Murray had been the go-to player on the Cowboys. But, with the Cowboys still holding a three-point advantage by 10-7. it's time for Bryant to don his cape.
Murray played three times to get the Cowboys to get down to the Texans 2 yards on their first full game of their fourth quarter. There were about 10 mins left in the game . Cowboys were on their line with Murray as well as a tight end and three receivers in the formation. One of the receivers, Dwayne Harris, first lined in the center of the field to the left with Dez in front of him. Then he moved to the other side of the center and lined up directly behind Jason Witten.
The problem for the Texans is that the corner who was facing Harris when he was lined up in the slot went with him when he motioned across. This indicated that the Texans were playing man-to-man defense with seventh-round rookie cornerback Andre Hal lined up out to the side of Bryant trying to cover himself by his own self. The play was done before the center snapped the ball. Dez went right at Hal Then he turned and was able to catch the back shoulder fade of Tony Romo for a touchdown to put the Cowboys ahead, 17-7.
For their part, the Texans didn't give up they scored field goals and an touchdown on consecutive drives to keep the game tied. Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey missed a 53-yard field goal as time expired to force the game into overtime. The Texans had the advantage in the coin toss and chose to accept. However their offensive momentum did not quite carry over to the extra period and they were forced to punt after getting all the way to the Cowboys 48-yard line.
The positive was that the Texans could have pinned the Cowboys back in their own territory with excellent punt. Dallas required to begin the drive at an own line of 10 yards. If the Texans were able to keep them to the ground while forcing a punt there was a high chance that they could get the ball back , with excellent field position. It would just require the field goal to win. They did give up one second down in the first quarter to the Cowboys, but after an ineffective pass and a stop by Murray for just a yard or more after that, the Texans had the Cowboys with a third-and-9 at Their own line of 32 yards. It was a great situation as a defense.
But look at them as hard-headed. You know what happens to those who are hard-headed isn't it?
Instead of running four they have one the best damn quarterbacks that football's witnessed at J.J. Watt -- as well as playing coverage, Texans chose to play blitz Romo. In theory, this sounds like a sound plan. Watt was able to win a few matchups but was struggled to get rid of Romo for the entirety of the game. Romo also has a reputation whether earned or not for making big mistakes when under pressure. This is where the theory lies: In the blitz, you are once again going to have Dez Bryant thrown into coverage. Do you really want to have those issues?
Okay, so this time they have decided to not place the rookie seventh-rounder on Dez, instead electing to place their top corner on him: Johnathan Joseph. Whoop-de-damn-do. Once it was snapped, and Romo was able to see the safety who was favoring Bryant's end of the field go into the middle, it didn't make any difference who was out there Mut 24 coins protecting him. Romo just threw the ball in the direction of Dez before lowering himself to stay clear of a brutal blow from Texans player D.J. Swearinger in the knowledge that if it was within his range, Bryant would be able to catch it.
That's precisely what Dez did, and in spectacular fashion.
Joseph was in a good position He was in a good position, and, truth be told, probably should have been called for pass interference since Joseph didn't look back at the ball, and instead put his hands right in Bryant's face. It didn't matter. This never happens.
Bryant took off over Joseph and reached over his head to catch the ball After a moment of bobbling the ball, he held it as he hit the ground with Joseph on top of him. He's too big and powerful for one person to stop him a throw. And then, the ball was 37 yards away. Bryant was able to put his team in field goal range and on the right track to win the game.
Yes, some receivers are taller and larger. Some are faster too. If it were up to me, I would choose Dez Bryant over all the others every time, because I believe he will make the same plays he played on every game on Sunday, regardless of who you place on him.
With only four games scheduled this week, there's only the two stadiums we need to think about weather-wise. The first game is on Saturday. Cincinnati and Houston at Reliant Stadium and Minnesota and Green Bay at Lambeau Field.
Houston could be a victim of showers . However, with rain likely through the early afternoon, probably the people at Reliant Stadium will close the roof so this could be more of an indoor match as opposed to an outdoor. In Wisconsin the stadium is Lambeu Field, a weak disturbance will move across the region on Saturday night, bringing an unseasonably cold mix of snow, sleet, and possibly freezing rain with temperatures in the 20s.
There's a reason that the Detroit Lions wide receiver wants to be someone to be a diva. That's nothing new for his position in Madden NFL 24 as recent history is littered with wideouts who love the spotlight, have temper tantrums or change their names to match their uniform names in Spanish. Wide receivers are generally expected to show off their drama and/or demands nowadays which is why Young feels a sense of positional entitlement.
Young The actor, however, wants to stage his drama on stage that doesn't exist. If Terrell Owens delivers a smirk-inducing quotation, you'll accept it. If Chad Ochocinco ruffles some feathers but it's not noticed. Titus Young cannot afford such things. He hasn't earned enough credibility on or off the field to cash in the chips that are required for a team's team's PR department to manage the issue.
In actual fact, Young is not worth even a tiny fraction of the problems he's created. It's amazing that Young is hired by the Lions in the present. The team's second-round pick of 2011 out of Boise State was supposed to take attention away from Calvin Johnson on the field However, he's insisting on attention off the field of the most unpleasant kind.
Perhaps the Lions ought to have spotted that Young to be a issue since he faced issues at Boise State as well, getting a suspension during his sophomore season for punching another teammate. He would do the same last May when he decked the safety Louis Delmas and was sent back to the OTAs of the Lions. In the 2012 season Young was a "distraction" According to Head coach Jim Schwartz, after causing frustration for staff members Shawn Jefferson and Scott Linehan. Some of his teammates were willing to move to the next phase without Young.
"I'm not a diva. I'm living it." It's the type of reaction that's only spoken by an idiot -- possibly the Madden NFL 24's biggest at this moment. Young has the potential to become an offensive threat in a pass-happy team next to the world's best receiver. The field is his to use. The odds are in his favor. However, he continues to overlook what is right in front of him the sake of something that is not easy to access.
A week in which we're reminded of personality and determination required to play on the largest stage, Young's juvenile and imprudent behavior sticks out like an unwelcome thumb. Young is the most childish player in the game seems to have no plans to grow up in the near future.
In this The Stream Titus Young not back with the Lions Titus Young: Madden NFL 24's biggest fool Surgery for Titus Young...if he's there for it. Read all 6 stories complete story of elite Madden NFL 24 quarterbacks
Joe Flacco is very rich. But is he an elite player?
This is a significant topic, perhaps the most important aspect in all of the irrelevant sports arguing. But Google Trends demonstrates this is not something we worry about whenever quarterbacks became extremely rich or did anything, as "elite quarterback" and its derivatives only came into the spotlight a few years back. Prior to 2009. there was no discussion about elite quarterbacks.
All of which is predictable for any major-name USC student. He was one of the most explosive and dangerous football players of the Pac-10 in a short time and scored five touchdowns on offense as a true freshman and two more touchdowns on kickoffs with the 31.4-yard average. He was in All-America watch lists and even had hopes of winning the Heisman Trophy, but he was never able to reach his aspirations, and even 32 career touchdowns couldn't erase the fact that he came up short.
His failure to meet expectations in the university, which included being suspended for violating team rules and later admitting (and not being regretful of) paying for tuition at USC in the past, was not enough to deter the Jaguars from spending a first-round pick on Soward. The possibility of an Soward having his head straight was just too appealing to pass up and when Jacksonville following the 14-2 mark, it seemed that luxury was the main goal in the sport. Mark Brunell was 30. Fred Taylor was 24. Jimmy Smith was 31. Keenan McCardell was 30 and the time for successful play did not seem as if to be closing. Smith and McCardell could ease the big-headed rookie onto the next stage. Head coach Tom Coughlin had no idea how wrong that was.
Coughlin said to be required to have a limousine taken to Soward's home to be sure that the rookie didn't show up tardy for meetings and practices yet that did not prevent him from being removed from the team in December for inattention. He caught 14 passes for 154 yards , scoring one touchdown in his rookie season in addition to returning 14 punts and four kickoffs. When he finished his first season league had suspended him due to two marijuana-related tests that failed, although his family insists that it was alcohol that was the problem. He was arrested in Orlando for intimidating police officers after getting stopped. Eventually the Jaguars did not want to release him, so being suspended from his league never removed.
In less than a season in the game, the career of R Jay Soward was over. It's possible that Jags were willing to risk Soward based on their own successes, and passed over players like Keith Bulluck, Dennis Northcutt, Todd Pinkston, and Darren Howard, all for one who could prove successful in the Madden NFL 24 "if there was only."
After less than one year the career of R Jay Soward was over.
It is true that players need to had to overcome their off-field problems before they succeed in their Madden NFL 24 careers. Being called a head case during the draft is just one of many red flags that discourage teams from selecting certain players. Certain flags get overlooked due to high marks on another aspect.
"I believe that the toughest part for me was dealing with all the pressure that came with being drafted," he recalls. "I wasn't playing well my first year , and so the media was very critical of me. I'd like to have been in New Orleans in the second round. I would have preferred to not have been a draft pick. I felt New Orleans had a better staff to suit me at the time. I believe that being part of those people would have altered my future prospects in Madden NFL 24."
The reason for this is that there is a problem of a player getting described as a bust. Like watching a participant in an experiment , who is aware that he is being watched, an Madden NFL 24 player's path rapidly changes based upon the team selects him and the time they decide to draft him.
What would Aaron Rodgers have been successful in San Francisco? Would Russell Wilson have been as successful as an rookie in Cleveland with big expectations instead of little expectations in a third-round selection? R. Jay Soward was incredible in high school which allowed him to attend USC. After he enrolled at USC it was a struggle for him to adjust, but achieved some success on the field as his talent was evident.
The bigger question is whether or not you'll achieve the high standards of Madden NFL 24 fans who are paying hundreds of dollars each season to watch you play even if you're a first-round bonus kid instead of the seventh possible.
Do not make this up.
Soward was not able to perform to the same standard and barely lasted in the Madden NFL 24. His head and the league weren't a match. He would have liked to have waited until later in the draft. He believed that he could be part of the team and then worked his way up from there and then gotten a better job, but that wasn't the case, and so he becomes the story's main protagonist instead. A story of 10 players who, like R. Jay Soward, do not have any shady ways to get into the league.
Here are their own stories which are a bit shorter.
10. Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State - 1st overall, Cleveland, 2000
Picked 28 spots ahead of Soward The first player on this list includes a player who was not supposed to be a red flag. Other than this: Judging premier defensive end prospects seems impossible. Talent evaluators do get the wrong impression with almost every position, but you don't seem to find as many mistakes that you would at defensive lineman.
It could be due with the fact that defensive linemen are often drafted in the first round and , therefore, will experience many failures. However, take a note of the names that didn't even make it onto this list: Jerome McDougle, Michael Haynes, Aaron Maybin, Tyson Jackson, Derrick Harvey Johnathan Sulley as well as Dewayne Robertson.
Brown completed his season with a school record 70 tackles and 33 sacks for loss. He also won which earned him the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year prize and one of the best four-year seasons in college football history. At 6'4and 285 pounds, he was the perfect size. He ran the 40-yard sprint in 4.52 seconds with a 37-inch vertical and performed 26 reps in the bench. There was nothing to worry about Brown as a player, and there was no reason to think that the Browns made mistakes by putting Brown over teammate LaVar Arrington, Chris Samuels, Jamal Lewis, Plaxico Burress and Brian Urlacher.
Aldon Smith recorded more sacks last year (19.5) that Brown has had in his entire career (19).
Injury may have taken a impact on Brown at times, but this isn't the reason for his low production as a run-stuffer, pass-rusher or run-rusher. He had the type of career that you'd expect, and respect, out of a player drafted in the fifth round , but not the kind of thing you'd expect to observe from the top overall pick. Sometimes , when everything seems to be working and everything is going to be perfect, it doesn't.
Honorable Mention Vernon Gholston
9. Gerard Warren, DT, Florida - 3rd overall, Cleveland 2001
I'm wondering whether there's going to be a dispute over the inclusion Warren. He was a player in the Madden NFL 24 from 2001 to 2011 , playing for The Browns, Broncos, Raiders and Patriots. Courtney Brown was a teammate of and the Browns along with the Broncos, Warren was supposed to assist in bringing Cleveland into the future with enthusiasm and vigor thanks to having three top-three selections in three consecutive seasons.
The top picks of the century. Need some Madden NFL 24 Draft positive affirmation? Take a look at the top 10 selections that teams made in the draft.
Alongside Tim Couch, Brown, and Warren, they would soon not remember that the Ravens won that Super Bowl in 2000. Right? This is so Cleveland.
Even though Couch or Brown were mostly bad players Warren is merely a disappointing player taken over some outstanding players at a time when Cleveland was trying to get one thing right. They weren't. Warren enjoyed a couple of great seasons at the center of the line defensive posting 1550 total tackles 16.5 sacks, nine pass deflections and seven forced fumbles throughout four seasons with the Browns. It's a good number however, take into account the context of the 2001 Madden NFL 24 Draft.
Warren was taken after Michael Vick and Leonard Davis two players who teamed up to make seven Pro Bowl appearances. (Though Davis has an argument that he is a failure on his own.) After that came Warren. In the next season, came Four-time Pro Bowl, All-Pro Justin Smith. Following that, five-time Pro Bowl, three-time All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson. After that came the seven-time Pro Bowl, three-time All-Pro Richard Seymour. The next pick, Andre Carter, made one Pro Bowl and has 78.5 total sacks in his career.
One of the biggest complaints against Warren may be the fact that he is in a presence he holds at the top of the draft but that's only to reveal how terrible the Browns have at creating. Warren is surrounded by six players who made it to the Pro Bowl. Only thing that could be worse is that the Browns next selection the wide receiver Quincy Morgan, is also cheap madden 24 coins sandwiched between six players who made a Pro Bowl. (Reggie Wayne, Todd Heap, Drew Brees, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Alge Crumpler, Chad Johnson.)
Brown, Warren, Couch Brown, Warren, Couch Morgan are only four examples of how the Browns have been so bad for many years. Poor talent evaluations that picked the wrong players. But on the bright part, they were able to uncover two players that could be included on this list.
Cleveland is an amazing city!
Honorable Mention: