MacMahon: Dez Bryant ends dramatic week with 'frustrating' day

boozeman

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Dez Bryant ends dramatic week with 'frustrating' day

November, 2, 2014



By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

Garbage time in a lopsided loss is no time to strut. And this was certainly no day to celebrate for Bryant, whose long week ended with the proud Pro Bowl receiver being a nonfactor in the Dallas Cowboys' 28-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

With injured quarterback Tony Romo wearing sweats and watching from the sideline, Bryant didn't have a catch that counted until a 12-yard reception on the play following the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. Bryant's 3-yard touchdown catch two plays later was far too little, far too late.

"Man, very frustrating," Bryant said. "We came out here expecting to get that W. We flat out got beat."

Frankly, this was one of the worst weeks of Bryant's NFL career. There are two things the proud Pro Bowl receiver hates being part of: off-field controversy and losing. He got hit with a one-two punch this week.

Way too much drama, way too few plays made.

The off-field controversy wasn't Bryant's fault. Who could blame him for being mad that Joseph Randle was running his mouth about Bryant's long resolved legal issue after the backup running back was busted for trying to steal underwear and cologne from the mall a few weeks ago? Bryant had every right to confront Randle after that video aired Thursday evening on KDFW-TV.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the verbal confrontation continued on the practice field during the media access portion of Friday's practice, which isn't exactly an ideal way to focus on a matchup of first-place teams two days later.

Fortunately for Randle, Bryant decided to be the bigger man, accepting an apology that came later and moving on.

"He made a mistake, and you forgive people," Bryant said. "That's what you do."

Backup quarterback Brandon Weeden made a lot of mistakes Sunday afternoon, struggling mightily in his attempt to fill Romo's shoes as the starter. The chemistry between Weeden and Bryant, who was followed everywhere he went by Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson, seemed to be especially brutal.

The first eight passes thrown to Bryant hit the turf. He dropped the first one, but several others were simply poor passes that even a receiver who often makes circus catches look routine had no hope of hauling in.

"It takes time," said Weeden, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, padding his numbers during the meaningless late touchdown drive. "I didn't play with him at all in the preseason. I played a few plays with him the other night. It takes time.

"He is such a dynamic receiver going against one of the best corners in the league all day. There is a sense of comfort that I think takes time. Tony and Dez, they've been doing it a long time. They know each other like the back of their hands."

As much as Bryant didn't want to make excuses, he made a handful of references to how much he missed Romo.

But Bryant also knows there's no guarantee that Romo's back will recover well enough for the franchise quarterback to play next week in London. Bryant better figure out how to work with a quarterback who television cameras caught him barking at a few times on the sideline.

Bryant said he didn't remember what he said to Weeden on the sideline. He thought it might have been encouragement, but he certainly didn't deny that frustration was boiling over.

"Trust me, I'm dealing with it," Bryant said. "If you're a competitor, that's what's going to happen. You will see frustration."

There's no issue with Bryant letting off a little steam on the sideline.

The problem is we didn't see any plays from Bryant until it was far too late. And it's hard to envision that changing until Romo returns.
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I was on the Bryant train in recent weeks.

He has come up so effing small lately, it's sad.

He is the best player on the field most of the time, it is time he makes that evident.

I think he is getting concerned about his money. Never a good thing to have a player distracted by that.
 

Smitty

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Something is going on because the guy has definitely come up small the last few weeks.
 

Texas Ace

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He doesn't usually play this poorly, but Dez has never been a guy who racks up 100 yard game after 100 yard game, which is why I defended Bipo to an extent when he went on his Dez bashing in recent weeks.

He's just not a guy who is going to get you 6 or 7 catches for 120 week in and week out. It's usually 5 for 86 and a TD, followed by 6 for 52, followed by 7 for 120 a TD. That pretty much has been his pattern for his whole career.

While that is certainly not bad and he's helped win football games, it's not the type of weekly production you would expect from a true #1 target. Look at the runs that we've seen Demarius Thomas, T.Y. Hilton, Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, etc. go on......we have yet to see Dez go on a tear like that.
 

Cotton

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It didn't help that in yesterday's game at least he had no clue if the ball was even going to be in his zip code when he turned for it.
 

BipolarFuk

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He doesn't usually play this poorly, but Dez has never been a guy who racks up 100 yard game after 100 yard game, which is why I defended Bipo to an extent when he went on his Dez bashing in recent weeks.

He's just not a guy who is going to get you 6 or 7 catches for 120 week in and week out. It's usually 5 for 86 and a TD, followed by 6 for 52, followed by 7 for 120 a TD. That pretty much has been his pattern for his whole career.

While that is certainly not bad and he's helped win football games, it's not the type of weekly production you would expect from a true #1 target. Look at the runs that we've seen Demarius Thomas, T.Y. Hilton, Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, etc. go on......we have yet to see Dez go on a tear like that.
This is exactly why he isn't worth putting a huge dent in the salary cap. I want Josh Gordon numbers if you are going to make a WR the highest, or among the highest paid in the league. And remember Gordon did it with shit QBs.

Gordon is twice the WR Dez is. He is truely ELITE. Too bad he's an idiot.
 

L.T. Fan

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This is exactly why he isn't worth putting a huge dent in the salary cap. I want Josh Gordon numbers if you are going to make a WR the highest, or among the highest paid in the league. And remember Gordon did it with shit QBs.

Gordon is twice the WR Dez is. He is truely ELITE. Too bad he's an idiot.
I am not down on Bryant but he seems to have more trouble than usual lately getting open. His routes look like improvisation as he goes. He would be hard to connect with.
 

Carp

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I like his fire, but I'd have to hear what he was saying to Weeden when he was making those coocoo circles around his head. To the outside eye he looked like he was showing him up. Also...when things are going well he and Murray are chest bumping and talking each other up...saw them both sitting on the sidelines pouting last night. Did not like that at all.
 

shane

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Weeden was garbage. Hard to blame Dez for not getting many catches in yesterday's loss.
 
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L.T. Fan

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Weeden was garbage. Hard to blame Dez for not getting many catches in yesterday's loss.
Bryant dropped and missed several passes yesterday. He wasn't on his game either.
 
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