By Dwain Price, NDG Sports
FRISCO — The Dallas Cowboys weren’t just satisfied with going into their bye week last week while owning sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
In the days after demolishing the Philadelphia Eagles, 37-10, on Oct. 20 to run their record to 4-3, the Cowboys took time to bolster their defensive line by acquiring defensive linemen Michael Bennett. This is the same Michael Bennett who has 65.5 sacks in 11 seasons, has been to three Pro Bowls, and helped the Seattle Seahawks capture the 2013 Super Bowl.
Needless to say, the folks at the Cowboys’ headquarters at The Star in Frisco are dancing down the aisles about this attest acquisition.
“We’re happy to have him,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence said. “He has a lot of plays he has to learn, he has a new system that he has to be a part of.
“He has a lot going on with moving his family. It’s so much things that he has to do in just a short little time.”
Bennett, 33, was playing this season for the New England Patriots but was suspended by the team for arguing with defensive line coach Bret Bielema. That resulted in the Patriots suspending Bennett for one game, then he was subsequently traded to the Cowboys for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.
“It’s America. You can voice your opinion about how you feel about certain situations,” Bennett told reporters after he returned from his suspension. “That’s what I did.
“I got suspended. Lost money. What am I supposed to take away from that? There’s no love lost. It’s just how it is.”
On his weekly radio show on 105.3, The Fan, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of Bennett: “He’s known as a great locker room personality. There’s nothing negative about him as an individual.
“He’s got war daddy in him when he gets on the field. I know that he’ll fit us great.”
Bennett fills an immediate void because the Cowboys recently lost defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford, who has been placed on injured reserve due to a hip injury and will be eligible to return from injured reserve in eight weeks. And with an extra week of preparation before the Cowboys play their next game – it’ll be Monday night at 7:15 on the road against the New York Giants – Bennett should have the balance of his defensive schemes intact and ready to try them out against one of the Cowboys’ fiercest rivals.
Indeed, Bennett adds much-needed depth to the defensive front line. And the Cowboys didn’t have to pay a high price to get him.
“It’s more just bringing the best out of a person, which makes it exciting because you need someone to push you and never get comfortable with where you’re at,” defensive end Robert Quinn said of Bennett. “We know the talent we have on the D-line.
“Now it’s about just going out there and doing it. We’ve got all the pieces. It’s about going out there and executing.”
