

News: DMN: Looking back at Cowboys WR Dez Bryant's second season

Discussion in 'News Zone' started by CCBoy, Jan 7, 2012.

  1. CCBoy

    CCBoy Well-Known Member

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    Looking back at Cowboys WR Dez Bryant's second season in the NFL: Was it a hit or a miss?
    By Brandon George


    IRVING -- In Dez Bryant's first full season as an NFL starter, he didn't have the kind of breakout year many expected from him.

    The Cowboys wide receiver became a starter before training camp, when Dallas cut ties with Roy Williams. As a rookie, Bryant was the Cowboys' third receiver behind Williams and Miles Austin. He played in 12 games in 2010 and finished with 45 catches for 561 yards and six touchdowns.

    This season, Bryant only missed one game: Week 2 at San Francisco when he was out with a deep thigh bruise. Bryant finished his second NFL year with improved numbers: 63 catches for 928 yards and nine touchdowns...
  2. CCBoy

    CCBoy Well-Known Member

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    Here's the snapshot:

    * Statistics: 63 catches for 928 yards and 9 TDs in 15 games
    * Targeted: 103 times (season-high 14 at Arizona)
    * Season-highs: 8 catches at Arizona; 90 yards receiving vs. St. Louis; 2 TD catches vs. Detroit.
    * Catches of 20 yards or more: 17
    * Catches of 40 yards or more: 2
    * Didn't have a catch in: 24 of the 61 quarters he played
    * Didn't have a catch in: the fourth quarter in eight of his 15 games played
    * Didn't have a catch of: more than 17 yards over the last three games of the season
    * Dropped passes: 5 (second most on the team behind Miles Austin's seven)
  3. 28 Joker

    28 Joker 28 Joker

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    Not so fast...

    Hakeem Nicks is no better than Dez Bryant, but the Giants received a little more production from Nicks. I think the Cowboys really should make Bryant the priority in the passing game next year, and I think it's up to Dallas' coaches and the QB to get Bryant's very best.

    Bryan Broaddus stated that Bryant's route running vastly improved during the year. Plus, he stated that Bryant was open some in the first Giants game, but he didn't get the football. Plus, he had two footballs thrown over his head against the Giants. One would have been a TD, and the other could have led to a TD. Bryant only caught one 50T in that game, but it could have been more, imo. Bryant has received such negative press, it's no wonder some might not realize that he had a very good year.

    Dez Bryant 63-928-9 (14.7 YPC) LG 50T

    Hakeem Nicks 76-1,192-7 (15.7 YPC) LG 68

    Nicks was targeted 133 times to Bryant's 103. Bryant wasn't in the top 20 in pass targets, but Nicks was 11th.

    Nicks ended with 264 more receiving yards, but again, he had 30 more targets to get those yards, too. Nicks caught 13 more passes than Bryant.

    Nicks was tied for 12th in passes not caught (57). Bryant isn't even in the top 20 of that category.

    According to STATS LLC, Bryant was ranked 3rd in TDs in the first half (7), 9th in first down catches on 3rd down (20), 3rd in first down receptions on 3rd and > 7, 16th(t) in > 25 yard receptions (Robinson is one of the 5 players tied with Bryant), 19th in first down receptions (48/63), 17th (t with Austin) in receptions inside opp 10, and 19th in first downs per target (48/103).

    Dallas' Top Three WR:

    Jason Witten (79-942-5; 11.9 YPC) 47 first downs

    Dez Bryant (63-928-9; 14.7 YPC) 48 first downs

    Laurent Robinson (54-858-11; 15.9 YPC) Tied for 2nd in 4th Q TDs (5) (Could have tallied at least two more TDs if Romo looks for him early in the year).

    Robinson sure did have a big time break out year, but Dez Bryant just missed 1,000 yards and was closer than Robinson (who was close, too).

    People should put Bryant's 928 receiving yards in context with Witten, Robinson, Austin, Jones, and Murray. Just look at the distribution of the receiving yards between Witten, Bryant, and Robinson. Bryant almost had 1,000 yards, and he competed with a future Hall of Fame TE and a break out WR, and Austin (Romo's first or second favorite option). Some of the media will ignore Roy Williams being a progress stopper and the fact that Bryant was hurt on a kickoff return during his rookie year, too.

    In my opinion, the coaches and the QB need to get Bryant the football a little more. Bryant should be one of the highest rated YAC players in the NFL. He should be at least in the top 20 of that category. Bryant should have really eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving this year, and I don't think it's "all his fault", either.

    Personally, I think Bryant is a better player than Nicks, and Dallas should be getting a little more out of him.
  4. 28 Joker

    28 Joker 28 Joker

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    If the Cowboys traded Miles Austin and resigned Laurent Robinson and signed Robert Meachem, they would have a better receiving core, imso.

    Furthermore, Bryant would be allowed to become the number 1 WR, because Romo would be forced to look for him more or throw him the football more. The Romo/Bryant connection would have more room to grow.

    I think Bryant has a very strong case for being Dallas' best WR in 2011.

    Again, it's on the coaches to get Bryant in the top 20 in YAC yards, because a West Coast team would have him as one of the best, imo.
  5. 28 Joker

    28 Joker 28 Joker

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    Dez Bryant has given me quite a bit of ammunition, so bring it on! I'm sure we will be seeing more suspect reporting like this, in regards to Bryant's season on the football field.

    Some of the press that this guy gets is utterly ridiculous like this article. The "piling on" that this player gets is pretty telling. Hey, Jerry...Keep this one.

    I like him, and I've got his back.
  6. 28 Joker

    28 Joker 28 Joker

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    Dallas probably will not be able to trade Miles Austin due to converting some of his salary to signing bonus, from what I gathered.

    Robert Meachem should be here. That is who I wanted, and I knew the Cowboys were arming the Saints even more when they snubbed Meachem and drafted Spencer.

    Instead, Anthony Spencer was the pick, and the organization paid a ridiculous amount of money for WRs. You have to love it when your own GM/organization drives the price of the position through the roof (see Roy E. Williams' contract and the real cost in draft picks and money). However, Meachem has the bling. Furthermore, he had 4 catches for 111 yards and 1 TD in a playoff game today. Where was Dallas today?


    If Meachem was drafted, you probably don't have the ridiculous panic move that was the Roy E. Williams trade, the ridiculous 2nd iOwens contract, or Austin's ridiculously high deal, based on Williams' deal. Austin and Meachem would have given you two talented, capable WRs.

    Why is Denarius Moore in Oakland, by the way?

    I'd still build the passing game around Dez Bryant, and I would move Austin and bring in Robert Meachem if I could do it. Obviously, Meachem would probably not want to come to Dallas unless he is at least the 2nd WR. Dallas' extremely high investment in Austin, and Dallas' draft day snub of Meachem will probably put my "plan" out of reach.

    If Denarius Moore was here, and if Dallas wasn't married to Austin, they could go get Robert Meachem and let someone else over pay for Robinson.

    Dez Bryant
    Robert Meachem
    Denarius Moore

    Felix Jones

    Speed kills....

    The bottom line is this.

    Robert Meachem should have already been wearing the star. The Cowboys have paid big time for that draft day gaff, imso.
  7. Bigdog24

    Bigdog24 Well-Known Member

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    You made alot of good points, I dont think Meachem will be a Cowboy tho. The big question is....will Jerry Jones over pay Robinson? The odds are against Robinson having back to back breakout seasons ... Even with that, I like the idea making Dez the #1 and trading Austin pushing Robinson to the #2 and then going after a #3 WR.

    If I were Jerry Jones I would be very cautious about giving big money to any player currently on this team. The Cowboys have not gotten a very good return on their money from current the players..
  8. CCBoy

    CCBoy Well-Known Member

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    41Y...you certainly are a fan of Dez Bryant. Nothing wrong there, at all.

    I don't spend a hug amount of my own time, attempting to clarify who is on the top three in the league, shelf.

    Dez Bryant is quite a talent, as is Demarco Murray. They both are bottom end young, and top end talented.

    With a quarterback in Tony Romo, who hit career highs in effectiveness, while being drama filled injured, I'm looking for dramatic team achievements on the winning side of the scoreboard come final gun.

    With finances all available going in to this free agency, there is no reason not to have a 1a, 1b, and 1c with Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and Laurent Robinson.

    I don't believe in breaking up what is working to push salary around in clumps.

    I would create instead, an equivalent to NO offensively, and add the two very best guards available in the off season. If it took the second large sum, after Robinson, and the top draft pick to do this...so be it.

    I would then concentrate upon upgrading the Dallas secondary.
  9. McCordsville Cowboy

    McCordsville Cowboy Pro-Quinn

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    Great Post. Dez can't throw himself the ball. JG has no creativity. The Lions got Megatron the ball by moving him around. I dont see Dez playing in the slot. Thats more for Miles anyway.
  10. mldardy

    mldardy Well-Known Member

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    Robert Meachem? You people really are reaching aren't you. WR is not the problem with this team. What we have is perfectly fine.
  11. Cowboys&LakersFan

    Cowboys&LakersFan Benched

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    Dez had a very solid 2nd year. His route running improved immensely over the course of the season. As for who's the #1 I don't really care quite honestly. The way I look at it is we have three very dynamic playmakers that I'm sure other teams would love to have. If we fix the OL the offense will take off.
  12. Eskimo

    Eskimo Well-Known Member

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    I can understand the sentiment to trade Austin coming off of an off-year but we would be selling low.

    He is one of the few WRs who can really take over a game in this league. Adam had a stat about WRs who put up over 120 yards in a game. Austin lead this stat over the combination of 2009 & 10 seasons even though he didn't start for a chunk of 2009 and played without Romo for most of the 2010 season. This guy is an elite talent whose stats have been down the last couple of years. His drops are annoying but the guy gets open fast and has huge RAC ability when healthy so he is a devastating weapon against the blitz for us.

    I would be okay with trading Miles but we have to get back a 1st and a 3rd for it to make sense.

    Jerry dropped the ball with the contract Robinson signed. There was no reason not to do a longer deal on a street FA who was young and had upside and would hit UFA after the year. Hopefully he has learned his lesson but he has a history of being a slow learner.
  13. jblaze2004

    jblaze2004 Well-Known Member

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    miles need to go work on his hands in the offseason. How did he lead us in drops and he missed alot of playing time.
  14. bsheeern

    bsheeern Well-Known Member

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    Meachem sure got blasted Saturday...... I guess he's more noticed now after getting hit like he did.

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