I got a feeling this is going to be a really, really bad football season for me.
As a non-Cowboys fan living in Dallas — OK, I’m a hater — I’m subject to the winds of unrealistic expectations that usually approach hurricane force this time of year. But the winds are worsening this preseason. It seems as if most fans of ‘America’s Team’ are rotating into their own personal pan-sized Texas tornado; swirling around the nexus of becoming the first team to play the Super Bowl in its own backyard.
I’m gripped with fear because this preseason feels different even to me. I’m scared because I think the Cowboys may even exceed expectations this year.
So I asked myself, “Self, why are you uneasy about 2010 when it’s essentially the same team — plus a few rookies — that got their asses handed to them by the Vikings in the divisional round of the playoffs?” What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I falsely bloviate the evils of the Cowboys and how they don’t deserve the hype this time around? Do I have a fever? Did that rash clear up?

Why can't Dez just play like that?
Dez Bryant
If you’ve read me for any length of time you’ll know that I’m not one for hyperbole. Yet, there are times when you can watch a guy for just a few minutes and tell they’re a player with mad skills. I hate to simplify it by saying something stupid like they got an ‘it’ factor but I’m going to.
Even I, a self-professed Cowboys hater, must admit, Dallas drafted ‘the difference maker’ in this year’s draft; a guy that will not only challenge for a starting spot this year, but, barring injury, will be an NFL super star for the next decade or so.
Dez Bryant slipped to the Cowboys spot in the draft because of his rough childhood, his contact with an agent while in college and his lying about it to NCAA investigators; for all of those reasons, and maybe more, Dez Bryant fell to the Cowboys.
There were whispers that Bryant would be tough to sign. Could Dez Bryant be another Michael Crabtree?
Not only was Bryant in San Antonio for the first day of training camp, he was the first first-round draft pick to complete contract terms.
The rumors and innuendo didn’t seem to bother Bryant, in fact it serves to motivate him.
Bryant vs Roy Williams
Now that Bryant’s in the fold, Dallas will turn its attention to securing a long-term deal for #1 receiver Miles Austin. Where does this leave former #1-in-his-mind-only receiver Roy Williams? No matter how chummy it may look during training camp, Bryant is gunning for Williams’ role.
Forget what the Cowboys say in public about the job is Roy’s to lose, blah, blah blah… The truth is they’re thrilled the mere presence of Bryant is motivating Williams more so than anything else they’ve tried since his failed acquisition.
Dez Bryant will force Roy Williams to work harder and perform better on Sundays and that pisses me off. Dez Bryant’s going to be a beast in this league for years to come and I’m depressed.
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