The Dallas Cowboys are still having to play cover up after a sideline outburst from Dez Bryant made headlines. Naturally, people are concerned there is a riff in the team and what this could mean going forward. Now almost every marquee member of the team is defending the actions of Sunday and downplaying the entire incident.
Tight end Jason Witten was caught in the middle of what Bryant described as "positive passion." The wide receiver appeared upset over his lack of targets on the field as Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson racked up yards on just a few catches.
"My passion is always positive," Bryant said, via Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "It's always positive. It's going to remain the same way. I'm not saying anything wrong. I'm not saying anything bad. It's all positive. That's just what it is. I'm the nicest person off the field. When I'm on the field, even when I look angry, it's still all good passion. It's all good passion. I feel like that's what we need. I'm going to remain the same way. I feel like I love this game. I love it. In order to win, you've got to be passionate about this game."
Witten echoed those words to reporters on Tuesday. The veteran tight end said there was no other person he would rather play with on Sunday than Bryant. He loves being reminded at how much the receiver loves the game and how much he wants to help the team win games.
"I was just reminding him there at the end there was still hope, still a chance and that he kind of just needed to let it go and let's get focused back on these final few seconds," Witten said, via the Dallas Morning News. "Wasn't about getting [Bryant] the ball...that's not what kind of guy he is...that's why we love him."
One person that was not overly thrilled by Bryant outburst was defensive end DeMarcus Ware. The injured veteran notes that the exchange was in fact very heated on the field. Bryant can be heard yelling at quarterback Tony Romo in an attempt to pump the team up. Ware had to then step in and break up a potential spatter between teammates. He thinks passion is good, but there is a time and place for everything.
"To get respect, you've got to give respect to others," Ware said. "Me and Dez, we're really close to each other, and he's a great dude, a great player. Sometimes things get heated on the sideline because we're competitors. "There's always a time and place - 12 seconds left in the game, knowing how important you are in the game; that's not the place. There's always a time to approach the situation and approach it the right way. . . . The thing is, you've got to carry things a certain way, do things a certain way. Twelve seconds left in the game, you got an opportunity to win. You go at it as such."