In the aftermath of his actions on Thanksgiving Day, rookie receiver Dez Bryant drew comparisons to former Cowboys both positive and negative--the positive being Michael Irvin, and the negative being Terrell Owens. But according to analyst and former Cowboy Deion Sanders, this is backwards thinking.
Sanders said, in a recent appearance on ESPN Radio 103.3 FM that, in terms of expressing their desire to get the ball, of throwing fits when they weren’t thrown to enough, Irvin was more of a diva than was Owens.
“Well, honestly, Mike was 10-times worse than T.O.,” Sanders said, per the Dallas Morning News. “I mean, I love Mike and Mike was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever played against but Mike wanted the ball early, often, early and often; Mike walked off the field in practice when he didn't get the darn ball thrown his way. So you guys go crazy over T.O. ...”
The source of Bryant’s frustration was that the Saints had tailored their game plan to Bryant to an extent that hasn’t yet been seen. According to Sanders, getting used to this, and combatting it, is something that Bryant is just going to have to do as he matures in the league.
“And you got to understand, when you start having prominence in the league, they're going to start planning for you,” Sanders said. “They don't plan for Dez Bryant right now but with his emergence, they start planning for him, just like Miles Austin. They didn't plan for him a year ago but now defenses start planning to stop him; like you stop Andre Johnson. You plan to stop him; you plan to stop Larry Fitzgerald; you plan to stop Roddy White.”
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW Sports on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe to this free service. Read more about it here.
