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WFAA reports Dez Bryant was detained Sunday night at a Miami nightclub after an altercation.

We finally had a game that spared us nervous breakdowns. Before we dive in, let’s temper all of this by reminding ourselves this was the winless St. Louis Rams — not even playing at full strength. They had a new quarterback and a new number one receiver. We simply handled business here and anything less than winning the way we did would’ve been cause for concern. 

And as much as I want to get really excited about DeMarco Murray running hard and breaking the record for most rushing yards in a game (as a rookie), it was against one of the worst run defenses in the league. That’s not to diminish his day. It’s to hope this is simply not an aberration allowed by a soft defense.  

(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Still, there’s a lot to be encouraged about. Like I said, Murray was running HARD. He was running like he wanted to be running the ball, which we haven’t been able to say for Felix Jones and Tashard Choice (who had another fumble today). Also, Dez Bryant didn’t disappear in the second half. He appeared to make it a point to have everyone’s attention on the field and on the sidelines. He could really emerge as a leader on this team if he keeps his head level and continues to produce big plays. 

Probably the most encouraging thing came at the very end of the game. Our defense, which has been what we’ve been able to hang our hats on anyway, was amped up to keep the Rams out of the end zone on their final drive even though the game had long been decided. Rob Ryan and the defense celebrated this moral victory like it meant something more that just bragging rights — and that’s the type of thing a team does when they’re hungry for more than just winning a few games.  

For my own edification and hopefully yours, too, I’d like to start documenting solid games by Tony Romo. After the backlash he received so early in the season, I’d like to at least see if the good outweighs the bad this year. 

14/24 166 yards 2 TD 0 INT 107.3 Rating

Not bad. A running game will do wonders for your passing game. Romo’s game today felt rather pedestrian because he didn’t have to do everything. Very quietly, he had a good game.

Next week’s game in Philadelphia will tell us a lot about how much today’s game really means and what this team’s true ambitions are this year in the NFC East. 

When Dez Bryant is returning punts, he’s brilliant. When Dez Bryant is a receiver, he’s brilliant. When Dez Bryant is returning punts and receiving… well, he just can’t last the whole game.

I love our commentary on The Cowboys, and I hope you do too, but I read other blogs and news reporters’ commentary too and sometimes it’s just absurd. Today, during a chat session, David Moore of DallasNews.com responded to a reader who was making the claim that the Cowboys need Dez Bryant as a receiver and not a returner with the following: 

I have to disagree with you about him as a return man. I think the Cowboys lose a huge weapon when he’s not back to return punts. Let’s go back to the second game of last season, when he returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears.

This strikes me as the kind of ridiculous thing I might say after a few beers, but ridiculous none the less. Let’s look back at that Chicago game for a second. Ok, let’s stop looking back, because it was embarrassing, we lost, and Dez Bryant? Well, he did have that touch down on the return, but he was also third in receiving yards to Roy Williams and Miles Austin. The return was great for us, but a receiver on the opposite side of Austin (who had nearly triple the yards of Dez) would have been better.

The Dallas Cowboys can not risk tiring, or injuring Dez Bryant any more, they need him to be an elite team this year, and that’s just not going to happen with him returning punts.