My Take on Dez

[Thetriplets22]

i think he's a top 3 WR in this league and we are not using him properly. The coaching staff doesn't know how to develop WRs or maximize their talents. Dez needs more jump balls in the red zone and Dak needs to force him the ball when he's single covered. I think having him return punts will keep him engaged more​

 

[jazzcat22]

I have been saying for the last few years, we need a new WR's coach.
They do not seem to get enough separation. Beasley does a good part of the time. But the other WR's could get open more, IMO.
And open more down field as well..

Dez will always get criticized for the wrong things on here as well as the media. It will not change until we win a few SB's. Just as it did for Irvin.

 

[erod]

Dez is really good. Only Romo knows how to make him look truly elite.

You have to pinpoint accurate with back-shoulder and high-point throws to utilize Dez' ability to catch balls in traffic. Otherwise, he's a pretty easy cover for cornerbacks.

He's too slow, and his routes are too poor, to use like a typical top receiver.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I think he has the talent of a top-3 WR, we don't use him quite properly, but his technique has been off this year. He still has the physical skills of a top-3 WR, but you can't be a top-3 WR on physical skills alone.





YR

 

[Vinnie2u]

Dez is my favorite player on this team. Because of his desire to excel and his attitude. But there's one thing that separates him from the Antonio Browns, OBJ, Julio Jones, AJ Green and now amari Cooper. And that's speed and quickness. They get separation.

 

[tyke1doe]

i think he's a top 3 WR in this league and we are not using him properly. The coaching staff doesn't know how to develop WRs or maximize their talents. Dez needs more jump balls in the red zone and Dak needs to force him the ball when he's single covered. I think having him return punts will keep him engaged more​

With all due respect, these two statements seem to contradict your analysis of Dez being a Top 3 receiver.

Why should we force more balls to him? Why is it that the only play you mention is a jump ball to him? It seems to me that those are his bread-and-butter plays, which speaks to his limitations as a receiver.

It's not that Dez can't run other routes. It's that he doesn't appear to be consistent in running other routes.

No, we can't get into the habit of forcing jump balls to Dez in single coverage. We don't need to cater to Dez. If he's open, get him the ball. If not, go to another target. Dak has been doing well spreading the ball around. We don't need to treat Dez like T.O.

 

[tyke1doe]

I have been saying for the last few years, we need a new WR's coach.
They do not seem to get enough separation. Beasley does a good part of the time. But the other WR's could get open more, IMO.
And open more down field as well..

Dez will always get criticized for the wrong things on here as well as the media. It will not change until we win a few SB's. Just as it did for Irvin.

I don't recall fans or the media criticizing Irvin prior to winning a Super Bowl. About the only thing said about Irvin was that he pushed off, but the refs didn't seem to agree.

I think Dez has talent, but I believe the reports that he isn't consistent in his route running. I don't ever remember that being said about Irvin.

 

[WillieBeamen]

Antonio Brown
Odell Becham
Mike Evans
Julio Jones
AJ Green

All better than Dez. No way is he top 3

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

I think Dez' lack of production is simply due to Dak's immaturity as a pro QB. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Dak proponent, but it's a fact he is a rookie and has growing to due. Dak hasn't yet gotten to the point where he can quickly run through his progressions. Unless it's a play designed to go Dez' way, it's obvious to me Dak's first reads are Witten and Beasley. Opponents have become aware and game plan accordingly and is why we're seeing Cole's productivity drop the past few games. By the time Dak progresses to Dez, he's held the ball too long and the play breaks down.

I don't think there's a problem with Dez, I believe he will return to past form as his QB continues to mature.

 

[jazzcat22]

I don't recall fans or the media criticizing Irvin prior to winning a Super Bowl. About the only thing said about Irvin was that he pushed off, but the refs didn't seem to agree.

I think Dez has talent, but I believe the reports that he isn't consistent in his route running. I don't ever remember that being said about Irvin.

I meant more about the sideline rant and rave issues. With Michael and Dez...it was selfish...with others it was passion.
After we won a few SB's, the media started saying he is passionate about the game and was getting the team fired up.

 

[tyke1doe]

I meant more about the sideline rant and rave issues. With Michael and Dez...it was selfish...with others it was passion.
After we won a few SB's, the media started saying he is passionate about the game and was getting the team fired up.

Oh, okay. I just don't remember Irvin's sideline rants being made a big deal. But I am getting older and forgetting more.

 

[tyke1doe]

I think Dez' lack of production is simply due to Dak's immaturity as a pro QB. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Dak proponent, but it's a fact he is a rookie and has growing to due. Dak hasn't yet gotten to the point where he can quickly run through his progressions. Unless it's a play designed to go Dez' way, it's obvious to me Dak's first reads are Witten and Beasley. Opponents have become aware and game plan accordingly and is why we're seeing Cole's productivity drop the past few games. By the time Dak progresses to Dez, he's held the ball too long and the play breaks down.

I don't think there's a problem with Dez, I believe he will return to past form as his QB continues to mature.

I don't think it has anything to do with the immaturity of Dak. I think it has to do with the inconsistency of Dez. Dak has been going through his progressions, which is why Beasley's numbers have increased this year. And when Dez was out of the lineup earlier this season, Dak was used to getting the ball to Beasley because he was open. Dez comes back, and there's a pressure to get the ball to your playmaker(s) - even forcing the ball. We saw what forcing the ball did to us in the Giants game.

If Dez is open, he will likely get the ball. The problem is two-fold:
1. Dez has to run EVERY route to gain separation.
2. Dez is often covered with a corner and safety, and Dak is not going to force a throw into such coverage if he doesn't have to.

Furthermore, I think Broaddus pointed this out - the Cowboys don't want Dak throwing the ball deep all the time. Dez is good for jump balls - either deep or in the red zone. But those passes have a higher percentage of being incomplete.

I don't think it's wise to start focusing on Dez at the expense of our other receivers. Dez is often double and triple teamed, and it makes no sense to throw him the ball just to satisfy his need for touches.

Dak will get him the ball when coverage and situations dictate like he did against Tampa, a game in which Dez had 8 catches for 82 yards.

Dak is properly managing the game. Let him grow from there. Let's not try to get him in a situation where he's forcing passes to Dez because fans want him (Dez) to be more involved.

 

[birdwells1]

I read somewhere that Dez and Williams are 2 of the top 3 wr that run the most "go" routes, these are clear out routes for the underneath passing game, they also will tire your wrs making them less effective.

I still don't understand why they don't run more crossing routes against the man/over coverage. Running Dez on crossing routes against this coverage would make it ineffective. Against the man/over coverage the stop routes, go routes, double moves get jumped by the cb because he has no fear of getting beat deep because of the safety help over the top. When you see Norman sticking close to Dez this is why.

I was at the game last week and Dez drew man/over coverage 75% of the time (you can't really see this on tv), if the coaching staff know this in advance then they should have something to counter that.

I think the coaching staff understands that if 2 defenders are on Dez then that means that someone else has man coverage and they are satisfied with that but Brown, Green, and Jones must see the same coverage but their OC find ways to get them involved.

 

[JohnsKey19]

I'd start using him like TO or Fitz in the slot, always on the move, at least 60% of the time. Get him the ball on the move so he can become a runner where he could be deadly. Then you can mix in some of the outside stuff down the field with that.

 

[theebs]

we have excellent coaches. Dez is just fine. The rookie qb is figuring out how to get dez the ball

 

[SDCowboy]

I'd start using him like TO or Fitz in the slot, always on the move, at least 60% of the time. Get him the ball on the move so he can become a runner where he could be deadly. Then you can mix in some of the outside stuff down the field with that.

I agree Dez should be used in the slot. Question is, what do we do with Beasley then?

 

[Doomsday101]

Love Dez but I think he need to do a better job of beating him man off the line. I don't think this has anything to do with coaching, hell Linehan was able to work with Calvin Johnson who drew double teams most of the time yet made the plays. I think Dak and Dez need to be spending more time working with each other but I think a lot of it is Dez just beating his man at the start

 

[erod]

Antonio Brown
Odell Becham
Mike Evans
Julio Jones
AJ Green

All better than Dez. No way is he top 3

Don't stop there. You can make cases for:

Amari Cooper
DeAndre Hopkins
Jordy Nelson
Julian Edelman
TY Hilton
Steve Smith (still)
Demarius Thomas
Jarvis Landry
Larry Fitzgerald

 

[maxdallasfan]

We're 12-2, so everything seems to be working a-ok.

 

[Daillest88]

Antonio Brown
Odell Becham
Mike Evans
Julio Jones
AJ Green

All better than Dez. No way is he top 3

All those players have more years with there qb. Its not just dez. DAK has missed him alot this season and that's OK. It's a chemistry thing. Dez was used right vs the bucs