Why the Cowboys Issues are Bigger Than Dez

Dez Bryant made plays in Week 8, but only had three catches on six targets.

Dallas Cowboys Receiver Dez Bryant was visibly upset during the teams Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions.

On different occasions, Bryant was seen yelling at assistant coaches and berating Quarterback Tony Romo. Towards the end of the game, Bryant and Tight End Jason Witten got into a shouting match, with injured teammate DeMarcus Ware having to step between them and try to play peace-maker.

After the game Bryant voiced that his frustration on the sideline was not negative, but rather positive. During his postgame press conference, Bryant explained his stance on the outburst to ESPNDallas.com:

“I’m the nicest person off the field. When I’m on the field, even when I look angry, it’s still all good passion. It’s all good passion. I feel like that’s what we need. I’m going to remain the same way. I feel like I love this game. I love it. In order to win, you’ve got to be passionate about this game. You have to be. You’ve got to let that dog come out and just put it all out there on the line.” 

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones defended Bryant sharing the same sentiments, and they are both right. Dez Bryant plays with a passion and anger that so many great players have. During his verbal bout with Romo and assistant coaches, Bryant seemed to be frustrated with the offense. He claims he was trying to motivate his teammates, stating that they had too much talent not to score against the Lions defense. And he’s right. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have similar outburst when they feel their team can perform better, and we praise them for their leadership and passion. Bryant claims he was doing a similar thing, and we should believe him.

Owens: “Why is Tom Brady showing passion when he screams at players, but Dez is out of control?”

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 28, 2013

The only issue, and not a big one at that, was when Bryant had his last outburst. With Jason Witten, there was time left on the clock. It seemed as though Witten was trying to make that point to Bryant, telling him to not play like the game was already over.

But therein lies the root of Bryant’s frustration. He is right in not saying so, but it is clear that the offense is tired of the defense not holding up their end of the deal. Scoring 30 points wins games in the NFL. With a little over a minute left on the clock, the defense cannot, and should not, let opposing receivers get behind them. The Cowboys did that three times, giving up passing plays of 17, 23 and 22 yards on consecutive snaps.

Dez Bryant is not a problem for the Cowboys. His and Tony Romo’s play has kept them in, and won them games they have had no business being in. The issue with the Cowboys is their defense.

While the unit has created more turnovers this season, they are giving up too many big plays in critical moments. Dallas will probably win the NFC East division by default, being the best-of-the-worst teams type of deal. But if they have bigger goals, which they do, then this team should not be focusing on the overly passionate Bryant.