News: Star Evaluation: Dez Bryant Finished 2016 Season Strong After Battling Injury

[CCBoy]

Star Evaluation: Dez Bryant Finished 2016 Season Strong After Battling Injury

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2...shed-2016-season-strong-after-battling-injury


...What’s Been Good: Bryant made his third career Pro Bowl despite the third-lowest catch total of his seven-year career (50). The reason? He was the big-play threat for rookie starting quarterback Dak Prescott and one of the league’s most dynamic and efficient offenses. The Cowboys ranked fifth in scoring offense (26.3 points per game) and total offense (376.7 yards per game), and Bryant led the team with eight touchdown catches in only 12 complete starts (he sat out most of the Week 17 finale with playoff homefield advantage locked up). He also produced a career-high 15.9 yards per catch in 2016, markedly above his career 14.3 average.

What’s Been Bad: For the second straight year, injuries derailed Bryant’s momentum in the middle of the season. In 2015, foot and knee ailments limited him to a career-low nine games and 31 catches. In 2016, he missed three games in October (at San Francisco, Cincinnati, at Green Bay) with a hairline fracture in his knee. Bryant returned for the Oct. 30 overtime thriller against Philadelphia and delivered 113 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ dramatic come-from-behind victory. He would start every game for the rest of the season.

2016 Highlight: The final score was disappointing, but Bryant played arguably his best game in the Cowboys’ 34-31 divisional-round home loss to the Packers. His nine catches for 132 yards were season-best totals, and his two touchdowns tied a season best. In the second quarter Bryant caught a 40-yard TD from Prescott that cut into the Packers’ 21-3 lead and started the Cowboys’ rally. His fourth-quarter TD and Prescott’s two-point conversion tied the score at 28-28 with just over four minutes remaining...

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Dak didn't practice with the first team until after a couple of preseason games. Pretty much the entire offseason was over by that point. He was rolling with the backups in practice until after the Seattle game.

I hope he is working with Dez extensively this offseason. If those two can build a rapport this offense will be that much more explosive. Throw it high and to his leverage and Dez will dominate.

 

[plymkr]

Dez did ball out in that playoff game. I was proud of him. You could tell he wanted to win and he did everything he could to make it happen.

It hurt me to see him after the game knowing that he wanted it so bad.

I wear my 88 jersey with pride.

 

[stilltheguru88]

Dez SHOULD know what to do now entering his prime. Enough of the barking, worrying about madden ratings, making sneak disses as to why Julio was higher on NFL network top 100 list.

 

[robjay04]

Between Dez being banged up and Dak being a backup, these two never had a chance to connect. A wide receiver and a quarterback need chemistry. This is evident all throughout the league. Everyone's favorite quarterback, Antonio Brown, is pretty pedestrian playing with the backup as well.

As the season progressed, these two started to build chemistry and they looked amazing together the last two games they played(Detroit and GB). I predict big things for 2017!

 

[phildadon86]

Between Dez being banged up and Dak being a backup, these two never had a chance to connect. A wide receiver and a quarterback need chemistry. This is evident all throughout the league. Everyone's favorite quarterback, Antonio Brown, is pretty pedestrian playing with the backup as well.

As the season progressed, these two started to build chemistry and they looked amazing together the last two games they played(Detroit and GB). I predict big things for 2017!

Antonio Brown 84?

 

[robjay04]

Antonio Brown 84?

Yes?

His numbers without Ben are pretty basic.

 

[phildadon86]

Yes?

His numbers without Ben are pretty basic.

I know, the way you wrote that though made AB sound like he was the QB you were referring to. Hence my confusion.

 

[robjay04]

I know, the way you wrote that though made AB sound like he was the QB you were referring to. Hence my confusion.

Yeah, my bad, it was early.

 

[Nova]

Dez was on a mission that game.

Remember that pass that wasn't even to him and he somehow caught it and gained like 15 yards?

 

[phildadon86]

Dez was on a mission that game.

Remember that pass that wasn't even to him and he somehow caught it and gained like 15 yards?

But Dez sucks, I heard it here....

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Dez is a player that needs to practice because the Cowboys only have him run about 3 routes and when he's not playing well it's usually his hand technique that gets him into trouble. When he practices, his hand technique is better and allows him to separate from receivers more consistently. When it's not...good corners can slow him down. That's what Garrett really harps on with Dez...he's a great athlete, but he needs to practice in order to stay sharp and be effective.




YR

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Dez is a player that needs to practice because the Cowboys only have him run about 3 routes and when he's not playing well it's usually his hand technique that gets him into trouble. When he practices, his hand technique is better and allows him to separate from receivers more consistently. When it's not...good corners can slow him down. That's what Garrett really harps on with Dez...he's a great athlete, but he needs to practice in order to stay sharp and be effective.




YR

In, out, comeback, slant, drag, post, fly, fade, and smoke are all in his arsenal now. He runs them from different spots on the formation now as well. He expanded his repertoire significantly in Linehan's second year, 2015.

I do agree that like all players, he needs to practice.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

In, out, comeback, slant, drag, post, fly, fade, and smoke are all in his arsenal now. He runs them from different spots on the formation now as well. He expanded his repertoire significantly in Linehan's second year, 2015.

I do agree that like all players, he needs to practice.

He can run those routes, but last year he really didn't run many of them. The first game against Washington he was running almost all of those patterns, but then he got injured and they limited his patterns probably because of the lack of practice.




YR