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Ellis: The Good News Is Dez Will Just Get Even Better
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Some time back, as the Cowboys slipped to 1-5 or 1-6, I sort of wondered aloud just what there would be to say about this team once December rolled around and the Cowboys' playoff non-future was essentially set.
Even with their little resurrection, it's become passé to write about how much more fight they're showing under Jason Garrett. It's definitely a positive step, but it doesn't amount to much, really. So the well we had planned on going to most often between now and the end of the year, the one that has been so good to us since even before the draft in April, was Dez Bryant.
Write about the young guys, advised someone who's dealt with more losing than I have. Write about Dez, he said specifically.
Ouch. That season-ending ankle fracture hurt us almost as much as it did Dez himself. Here we are, a long four-game stretch left, and this is probably the last full-blown Dez piece we'll trot out for a couple of months at least. Better make it a good one, right?
So here's the thing with 88: He hasn't even scratched the surface. Unless injuries ruin him, there is no reason to believe he won't be an All-Pro multiple times over. The 45 catches, 561 yards and six touchdown catches he had this year? Double it, and get used to it.
With essentially no training camp, his often-breathtaking performances this season came almost entirely from natural ability. That's certainly not meant to suggest coaches have done nothing. Jason Garrett and receivers coach Ray Sherman both say he's made great strides, and he has. Obviously they did a lot in getting him up to speed and ready to function in the offense and an NFL game.
But the amazing plays he was making in games this year are the same ones he was making in that very first rookie minicamp practice in May. Just like any rookie receiver, he arrived with a long, long way to go before he can realize his potential. His natural ability just gives him the kind of head start we rarely see.
"There are so many things," Garrett said. "He has to improve as a route runner. He has to improve on the individual technique he uses. Running routes, beating defenders versus press coverage, versus off coverage, so many different things. Add more routes to his repertoire. Be good at running a whole series of different kinds of routes and be effective. But again, that's experience. That's more and more practice, more and more game experience. Again, he goes about it the right way."
Bryant seems to practice hard, but this season has been a learning experience for him in terms of how to prepare for games like a pro. Coming into next year, he should have a much better grasp on what he's looking at in the film room, and will know something about how to bring it with him on game-day. The quarterback shouldn't have to give him individual instructions on a given play.
One would assume he will figure out how to take care of and read his own body better, so that he can work out fully every day. As a rookie, he was having full practice participation at only about a 60-percent clip starting in May. That's not enough. The high ankle sprain in camp was a freak thing, but all the nagging injuries throughout the year, it was just too much. The guy is built as solidly as anyone in the locker room. He certainly doesn't look feeble. But missing all those practices held him back this year, no doubt.
The other area where Dez is going to grow will be in his leadership capabilities. All the comparisons to Michael Irvin are spot on in that he has that kind of emotion, which is contagious. He doesn't come off as a usurper like T.O., someone who will try to get a little clique of guys behind him to divide the locker room. Instead, he's tried to get on Tony Romo's good side since the very first practice of camp, when he came out early to catch passes from the starting quarterback.
There is so much to like about Bryant's presence and his game that it seems like quite a burden for him to live up to, and quite a responsibility on the coaches to get the most out of him. But the more they ask of him, the better. Nothing they've asked of him so far appears to have been too much.
In terms of sheer talent, he is the best rookie the Cowboys have drafted in recent memory. Who else would it be? The safety Roy Williams might be the last who could compare as a rookie, and he went on to make the Pro Bowl the next five years.
Dez's immediate future looks that bright.
"If he would've stayed healthy he would've had a chance to maybe get the Rookie of the Year award," Sherman said. "I would give him a B+ for what he's done. For the things that he's been able to do to step in - he's one of the very few rookies that I've ever seen step in and has no fear, and is just ready to go right from the beginning."
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - Some time back, as the Cowboys slipped to 1-5 or 1-6, I sort of wondered aloud just what there would be to say about this team once December rolled around and the Cowboys' playoff non-future was essentially set.
Even with their little resurrection, it's become passé to write about how much more fight they're showing under Jason Garrett. It's definitely a positive step, but it doesn't amount to much, really. So the well we had planned on going to most often between now and the end of the year, the one that has been so good to us since even before the draft in April, was Dez Bryant.
Write about the young guys, advised someone who's dealt with more losing than I have. Write about Dez, he said specifically.
Ouch. That season-ending ankle fracture hurt us almost as much as it did Dez himself. Here we are, a long four-game stretch left, and this is probably the last full-blown Dez piece we'll trot out for a couple of months at least. Better make it a good one, right?
So here's the thing with 88: He hasn't even scratched the surface. Unless injuries ruin him, there is no reason to believe he won't be an All-Pro multiple times over. The 45 catches, 561 yards and six touchdown catches he had this year? Double it, and get used to it.
With essentially no training camp, his often-breathtaking performances this season came almost entirely from natural ability. That's certainly not meant to suggest coaches have done nothing. Jason Garrett and receivers coach Ray Sherman both say he's made great strides, and he has. Obviously they did a lot in getting him up to speed and ready to function in the offense and an NFL game.
But the amazing plays he was making in games this year are the same ones he was making in that very first rookie minicamp practice in May. Just like any rookie receiver, he arrived with a long, long way to go before he can realize his potential. His natural ability just gives him the kind of head start we rarely see.
"There are so many things," Garrett said. "He has to improve as a route runner. He has to improve on the individual technique he uses. Running routes, beating defenders versus press coverage, versus off coverage, so many different things. Add more routes to his repertoire. Be good at running a whole series of different kinds of routes and be effective. But again, that's experience. That's more and more practice, more and more game experience. Again, he goes about it the right way."
Bryant seems to practice hard, but this season has been a learning experience for him in terms of how to prepare for games like a pro. Coming into next year, he should have a much better grasp on what he's looking at in the film room, and will know something about how to bring it with him on game-day. The quarterback shouldn't have to give him individual instructions on a given play.
One would assume he will figure out how to take care of and read his own body better, so that he can work out fully every day. As a rookie, he was having full practice participation at only about a 60-percent clip starting in May. That's not enough. The high ankle sprain in camp was a freak thing, but all the nagging injuries throughout the year, it was just too much. The guy is built as solidly as anyone in the locker room. He certainly doesn't look feeble. But missing all those practices held him back this year, no doubt.
The other area where Dez is going to grow will be in his leadership capabilities. All the comparisons to Michael Irvin are spot on in that he has that kind of emotion, which is contagious. He doesn't come off as a usurper like T.O., someone who will try to get a little clique of guys behind him to divide the locker room. Instead, he's tried to get on Tony Romo's good side since the very first practice of camp, when he came out early to catch passes from the starting quarterback.
There is so much to like about Bryant's presence and his game that it seems like quite a burden for him to live up to, and quite a responsibility on the coaches to get the most out of him. But the more they ask of him, the better. Nothing they've asked of him so far appears to have been too much.
In terms of sheer talent, he is the best rookie the Cowboys have drafted in recent memory. Who else would it be? The safety Roy Williams might be the last who could compare as a rookie, and he went on to make the Pro Bowl the next five years.
Dez's immediate future looks that bright.
"If he would've stayed healthy he would've had a chance to maybe get the Rookie of the Year award," Sherman said. "I would give him a B+ for what he's done. For the things that he's been able to do to step in - he's one of the very few rookies that I've ever seen step in and has no fear, and is just ready to go right from the beginning."
