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Deion Sanders: Michael Irvin was 10-times worse than T.O. so don't worry about Dez Bryant
Posted at 10:51 PM on Thu., Dec. 2, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders was interviewed on KESN-FM on Tuesday to discuss the Cowboys. Here are some highlights:
What are your thoughts on Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson and their fight?
I think it was a darn good one and it was for free; it wasn't even on Pay-Per-View. That's what I'm happy about. What you got to understand is Cortland Finnegan is a guy I love as a cornerback: he's tough, he's tenacious, he's in your face, he plays from whistle to whistle and these guys play against one another two times a year. So it's brewing. I mean, he gets into it with everyone because he's that type of player. He's not dirty, he's not nasty but he goes whistle to whistle and I love it.
Unfortunately, a fight escalated from the trash talking and all of that and I didn't like that part of it but it was good for the fans to see that dog in football because the guys are getting criticized so much by these meaningless hits and getting fined. But to see an all-out-fight, it allowed us to know this is football: something you don't like but you do appreciate.
Did you ever try and get under a receiver's skin during a game?
I never talked trash. Never, never once in my career; never spoke on the field. Now, what I did do...when I played against a rookie, I would try and whoop him, physically and emotionally...just whoop him the entire game because you wanted to dominate him for the rest of his career. So if you beat him as a rookie, you've got him locked for the rest of your career. Especially the guys you played twice a year; you want to physically whoop them and assault them so that they know every time you play them and that's twice a year for the next five to ten years, that you're mine. I own you. I might as well put my name on the back of your jersey.
Was the emotion Dez Bryant was showing more T.O.-emotion or more playmaker emotion? To you, what's the difference between the two and which was Dez showing?
Well, honestly, Mike [Michael Irvin] was 10-times worse than T.O. I mean, I love Mike and Mike was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever played against but Mike wanted the ball early, often, early and often; Mike walked off the field in practice when he didn't get the darn ball thrown his way. So you guys go crazy over T.O...
It's just competitive emotion but what Dez needs to learn is you only see Dez running one or two routes. He either runs a go or a quick screen and that's it. What's the problem? Does he not know the other routes? Do they not know how to get him the ball in other ways? How many other ball routes have we seen him catch? So, somebody needs to tell me the problem. Does he not know the offense or do we not know how to get him the ball down the field other than a go?
And you got to understand, when you start having prominence in the league, they're going to start planning for you. They don't plan for Dez Bryant right now but with his emergence, they start planning for him, just like Miles Austin. They didn't plan for him a year ago but now defenses start planning to stop him; like you stop Andre Johnson. You plan to stop him; you plan to stop Larry Fitzgerald; you plan to stop Roddy White. And by the way, my assessment of those top receivers that you guys jumped on me months and months ago, I think they turned out to be right, don't you agree?
To listen to the interview, click here.
Posted at 10:51 PM on Thu., Dec. 2, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
SportsDayDFW sports Bio | E-mail | News tips
Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders was interviewed on KESN-FM on Tuesday to discuss the Cowboys. Here are some highlights:
What are your thoughts on Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson and their fight?
I think it was a darn good one and it was for free; it wasn't even on Pay-Per-View. That's what I'm happy about. What you got to understand is Cortland Finnegan is a guy I love as a cornerback: he's tough, he's tenacious, he's in your face, he plays from whistle to whistle and these guys play against one another two times a year. So it's brewing. I mean, he gets into it with everyone because he's that type of player. He's not dirty, he's not nasty but he goes whistle to whistle and I love it.
Unfortunately, a fight escalated from the trash talking and all of that and I didn't like that part of it but it was good for the fans to see that dog in football because the guys are getting criticized so much by these meaningless hits and getting fined. But to see an all-out-fight, it allowed us to know this is football: something you don't like but you do appreciate.
Did you ever try and get under a receiver's skin during a game?
I never talked trash. Never, never once in my career; never spoke on the field. Now, what I did do...when I played against a rookie, I would try and whoop him, physically and emotionally...just whoop him the entire game because you wanted to dominate him for the rest of his career. So if you beat him as a rookie, you've got him locked for the rest of your career. Especially the guys you played twice a year; you want to physically whoop them and assault them so that they know every time you play them and that's twice a year for the next five to ten years, that you're mine. I own you. I might as well put my name on the back of your jersey.
Was the emotion Dez Bryant was showing more T.O.-emotion or more playmaker emotion? To you, what's the difference between the two and which was Dez showing?
Well, honestly, Mike [Michael Irvin] was 10-times worse than T.O. I mean, I love Mike and Mike was one of the fiercest competitors I've ever played against but Mike wanted the ball early, often, early and often; Mike walked off the field in practice when he didn't get the darn ball thrown his way. So you guys go crazy over T.O...
It's just competitive emotion but what Dez needs to learn is you only see Dez running one or two routes. He either runs a go or a quick screen and that's it. What's the problem? Does he not know the other routes? Do they not know how to get him the ball in other ways? How many other ball routes have we seen him catch? So, somebody needs to tell me the problem. Does he not know the offense or do we not know how to get him the ball down the field other than a go?
And you got to understand, when you start having prominence in the league, they're going to start planning for you. They don't plan for Dez Bryant right now but with his emergence, they start planning for him, just like Miles Austin. They didn't plan for him a year ago but now defenses start planning to stop him; like you stop Andre Johnson. You plan to stop him; you plan to stop Larry Fitzgerald; you plan to stop Roddy White. And by the way, my assessment of those top receivers that you guys jumped on me months and months ago, I think they turned out to be right, don't you agree?
To listen to the interview, click here.
