What will it take for Dez to overtake Megatron?

[Nova]

Interesting stats but IMO there is one thing that is not taken into account. Obviously the numbers are what they are, but where Calvin Johnson was in his career in 2011 vs Dez Bryant in 2012 is much different. Calvin was a 5th year pro in 2011 and Dez was a third year pro in which he did not really find his groove until the second half of the season.

I am not prepared to make any bold statements about Dez at this point other than to say he is clearly still on the rise. Time will tell.

Right. And Dez might develop into a better WR than Calvin. I'm not disputing that by any means-- I mentioned it somewhere earlier in this forum that, he could develop his game to become better than CJ but wouldn't get there on athleticism alone, though IMO I think it's unlikely.

That was merely in response to the claim that Calvin gets more looks/opportunities because they force feed him the ball and therefore has better stats-- the numbers say this is false.

 

[CowboyGil]

As long as Dez helps my favorite team win, I could give two sheets about CJ.CJ in the end maybe like another famous
Lion: put up eye popping stats and be considered one of the best all time at his position, but play on average to below average teams his entire career. And I think it's ironic that dstovall has a Dez avatar the way he's defending CJ. And overall, no I don't think Dez will ever be better than CJ.

 

[CATCH17]

Do

I'm sorry do you really think I care? I didn't state stats I stated his intangibles and what he was good at. He is a once in a life time type of player. Him playing "forever" is a milestone in its own and shows his determination and how well he was able to avoid punishment and how he cared for his body after games and the day after. You can use stats all you want but there wasn't a RB that was as complete as Emmitt in ever facet of the game. We are talking about a guy who was on the ground with temporary paralysis in Chicago and still came back to play at a high level. Emmitt was a throw back player and is always disrespected by people. Sorry call it bias or whatever bu I've watched him since his days at Florida and he was a special player. Not big enough Not fast enough and always told he couldn't do it. Well guess what he did. Most
Complete back to play this game period and no stat will prove otherwise

It's funny how people act like Emmitt wasn't a special player.

Jerry Rice is the best of all time at his position but Emmitt isn't?

We were not a good team, even with all of those PRo Bowlers and future HOF'rs when Emmitt was out.

Emmitt Smith was unbelievable until about 1998. Best player in the league.

 

[gbrittain]

Right. And Dez might develop into a better WR than Calvin. I'm not disputing that by any means-- I mentioned it somewhere earlier in this forum that, he could develop his game to become better than CJ but wouldn't get there on athleticism alone, though IMO I think it's unlikely.

That was merely in response to the claim that Calvin gets more looks/opportunities because they force feed him the ball and therefore has better stats-- the numbers say this is false.

I am with you and understand. It will be interesting to see where Dez goes with his talent.

 

[NickZepp]

Dez needs to build his own HOF career and not worry about comparing with others cause he'll get his. Calvin Johnson might be the Adrian Peterson of the WR position in the game right now. Nobody is that big, that strong, and that fast at WR with unbelievable hands.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

And there is nothing wrong with that

 

[dstovall5]

As long as Dez helps my favorite team win, I could give two sheets about CJ.CJ in the end maybe like another famous
Lion: put up eye popping stats and be considered one of the best all time at his position, but play on average to below average teams his entire career. And I think it's ironic that dstovall has a Dez avatar the way he's defending CJ. And overall, no I don't think Dez will ever be better than CJ.

How is that ironic? Ironic that I'm not being biased when comparing Dez to CJ? The Dez to CJ isn't even a debate(yet), and it's only a debate on these cowboy forums. I'm defending CJ because you have some people here saying, "Dez has more passion then CJ". What the heck does that even mean? That calvin doesn't love the game as much as Dez?

Also, just because I don't think Dez is as good as Calvin, doesn't mean I think any less of Dez. Dez is still a top talent with potential to become the best WR in this league one day. Also, you do realize that Dez has played on average teams his whole career as well, so I don't get where you're gong with that statement.

 

[Nova]

How is that ironic? Ironic that I'm not being biased when comparing Dez to CJ? The Dez to CJ isn't even a debate(yet), and it's only a debate on these cowboy forums. I'm defending CJ because you have some people here saying, "Dez has more passion then CJ". What the heck does that even mean? That calvin doesn't love the game as much as Dez?

Also, just because I don't think Dez is as good as Calvin, doesn't mean I think any less of Dez. Dez is still a top talent with potential to become the best WR in this league one day. Also, you do realize that Dez has played on average teams his whole career as well, so I don't get where you're gong with that statement.

Irony is a funny thing. Most perceive the word Ironic in a negative light (I'm blaming Alanis Morissette for this), but really it's just circumstantial.

Maybe he took you for a Dez homer because of your avatar, and you proved yourself to be fair and objective!

 

[DeaconMoss]

"Who would've thought... it figures"

 

[CowboyGil]

How is that ironic? Ironic that I'm not being biased when comparing Dez to CJ? The Dez to CJ isn't even a debate(yet), and it's only a debate on these cowboy forums. I'm defending CJ because you have some people here saying, "Dez has more passion then CJ". What the heck does that even mean? That calvin doesn't love the game as much as Dez?

Also, just because I don't think Dez is as good as Calvin, doesn't mean I think any less of Dez. Dez is still a top talent with potential to become the best WR in this league one day. Also, you do realize that Dez has played on average teams his whole career as well, so I don't get where you're gong with that statement.

Tap the brakes there, Hoss. It's not an insult. I just found irony in that your avatar of Dez seems to be in direct contrast to your views on this thread. I never said you didn't like him (Dez). You certainly cannot be accused of being biased. And the average teams reference was a comparison to Barry Sanders (seeing as how this thread kind of went in the Emmitt/Barry debate direction as well). Irony can be good,bad,funny,weird and also subjective.

 

[Doomsday101]

It's funny how people act like Emmitt wasn't a special player.

Jerry Rice is the best of all time at his position but Emmitt isn't?

We were not a good team, even with all of those PRo Bowlers and future HOF'rs when Emmitt was out.

Emmitt Smith was unbelievable until about 1998. Best player in the league.

Fully agree. In his prime he was the best. I always thought Sanders was the best pure runner but Emmitt was dominate in all phases of the position. When Emmitt was out of the lineup this team struggled to win.

 

[dstovall5]

Tap the brakes there, Hoss. It's not an insult. I just found irony in that your avatar of Dez seems to be in direct contrast to your views on this thread. I never said you didn't like him (Dez). You certainly cannot be accused of being biased. And the average teams reference was a comparison to Barry Sanders (seeing as how this thread kind of went in the Emmitt/Barry debate direction as well). Irony can be good,bad,funny,weird and also subjective.

Well if you meant it that way then my bad, most of the times I see irony being used - it's in a negative manner. Also since It's in text, that makes it even harder to distinguish your tone, at least for me.

As for the average team reference, that would definitely make more sense. I honestly thought you were talking about Dez/Calvin.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Interesting article on this very topic:

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/dmn-...d-up-being-better-than-calvin-johnson.261918/

 

[birdwells1]

Interesting article on this very topic:

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/dmn-...d-up-being-better-than-calvin-johnson.261918/

Looks like someone ran out of original ideas and logged on to the Zone for a new one. Smh

 

[Tezz]

I dont think you can just look at passer rating as a standalone statistic because it weighs too heavily on TDs and INTs. A couple TDs more and some INTs less than the whole rating drastically changes... For instance CJ got tackled an absurd 6 times at the 1 yard line last year. He converts some of those and his rating would shoot up by only gaining one extra yard. Im not sure about attributing interceptions to receivers if you look at the picks on CJ's targets last year there was nothing he could do about it and that shouldnt weigh a quarter in the whole calculation.

In goalline situations CJ doesn't get many opportunities for TDs because teams would completely sell out on guarding him. There have been times the defense even played 2 gunners in his face type coverage... There is a statistic where the Lions were one of the leaders in goalline rushing TDs and a huge portion of them came when the opposing team would commit an extra defender on CJ.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Looks like someone ran out of original ideas and logged on to the Zone for a new one. Smh

It probably happens frequently. Writers are on tight deadlines and schedules for generating content. They probably seek inspiration from a variety of sources.

 

[Redball Express]

I think Dez has all of the tools. He's big, he's strong, he's physical, he's fast, and he is playing with a swagger that I haven't seen in him since he was dominating at OSU. Megatron is better than him right now but I believe Dez will close that gap between them starting this year.

What do you guys think Dez has to do to make his case as the best receiver in the game? To me, he can start by building on his 2nd half performance of last year. I'm excited about how dominant he is becoming.

I don't buy into all the hype on Dez.

He's had multiple issues that he's got to overcome.
For me..he can start by not disappearing in games and catchhing a couple of passes early and then no see for the rest of the game.

Once he does that and he catches important passes at big times in the game and everybody knows the ball is coming..
..he doesn't drop it or he doesn't turn and go out of bounds.

Then I'll start to believe he's getting it.

Not before.

A string of 4-5 games at the end of last season when the team was supposed to go to the playoffs..

..he and Romo did not get it done.

..expectations and reality have not matched up.

He was not a showstopper....a game changer..
..a guy that draws a LBer and safety on every route like Irvin did.
..he's still a guy that you just don't know if he's on or off.

Just saying..

 

[Nirvana]

Calvin Johnson is in a league of his own and the way he is defended is why these stat comparisons don't matter. The guy is a beast. I'm more interested in seeing who #2 will be, for which Dez has a shot.

 

[Biggems]

become Optimus Prime

 

[Ratmatt]

I believe Calvin Johnson is just better.

I agree!