Wes Welker is reportedly ready to play. Shocking, I know, since it hasn't even been a full year since Welker turned his knee into mashed potatoes while trying to make a cut on the field. 

The Patriots initially thought Welker would begin training camp on the PUP list, but that's no longer the case. Apparently, Welker is physically ready to play in a game tomorrow, if there was one. New England will get Welker some preseason reps, but they also want to be careful with their slot receiver, as Welker's nature is to proceed full-steam ahead.

Welker at full-strength is something to get excited about in New England because he's imperative to their passing game. Tom Brady came back last year after a knee injury in 2008, but some doctors believe that Brady's knee injury is really a two-year deal. It was obvious at times last season to see that Brady wasn't completely comfortable operating in the pocket.

But Brady should be back to his old self this year and with Welker presumably hungry as ever, the Patriots could easily return to the top of the AFC. I can't wait to see the healthy version of this offense back on the field again.

***

I know this whole Dez Bryant thing has been beaten to death, and therefore I'm not here to contribute to that. I just wanted to offer one parting though before we close it for good.

I'm not trying to sound like a grumpy, old guy who thinks such rituals like carrying pads is a ridiculous thing to make a rookie do, and I'm also not of the camp that believes in this "rite of passage" crap. 

But I like Dez Bryant and what he did here, because it really isn't about the pads. He could have carried them for Roy Williams or not. That doesn't really matter. (And while we're here, it doesn't matter that it was Williams asking either. Performance doesn't dictate whose pads are carried, so I'm told.)

It's about attitude, standards and a business-like approach to winning, things the Cowboys have lacked since the days of Aikman, Irvin and Smith. 

As others have recently wrote, Dex Bryant handled this situation exceptionally well for somebody who had an "attitude problem" in college. I think that's a bit unfair to Bryant. He just handled it well, period. Whatever attitude issues he had at Oklahoma State are irrelevant in Dallas.

But here Bryant is, a rookie setting the tone for the Cowboys' season. Bryant has continually talked about "doing the right thing" and "winning." 

I think the kid is going to be a star, and it takes a star with that sort of attitude to yank the chain of a franchise and push them in the right direction. Dallas has always had talent, but their January flops are tiresome. 

Dez Bryant didn't carry Williams' pads because he said he "didn't know it was tradition," although I think there's another reason. Bryant didn't carry Williams' pads because, well, he doesn't think Roy Williams is his superior. He sees Williams as his peer, another talented guy who can help the Cowboys win.

I LOVE that. That's maturity. That's toughness. That's professionalism. Bryant didn't try to make this a "Why me?" thing and feel sorry for himself. He made it an "Us" thing, speaking of how the Cowboys are in this together and need to stay together in order to win a championship. Who knew it would take Dez Bryant, the so-called "troubled" one, to give Dallas some direction?