Don't expect the matchups between Dez Bryant and Josh Norman to be any less interesting when they face each other again this season.
Things have gotten heated between the Pro Bowl wide receiver and cornerback the last couple years. Most recently, they had to be separated after the Cowboys' 31-26 win over the Redskins last Thanksgiving.
Norman's comments in a recent Bleacher Report article are likely to fan the flames.
Norman was asked to play word association during the lengthy Q&A with NFL writer Tyler Dunne. When Bryant's name was mentioned, Norman responded: "That's a guy. Just a guy. Dez was Dez in 2012, '13, '14. Maybe '14. Now? He's a guy."
Norman added: "He doesn't 'wow' you. For me, he don't. For other guys, he probably will do the worst to them because he'll bully them. But you can't bully a bully. You know what I'm saying? That's why his game doesn't resonate to me."
Norman spoke highly of Atlanta's Julio Jones and Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown but called the receivers he faces in the NFC East just "guys."
"I'm not battling against something I can call 'greatness,'" Norman said. "I'm not enhancing my craft. Don't get me wrong. They're tough. But they're not (Jones and Brown)."
Following the game in November, Bryant called out Norman for being soft, overpaid and unable to play man to man defense.
A few days later, Bryant said he regretted his actions and comments.
"I wish I never did what I did, but that's OK because it's over with now," Bryant said. "I'm not even focused on that. I'm not even fixing to open up another can. It's all said and done. I wish I never done it. It happened. It's over with."
It should be entertaining to watch Bryant and Odell Beckham Jr. square off against Norman four times over the next seven months.
