The Landry Hat
Fansided

Will Dez Bryant’s return make an immediate impact?

By Matthew Conner

facebooktwitterreddit

Injured wide receiver Dez Bryant continues to show signs of his imminent return to the Dallas Cowboys lineup. Link

This news provides optimism for Cowboys’ fans because without him, the team has gone just 1-3 scoring only 18.5 points per game.

More from The Landry Hat

To be fair, the team is also missing starting quarterback Tony Romo which leads one to wonder whether or not Bryant’s return will make the type of impact Cowboy fans are expecting it to.

No matter when Bryant returns, be it against the New York Giants next week or soon thereafter, either Matt Cassel or Brandon Weeden will be under center. Doubts arise about whether either quarterback has the ability to utilize Bryant’s talents to the fullest.

There is no doubt that Bryant’s foot will not be 100% healthy when he returns. A similar injury cost wide receiver Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons to miss virtually all of last season and Bryant is attempting to return in only seven weeks.

It is simply impossible to believe that the all-pro receiver will be able to play as physically as he is accustomed to. Therefore, the short passing game like slip screens and slant routes may only go for five to eight yards rather than for twenty or eighty yards.

Additionally, the more routes Bryant runs across the middle or close to the line of scrimmage the more he risks re-injuring his surgically repaired foot. Tackles on receivers running slants and crossing routes are made by multiple players at a time (often linebackers which are heavier and more violent than defensive backs) and often put a player in awkward positions as the ball carrier’s body is contorted and twisted to the ground.

If Bryant is on the field, he must be protected during his first few games back. His snaps may be limited but more importantly, Dallas must use him in a way that keeps him from another foot injury.

The best use of the star receiver would be as a deep threat on fly routes and deep square-in routes where he is single covered or catches the ball farther away from the line of scrimmage where the defenders are smaller and less violent. Doing so will look strange to Cowboys’ fans because so much of what Bryant does is take short passes and make them into huge gains by breaking multiple tackles.

The problem lies in the fact that neither Matt Cassel nor Brandon Weeden is proficient at throwing the deep ball. Both average less than seven yards per pass attempt during their careers.

Moreover, the offensive line has been poor in pass protection this season. Through five games, Dallas has allowed 11 sacks and 38 quarterback hits on 170 passing attempts.

In other words, almost 30% of the time (28.8% to be exact) Dallas attempts to throw the ball the quarterback is hit or sacked. Even if Cassel or Weeden feel frisky enough to throw the ball beyond 15 yards, will he have time to do so?

Neither player is able to evade the pass rush like Romo does. And so many of Bryant’s big plays come off of Romo improvisations.

Another issue lost in the would-be euphoria of a possible Dez Bryant return is his lack of experience working with Matt Cassel. Unlike in college where a top receiver often finds himself five yards clear of the closest defender, the NFL passing game is based on precision and timing.

Bryant has not participated in a full workout since week one of the NFL season meaning his timing in general is not where it should be. Plus, he’s never caught a pass from Cassel.

Each quarterback throws the ball differently and to develop a relationship, quarterbacks and receivers spend hundreds of hours per season and thousands of hours over the course of multiple seasons perfecting the timing of their routes. Not having these repetitions is one reason why backup quarterbacks often struggle with accuracy when pressed into action unexpectedly.

Though he has been a Cowboy for only a few weeks, Cassel has at least had the opportunity to being developing connections with Jason Witten, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley. If Bryans is cleared to play versus the Giants, he will have had at most one week to work with Cassel on what other NFL quarterbacks and receivers have been working on since the spring.

The Dallas Cowboys need Dez Bryant back. The offensive numbers without him bear that truth.

But when Bryant suits up again, fans may be expecting his usual heroics to make a significant impact in the team’s offense. However, until the Romo to Bryant connection is back and operating at full capacity, the offense will continue to struggle even with Bryant on the field.

Next: Is Darren McFadden running scared? Cowboys analyst things so

Home/Cowboys News