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Always the off-field star, Cowboys TE Martellus Bennett finally turning heads on field, too
11:29 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Martellus Bennett is a player on YouTube and Twitter.
This past weekend, he wasn't bad in his day job, either.
Bennett is an integral part of the Cowboys offense and its numerous two-tight end sets. But with Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten entrenched as one of Tony Romo's favorite targets, Bennett rarely gets the ball thrown his way.
That changed in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to Chicago when Witten was forced to leave with a concussion. Bennett caught more passes (five) in the final eight minutes of that game than he had in any other game with the Cowboys.
He finished with a career-high seven catches for 45 yards. To put that in perspective, Bennett caught only 15 passes all of last season.
"It felt good to be a bigger part of the offense, but that comes with the territory," Bennett said. "When you've got a guy like Witt in front of you who is one of the best of the league...
"I've been doing the same thing I've been doing all year. I had a chance to get more opportunities. I played well through the whole game, even before Witt went down."
Bennett became an afterthought in the passing game last season after he and Romo failed to connect early. His imprecise route running was partly to blame. But he has worked to gain Romo's trust. Sunday's performance was a step in the right direction.
Witten has said he will play against Houston but probably will be limited in practice the next few days. The door is open for Bennett to be a bigger part of the game plan.
"I'm capable of playing against anybody, anytime, anywhere, you know, but I'd rather have both of us out there at the same time," Bennett said. "We're able to do more.
"I hope Witt plays. We need that guy out there. He makes a lot of plays for us. Hopefully he can play this weekend so we can go out there and tag-team."
11:29 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Martellus Bennett is a player on YouTube and Twitter.
This past weekend, he wasn't bad in his day job, either.
Bennett is an integral part of the Cowboys offense and its numerous two-tight end sets. But with Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten entrenched as one of Tony Romo's favorite targets, Bennett rarely gets the ball thrown his way.
That changed in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to Chicago when Witten was forced to leave with a concussion. Bennett caught more passes (five) in the final eight minutes of that game than he had in any other game with the Cowboys.
He finished with a career-high seven catches for 45 yards. To put that in perspective, Bennett caught only 15 passes all of last season.
"It felt good to be a bigger part of the offense, but that comes with the territory," Bennett said. "When you've got a guy like Witt in front of you who is one of the best of the league...
"I've been doing the same thing I've been doing all year. I had a chance to get more opportunities. I played well through the whole game, even before Witt went down."
Bennett became an afterthought in the passing game last season after he and Romo failed to connect early. His imprecise route running was partly to blame. But he has worked to gain Romo's trust. Sunday's performance was a step in the right direction.
Witten has said he will play against Houston but probably will be limited in practice the next few days. The door is open for Bennett to be a bigger part of the game plan.
"I'm capable of playing against anybody, anytime, anywhere, you know, but I'd rather have both of us out there at the same time," Bennett said. "We're able to do more.
"I hope Witt plays. We need that guy out there. He makes a lot of plays for us. Hopefully he can play this weekend so we can go out there and tag-team."