Dec 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) breaks the tackle of New Orleans Saints safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (42) and runs for a touchdown at Cowboys Stadium. The Saints beat the Cowboys 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The dynamic wide receiver ended the season on an explosive run. In the last 8 games of the season he caught 10 touchdown passes on 50 receptions and amassed 879 yards receiving. That averages out to 17.58 yards per reception.

But it hasn’t always been so smooth for Dez Bryant. He’s had many off the field issues, from being banned from Dallas area malls, to feuds with rapper Lil Wayne and a domestic abuse charge.

But Dez Bryant is growing up, dare we say maturing, and has a new mindset going into the 2013 season.

“It’s a whole different mindset going in,” Bryant said, via ESPN. “No more games. No more wondering. I know what I’m doing. I got to come in and do what I did at the end of last year, and I hope to build on that.”

Dez famously said he was thinks he can reach 2,000 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns in a season. Certainly lofty goals for any wide receiver, but the mentality is in the right place and he could be poised to have a break out season.

The Cowboys have a lot of options to spread the ball around with Miles Austin and draft pick Terrence Williams. As always there is the reliable tight end Jason Witten, not to mention the newly drafted tight end Gavin Escobar.

This depth could be a blessing and curse for Bryant. At the same time it could limit his targets and receptions, but at the same time it could free him up to take advantage of the balls that do come his way.

“I feel like we have a great receiving corps,” Bryant said. “We’re good if someone goes down. We have great enough receivers who can go in and contribute and make plays for this team.”

Dec 2, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) catches a pass before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys beat the Eagles 38-33. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

A fractured left index finger will not keep Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant out of Sunday’s pivotal match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bryant will delay surgery and attempt to play in the game against Pittsburgh, per ESPN’s Ed Werder.

Doctors told Bryant that he could play as long as he understood there is the potential for long term damage to the injured finger.

In order to help Bryant on the field, Dallas and their medical staff will create a special brace for his index finger in hopes of allowing him to play without pain.

Bryant attempting to play goes a long way in showing his maturity and leadership with the team.

Dec 2, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) celebrates a fourth quarter touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

This past summer Dez Bryant managed to get himself in trouble again. And this time it was nothing harmless like immature mall rat behavior, but an alleged domestic assault on his mother. While nothing has come about from those charges yet it didn’t stop the legions of Cowboys fans from calling for Dez Bryant’s departure.

Fans said Dez Bryant was not living up to the hype when the Cowboys traded up to get him in the draft and he was given the famous double eights. The man who initially made Dez’s hallowed No. 88 famous in the first place claimed he wasn’t worthy of the honor of wearing it.

“He’s not living up to the expectations that were placed on him by wearing that number,” Pearson said. “Drew Pearson took it to the Ring of Honor level and Michael Irvin took it way beyond that to the Hall of Fame level.

“When Michael and I had a chance to talk to Dez when he came in his rookie year we told him, ‘Don’t do what Drew Pearson did in it. Don’t do what Michael did in it. Do more than that.’ I know that’s a lot to live up to, but what else is there? You live up to those expectations and people will cherish you for the rest of your life.”

But Dez has had a break out month, in what is his break out year, that might ultimately land him a trip to Hawaii.

In the past 4 games his team has been fighting to hold onto a little bit of hope for a chance at the post season. And in those 4 games Dez has put this team on his back. He has caught 29 passes for 475 yards and six touchdowns. That’s given him career highs in receptions in a seasons and yards in a season and has him positioned to go over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career.

Yet Dez Bryant is arguably outperforming the other famous 88’s in his third year in the NFL. Those 6 touchdown receptions in the past 4 games are more than Drew Pearson’s touchdown totals for 7 of his 11 seasons. If you add the 2 seasons Pearson caught 6 touchdown passes, Dez tied or surpassed Drew’s touchdown totals of 9 different seasons in a 4 game stretch.

And it’s not just Pearson and the “Ring of Honor level” it’s Michael Irvin and the “Hall of Fame level” he is passing too. The 8 touchdown passes Dez has caught this year is more than Irvin’s season totals in 9 of his NFL seasons, though it is worth noting that includes two injury shortened seasons. Only twice in Irvin’s career did he catch more touchdowns than Dez has through the 2012 season so far and Dez has 4 more games left.

In fact, Dez Bryant in his first 3 seasons has almost caught more touchdown passes than Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin caught in each of their first 3 seasons combined. Drew and Michael each had 12 touchdowns their first 3 seasons for a combined total of 24 trips to the end zone. As of today Dez Bryant has caught 23 touchdowns through his first 3 seasons. That’s right, Dez has almost as many touchdowns in less than 3 seasons then Irvin and Pearson had in 6 seasons.

Drew Pearson had 2,297 yards receiving in his first season over 42 games. Dez has 2,467 yards receiving over his first 3 seasons through 39 games.

Dez Bryant has 179 receptions for 2,467 yards and 23 touchdowns through his first 39 NFL games. Michael Irvin had 151 receptions for 2,606 yards and 18 touchdowns through his first 39 games. Drew Pearson had 132 receptions for 2,383 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first 39 games.

Dez Bryant is emerging and living up to the famous No. 88 Jerry Jones bestowed upon him 3 years ago. What is even scarier for the rest of the league is that Bryant is still maturing and getting better as a football player. He could set new standards for the prestigious No. 88.

Oct 28, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) is checked on by the training staff in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium. The Giants beat the Cowboys 29-24. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

According to a report from ESPN Dallas’ Calvin Watkins, Dez Bryant has fallen on his injured hip during the walkthrough for tonight’s Sunday Night Football match-up against the undefeated Atlanta Falcons.

Bryant, who injured the hip in last week’s loss against the New York Giants, was hopeful to play in the game against Atlanta but this report puts his status for the game in serious jeopardy. According to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, the Cowboys were already heavily concerned that Bryant may be unable to play – and this was before the walkthrough.

Oct 28, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wider receiver Dez Bryant (88) waves to a fan before the game against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has spent time returning punts for the team because of his dynamic play-making ability but Bryant has made mistakes on special teams in the Cowboys past two games and that has forced the team to remove him from punt returns.

According to Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Bryant has said that he’s been taken off punt returns.

Bryant was asked by reports if he was still the team’s punt returner and he replied, “I don’t think so. But I promise you, man, I’m going to bet back in their ear. I’m going to get in their ear about that.”

Despite being taken off the team’s special teams unit, Bryant is showing maturity and knows he is to blame for the mistakes but that won’t stop him from trying to work his way back onto the punt return team.

“I was very understanding,” Bryant said. “But like I said, I’m going to get back in coach’s ear. I think it will be hard for him to tell me ‘no.’ I’m going to continue to keep working at it. It’s not hard for me to catch a punt. I just need to feel it in and stop looking upfield and think before catching the rock. That should be my first objective, to catch the ball and then go make a play.”

There is no doubt that Bryant has the big play ability, so if he can prove to the team that he is not a liability on returns, his punt return duties should be handed back to him.

Oct 28, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys wider receiver Dez Bryant (88) waves to a fan before the game against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Once Dez Bryant’s mother signed a piece of paper saying she was revoking her desire to press charges many thought these domestic abuses charges against him would disappear. Then the season started and what once was the talk of the town and dominating the airwaves in local sports radio faded into the background. However, the Dallas County district attorney has decided to go forward with the charges.

District attorney Craig Watkins confirmed to ESPN Dallas that they had accepted the case, which originated in Desoto, and are reviewing the case.

“The charges against Dez Bryant have not been dropped,” Watkins told reporters today. “In fact, we’ve accepted the charges from the Desoto police department. At this point, we will make a determination on the best direction that we’ll go in as it relates to the prosecution of Mr. Bryant.”

Class A misdemeanor family violence is the charge Dez Bryant is facing. Dez allegedly slapped his mother in the face with a ball cap. His mother, Angela Bryant, has a history of substance abuse and a record of run-ins with the police.

“Just got off the phone with my lawyer; it’s not true,” Bryant said.

“If indeed the district attorney’s office said it’s true, we’ll move forward with the case through the criminal justice system,” Bryant’s lawyer and state senator Royce West said. “I’m never surprised by anything. I’ve been in law for over 30 years. If the DA thinks it has probable cause, we’ll go from there.”

Watkins downplayed the signifcane of Angela Bryant signing an affidavidt of non-prosecution.

“We have victims every day that file affidavits of non-prosecution,” Watkins told the Dallas Morning News. “We take those into consideration but we take other issues into consideration, too … so that’s just one element of the prosecution that we consider.”

Dez, if convicted, could face additional discipline from the league office including a suspension. A suspension would seriously hamper the Dallas Cowboy’s offense in what was expected by many to be Dez’s breakout season. Despite Kevin Ogletree’s breakout game in week one against the defending world champion New York Giants, he has faded to the background and the Cowboys’ passing offense hasn’t lived up to it’s potential.

The big issue here is why would the Cowboys put one of their biggest offensive weapons back on special teams and open him up to taking more hits? Check out the GIF here:

Oct 1, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Drew Pearson, like many former athletes has taken to the public speaking circuit spreding motivational and inspirational messages. The most recent stop for Mr. Pearson most recently addressed a group of Odessa College students at the Odessa College Sports Center on Wednesday.

“Any time I get a chance to speak to young people, I like to take advantage of that,” Pearson said according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. “My message is just stay the course, no matter how bad it looks. As long as you just stay the course, then you’ve got a good chance of making it happen.”

And while he was directly addressing the students, Pearson wishes that some other people would hear his message.

“I wish they would let me in there,” Pearson said in reference to his former team the Dallas Cowboys. “I would just try to motivate them and make them accountable for the mistakes they’re making and the situations they’re in.”

“I was talking about on the way over here just how much talent they have. Well, talent alone won’t get it done. You have to have heart, as well, and that needs to come to the forefront.”

And a lot of the focus and scrutiny in Dallas’ 2-2 start has been on Dez Bryant, the troubled young receiver with so much upside but who is falling short of his potential. When Dallas acquired Dez by trading up in the draft to get him they thought they had a star, and possibly the next great receiver to wear the star. So when they assigned him the famous #88 jersey, they were letting it be known what kind of player they thought they had and what hopes and aspirations for him.

But many people think his off-field issues are tarnishing the hallowed numbers history. That his mental errors in the game like running the wrong routs and dropping passes aren’t the characteristics of a #88.

“He’s not living up to the expectations that were placed on him by wearing that number,” Pearson said. “Drew Pearson took it to the Ring of Honor level and Michael Irvin took it way beyond that to the Hall of Fame level. When Michael and I had a chance to talk to Dez when he came in his rookie year we told him, ‘Don’t do what Drew Pearson did in it. Don’t do what Michael did in it. Do more than that.’ I know that’s a lot to live up to, but what else is there? You live up to those expectations and people will cherish you for the rest of your life.”

Drew Pearson did insinuate that the fault might not all be Dez’s though. Pearson said the culture in the NFL is different now and that could be why teams don’t often live up to their potential.

“The difference is you had the same players, the same system. Coach (Tom) Landry coached me all 11 years and we always had the same playbook and same system. … Now in the NFL with the salary cap, free agency, you’re changing parts all the time. The continuity of doing the same things over and over again with the same guys led to our success. They don’t get that now.”

Sept 5, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) makes a catch against New York Giants cornerback Corey Webster (23) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

The Dallas Cowboys “stunned” the New York Giants last night. I had picked the Giants to win, and correctly predicted a score of 24-17 just had the teams reversed. Kevin Ogletree stole the spot light with 2 touchdowns off 8 catches for 114 yards but Dez Bryant quietly had a productive night with 4 catches for 85 yards. Bryant was targeted 5 times.

Dez has been mostly quiet this offseason due to a gag order the Cowboys placed on him. This was a result of the pending domestic abuse allegations and subsequent court case. But he spoke about the game last night.

“This win was very big,” Bryant said according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas. “I felt like we prepared well during training camp and we just got to keep the flow going.”

Some felt like the Giants opener gave them the whole preseason to prepare for that game and give them an advantage. Certainly there has been a lot of talks about the Giants in Cowboys’ camp including an invitation from Jerry Jones to “watch us kick their asses” and I’m paraphrasing.

“I don’t want to say expect (to win),” Bryant said. “I felt like we prepared well. That’s what we got to do throughout the rest of our games, and we feel like we got a good team and we all got each others back.”

The other side of the coin is the Giants had that same time to prepare. And both teams were battling injuries to key players and positions. Some might say the Cowboys had greater hurdles in their injury struggles.

The Giants threw everything they had at Dez Bryant and maybe that extra attention helped clear the way for Ogletree to succeed. Bryant is still the focal point of this offense and he worked especially hard to prepare for the season.

“I’m very comfortable; it takes time,” Bryant said. “Learning everything is not easy, and I feel like you got to put the time and work in to get it done. I think Tony (Romo) and the guys do a great job of helping all the younger guys like myself.”

He surely benefits from going up against CB Brandon Carr every day in practice. Those battles are most likely benefiting Carr as well.

“I felt like that’s my job. If I’m going to be put out there with Tony Romo, (Jason) Witten and Miles Austin, I got to know what the hell I’m doing,” he said. “I felt like I dedicated myself to do that. Not only that, I had help from Tony, I had help from Miles, Wit, the rest of the guys. I felt like it helped me out a lot and I learned a lot, and I’m going to keep it moving.”

With a big game from Ogletree who possibly emerged as another threat in an offense filled with playmakers that might in turn free Bryant up to have a big year.

Aug 25, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant cheers for his team prior to the game against the St Louis Rams at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Last week people were championing Dez Bryant for walking up to Cowboys great TE of 3 Superbowl teams Jay Novacek and asking him to be his mentor. This week, things are back to the negative as we found out that the Cowboys have issued a set of specific rules to troubled wide receiver Dez Bryant.

• A midnight curfew. If he’s going to miss curfew, team officials must know in advance.
• No drinking alcohol
• He can’t attend any strip clubs and can only attend nightclubs if they are approved by the team and he has a security team with him.
• He must attend counseling sessions twice a week.
• A rotating three-man security team will leave one man with Bryant at all times.
• Members of the security team will drive Bryant to practices, games and team functions.

”What we’ve tried to do is come up with a plan for Dez like we would for any player who we feel like needs our support, and help him be his best as a player and as a person,” Garrett said. ”And the accountability factor is an important part of that with him and with anybody on our football team.”

This is the first time we’ve seen the Cowboys do something like this since Pacman Jones. That isn’t good company. Jerry Jones however is denying the rules.

“I’m not so sure where the media has come up with detail of this nature,” Jones said on KRLD-FM via the Star-Telegram.

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Jones said. “We’ve got behavior rules in the NFL that have been made very clear by the commissioner’s office. And I think it’s real clear that if you don’t abide by the rules of society what happens.”

Jerry Jones’ is dancing around rules that the Cowboys might be violating some kind of rule in the CBA for issuing specific rules. Drew Pearson who famously offered to mentor Dez Bryant only to have him laugh in his face isn’t a fan of the rules.

“I don’t think this situation is a good situation as far as Dez is concerned,” Pearson told KRLD-FM (via The Dallas Morning News) on Tuesday. “I don’t like it. It’s a grown man. He’s 23 years old. A grown man has to be restricted and told what to do? You’re supposed to be a professional.”

The rules Pearson say are to protect the Cowboys’ not to help Dez. He also said this maturity is a Dez problem.

“Nobody’s talking about Cole Beasley being immature or Cole Beasley needs people to be with him and all this kind of stuff,” Pearson said. ”I’m saying, why can’t Dez adjust to this? Why can’t he become a man?”

The comparison to Cole Beasley is interesting because the rookie is 23, the same age as Dez Bryant.

Jerry had the following to say:

“Fundamentally, Dez does – and I’m convinced – want to do many things that give him the opportunity to get on track the way he needs to both on and off the field. I think any of this talk or any of these references to what he’s going to be doing or what he’s not going to be doing in general is one that says let’s conform to good behavior, the kind of behavior the commissioner expects, that society expects, that anybody expects if you’re going to get the opportunities you are. He does believe he has a great opportunity.

“We’re fully supportive of him, his family, his mother. We want to do anything in that direction that we can. As far as the specifics of rules, I think [there are] just rules that let him concentrate on what he’s doing on the field, let him do his work and not have the distractions of not doing it right off the field.”