Goofball Marty B could be linchpin for Cowboys

SAN ANTONIO — Martellus Bennett loves Cap'n Crunch, cartoon superheroes, tattoos and, most of all, being the class clown. He offers up daily musings on Twitter, does live chats every night on uStream and occasionally posts improv videos on his YouTube channel, Marty B TV.

And, the funniest part of it all is that this self-described goofball could be the linchpin to the Dallas Cowboys' offense this season.

The Cowboys want to juice up their running game, and they need to fill a void in the passing game created by the departure of Terrell Owens. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Bennett is an ideal candidate to help in both areas.

As a rookie last season, Bennett averaged 14.2 yards on 20 catches, scoring on four of them, and blocked well enough for the Cowboys to often line up with two tight ends, the other being star Jason Witten. This season, the duo will be paired up more often than not, as long as Bennett proves he can handle more responsibility.

This is where his two personas collide: Martellus Bennett, who professes ``I want to become the best ever at my position;'' and Marty B, who calls people Earthlings because he claims to be from Jupiter.

Can the Cowboys really trust this guy?

``He's a real smart kid and serious about football, that's what I see on the field,'' coach Wade Phillips said. ``He's a different personality, no doubt about that. That other part hasn't come along yet where he's been a distraction. If it is, then we have to address it.''

Actually, the Cowboys did address one problem this season, then had to talk to him again after another incident that drew more attention.

In January, Bennett was fined a week's salary ($22,647) for using derogatory terms for blacks and gays and bragging about having Jerry Jones' money in a rap video posted on YouTube. He wore a Cowboys helmet and had a drink during the performance, which has been pulled.

He apologized in another video, rapping lyrics such as: ``Why they hating on me? It was just a song. ... I didn't shoot a man, I didn't make a bomb. I don't hang with thugs, I wasn't doing drugs. I wasn't using guns. It was only fun. ... It could've been worse. I mean, I did curse. But I didn't see a hearse.''

In July, Bennett posted the ``Black Olympics.'' He and his older brother, Michael, a rookie defensive end with Seattle, competed in three events: eating fried chicken, drinking Kool-Aid and eating watermelon. Within days, the video got unwanted promotion when two prominent black columnists criticized Bennett for perpetuating stereotypes.

Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star wrote that he was sad the video had yet to cause more of an uproar, which is why he was pointing it out. Then Michael Freeman of CBSSports.com wrote that it ``sets back a group of people 50 years'' and urged NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to have Jim Brown and others explain to Bennett the obstacles that black players have overcome.

As always, Bennett laughed it off, saying he was just being Marty B.

``Half the stuff I do is spontaneous,'' he said. ``It ends up being funny to us. That's all that really matters.''

When Bennett arrived last year, teammates and coaches didn't know what to make of him, a 21-year-old who acted like a happy-go-lucky kid but sure looked like a grown man. In fact, he's two inches taller than San Diego's record-setting tight end Antonio Gates and, like Gates, was athletic enough to play basketball in college.

Bennett admits he struggled to fit in as a rookie (easing his way into conversations, only to be ignored) and the HBO show ``Hard Knocks'' captured his strained relationship with position coach John Garrett. In one scene, Garrett had to tell Bennett to put on his helmet several times before the rookie did it.

Fast forward a year, to this week. After only the second practice of training camp, Phillips singled out Bennett for having ``an outstanding workout,'' adding that he excelled throughout offseason practices, too.

Keep it up and Bennett really will force the Cowboys to come up with all sorts of two-tight end formations.

``We just gradually spoon-feed him a little bit more and a little bit more and he's handled it well,'' Garrett said. ``He's got immense pride in doing it right and wanting to be good. He understands that he has an important role in this offense and he wants to fulfill it.''

Bennett also understands that without success on Sundays he's just another guy trying to be silly on the Internet. So the better he plays, the bigger his audience and the louder laughs he'll draw. Considering the click-drawing power of the Cowboys, every reception could be worth thousands of more fans.