Either we're all secretly trapped in The Upside Down, or Martellus Bennett has officially buried the hatchet when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. Granted, stranger things have happened, but it's fair to assume Bennett's longstanding rift with the Cowboys that led to him departing in 2011 and subsequently firing shots at Jason Witten and the coaching staff -- recently transitioned at that time from Wade Phillips to Jason Garrett -- would go on in perpetuity.
The former Cowboys second-round pick has recently cooled on his feelings toward the organization, and news of veteran pass rusher Michael Bennett, his older brother, being traded to Dallas from the New England Patriots actually made him smile. That's right, I said his older brother suiting up for a team he's dragged over the coals on more than one occasion made him smile, if you can believe it.
"I thought [Dallas] would be a good place to play, because really, it's about being in the right defense for him," the younger Bennett told 105.3 FM the Fan. "The four-down front [4-3] is what he excels in the most, and really what he wants to do is just be in position to contribute. I told him with the guys they have on their defensive line, and adding him to it, I thought it would give him the best chance doing that the way that he wants to."
And then came the unexpected: an all-out compliment toward the organization itself, and its fans.
"I told him there's no place like playing for the Cowboys fans, that stadium, and the organization is top class," Bennett said. "He asked me about [owner Jerry Jones], and I actually like Jerry Jones."
Of course, that left the window open for the obvious, and that's his newfound feelings for Garrett -- whom he believes never gave him a chance to fairly compete with Witten.
"Jason's cool too," he said, before explaining the well-publicized rift. "I didn't like playing for Jason, but I told [Michael] that, too, and I told him why. He kind of understood that."
To his credit, the former tight end did express the possibility of things going differently if he was more mature during his time with the Cowboys.
"I was young at that time, too," he said. "It would probably be different if I was an older player."
With that water now flowing serenely beneath the bridge, focus turns toward what the elder Bennett can do for the Cowboys pass rush and fractured run defense. There's a plan in place for him going forward that should make him a much happier man than he was with the Patriots, and Martellus feels it's a perfect marriage for both sides.
"Michael's best thing is he gets disruptive plays," he said. "He may not make the tackle, but he just messes up the entire play. He blows up the guard. He blows up the fullback so the linebacker can fly in and make the tackle.
"To have a really disruptive guy in your front four really adds to the team because he just shoots gaps, he blows things up, and makes the play change direction. He can play inside as much as he needs to -- he always has. [The Cowboys] can put him on the outside when they want to rush, or him and DeMarcus Lawrence on the same side with them getting off on the same side, which would open up to get more one-on-one's ... Or even if you want to swap DeMarcus inside and put Michael outside, and [Lawrence] can get a rush on the guard.
"He gives you the chance to really move people around and put people in places to succeed, and make more impactful plays."
As far as what went wrong with the Patriots, there's an inherent irony in both of the Bennett brothers having suited up in New England and Dallas, and it gives Martellus Bennett a unique perspective into why things didn't work out in Foxboro for his brother. He noted how different the "ecosystem" is in the Patriots organization, along with how they morph their defense from game-to-game and situation-to-situation, which often led to Michael Bennett not seeing the field nearly as often as he would've liked.
"I think every player wants to be able to make an impact in a game," he noted. "And if you don't get those opportunities after having so many years doing it, and feeling like you still can, it's hard to take a back seat."
He definitely won't have to worry about sitting in the third row of the Cowboys SUV, and might even get a chance to ride shotgun a time or two -- at varying positions, as needed.
