Posted by Will BrinsonIf you had to pick one NFL player who's had arguably the most tumultous individual offseason, Dez Bryant of the Cowboys would be a good candidate.
He's been sued by local jewelers, he's gotten in a tiff with mentor Deion Sanders, he's been banned from a mall for wearing saggy pants, he's been absent from team workouts, and the Cowboys have expressed general concern with what he's been up to this offseason.
So, it's gotta be good for the team to hear that Bryant's taking care of business lately.
"I have a handle on it and it's done," Bryant said in response to a question about his financial issues. "It's in the past and I'm ready to go ahead from here."
Also nice: Bryant predicts that the lockout won't affect the NFL season!
"There will be an NFL season and I think we will start on time," Bryant said. "I know Dallas will be ready to go, and I'll be ready to put on my helmet and go to work."
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That's probably a stretch, but whatever -- anything Bryant can do in order to make sure he sounds totally gruntled is a good thing. Which makes the comments about relationship with the two most-famous faces of the Cowboys franchise, Jerry Jones and Tony Romo, also optimistic.
"From what I see, my relationship with Mr. Jones is fabulous," Bryant said. "The relationship between Big Tony and me is great. He believes in me and knows what I can do. If he throws a jump ball, he knows that I will go up and get it."
Bryant, in a wide-ranging interview, was also asked about the offense under the full-time guidance of Jason Garrett, and said he envisions it being "more aggressive."
"I think we'll be more aggressive this year with (Garrett) in charge," Bryant said. "I still have a bad taste in my mouth after starting 1-7 last year, and that makes me motivated and determined for this season."
All in all, if you're a Cowboys fan, you've got to be pretty pumped up about this whole sitdown at a department store in Oklahoma. Unless you're so cynical that you think Dez might have been coached-up before he got to the interview, which, naturally, featured tons of questions about stuff that public-relations people usually won't allow to be answered during a time of heavy labor strife.
That's not me being entirely skeptical about Bryant's interview; it does sound like he's kind of gotten things together after a bad start to the offseason.
Or, at the very least, he's hired someone who's taught him not to say stupid things publicly, which is a giant step forward anyway.
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