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IRVING, Texas - On Oct. 12, Patrick Crayton lost two starting jobs.
No longer the second receiver because of Miles Austin's huge game in Kansas City, and no longer the punt returner because the Cowboys decided to sign a veteran specialist, Crayton was doubly-demoted.
On Nov. 12, a full month later, Crayton not only is returning punts, but he leads the NFC in return average and he's arguably been the most consistent special teams player on the squad. At receiver, he's fit in nicely as the third guy behind Roy Williams and Miles Austin.
Frustrated a month ago, Crayton said he's having more fun than he's ever had before.
"We're on a four-game winning streak, so it's worked out," Crayton said of the move to insert Austin into the starting lineup. "Sometimes, if you're role gets reduced, you just have to accept it and keep working at it. But this is fun because we're winning. That's the only thing that matters. This is probably the most fun I've had in a while, especially on special teams."
And it's funny how that has worked out for Crayton, who was expected to be replaced by journeyman Allen Rossum, a 12-year veteran who ranks second on the all-time NFL lists of both punt and kickoff return averages. Yet, a hamstring injury on his first kickoff return against Atlanta has sidelined Rossum for three games and at least one more.
Crayton never actually lost punt-return duties and he made the most of his newfound opportunity. He not only returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown against the Falcons that game, but followed it up the next week with an 82-yard scoring return against Seattle.
Entering the season, Crayton's career punt return average was just 8.4. Through eight games this year, he's at 16.1, tops in the NFC and only percentage points behind NFL leader Joshua Cribbs (16.4). Crayton is the only player in the league with two punt returns for touchdowns, a feat that's happened only once before (Bob Hayes, 1968) in franchise history.
So what's the difference this year?
"Having Joe D here," Crayton answered with extreme quickness, referring of course to special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis. "They're blocking it better. We're not going into the games with the same scheme every time. He game plans teams to attack their weaknesses. You love that. We're not seeing the same things every week.
He makes you accountable. He quizzes and tests you. If you don't know . . . man, I feel sorry for the guys that don't know."
Crayton said he's felt the wrath of the fiery DeCamillis a few times. But he loves it. Just like he loved it coming from Bill Parcells.
"They're a lot alike," Crayton said. "They both get over you and tell you like it is. That's just who they are. Not all coaches are that way. But that's the way Bill was. And that's the way Joe D is."
In a way, it sounds as if Crayton appreciates DeCamillis and his style of coaching even more this year, because it was that same tough-love he felt from Parcells that ultimately shaped his career.
Crayton will always have a soft spot for Parcells for a couple of reasons. First, he was the coach who drafted him, using a seventh-round pick in 2004 to select a true project. Crayton was a do-it-all star at tiny Northwestern Oklahoma State, an NAIA school, who played mostly quarterback. But the Cowboys took a chance on him to play receiver and possibly return kicks.
He is also thankful for the words of wisdom from Parcells, who often spoke about players who could have long careers in the NFL if they just understood their role and didn't worry too much about becoming a star.
"He told me that, a few times," Crayton said. "About my second year in the league, he came up to me once and told me I could played 12 or 13 years. I thought to myself, 'not the way you practice.' He beat us up in practice."
But it was one specific practice during that 2005 season that Crayton said changed his outlook.
"He came over, crossed his arms and I knew a story was coming," Crayton recalled, mimicking Parcells and his raspy New Jersey accent. "He said, 'I had this guy in New England. Now you may know him . . . you may not know him. I don't know. But the guy, comes in his rookie year and doesn't really get it. So I sent him home.'"
Crayton stops the story and says, "I thought, 'is he telling me something here?'"
But he continued, still using Parcells' mannerisms and accent.
"'But I bring him back a few weeks later. I start to see that he's getting it now. He gets it, he gets it, he gets it. He's been playing a while now.' And he never really told me the guy's name. Finally, he tells me it's Troy Brown."
Crayton said he perked up, knowing well of Brown, who played 15 seasons with the Patriots, playing receiver, punt and kick return and even spot duty as a nickel defensive back.
"He asks, 'You know the guy? He's a good guy. He returned punts for us. He was a good slot receiver. He knew the game. He was smart. Did more than one thing . . . you could be that guy.' And that really hit home with me because I respected Troy Brown a lot. Now I didn't want to go home first. But I knew what he meant. He wound up playing a long, long time in the league."
And Brown was never a star in the NFL. Halfway through his sixth season, Crayton said he's got a better understanding of his role, too.
"I know if you're a little selfish person, you get paid," Crayton said. "But at the end of the day, it's still about winning. You play this game to win games. If you play just to get stats, you can get stats all day. But if you don't win a game and caught four touchdowns . . . OK, you go to the Pro Bowl, but you'll be that guy that doesn't win championships. And that's the most important thing to me."
And playing in Dallas is also pretty important for Crayton, too. The DeSoto native said starting and even finishing his career in his hometown would be more than ideal. In fact, Crayton said that factored in when he decided to sign a four-year, $14 million contract near the end of the 2007 season, when he could've tested the open market a few months later in March.
"Trust me, in my eyes, probably in other people's eyes, I took considerably less to stay here in Dallas," Crayton said. "I could've tested the market. But I didn't want to relocate - learn a new city, a new system, a new franchise, coaching staff - everything. At the end of the day, it was worth it.
"This is home. My family is from here. My wife has family here. It's all here. I wouldn't have to learn so much new stuff. It's more beneficial to be here."
Because to Crayton, he has everything he needs, except for a Super Bowl ring, of course.
"I've never had to be the glitzy guy that's always on magazine covers," Crayton said. "My thing is that I wanted to be respected by my teammates and peers. At the end of the day, if asked about Patrick Crayton, I want them to say, 'the guy just showed up and came ready to play.'"
And he could care less if he ever becomes a superstar. To Crayton, he knows he's a star to the three people that count the most - his wife and two children.
"Definitely, they keep me going," Crayton said. "I'm their superstar. And that's the only thing that matters."
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Nick Eatman - 
