There's little doubt as to whether Cowboys' tight end Martellus Bennett has the physical tools to be a successful tight end in the National Football League. Whether he possesses the less tangible skills to do so, though, is a different question all together.
Indeed, this lack of maturity, or of focus (or both), is responsible, according to the court of public opinion, for a career that may to this point be described as underwhelming. And according to Jason Witten, speaking recently on ESPN Radio 103.3 , whether Bennett can mature sooner than later may be the "ultimate question"--at least insofar as the Texas A&M product's career in Dallas is concerned.
“There is a fine line of having a personality to you and then doing too much. I am not saying that Martellus does that. I mean that is great that he can do all of those things," Witten said, per SportsRadioInterviews.com. "Definitely not my style, but I mean there is a lot of different ways to go about and be successful. I definitely think that he is a very talented guy.
"I think that has been shown but I think in this game, especially at tight end, the consistency of it week in and week out just because there is so much out there and in this offense it is a good thing to have a lot of responsibilities."
Around this time last year, the physically daunting Bennett was dazzling writers and spectators in and around camp, which led to some seriously elevated expectations--of which the Kung Fu Astronaut fell woefully short come the regular season. Then, of course, came the deluge of criticism aimed at Bennett's maturity level, spurred on by his penchant for social networking, rapping and penchant for YouTube videos.
Witten sees no inherent harm in Bennett's brand of extroversion. However, he hopes, as many fans do, that it doesn't get in the way of his on-field development.
"Perception is reality at some point," Witten said, echoing Troy Aikman's advice to Tony Romo after the '08 season. "I do think he understands that and I do think he is making headway on that. It’s just, is it as fast as some people want it? I don’t know. At some point you have got to understand what the personality is but it can’t get in the way and affect you in a negative manner and that is what you have to stay away from.
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"I think Martellus does understand that and will have a good year.”
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