Dez Bryant: I found myself

[boozeman]

Dez Bryant: I found myself

Posted by Josh Alper on May 22, 2013, 7:43 AM EDT

You hear about players having breakout seasons all the time, but you rarely hear anyone talk about someone having a breakout offseason.

Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant had a breakout season in 2012. After two years of inconsistent performances and injuries, Bryant played in all 16 games for the Cowboys and turned in 92 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those were the kind of numbers that the team hoped to see when they took Bryant in the first round of the 2010 draft and numbers they likely worried about seeing after a chaotic offseason that culminated with an arrest for allegedly hitting his own mother.

Just as things came together for Bryant on the field last season, they seem to have come together for him off of it this year. Bryant’s name has only come up when people are talking about how focused he’s been on football and how much he’s grown up since the start of last season. Bryant took some time Tuesday to talk about his changed approach.

“I found myself,” Bryant said, via ESPNDallas.com. “I’m comfortable with my life. I’m enjoying being in the NFL. I wish it could’ve been a couple years back, but I had to go through a couple of things to figure it out. I think I got it and I’m just more focused on my job and doing what I love to do and that’s playing football.”

After Bryant’s arrest last summer, there was a lot of talk about a set of behavioral guidelines that Bryant had to follow to remain a member of the Cowboys. The Cowboys denied putting them in place, but owner Jerry Jones said Bryant had to change his lifestyle to stay in Dallas. One doesn’t count their chickens before they hatch, so we’ll say only that all those efforts have paid off to this point and produced the best Bryant we’ve seen on and off the field since he entered the NFL.

 

[Texas Ace]

I won't get too ahead of myself and start celebrating, but this is very encouraging.

Sounds like he's genuinely maturing.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Cotton]

Cowboys don't hold back on thinking about how good Dez Bryant can be: 'That's our job,' Garrett says

Dez Bryant is coming off a pretty good year – 92 catches, 1,382 yards, 12 touchdowns.

The Cowboys don’t resist thinking even higher with him.

“Absolutely. That’s our job,” coach Jason Garrett said. “Our job is to make him the best he can be. ... We watch the tape and say, ‘Boy, you can play so much better. So much better.’ ”
Bryant said Tuesday as organized practices began at Valley Ranch that he has “found himself” this offseason, the quietest of his pro career. He said part of it is from being around successful pros.

“What we do as coaches is we show him, ‘This is how you can play better, this is how we’re going to help you play better – individual drills, in practice, what you’re doing after practice, understanding the system better, all of those things, and carrying that stuff to the game.’ ”

Bryant helps himself with his eagerness to play, Garrett said.

“He’s really , really a joy to coach,” Garrett said. “He has such passion for the game. He loves it. He loves his teammates. He loves to play.”

-- Carlos Mendez

 

[asklesko]

That's nice. Now go catch touchdowns, Dez.

 

[E_D_Guapo]

I won't get too ahead of myself and start celebrating, but this is very encouraging.

Sounds like he's genuinely maturing.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I think he probably has matured a bit. Forced to, really. While I don't think he's overly bright he's also not hopelessly moronic. At least I hope he's not. I think he'll always be a little volatile and is probably going to need to have people around him to keep him in line. I have a feeling he'll be fine for at least a couple of years. I do worry about him becoming a star, getting a huge contract, and losing focus/control. That's only speculation though and is down the road anyway. We'll see. On the field he was pretty impressive last season and expect more of the same this year.

 

[gator]

Dez frustrated the hell out of Garrett, Romo, and all of us watching the first two years with his inconsistency. I think he'll always be a bit streaky, but last year's leap in production is encouraging.

He's just not crafty enough and doesn't have the extra sense with his quarterback yet. As long as he keeps his head out of his own ass he'll be better next season.

 

[skidadl]

I think he probably has matured a bit. Forced to, really. While I don't think he's overly bright he's also not hopelessly moronic. At least I hope he's not. I think he'll always be a little volatile and is probably going to need to have people around him to keep him in line. I have a feeling he'll be fine for at least a couple of years. I do worry about him becoming a star, getting a huge contract, and losing focus/control. That's only speculation though and is down the road anyway. We'll see. On the field he was pretty impressive last season and expect more of the same this year.

100% agree.