunately, tight end Jason Witten caught the worst of the final tantrum.

Most people are going to say that Dez was:  being selfish, not being a team player, and being disrespectful to his coaches.  They will attack Dez Bryant’s character.  They will say that the Cowboys should have seen this coming.  They say that Dez Bryant is simply a headache.

Here is what I have to say about the matter.

I am surprised to see someone on the Cowboys roster that actually wants to win a game.  Dez was upset because, yet again, the Cowboys let a win slip through their fingers.  He was upset because the play of Romo and the plays being called were certainly suspect for most of the game.  He is upset because Derek Dooley is his position coach.

Derek Dooley makes Lane Kiffin look like Don Shula.

Dez is right to be upset.  Dallas is in the weakest division in all of the NFL and can’t seem to take control.  Dallas routinely makes critical errors to lose games in unconventional ways time and time again.  The fans should respect a player who gives a darn.  Furthermore, the Cowboys actually played better after he spoke his mind early in the 2^nd half.  Yet, it is Bryant who is under fire and not the Cowboys coaching staff?

The media blames Bryant instead of a defense that allowed over 300 yards to one player!  The lineman who held on 3^rd and long and stopped the clock!  These are your culprits Dallas, not the best player on your team.

Bryant is easy to blame because he comes from a broken home.  He is a loose cannon because his mother, a convicted drug-dealer, created a home life that was prone to emotional dysfunction.  Bryant lost out on a year of college football after lying to the NCAA about something that wasn’t even against the rules to begin with.  The Miami Dolphins General Manager, Jeff Ireland, asked Bryant if his mother was a prostitute.  Imagine if you went to a job interview and that was a question on the top of a potential employer’s list.

Sunday Brian Billick called Bryant “a spoiled child” when the cameras shifted to him on the sidelines in a heated confrontation with Jason Witten.

So you are telling me the kid who grew up in a broken home, who was asked if his mother was a prostitute, was spoiled growing up?

Bryant has been the victim of the NFL’s powers that be painting him in a bad light since before he even arrived in the NFL.  These people have made snide remarks in regard to Bryant’s intelligence, character, and family.

Now, we are looking at a player who ranted on the sideline, his team then performs better.  Then, as only the Cowboys can do, they collapse.   The play calling couldn’t have been worse, a player stops the clock by holding on a running play on 3^rd and long, and the defense wilts under the pressure to stop a team one time late in the game.  After all of that, we conclude that Dez Bryant is to blame.

I hope that after this season, Bryant leaves and signs elsewhere.  That way, next season when Dallas does the same thing that they have been doing for years under a crazy owner, inept coach, and thin lineup they can find someone else to blame for their problems.

2^nd Down:  The King of College Football

Kliff Kingsbury has returned to Texas Tech, where he set numerous records as a quarterback for the Red Raiders.  Now that Kingsbury is the head coach things are a little different in Lubbock, TX.

There are signs in the Texas Tech bookstore declaring, “our coach is hotter than your coach.” 

When he is interviewed before the games and during halftime, the noise from co-eds in the student section is deafening.  It is like going to a Justin Timberlake concert.

Not that I’ve ever been to a Justin Timberlake concert.

Kingsbury wears Ray Ban sunglasses on the sidelines and is too cool to wear a polo shirt.  After all, collars are restricting.  The 34-year old Kingsbury enjoys the occasional chest bump touchdown celebration.  A collar would get in the way.

Kingsbury doesn’t often coach college football’s biggest star, but when he does, that player wins the Heisman trophy.

Kingsbury always looks good, so he wants his team to look good too.

Kliff Kingsbury is bringing swagger to college football coaching, he’s a rarity in a sport filled with old men in pleated slacks. 

Kingsbury dares to be different.

3^rd Down:  Reid’s Revival

The Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated so far this young NFL season.  The Chiefs finally have a reputable coach.  Andy Reid has done wonders thus far with a Chiefs group who struggled in recent seasons.  He has brought in Alex Smith, who last played with the San Francisco 49ers before being replaced by Colin Kaepernick.  The Chiefs have an excellent defense and should be a strong favorite to win the Super Bowl, right?

I do not believe that the Chiefs have what it takes to win a Super Bowl.  Let me be more specific, I don’t believe that Alex Smith has what it takes to win a Super Bowl.

Smith makes few mistakes and has relied on the Chiefs defense and a weak schedule so far.  However, when the playoffs begin it will come down to who can perform at the quarterback position.  The NFL truly is a quarterback league.  Smith has never shown the ability to go out and win games on his own.  In order to win a Super Bowl, there will be a game in which the defense is getting shredded, and the running game is not working.

In this situation, a team will rely on their quarterback to make tough throws and put the team into position to win the game.

Alex Smith is not that quarterback.

4^th Down:  Bluegrass Miracle

I have a great deal of respect for Kentucky’s basketball program.  However, Kentucky has no business being ranked first in the preseason college basketball polls.  The team struggled last season and failed to make it to the NCAA tournament.

I understand that a team of freshmen assembled by Calipari won the NCAA title the previous year, but how can they be ranked #1?  At this point, all we know is that they will finish somewhere in between #1 and out of the field of 68 teams.

At this point, how can we rank anyone ahead of the Louisville Cardinals?  They are the defending champion and return key players from a national championship team.  Whether or not they win the title remains to be seen, but at this point they should be atop the rankings.