Early Off Season Reports

[Manster7588]

Best offensive player: Dez Bryant. He caught everything that came his way. He made the difficult catches. He made the easy catches. He looks ready to get back to the status he had after the 2014 season as one of the top receivers in the NFL. Injuries the last two seasons have robbed Bryant of playing time and effectiveness. A full offseason of work has put him in the right frame of mind going into the summer.

There's notes about others, but if Dez can become a top 5 WR again the O will be dangerous

As Cowboys' offseason ends, Dez Bryant, Anthony Hitchens stand out

 

[es4m11]

That's great to hear/read about Dez. With quality QB play, Dez can be nearly unstoppable. Dak to Dez really started to gel last quarter of 2016. I'm expecting big things from those two this year.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Zeke got the glory with 3 TDs in that Pittsburgh game but Dez was playing on another level that day. That game was a prime example of what our offense is capable of if Dez and Zeke are firing on all cylinders.

 

[jarntt]

some final Minicamp blurbs
Scout’s Notebook: Minicamp Standouts; Jaylon Smith’s Outlook; More

 

[jarntt]

That's great to hear/read about Dez. With quality QB play, Dez can be nearly unstoppable. Dak to Dez really started to gel last quarter of 2016. I'm expecting big things from those two this year.

I think Dez obviously will be our best receiver but his lack of speed and injuries seem to cap his upside a little. I no longer think he can be a top 5 WR in the game. Not saying he can't be dominant, but there seem to be a lot of WRs in this league nowadays with his size and also with great speed. But he doesn't have to put up 100 catches and 1,600 yards for us to have a great year. I'll settle for a little less on both of those but a bunch of TDs. I don't want to see forcing him that fade into the back corner all of the time when we all know it's coming. But I do want to use that play mixed in with a little more back-shoulder throws too, to keep the defense guessing. I think if he is healthy and focused every play we should see some of those "big things" this year and yeah...late last year Dez seemed healthy and they seemed to get on the same page. Hard to imagine our Offense not being one of the best if Dak stays the guy he was last year

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

Dez can still be the best red zone wr in the NFL

 

[PDay8810]

As we know....injuries can derail the best laid plans, but I'm excited about this team.

Something tells me Tapper will be a great addition if he can stay upright. and I expect Maliek Collins to continue to establish himself as a solid player for this team. NOW...if only those rookies DB's can make the adjustments to play at this level. we just might have a pretty good defense to go with our top 10 offense

 

[es4m11]

I think Dez obviously will be our best receiver but his lack of speed and injuries seem to cap his upside a little. I no longer think he can be a top 5 WR in the game. Not saying he can't be dominant, but there seem to be a lot of WRs in this league nowadays with his size and also with great speed. But he doesn't have to put up 100 catches and 1,600 yards for us to have a great year. I'll settle for a little less on both of those but a bunch of TDs. I don't want to see forcing him that fade into the back corner all of the time when we all know it's coming. But I do want to use that play mixed in with a little more back-shoulder throws too, to keep the defense guessing. I think if he is healthy and focused every play we should see some of those "big things" this year and yeah...late last year Dez seemed healthy and they seemed to get on the same page. Hard to imagine our Offense not being one of the best if Dak stays the guy he was last year

I won't say Dez is a top 5 WR, but that is more due to the depth of talent at the position than because of shortcomings from Dez - there are a ton of excellent WRs in the league right now, I don't ever remember the position being this deep with elite talent. I give Dez a little bit of a mulligan for the last two seasons due to injury and adjusting to a new QB.

Dez looked like he was all the way back, 100% healthy the second half of last season. Dak's progression during the season in 2016 certainly helped too. Dak had trouble placing the ball in the right spots when looking for Dez early on in the year, especially when going down the field. As the year progressed we started to see Dez having bigger impacts on games, and his numbers saw a nice little upswing. The fades to the corner of the end zone are great, but Dez's bread and butter has always been the back shoulder throw, which Romo executed to perfection - if Dak can master that, Dez is nearly unstoppable in red zone.

As far as speed, Dez was never a burner. He looked plenty explosive to me over the last several games of the season. Not concerned about this guy physically yet, so long as he has the injuries behind him.

Just for fun, here's my top 5 WR...
1. Julio Jones
1b. Antonio Brown
3. AJ Green
4. Odell Beckham JR
5. Mike Evans

 

[tomodach10]

I won't say Dez is a top 5 WR, but that is more due to the depth of talent at the position than because of shortcomings from Dez - there are a ton of excellent WRs in the league right now, I don't ever remember the position being this deep with elite talent. I give Dez a little bit of a mulligan for the last two seasons due to injury and adjusting to a new QB.

Dez looked like he was all the way back, 100% healthy the second half of last season. Dak's progression during the season in 2016 certainly helped too. Dak had trouble placing the ball in the right spots when looking for Dez early on in the year, especially when going down the field. As the year progressed we started to see Dez having bigger impacts on games, and his numbers saw a nice little upswing. The fades to the corner of the end zone are great, but Dez's bread and butter has always been the back shoulder throw, which Romo executed to perfection - if Dak can master that, Dez is nearly unstoppable in red zone.

As far as speed, Dez was never a burner. He looked plenty explosive to me over the last several games of the season. Not concerned about this guy physically yet, so long as he has the injuries behind him.

Just for fun, here's my top 5 WR...
1. Julio Jones
1b. Antonio Brown
3. AJ Green
4. Odell Beckham JR
5. Mike Evans

I would put him ahead of Mike Evans

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

I like Hopkins from Houston. The damage he does with the QBs he plays with is impressive

 

[tomodach10]

I like Hopkins from Houston. The damage he does with the QBs he plays with is impressive

I forgot about him.

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

Zeke got the glory with 3 TDs in that Pittsburgh game but Dez was playing on another level that day. That game was a prime example of what our offense is capable of if Dez and Zeke are firing on all cylinders.

That was probably the best game I watched all year. Dez and zeke were unstoppable.

 

[es4m11]

I would put him ahead of Mike Evans

Not me. Respectfully disagree. Give it another year, Mike Evans might be in the conversation with Jones and Brown for top spot. Evans is a mismatch against anyone - he torched Richard Sherman last year.

 

[es4m11]

I like Hopkins from Houston. The damage he does with the QBs he plays with is impressive

Hopkins is a great player. I think some of the shine came off him last year. Despite Osweiller's troubles in 2016, Hopkins just was not as good as his 2015 campaign - the guy had over 150 targets, and his catch percentage dropped roughly 7%.

An argument can be made that part of the reason Osweiller struggled was due to regression by Hopkins.

All that said, Hopkins is somewhere in that 5-10 range, IMO. That second tier group has a lot of damn good WRs - Dez, D.Thomas, D.Hopkins, J.Nelson, A.Cooper

 

[jarntt]

With Irving's issues, the confusion over PT in the secondary and Jaylon Smith still in limbo is there a safer pick for breakout player than Collins? I know you can pick almost every DL to improve greatly, but he seems like the obvious choice to me. We don't even know if guys like Charlton and Tapper and some of the others are going to play half the snaps because there are so many of them and their roles are up in the air. Lawrence would be my pick to get a dozen sacks if I had to choose, but he already had 8 two years ago before getting hurt and suspended last year. Jones too, but I think he was already on a Pro Bowl level last year sans a few issues at the goal line.

Overshadowed By His Own Draft Class, Maliek Collins Has Lofty Expectations

Talk about the right kind of guy. Two years ago the DL that led the team in snaps was Hardy. Last year it was Collins. Year by year this is becoming more and more Garrett's team...

 

[tomodach10]

Not me. Respectfully disagree. Give it another year, Mike Evans might be in the conversation with Jones and Brown for top spot. Evans is a mismatch against anyone - he torched Richard Sherman last year.

Close call. You may be right.

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

With Irving's issues, the confusion over PT in the secondary and Jaylon Smith still in limbo is there a safer pick for breakout player than Collins? I know you can pick almost every DL to improve greatly, but he seems like the obvious choice to me. We don't even know if guys like Charlton and Tapper and some of the others are going to play half the snaps because there are so many of them and their roles are up in the air. Lawrence would be my pick to get a dozen sacks if I had to choose, but he already had 8 two years ago before getting hurt and suspended last year. Jones too, but I think he was already on a Pro Bowl level last year sans a few issues at the goal line.

Overshadowed By His Own Draft Class, Maliek Collins Has Lofty Expectations

Talk about the right kind of guy. Two years ago the DL that led the team in snaps was Hardy. Last year it was Collins. Year by year this is becoming more and more Garrett's team...

Collins fits the 3 tech perfectly. Not many rookies I have seen have missed pre season and gets on the field and is productive. He had several near misses before he ever got his first sack. He was ferocious . I would not be surprised if he gets 10 sacks

 

[R.J. MacReady]

I think Dez obviously will be our best receiver but his lack of speed and injuries seem to cap his upside a little. I no longer think he can be a top 5 WR in the game. Not saying he can't be dominant, but there seem to be a lot of WRs in this league nowadays with his size and also with great speed. But he doesn't have to put up 100 catches and 1,600 yards for us to have a great year. I'll settle for a little less on both of those but a bunch of TDs. I don't want to see forcing him that fade into the back corner all of the time when we all know it's coming. But I do want to use that play mixed in with a little more back-shoulder throws too, to keep the defense guessing. I think if he is healthy and focused every play we should see some of those "big things" this year and yeah...late last year Dez seemed healthy and they seemed to get on the same page. Hard to imagine our Offense not being one of the best if Dak stays the guy he was last year

One thing I noticed last year was that Dez got zero separation.
Guys were draped all over him the second he made a catch. I watched this happen all year.

And at the same time you watched the old man Witten always have a step or 2 on the defender.
Yes, they run different types of routes so it's not always a fair comparison ..but I never seen Dez have so much trouble getting away from people.

It was always so much fun to watch one defender try to take him down by himself ...but last year he looked down right mortal.


.

 

[jarntt]

One thing I noticed last year was that Dez got zero separation.
Guys were draped all over him the second he made a catch. I watched this happen all year.

And at the same time you watched the old man Witten always have a step or 2 on the defender.
Yes, they run different types of routes so it's not always a fair comparison ..but I never seen Dez have so much trouble getting away from people.

It was always so much fun to watch one defender try to take him down by himself ...but last year he looked down right mortal.


.

Yes, the lack of separation has always been an issue for Dez. Nothing new last year, I just think the injuries slowed him and made it even more of an issue. Witten operating in the middle of the field and closer to the QB makes it a lot easier to get "separation" even with his lack of foot speed because it only takes a split second for him to break and the QB to deliver the ball. It is a little tougher on the outside. Where Dez does seem to get some separation is when he slants or crosses. If healthy he should be a lot better than last year, but for him to be dominant it will likely mean using his physical strength and frame, not running away from anyone. I think he will be good this year, but I have no problem if Dak continues to make the smart plays like last year and go to the open guy instead of trying to force the ball elsewhere. Being smart and accurate are two damn good qualities for a QB and Dak has combined those two for at least year one better than most. What we also need is someone to stretch the field and open up the rest of the field for Witten and our slot guys and Dez. Seldom is a team worried about us getting behind them and thus they don't feel the need to keep a safety back which also helps them try to stop our rushing attack.

 

[DALLAScornhusker]

I think there were two issues Dez was dealing with last year; 1. Injury 2. Adjusting to Dak. You play with Romo and everything goes smooth for years. You play with Moore or Weeden or whomever, you don't know what to expect. Insert a young guy and you're still not sure where to expect the ball to be placed.

Year #2 with Dak at the helm and a whole offseason being able to work with him, I expect a lot of the wrinkles to be ironed out between those two. A lot less guessing on Dez's end will result in higher percentage of catches per throw. It may not help his separation much, if at all. The knock on Dez has always been his route running and it was pointed out again last year by Jenkins who just about shut him out in 2 games. Dez is the only one that can fix Dez at this point in his career.