That Crazy Dez

You could almost consider it a rite of passage. Rookie hazing. Nothing severe. For example, a rookie being "drafted" to carry the shoulder pads of a veteran player. Non-compliance could result in "severe" consequences. Taped to a goal post, faulty credit card charges. It's NFL training camp.

Apparently, there's an "issue" with Dallas Cowboys #1 draft pick Dez Bryant and vet Roy Williams.

While Bryant was conducting an impromptu interview for a couple of members of the local media, Williams went toward Bryant, placed his shoulder pads on the ground and asked the rookie if "got it". Bryant acknowledged the veteran's request, but did not honor it.

"I'm not doing it," Bryant said. "I feel like I was drafted to play football, not carry another player's pads."

"If I was a free agent, it would still be the same thing. I just feel like I'm here to play football. I'm here to try to help win a championship, not carry someone's pads. I'm saying that out of no disrespect to [anyone]."

First of all, almost any time you hear the words "out of no disrespect" or some variable thereof, disrespect will either be taken or assumed.

C'mon, Dez. It's a tradition. Where's your sense of humor? Where's your sense of camaraderie? So Dez, are you saying you never had to perform some silly chore as a freshman while at Oklahoma State? Weren't you recruited there to play football?

Williams put the incident into perspective.

"Everybody has to go through it," Williams said. "I had to go through it. No matter if you're a No. 1 pick or the 7,000th pick, you've still got to do something when you're a rookie.

"I carried pads. I paid for dinners. I paid for lunches. I did everything I was supposed to do, because I didn't want to be that guy."

I guarantee you Ndamukong Suh will carry the pads of Kyle Vanden Bosh. I guarantee you that Ryan Mathews will carry the pads of Darren Sproles. I guarantee you that Jason Pierre-Paul will carry the pads of either Osi Umenyiora or Justin Tuck. And they were all taken ahead of you in the draft.

There's even a story of former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells having a first round pick retrieving him water and Gatorade during camp. Would Dez be so bold as to reject The Tuna? I doubt that, and even if he the stones to do that, could you imagine the ramifications of that one?

When the "penalties" are delivered, and they will be delivered, we'll see what Bryant thinks about carrying a set of shoulder pads. He may decide to honor Williams or Miles Austin or Patrick Crayton in their request today. And then again, he may not.

I know it sounds like this is a non-story considering all the issues the Cowboys have faced in the past. It's not quite a story. I'll agree with that...for now.

But what this provides is a window into Bryant's already over inflated opinion of himself.