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Lockout preventing Cowboys from helping troubled Dez Bryant
I don't know a thing about how Dez Bryant will emerge from the current lockout. And I don't think the Dallas Cowboys do either, which is a frightening prospect for a team looking at its 2010 first-round pick and wondering if his immense potential will ever come close to being reached.
Cowboys sources paint a picture of a team that fears the worst.
What's important to note first, though, is that to a man, you hear that Bryant is neither malicious nor mean-spirited in any way. He just doesn't know any better, in a lot of these cases, as the product of a rough upbringing that robbed him of the learning experience most children have growing up.
"You have to be worried, based on the stuff he's been through and the history of having done it before, it's kind of a pattern with him," said one source. "It's not being able to take care of the things that you'd expect the normal 22 year old to be able to handle. Sometimes, it's the simplest things. And a lot of it is not his fault, it's because of the way he was brought up. He's got a good heart, and the best intentions, but all this stuff happens and it takes away from that."
It's easy to see, in both the recent incident at the mall and with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry he bought, where it might be difficult for Bryant to get normal common-sense concepts that many people have.
The Cowboys' concern is that things only get worse from here.
To be clear, between the lines of the football field Bryant was, for the most part, fine as a rookie. But in the classroom and around the building, aspects of the job as simple as punctuality were hard for him to grasp and got the stud receiver in plenty of trouble.
The larger issues here are that Bryant knows right from wrong and how easily he could be influenced to make the wrong decision.
Ultimately, the feeling at Valley Ranch is that the Cowboys will remain committed to Bryant, because owner Jerry Jones has built a bridge with him and is always interested in helping turn around the lives of wayward young players. But without current supervision, there are plenty of nerves regarding Bryant's ability to handle the freedom and lack of structure he's now been given.
On one hand, this is a player who would do things on the field to make Cowboys officials say, "I've never seen that before." On the other, he so clearly has what one source calls "a lack of life skills."
What's clear is that the organization wants to help him with that, and pave the way for a long career for Bryant with the team he grew up dreaming of playing for. The trouble is, for now, the Cowboys literally can offer him no help at all.
Source: nfl.com
Cowboys sources paint a picture of a team that fears the worst.
What's important to note first, though, is that to a man, you hear that Bryant is neither malicious nor mean-spirited in any way. He just doesn't know any better, in a lot of these cases, as the product of a rough upbringing that robbed him of the learning experience most children have growing up.
"You have to be worried, based on the stuff he's been through and the history of having done it before, it's kind of a pattern with him," said one source. "It's not being able to take care of the things that you'd expect the normal 22 year old to be able to handle. Sometimes, it's the simplest things. And a lot of it is not his fault, it's because of the way he was brought up. He's got a good heart, and the best intentions, but all this stuff happens and it takes away from that."
It's easy to see, in both the recent incident at the mall and with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry he bought, where it might be difficult for Bryant to get normal common-sense concepts that many people have.
The Cowboys' concern is that things only get worse from here.
To be clear, between the lines of the football field Bryant was, for the most part, fine as a rookie. But in the classroom and around the building, aspects of the job as simple as punctuality were hard for him to grasp and got the stud receiver in plenty of trouble.
The larger issues here are that Bryant knows right from wrong and how easily he could be influenced to make the wrong decision.
Ultimately, the feeling at Valley Ranch is that the Cowboys will remain committed to Bryant, because owner Jerry Jones has built a bridge with him and is always interested in helping turn around the lives of wayward young players. But without current supervision, there are plenty of nerves regarding Bryant's ability to handle the freedom and lack of structure he's now been given.
On one hand, this is a player who would do things on the field to make Cowboys officials say, "I've never seen that before." On the other, he so clearly has what one source calls "a lack of life skills."
What's clear is that the organization wants to help him with that, and pave the way for a long career for Bryant with the team he grew up dreaming of playing for. The trouble is, for now, the Cowboys literally can offer him no help at all.
Source: nfl.com