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Sometimes when things look bad, there is always time to stop and smell the flowers. In the case of the last Dallas Cowboys loss to the Arizona Cardinals, thanks to poor clock management and blown coverage in overtime, one need just step back and wonder if anything went right. If there is a silver lining, it is the performance of wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Bryant made news earlier in the season when he was talking about how no team could beat the Dallas Cowboys, because they were so good, they could only beat themselves. Then Philadelphia whipped the Cowboys from goal post to goal post. Bryant also said that playing in the NFL was easier than playing in college because he did not receive as much double coverage.
That really opened up Bryant for some critics.
Bryant considered college at Oklahoma State to be harder. In his final playing season at Oklahoma State, he had 87 receptions for 1,480 yards and 19 touchdowns. He then set out the next year, suspended because he broke NCAA regulations.
In 2011, with starting wide receiver Miles Austin out of action for much of the year, Bryant has 46 receptions for 706 yards and seven touchdowns. Breaking that down, before the Cardinals game, Bryant's best performance of the season was five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. It was his most receiving yards on the season and his second most receptions.
That is not what the Cowboys need from their star receiver.
Against the Cardinals, he was targeted 14 times, a season and career high. He caught eight of the passes, also a season high, for 86 yards, second only to Week 7. He also caught the only touchdown reception of the game.
Dallas has to hope this kind of play continues against the Giants. The Cowboys get Austin back for this game, so less coverage for Bryant should open things up for him again. In three-receiver sets, with Jason Witten as a fourth option, Bryant should get even better looks.
If the Dallas Cowboys want to win the NFC East and make it to the playoffs, they need Dez Bryant to have more games like this. It is nice when he is the silver lining but it would be even nicer to award him a game ball after a win.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
Source: Yahoo! Sports
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