Carry my shoulder pads....

So I have a new favorite Cowboy - Rookie WR Dez Bryant. The Oklahoma State grad told incumbent WR-bust Roy Williams to basically suck it when he refused the rookie tradition of carrying Williams' pads following the first day of Cowboys training camp. In essence, Bryant told the underachieving Williams "Hey, mofo, they drafted me because you suck. So why in the world would I carry your pads. Also - here's my jock if you want it."

I love it. And he's right. The fact that Williams deludes himself enough to think that he's Tony Romo's #1 receiver is bad enough, with Jason Witten and Austin Miles clearly jockeying for that spot, but the fact that Dallas drafter another WR who displayed some troubling behavior in college in the first round should have clued the former Longhorn into the fact that owner Jerry Jones admits trading for Williams was a mistake. A bust. An error. An embarrassment.

The dude claims he and Romo will be on the same page this year, finally. After 1 and 1/2 seasons together. He claims they just needed time to gel. What a crock. The fact is, Williams is soft, not as fast as once thought, and unable to separate from elite corners in the league. He's tall, but not the type of receiver Romo can throw jump balls to. In fact, I think current Texas safety Blake Gideon may have better hands than Roy.

Rookie hazing is part of the NFL culture. Normally, when some hotshot rookie refuses to participate, I'd call him out for being a prima dona. But I like this kid. Bryant made it clear he is here to take catches away from Williams, is here to take his spot opposite Miles in the starting line-up, and is here to provide some much needed attitude on an offense void of an edge since Michael Irvin left (I discount T.O. - his edge was softened when he cried about his "quarterback"). If Bryant can avoid the stupid mistakes he made in college off the field in Dallas, then we may be looking at the newest member of Romo's receiving corps by mid-September, and could well be looking at the dwindling career of the one of the biggest trade blunders in Cowboys history for Williams.