The curious case of Dez Bryant

[JoeKing]

Cowboys should have paid DeMarco Murray and let Dez walk, then drafted one of the high ranked Buckeye WRs rather than Zeke. I'm happy with Zeke but man did the Cowboys get screwed giving Dez his payday.

 

[MileyDancer]

A very good friend of mine who is also a Cowboys fan and someone I watch the games with every week truly hates Dez. He despises the lack of production since returning from injury and the overall lack of multiple 1000 yard seasons. He makes very good points but I choose to continue to counter. But I'm running out of counters.

My primary message to him when he was pressing me on Dez a couple of weeks ago was that Dez returned from injury and then had to get acquainted with a new QB. I give him last year as a push and expect nothing less than excellence from him this year. THIS year, there is no excuse for him not being completely same paged with Dak. None. He's the veteran. It is on him to ensure he and Dak are operating as one. I also told him that Dak has made his living on "throwing to the open guy". He said it during the season and he means it. So, in order for Dez to take that #1 spot in WR yards this year, he is going to have to really bring it every single play. If at the end of this season we are looking at another 450 yard season from Dez(& anything short of a deep playoff run), I will then be right there alongside my buddy completely done with Dez.

Yes. The expectation is high. I expect nothing less from our #1 WR.

It's simple. Dez is a great player, but Overrated **. He certainly has not lived up to the new contract, imo. I don't hate Dez. In fact, he's one of my favorite players on the team. But that doesn't mean he's a top 5 WR because I like him. That's the mentality of a lot of people here.

 

[Arkyvarminter]

Cowboys should have paid DeMarco Murray and let Dez walk, then drafted one of the high ranked Buckeye WRs rather than Zeke. I'm happy with Zeke but man did the Cowboys get screwed giving Dez his payday.

Well, his numbers are very similar to Julio Jones' but Dez has a lot more TD's and has to share the ball with great RB's and a HOF tight end. Julio is THE guy in a pass happy offense. So, I don't see how the Cowboy's are getting screwed but that IMO.........

 

[BigStar]

Dez Bryant is an emotional player. This is not news to those who've had the pleasure of watching him torch defenses throughout the course of his 7 year career. His passion and love for the game is both his greatest asset, and worst enemy. It's the reason he's been such a polarizing player in this league during that span.

Some have suggested he needs to reign that emotion in, which to me would take away from what makes him such a great player. We all know by now that once Dez gets rolling early on in football games, it usually doesn't end up well for opposing defenses. He's still one of a handful of wideouts that can simply take over a game.

That same emotion is what plagued him much of the past 2 seasons. Injuries and the reshuffling of QBs played right into his pitfalls. Getting iced out of the offensive game plan affects him more than his contemporaries, that's just the consequence of a player who feeds off the rhythm of a game. He's not one of these guys who stays even keeled regardless of the circumstance.

The last month of the season saw Dak and Dez begin to forge their own chemistry, culminating in a fantastic performance Divisional round weekend. Here's to that chemistry building over the course of the next few months, because whether we like it or not, we're simply a much more dangerous offense with a keyed in Dez Bryant. He's the ultimate X Factor for a reason, and this is the year he reclaims his spot among the NFL elites.

Great post! We would've been blown out against GB wo the Dez/Dak connection in full swing. This should be our focus in the passing game instead of the checkdown philosophy that can work as a way to change up the offense, but should no longer be the given in our offensive scheme. This is why D's call us predictable and why it is so easy to scheme Dez out of the game as our main focus; until needed as was seen the last two playoff games against GB. Scheme him open as other Offenses do; would it hurt to test it before the playoffs instead of using it as our last resort?

 

[JoeKing]

Well, his numbers are very similar to Julio Jones' but Dez has a lot more TD's and has to share the ball with great RB's and a HOF tight end. Julio is THE guy in a pass happy offense. So, I don't see how the Cowboy's are getting screwed but that IMO.........

That's okay, we don't have to agree. We can both watch the same thing and come up with different opinions. I do understand that in a pass happy league, Dez plays on the least pass happy team, so that would naturally effect his total stats. I still believe he's over paid for the production he brings.