By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
jenfloyd@star-telegram.com
Patrick Crayton lost two jobs in two weeks.
Benched as punt returner. Benched as No. 2 wideout.
Overall bench-slapped and embarrassed by a coach who never bench-slaps or embarrasses anybody. To further add insult to injury, Crayton may or may not have been told of these developments.
Cowboys say he was. Crayton says he wasn’t.
The truth is he kind of was, but not in the way these things are handled by coaches named Belichick or Tomlin. Man to man. Straight truth. Delivery aside, though, give Coach Wade props for finally getting "more whatever."
As we saw in Sunday’s 37-21 Cowboys victory against a much-hyped Atlanta team, a good bench-slapping never hurt anybody and oftentimes helps get your underachievers going, which helps get your team going.
And let’s be clear: Crayton deserved to be benched.
He also deserves big props for his response. He caught a huge touchdown pass, when Sunday’s game remained very much in doubt, and returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown to wrap this baby up.
"You start off [ticked], whether it is at yourself or somebody else," Crayton said. "At the end of the day, you look at yourself and 'OK, let’s do some things a little bit better. Let’s work a little bit harder. Let’s concentrate and focus a little bit more.’ "
Before any smart butts chime in and say, well, he needed to be doing so all along, imagine if this had been T.O. He’d still be screaming and pouting and admitting zero fault.
Was benching even a possibility with him? Who knows.
What is for sure is there was two ways to go in this, and Crayton zigged when T.O. would have zagged. He handled his demotions like a pro, a little media whine, then went about his business.
"I’ve dealt with way worse," eternally patient Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman said when asked how Crayton’s anger manifested itself. "He wasn’t going into a rage. It was a controlled emotion. He might have said it, but he kept his feelings in check. He wasn’t belligerent. He was [ticked] off but he worked."
He prepared himself just in case. And with 15 seconds remaining before halftime and Dallas clinging to a 10-7 lead, just in case happened.
It was first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. The Cowboys did not have any timeouts, and the pocket started collapsing around QB Tony Romo almost immediately after he took the snap. It looked like sack for sure and hustle for another play.
"When I turn around and see the first time, I’m thinking 'God dang it.’ Then all of the sudden, he pops up and I see a '9’ come out and I’m like 'I’m open, I’m open, I’m open,’ " Crayton said.
It was vintage Romo being Romo. He looked so much like himself Sunday, using his feet and creating and just making plays. Of course, he needed to have a receiver going with him, and Crayton was.
"I know you’ve got to stay alive," Crayton said, "I know what kind of quarterback we’ve got."
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