In Defense of AB

[OldMan]

Yes I know what Bryant did was wrong. Bryant knows this also. Whether his ego will let him admit that is another story. Bryant has talent, but he is letting attitude get in the way. Even though I am probably one of the oldest posters on here (in age not length on the board) I can still remember how it was to be young. (I can remember 60 years ago but not why I just came down stairs).
How it was to be a "Rebel Without a Cause". Many young people don't have a reason to rebel, they just do because they are frustrated with the way things are going. They don't yet understand the order of things and when you are thrown into the world of professional sports, that is something you need to learn quick. Bryant needs to find someone that he can trust to counsel him on his attitude and help him to understand. If he doesn't make this adjustment, he will be a wasted talent. I know as Cowboy fans, we don't have much sympathy for a "baby sitting job", but I hope he finds his way. If he doesn't, when he gets older, he will be saddened by what he might have been.

[MinnesotaCowboy]

I am a fairly new poster too! It sounds like you and me may represent the older generation. I graduated from SMU when Meredith was a freshman! Been a fan for 44 years. I remember the good years and the bad. You had a good post but not sure BP would agree. I hope the kid can turn it around while he is still here but we may never know! This could be another horrible waste of talent!

[Reality]

Well, I'm not old but I'm not young either. I'm mature and wise enough to know though that the problems that AB has is not all his fault. Now, I'm not justifying anything he did the other day or saying he couldn't help it. I'm just saying that the cause of his outbursts is not entirely his fault.

Think about it. Many NFL players come from poor, but large familes. The players get wined and dined by colleges during recruitment and are worshiped by the fans and alumni while playing for their college teams. Some players are so good and they know it because everyone around them tells them all of the time how great they are. Most of them gain country-wide fame the moment they sign with a college.

Then, they get drafted by an NFL team and get handed a lot of upfront money (compared to what they grew up with) and a huge salary. The coaches spend all of their time telling the players to be tough, angry and aggressive when playing against other teams. They are told to play through every injury they can possibly deal with and take shots (legal ones) to allow them to play through the pain. The team sells their jerseys and promotes the star players in media guides, etc.

Then, the players are told by all of the veterans and the welcoming committees how "it could all end at any moment, so make the best of it." While that's all fine and dandy, it makes them want the big pay day immediately. However, in the case of AB, he hasn't justified the big pay day and he knows this. He knows that unless he gets the ball and shows his abilities this year, next year he's looking at signing with a team for a very small signing bonus and a 1-2 year contract at most.

We expect players to be just like you and I, but they aren't. We're normal people. We work regular jobs making regular money, some more than others, but let's face it. A $100,000/year job for the regular work force is a great job. When we sign an NFL veteran player (say age 26) to a contract of $800,000, we all comment on the great deal the team got.

I don't have a problem with AB complaining about wanting the ball. I mean KJ even gained fame for his "Just give me the damn ball" book. The problem is that AB crossed the line by throwing the shirt at BP as well as showing any physical aggression toward him. I mean BP while mean, fierce and annoying at times, is not a young man and for a 20-something highly conditioned athlete to show ANY physical threats toward a 60-something out of shape coach is just wrong. That's one of those no-brainers like never telling a policeman what you really are thinking when you get pulled over.

I hope BP keeps AB and I hope he sits him on the bench. Deactivate him if necessary, but don't release or trade him. The guy has talent and the job of being a coach is more than just X's and O's. Coaches are dealing with young kids who are being thrust into the world of adulthood. While it is important to maintain a strict discipline among players and make examples of problem players, sometimes the best example a coach can make is telling the young players that he won't give up on them.

[SacredStar]

Derek Ross was less of a distraction,and he was cut.

I don't believe Parcells will allow AB to stay,and I bet Dallas is currently seeking trade value for him.

[Reef Engineer]

Originally Posted by OldMan

Bryant needs to find someone that he can trust to counsel him on his attitude and help him to understand. If he doesn't make this adjustment, he will be a wasted talent. I know as Cowboy fans, we don't have much sympathy for a "baby sitting job", but I hope he finds his way.

Your words reminded me of Chris Carter who was deemed to have an attitude problem - a cancer? - when he was very young and look at how he turned his career and life around to the point that he was looked about as that voice of reason when Randy Moss came into the league.

The kid has a ton of talent and needs to harness the fire that burns within him into a constructive mechanism because I'd hate to see him leave and pull a Chris Carter on us ... and he very well may have more talent than Carter did - just need to translate it onto the field now.

[Clay_Allison]

The excuse doesn't fly, I'm 23, I just got done working my way through College (with honors) and I have been a professional everywhere I've worked.

childishness is, to my mind, barely excusable in actual children. When I was kid that kind of crap would have landed me a serious @ss-kicking from my dad. Also it would have got me fired from any of my jobs.

I've been mad as hell at my bosses before, but I can suck it up and act like an adult.

[Irvinite]

Originally Posted by Clay_Allison

The excuse doesn't fly, I'm 23, I just got done working my way through College (with honors) and I have been a professional everywhere I've worked.

childishness is, to my mind, barely excusable in actual children. When I was kid that kind of crap would have landed me a serious @ss-kicking from my dad. Also it would have got me fired from any of my jobs.

I've been mad as hell at my bosses before, but I can suck it up and act like an adult.

You can't compare what you do for a living to what they do for a living.... You have a job.....They play a Game of controlled violence.....

When someone is getting premoted to a position that you for some reason think you deserve more, it's going to piss you off....That's just Human nature...Ab just went about it the wrong way.....

I'm not sure I blame him either.....They are just handing the job to KJ when they should have told him it was going to be an open compitition and split the reps evenly until a starter was named...

Or Bill could be just pushing his buttons so he plays better during the season......

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by SacredStar

Derek Ross was less of a distraction,and he was cut.

I don't believe Parcells will allow AB to stay,and I bet Dallas is currently seeking trade value for him.

OK Sacred describe exactly how Ross was less of a distraction?

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by Reality

Well, I'm not old but I'm not young either. I'm mature and wise enough to know though that the problems that AB has is not all his fault. Now, I'm not justifying anything he did the other day or saying he couldn't help it. I'm just saying that the cause of his outbursts is not entirely his fault.

Think about it. Many NFL players come from poor, but large familes. The players get wined and dined by colleges during recruitment and are worshiped by the fans and alumni while playing for their college teams. Some players are so good and they know it because everyone around them tells them all of the time how great they are. Most of them gain country-wide fame the moment they sign with a college.

[View Full Quote]Then, they get drafted by an NFL team and get handed a lot of upfront money (compared to what they grew up with) and a huge salary. The coaches spend all of their time telling the players to be tough, angry and aggressive when playing against other teams. They are told to play through every injury they can possibly deal with and take shots (legal ones) to allow them to play through the pain. The team sells their jerseys and promotes the star players in media guides, etc.

Then, the players are told by all of the veterans and the welcoming committees how "it could all end at any moment, so make the best of it." While that's all fine and dandy, it makes them want the big pay day immediately. However, in the case of AB, he hasn't justified the big pay day and he knows this. He knows that unless he gets the ball and shows his abilities this year, next year he's looking at signing with a team for a very small signing bonus and a 1-2 year contract at most.

We expect players to be just like you and I, but they aren't. We're normal people. We work regular jobs making regular money, some more than others, but let's face it. A $100,000/year job for the regular work force is a great job. When we sign an NFL veteran player (say age 26) to a contract of $800,000, we all comment on the great deal the team got.

I don't have a problem with AB complaining about wanting the ball. I mean KJ even gained fame for his "Just give me the damn ball" book. The problem is that AB crossed the line by throwing the shirt at BP as well as showing any physical aggression toward him. I mean BP while mean, fierce and annoying at times, is not a young man and for a 20-something highly conditioned athlete to show ANY physical threats toward a 60-something out of shape coach is just wrong. That's one of those no-brainers like never telling a policeman what you really are thinking when you get pulled over.

I hope BP keeps AB and I hope he sits him on the bench. Deactivate him if necessary, but don't release or trade him. The guy has talent and the job of being a coach is more than just X's and O's. Coaches are dealing with young kids who are being thrust into the world of adulthood. While it is important to maintain a strict discipline among players and make examples of problem players, sometimes the best example a coach can make is telling the young players that he won't give up on them.

Nice post Reality.

[Merlin]

1. Parcells has had several publicized run-ins with his players. Keyshawn & Glenn immediately come to mind. They still play for him, they love him.

2. It's the way AB handles himself from this point on, that will tell whether he has learned anything from this unfortunate incident.

3. Everyone makes mistakes and some people are more emotional than others.

4. Even Parcells said that AB had a good off-season and worked hard. That's a positive. Most reports indicate that he is coachable and is willing to learn.

5. His work ethic is not being questioned nor is his route running.

To me that says you keep him unless something like this happens again such as in another major blow-up.

[TruBlueCowboy]

Originally Posted by Reality

Coaches are dealing with young kids who are being thrust into the world of adulthood. While it is important to maintain a strict discipline among players and make examples of problem players, sometimes the best example a coach can make is telling the young players that he won't give up on them.

Sounds like something Dick Vermeil would have a good cry about.

[LaTunaNostra]

I have great sympathy for his position, but none at all for how he chooses to deal with it. Life is about accountability, for all of us, whether our job includes the mitigating factor of "controled violence" or not. Show me one situation where a disgruntled employee, even a legitimately ticked off one, can go so far as to need a security escort, and still retain his position.

Jimmy Johnson is the one who I think first said that there is a "different set of rules for talent." I admire Jimmuh in many ways, but it was that attitude partially set up the cast of miscreants mixed with a few true criminal types that plagued the Cowboys for years, and gave them the "America's Most Wanted" label rival fans could use as a taunt . The excuses and rationale I see for AB are all about his "talent", and how it can't be sacrificed.

I think otherwise. First, he is nowhere near as talented as some make him out to be, imo. But even if he were a budding Jerry Rice, it shouldn't matter. What Jerry and Tuna are trying to build in Dallas can be easily sabotaged if they take a "do what I say, but not what I do approach." Jerry' and Bill's MO is clearly the same as NE's - building with the necessary talent, but forging a championship team with hard working role players who "get it".

All coaches need talent to win, but Parcells probably less. He has always been about transcendence, both on a personal level and a professional one. Sure he has had some stars players, notably LT in NY. But countless young men have had the opportunity to make it in the NFL because he gave them a chance. They made it on their work ethic and character, not any noticably exceptional athletic ability. Some of the kids drafted this year, and most all the rookie free agents, fit just that profile. They will be coached up, will be in peak condition, but their real plus will be what they came in with - their character.

Bryant is a blight on the whole plan. His resume in college and before Bill got here reads not like a 16 year old James Dean finding his place in the world. This rebel DOES have a cause. It's that he's a punk. AB's mother's published comments were revealing. Nine out of ten parents get very defensive when their child of any age is under seige. But her remarks indicated two things: she raised him to be accountable, and she knows he's not. From all reports, he has not yet even apologized to Tuna or Jerry over the phone. That says a lot too.

Letting AB get on "talent" is a serious mistake, imo. And not just because I believe he has far less of it than most believe. (A lot is made of Quincy Carter's supposed lack of gray matter, but the only one I see here who is too stupid to stay on a route, learn to read defenses, and concentrate during a game is Bryant. He alone of all the Cowboys strikes me as out of his element, "mentally", in pro sports.). Treating him like he is the only fish in the sea out of panic the starters are "old", (there is "old", and there is "playing old", and neither Johnson nor Glenn are playing old yet), or wishing talent on him he doesn't have out of dislike of the other receivers, or just willingness to overlook his behaviour because he has "talent" is par for the course for us fans. It's a right of fandom.

But if J and Tuna are looking at this the same way, I will be very disappointed. If they feel they can't win without this punk, that Bill can't coach well enough, or Jerry procure enough talent, then they are admitting failure, and setting a very bad example for the team, and even lacking in the very quality, they are trying to build the team on - character.

This is NOT Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys. Jerry is no longer going the big spending,mega trade, star/impact FA player route. Not out of cheapness, but out of the realization the NFL has changed. Bill and JJ are about building a solid foundation with dedicated high motor young players or exceptional work ethic and personal character. Role players and bus drivers have to do their part for it to work. They have proven they will give players with checkered, even criminal pasts, second chances. But that guy has to have gotten on board and changed his ways.

There is no indication AB has changed one iota from the punk he was at Pittsburgh. He should have been in front of the entire organization apologizing the next day. This "cooling off in Miami" looks like running away from a problem, denying accountability, waiting for the organization to come to him.

I hope things get worked out, but I view his loss just as I do Bickerstaff's, something that has to be overcome as that's how it "is" in the NFL. Antonio Bryant is expendable, like everyone else. Treating him like he is not expendable, like all that really counts is "talent", employing Jimmy's rule which worked just fine under a set of circumstances but aren't operating in the new MO, would be the worst message JJ and Bill could send to the team.

They have decided to do it with work ethic and the kind of character that is willing to play any role for the good of the team. Players as accomplished as Dexter Coakley are living with the reality that the best man will play. Antonio Bryant and his long history of arrogant and immature behavior just doesn't fit the picture.

Unless of course, he's willing to change. Call me cynic, but I see zero evidence he is. Or he' d be in Dallas right now, apologizing.

[notherbob]

Great post, Tuna.

According to a report elsewhere on this board, AB's agent says he is sorry and wants to come back. What is your take on this?

'notherBob
'nother geezer - just retired.

[big dog cowboy]

I just don't see any way AB stays with the team.

[Intrepid]

I think Keyshawn is a distraction. Didn't he already insult Carter, and now was also part of this scuffle as well? I don't know what happened in the incident, no one here does. AB sounds like a very immature person, and a very driven kid too.

Keyshawn, however, has not done anything for the cowboys yet, has never scored a single touchdown for us or made a single catch. I have always disliked Keyshawn's attitude, it is hard for me to like him. I'm sure if he produces it will be harder to hate him for what he says and how he sounds in interviews, etc.

I look at AB's average per catch in the past two years, and the things he has already done for us, and I favor him over Keyshawn, who up to this point has been difficult to deal with by many.

Mine is a somewhat uninformed opinion, I'll admit to that. The facts, though, are that AB is a Cowboy, and Keyshawn has the opportunity to be one.

I know that this is not about Keyshawn vs. AB, but I find it interesting to see how much Keyshawn gets away with. He was fired last year and was welcomed with open arms. If I'm Jerry Jones, I make sure that he is on a short leash as much as AB.