Was Dez Bryant’s sideline rant out of line? Watch for yourself (Video)

It looked like the perfect dichotomy: On the Detroit Lions' side, Calvin Johnson putting together one of the best 60-minute games by a receiver ever, and doing so without a peep. On the Dallas Cowboys' sideline, Dez Bryant flashing some impressive skills but immaturely spouting off, held back by his teammates.

Turns out, we didn't have the whole story.

Bryant was miked up for the game, and the video evidence of his "tirade" tells an entirely different one. There was no calling out teammates, no finger-pointing and no whining. Bryant merely was imploring his Cowboys teammates to play the way he thought they could.

Granted, there were profanities throughout what we can hear, but it's mostly positive — just as Bryant insisted it was after the game.

At :08: "We can't let them do that!"

At :12: "They manned me the (expletive) up! We destroy that!"

At :23: "If they press (cover) me, it's over!"

At :47, to Tony Romo: "We good on that, Tony! We (are) the best in the NFL on that!"

From there, the conversation with Romo, Bryant and wide receivers coach Derek Dooley involves how Bryant should run what sounds like an option route, with Romo and Dooley wanting Bryant to sit down in front of the safety.

Basically, that's it. That's what we see and hear. Now, granted, there was a pushing and shoving portion of the game where Jason Witten had to hold Bryant back, and didn't look too pleased about what Bryant was saying.

But this portion here seems to show just what Bryant asserted after the game: He's a passionate player who just wants to win.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

via Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/dez-bryant-sideline-rant-line-watch-yourself-video-025747613--nfl.html