Sophomore Receivers

[Galian Beast]

Let's compare Dez Bryant to the other sophomore receivers.


Dez Bryant - 22 receptions, 367 yards, 4 tds, 16.7 yards p/r

Mike Williams - 31 receptions, 317 yards, 1 td, 10.2 yards p/r
Jordan Shipley - 4, 14, 0, 3.5
Brandon LaFell - 17, 276, 2, 16.2
David Gettis - --------------------
Blair White - -----------------------
David Nelson - 31, 366, 2, 11.8
Emmanuel Sanders - 18, 243, 2, 13.5
Arrelious Benn - 15, 243, 2, 16.2
Jacoby Ford - 11, 114, 0, 10.4
Andre Roberts - 13, 133, 0, 10.2
Demaryius Thomas - 4, 37, 1, 9.3
Dexter McCluster - 48, 210, 0, 4
Golden Tate - 10, 88, 1, 8.8
Danario Alexander - 16, 296, 1, 18.5
Donald Jones - 16, 174, 1, 10.
Antonio Brown - 34, 431, 1, 12.7

Wasnt originally going to be on my list because of his limited production last year

Eric Decker - 30, 359, 5, 12.0

 

[Galian Beast]

NFL.COM actually lets you sort a lot better, and there are some 0 producers from rookie years that I may have skipped so check out this link

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&statisticCategory=RECEIVING&season=2011&seasonType=REG&experience=2&tabSeq=0&qualified=true&Submit=Go

Among WRs

Dez is 8th among 2nd year wide receivers in receptions he has missed a game due to bye, and also due to injury. Also has been slowed by injury.

He is 3rd among 2nd year wide receivers in yards.

Among 2nd year wide receivers with more than 10 catches he is 4th in yards per catch. More than 20 catches he is 2nd only to Victor Cruz.

Only Victor Cruz has more yards per game than Dez Bryant (2nd year WR). He has 10 more yards per game.

Only Eric Decker has more touchdowns at the WR position. 5 versus Dez's 4.

No 2nd year WR has more plays of 20+ yards than Dez Bryant.

He is 4th in 1st downs among 2nd year WRs.

He has the highest 1st down percentage as well with 86.4 percent of his catches going for 1st down.

 

[Galian Beast]

No thoughts? Really? Oh well, just keep hating Dez Bryant, even if the stats don't back it up...

 

[casmith07]

:laugh1:

Good post, man.

 

[vlad]

I think people are way too easy on his performance compared to their expectations...the thing is he is a kid and probably never had to work on the stuff he's going to have to do in the NFL to realize his talent.

Also, I think his numbers would blow up if we had a competent OL that gave him time to run Garrett's long aggressive routes.

 

[Future]

No thoughts? Really? Oh well, just keep hating Dez Bryant, even if the stats don't back it up...

He's a stud. This helps to prove it. There's not a whole lot to say.

This doesn't mean he doesn't have flaws though.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

I'm disgusted with the amount of Dez hate on this board. For a guy who's "underachieving" he's still putting up pretty damn good numbers.

 

[8FOR!3]

I'm disgusted with the amount of Dez hate on this board. For a guy who's "underachieving" he's still putting up pretty damn good numbers.

It's because they have him on this pedestal. But you can't expect a wide receiver to be elite from day one. Guys like AJ Green are already really good, but guys like Dez came into the NFL still raw enough to need some time.

 

[perrykemp]

I'm disgusted with the amount of Dez hate on this board. For a guy who's "underachieving" he's still putting up pretty damn good numbers.

He still get 1000 yards this season, I am sure of it.

I'm curious where he fit in GB's WR/TE pecking order if he were magically transported there today.

Who would he move ahead in their pecking order of:

1) Greg Jennings
2) Jeremichael Finley
3) Jordy Nelson
4) James Jones
5) Donald Driver
6) Randall Cobb

?

 

[baj1dallas]

I'm disgusted with the amount of Dez hate on this board. For a guy who's "underachieving" he's still putting up pretty damn good numbers.

So nobody should criticize Dez for his failure to improve as long as he puts up decent numbers? We should be happy to have a guy that's immature and a disctraction because of his immense physical talent, and be satisfied that his production is equal to some other second year receivers with nowhere near the physical ability?

 

[dadymat]

i did some looking the other night and compared his numbers to historic greats and game per game he is right on the level of alot of them for their first 17 games...people just do give players time to adapt and learn a very complicated NFL

 

[cowboysfan31]

He still get 1000 yards this season, I am sure of it.

I'm curious where he fit in GB's WR/TE pecking order if he were magically transported there today.

Who would he move ahead in their pecking order of:

1) Greg Jennings
2) Jeremichael Finley
3) Jordy Nelson
4) James Jones
5) Donald Driver
6) Randall Cobb

?

Behind Jennings and Finley, but above the rest.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

He still get 1000 yards this season, I am sure of it.

I'm curious where he fit in GB's WR/TE pecking order if he were magically transported there today.

Who would he move ahead in their pecking order of:

1) Greg Jennings
2) Jeremichael Finley
3) Jordy Nelson
4) James Jones
5) Donald Driver
6) Randall Cobb

?

I'd take him over all of those guys except Finley and Jennings.

So nobody should criticize Dez for his failure to improve as long as he puts up decent numbers? We should be happy to have a guy that's immature and a disctraction because of his immense physical talent, and be satisfied that his production is equal to some other second year receivers with nowhere near the physical ability?

I don't mind if you criticize Dez, but some of yall go way overboard with it. How is he a distraction just cuz he's very passionate about the game of football and wants to win badly? If anything we need more guys like Dez. Ok so he's a little immature he's basically a rookie he'll mature as he gets more experience. His production could be alot better, but as I've been saying Romo hasn't had time to get him the ball down the field because of a lack of protection.

 

[Eskimo]

He still get 1000 yards this season, I am sure of it.

I'm curious where he fit in GB's WR/TE pecking order if he were magically transported there today.

Who would he move ahead in their pecking order of:

1) Greg Jennings
2) Jeremichael Finley
3) Jordy Nelson
4) James Jones
5) Donald Driver
6) Randall Cobb

?

He would be #6 on that depth chart - he could split returns with Cobb.

Part of the issue is one of expectation: people thought Dez was going to be a Pro Bowler. The reality is that he is an immature, unpolished player who is not showing much development in his second year in the league.

I wouldn't suggest we wait forever for Dez to develop. He really should be #3 on our own depth chart right now because we can do more with Robinson on the field than we can with Dez. Our offense also does much better in 2 WR sets so Dez should go back to the chalkboard and work on improving his reads and routes so he can become a reliable target for Romo. When he has mastered these things he will quickly move up to #1 on the depth chart. I don't think we are doing him any favours by throwing him out there right now.

In the mean time we can try to learn how to exploit his as the #3 WR and he can give us yards at PR and KOR since he is not a starter. He will actually get more touches per game this way.

 

[Clarkson]

Behind Jennings and Finley, but above the rest.

MAYBE behind Finley.
Dez is a 2nd year receiver. Let's be patient. He has crazy talent. It's funny when he gets the ball in his hands, he just dares people to tackle him and runs so tough.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

He would be #6 on that depth chart - he could split returns with Cobb.

Part of the issue is one of expectation: people thought Dez was going to be a Pro Bowler. The reality is that he is an immature, unpolished player who is not showing much development in his second year in the league.

I wouldn't suggest we wait forever for Dez to develop. He really should be #3 on our own depth chart right now because we can do more with Robinson on the field than we can with Dez. Our offense also does much better in 2 WR sets so Dez should go back to the chalkboard and work on improving his reads and routes so he can become a reliable target for Romo. When he has mastered these things he will quickly move up to #1 on the depth chart. I don't think we are doing him any favours by throwing him out there right now.

In the mean time we can try to learn how to exploit his as the #3 WR and he can give us yards at PR and KOR since he is not a starter. He will actually get more touches per game this way.

The only reason Robinson has been successful is because he's targeted more. The reason he's targeted more is because Romo has time to throw short routes to Robinson and he's very good after the catch. Dez runs deep routes and Romo doesn't have the time to get him the ball and Miles as well. Saying he'd be #6 on the Green Bay wide receiver depth chart is just laughable. Packer fans would even tell you that.

 

[Eskimo]

Laugh if you want but the GB receivers are incredibly disciplined route runners. There is no way Dez would see many snaps above their top 5 guys.

I think Dez has immense potential but we have done a disservice in throwing him out as the #2 receiver before he has matured as an NFL player.

We desperately need to hit on this pick. We really need a big play WR and he can be a 1300-1600 yard per season guy if he masters his craft. He will not master his craft so long as he is coddled and thrown out there. We have seen ample evidence that the trial by fire is not resulting in progression of his skills.

 

[realtick]

No thoughts? Really? Oh well, just keep hating Dez Bryant, even if the stats don't back it up...

Yeah, doesn't look like you really did your homework well enough. Facts/stats are highly interperative unless you add relevant context to them:

Dez Bryant:
...is a former 1st round pick*(just mentioning because it changes expectation levels)
...is the team's #2 WR
...has played in six games
...is considered by many/most (don't let me put words in your mouth) Cowboy fans as already one of the best WR in the game.

The receivers you included below shouldn't even be in the conversation because it's not an apples-for-apples comparison.

Jordan Shipley - 4, 14, 0, 3.5 (INJURED RESERVE - DONE FOR THE SEASON)
Brandon LaFell (PANTHERS' #3 WR)
Emmanuel Sanders (STEELERS' #3 WR)
Jacoby Ford (has played in just 5 games and is 3rd/4th on the depth chart)
Demaryius Thomas (NON-STARTER COMING OFF OF AN TORN ACHILLES INJURY and HAS PLAYED IN JUST TWO GAMES)
Dexter McCluster (Loooooool, the running back? Way to grasp at straws)
Golden Tate (Non-starter, 3rd or 4th on the depth chart)
Denario Alexander (Played in just 5 games this season)

These receivers you could even reasonably compare because they are comparable in playing time and role on thier team (ie. starters).

Antonio Brown (having a very good sophmore year. *Isn't even listed as a starter in Pittsburgh)
Mike Williams
Donald Jones
Andre Roberts
Arrelious Benn
David Nelson

So it's interesting that you included these names on your original list. Most Cowboy fans claim that Dez Bryant is already one of the best in the league. Would you agree? If so, does it really make you feel better to say that Dez is having a comparable or better seasons than the likes of Donald Jones (undrafted), Andre Roberts, David Nelson (undrafted), et cetera?

*Notice, of all the receivers you named, only Demaryius Thomas was a fellow 1st round pick

 

[perrykemp]

Laugh if you want but the GB receivers are incredibly disciplined route runners. There is no way Dez would see many snaps above their top 5 guys.

I think Dez has immense potential but we have done a disservice in throwing him out as the #2 receiver before he has matured as an NFL player.

We desperately need to hit on this pick. We really need a big play WR and he can be a 1300-1600 yard per season guy if he masters his craft. He will not master his craft so long as he is coddled and thrown out there. We have seen ample evidence that the trial by fire is not resulting in progression of his skills.

Dez is more physically talented than every WR the Packers have including Greg Jennings. Having said that, you do make a point about their WRs generally all being very good route runners. Greg Jennings probably is the top route runner in the league -- which allows him to be a top 10 NFL receiver despite very average size and speed.

 

[Eskimo]

The only reason Robinson has been successful is because he's targeted more. The reason he's targeted more is because Romo has time to throw short routes to Robinson and he's very good after the catch. Dez runs deep routes and Romo doesn't have the time to get him the ball and Miles as well. Saying he'd be #6 on the Green Bay wide receiver depth chart is just laughable. Packer fans would even tell you that.

I'm not suggesting he is #6 on talent or ability but in terms of the ability to play in that offense that is where he is right now. He has more ability than any of them so he could end up being the best of everyone on that list.

The reason Dez is asked to run those routes is because they are the only ones he can run. By putting in Robinson we make the other team defend more different things.

You have to remember that in the end WRs are not the most important players on the field. Your offensive production depends much more on QB, OL play and RB play then it actually does on the specific receivers you send out there. Look at NE - they do fine even though they have only one good WR and he mans the slot. How about that great KC offense from the early part of this millenium. You just don't need star WRs to have a good offense but you almost always need a good QB and a good OL. Romo has struggled some recently and the OL has struggled mightily and this is why we have been bad.

Simplifying and minimizing the demands on Dez and allowing him to develop into the star he can be are more important than running him out onto the field for a role he is not yet ready to assume. He'll probably get more touches if he is #3 and goes back to return duties than if we keep trotting him out there as the #2.