IRVING, Texas - Every year there is a wild card to the season.
You know, that one factor that seemingly will make or break the year. It can go either way, based solely on the production of one player or position.
This year is no different. The Cowboys have a wild card for the 2010 season. In fact, they've got two of them.
It's not the Ace or the King, but rather an 8. In fact, the Cowboys have two 8s up their sleeve heading into Sunday's game against the Redskins.
That's right, Dez Bryant, sporting the No. 88 that Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin made famous, is hands-down a difference maker for this offense and a player who can legitimately take this team to the next level.
OK, so he hasn't played a down yet. Yeah, but that's my point. That's actually working in the Cowboys' favor come Sunday night.
Can this kid play? Yeah, he can. I think we all know that. And we all should know by now that he's got an unbelievable talent that is about to be unleashed at FedExField in prime-time for all of the world to see.
But only the Cowboys' coaching staff really knows what Bryant can and will be able to do contribution-wise in the game. And that certainly helps the Cowboys, if anything to offset their own uncertainties about the Redskins, with their new coaching staff and defensive schemes.
And that's going to be a challenge in itself for guys like Jason Garrett and the rest of the offensive coaches, who are hoping to find enough from Washington's preseason games to figure out its new 3-4 scheme
Sure, you know the concepts of what the Redskins will try to do, but we all know you can't tell much by the preseason. Yes, other teams are "vanilla" too when the games don't count.
But at least they've got another weapon to unleash as well. And let's face it, Bryant is a weapon. I know we've all said there are question marks that surround rookies, and I'm not here to disagree with the notion. I've said for months now, even last week, we still don't know what Bryant is going to do when he steps on the field.
No, we don't. But from the looks of things, I get the feeling he's got about three options: Pretty good, Really Good or … Are You Serious?
Something tells me we're going to get the latter. That when Dez gets out there on the field, he's going to make some phenomenal play right off the bat. In fact, I'm getting this feeling Bryant scores the first touchdown of the season for the Cowboys. Not sure where that's coming from, but sometimes you just get a hunch. I get about five every game and I rarely hit on one or two of them, but you never know.
Bryant has "instant-impact" written all over him and I agreed 100 percent with Wade Phillips on Monday when he said some guys just have a way of figuring it out when the lights come on. Wade thinks Dez is that type of player, and so do I.
And I know the fans are excited, not only to get this season started in general, but to see the Cowboys' first-round draft pick. We saw him for a week in training camp. It felt like a lot of fans were there in San Antonio, and they loved him. But it was still just a very small sample-size of this ever-strong Cowboys Nation.
Most of you guys really haven't seen the real Dez Bryant yet. And neither have the Redskins.
What he will bring to this offense is juice. Miles Austin brought some last year, but for the most part, the offense had receivers closer to the "possession" side than the "speed" side.
Bryant steps into an offense and virtually replaces Patrick Crayton. What the Cowboys will lose in experience, craftiness and a unique connection with the starting quarterback, they're going to add a lot more.
Bryant is faster, quicker, more explosive, more aggressive in tight coverage and, I never thought I'd be saying this, but better hands, too. Crayton always had the best hands on the team but I think Dez has better hands.
I know what you're thinking. "Hey, this kid hasn't even played a snap. Let's not put him in the Ring of Honor before his first reception."
Yeah, I know. And those who think that way, you're right. We should be patient with Bryant, who undoubtedly will have some ups and downs this year. But I think those downs will probably be injury-related if anything. Because when he plays, he's going to be great. You guys just haven't seen it yet. And neither have the Redskins, which makes him the real wild card for this week.
