The Dallas Cowboys’ Offense Hinges on Dez

You can argue over the exact financial worthiness of Dez Bryant all you want, but his worth to the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive scheme, is darn-near priceless.

Quite simply, Dez Bryant makes the Dallas Cowboys’ offense tick. Without Dez, this offense loses its identity. THAT’S why Dez Bryant is so important to the Dallas Cowboys, and THAT’S why the Cowboys ponied up the cash.

True, the Dallas Cowboys are now a running team. But they are successful in this recent paradigm shift, because of Dez Bryant. Gone is DeMarco Murray. The NFL’s leading rusher was deemed expendable in this run-heavy system. The Cowboys could have kept either player, and they chose Dez without hesitation. That’s because the Dallas Cowboys know/believe, DeMarco is expendable because of Dez Bryant’s presence on the field.

Dez has skills rarely seen at this level of professional sports. He stands as the dominant player, in a professional league made up of dominant players. Standouts of his polarization are expected at the high school level. Even at the college level. But at the professional level, this kind of dominance is special.

Former Oklahoma State coach Gunter Brewer regards Dez as the most talented player he’s seen. These are strong words from the man who also coached Randy Moss.

"“As far as the jump ball goes, Dez is the best that I’ve ever seen,” Brewer said. “When it’s just him and a defensive back going up in the end zone, I’ve never really seen him lose one of those. He just has an uncanny way of using his size and jumping ability and strong hands to snatch the ball.”"

Dez Bryant isn’t lightning-fast, but he has the speed and agility to be an elusive breakaway threat from anywhere on the field. He has the mass, strength, and killer instinct to run anyone over as well. He has ball skills and leaping ability, unrivaled by his peers. Dez is an once-in-a-lifetime talent that makes this dynamic offense work.

Defensive coordinators tailor schemes to limit Dez. Dez Bryant demands double, and sometimes triple, coverage. If teams take Dez out of a play, Jason Garrett’s offense is designed to find the resulting mismatch.

Dez is effective even without the ball – because he opens things up for others.

For the past few seasons I’ve argued that Jason Garrett need to move Dez in motion more. I lobbied that Garrett needs to create mismatches, and force the ball into Bryant’s hands. But Jason Garrett’s Air Coryell offense doesn’t run that way. Jason Garrett prefers to take mismatches as they present themselves…and that seems to working just fine.

Garrett’s offense is made to adapt. If you take Dez away 90% of the time, Garrett wants Tony Romo avoiding Dez 90% of the time. The ball is designed to go to places the defense has neglected. If everyone’s back in 3 deep, the Cowboys run the ball. If it’s 8 in the box, the Cowboys pass. If it’s bracket coverage on Dez, but single man coverage on Jason Witten, Wit gets the ball.

The reason the Dallas Cowboys have been so offensively successful since Dez arrived, is because Dez forces these advantageous mismatches. He demands extra attention and opens things up elsewhere. Sure he could have 120 catch seasons, but that’s not how this offense is designed. Dez is effective even without the ball – because he opens things up for others.

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Entire Cowboys Offense Hinges on Dez Bryant

By Reid Hanson | Jul 16, 2015

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