ESPN: Cowboys' Dez Bryant likes operating out of slot

[Reality]

The Dallas Cowboys figured out a way to get the ball to their best playmaker, Dez Bryant, against Washington and it resulted in a 100-yard game and a win.

The biggest thing coach Jason Garrett and play-caller Scott Linehan did was put him in the slot more often, which gives him more route options and makes it harder for cornerbacks to use press coverage, because he’s lined up off the line of scrimmage.

"It’s still the game of football," Bryant said. "Wherever I’m at, I just have to learn it and do my job and play to the best of my abilities. When I’m in there they can’t really double as much and I have room to work. It’s a little bit more fun."

http://www.espn.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4754277/bryant-likes-operating-out-of-slot

 

[Bleu Star]

Imagine that. I said they suck for continuious lack of creativity in not moving Dez around and running him from the SLOT after game 1... What do they do ? ? ?

I knew all along they could hear me screaming from the mountaintops of sunny Florida.

 

[RoboQB]

As a part of the group that said we needed to move Dez around, I will just say... we won that argument! lol

 

[Bleu Star]

As a part of the group that said we needed to move Dez around, I will just say... we won that argument! lol

Yessir we did!!! Now they need to build off of it.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

yeh we've been saying this since 2013 about him and it really picked up in 2015. how it took this coaching staff this long to figure this out is beyond me man. sheeesh.

 

[Idgit]

'It’s so slowed to where you can understand the coverages and run better routes."

Love Bryant, but it's kind of crazy that he's talking about getting to a point where he understands the coverages in year 7, isn't it? I remember a time when there were raging debates about whether it was Tony throwing bad passes or Dez not making proper site adjustments (this was the *last* round of underestimating Tony if anybody's confused, not the current round where we think the rookie QB is a better player and Tony already). That's not an especial knock on Dez because he was an amazing player before he was reading the coverages properly, but it probably should open the door a crack on the idea that maybe our coaches were playing him early on in the situations they thought he could handle and that not every WR is automatically a fit for a position just because he's a physical freak of nature.

 

[DallasDomination]

You don't say

Dez has been playing since 2010 for the love of god. Are we really this inept? Ugh let me just log off.

 

[Idgit]

Imagine that. I said they suck for continuious lack of creativity in not moving Dez around and running him from the SLOT after game 1... What do they do ? ? ?

I knew all along they could hear me screaming from the mountaintops of sunny Florida.

His dropped TD in game one was out of the slot, btw. Elite players still have to make contested catches, no matter where you line them up.

 

[Sydla]

So for the record, fans on this board were smarter than our offensive coaches.

Imagine that.

 

[Blackspider214]

yeh we've been saying this since 2013 about him and it really picked up in 2015. how it took this coaching staff this long to figure this out is beyond me man. sheeesh.

It's sad when the fans watching in the stands and on their couches have a better understanding on what needs to happen than the guys getting paid to do that job for a living. But that sums up our staff.

 

[Bleu Star]

His dropped TD in game one was out of the slot, btw. Elite players still have to make contested catches, no matter where you line them up.

No matter what you say to the contrary, the way they used Dez in game 1 was unimaginative.

Game 2 was in stark contrast and it was blatantly noticeable.

That said, Dez should have helped his QB and caught that coffin corner pass but they also didn't help their #1 but running him out to the right 99.9% of the time in that game.

 

[funkytown]

As a part of the group that said we needed to move Dez around, I will just say... we won that argument! lol

Yes we did.

And all you have to do is watch what other teams do with their star receivers. Look at how they move them around or run plays to get them the ball.

Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Odell, A.J. Green, Brandon Marshall, etc. etc. They get moved around or have plays designed to get them involved. No way that Dez should play a whole game healthy and end with 1 or 2 catches.

 

[DallasCowboys2080]

It's sad when the fans watching in the stands and on their couches have a better understanding on what needs to happen than the guys getting paid to do that job for a living. But that sums up our staff.

exactly. sometimes I really think we can run this organization better from a consensus in the forums than what the current FO is doing. i really do. its that bad.

 

[Wolfpack]

Its a process.

 

[Bleu Star]

It's sad when the fans watching in the stands and on their couches have a better understanding on what needs to happen than the guys getting paid to do that job for a living. But that sums up our staff.

Perhaps we can get a closed circuit feed between Linehan, Garrett, and CZ chat during the game. Easy solution.

 

[Bleu Star]

Its a process.

I should have seen it coming but I didn't & cracked up.

 

[funkytown]

His dropped TD in game one was out of the slot, btw. Elite players still have to make contested catches, no matter where you line them up.

He did drop that pass. If he makes the catch ( we win but that's another story) he still only has 2 catches. 1 or 2 catches is unacceptable from a star wideout with his abilities. The coaches had to change something in the game plan and they did. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[Bleu Star]

If we just read between the lines... Dez said it's more "fun" running out of the slot because they can't double him & he has more options.

Translation: If you run me out to the right one more time.....

 

[Idgit]

He did drop that pass. If he makes the catch ( we win but that's another story) he still only has 2 catches. 1 or 2 catches is unacceptable from a star wideout with his abilities. The coaches had to change something in the game plan and they did. Hopefully it stays that way.

If he makes the catch and we win the game, why is it unacceptable to not have force-fed the ball to Dez? I don't understand the argument. I couldn't care less if Dez gets shut out each of the next 15 weeks if we get the W's. I do care, however, if our elite playmakers don't make the game winning catches that are there to be made.

 

[Idgit]

No matter what you say to the contrary, the way they used Dez in game 1 was unimaginative.

Game 2 was in stark contrast and it was blatantly noticeable.

That said, Dez should have helped his QB and caught that coffin corner pass but they also didn't help their #1 but running him out to the right 99.9% of the time in that game.

I didn't say they were imaginative with Dez. You criticized the team for 'not moving Dez around and running him from the SLOT after game 1," and I pointed out that they did, in fact, put him in the slot on the dropped TD play in game 1 and you probably missed it because you were too busy screaming from mountaintops.