Dez Bryant is denying any real issue with those reported back problems he has been suffering from lately. Reports surfaced the wide receiver was diagnosed with disc problems that could limit his production on the court. Naturally, the Dallas Cowboys star denied that would be the case, but being targeted twice in Sunday's loss to the Saints, many wonder what the real status of Bryant is.
Bryant caught one pass for 44 yards in the Week 10 loss, something he is not blaming on his back. The wide receiver said he was at full strength during the game, but the two targets were simply just part of the game plan and he just does what he is told.
"I just do as asked. That's what I do. I can't answer that," Bryant said, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. "I promise you...ain't nothing wrong with [my back]."
A reason for the lack of production could be the double-teaming the Saints did on Bryant considering he is one of Romo's favorite targets. Instead, the Cowboys failed to capitalize in other areas on offense, resulting in the loss. This sort of thing will likely happen more often throughout the year, something head coach Jason Garrett is well aware of.
"Dez is, I think, targeted as much as anybody on our team," Garrett said. "I know he and Witt [tight end Jason Witten] are the ones who are typically targeted as much as anybody, and for obvious reasons. He's a play-making type player for us and has been, so you want to make sure you give him chances, and we have to make sure we do that week in and week out. And one of the issues in the game the other night is we just didn't have as many snaps as we typically do. They had over 80 and we had just north of 40, so that limits your opportunities. Having said that, he's one of those players you need to try in every way you can to get the ball in his hands and we'll continue to try to do that."
Garrett believes that despite the double-teaming of Bryant, the Cowboys must continue to feed him the ball no matter what. The head coach does not have much of a choice considering Jerry Jones admitted he was frustrated with the lack of involvement from the receiver. Bryant is the team's best playmaker and healthy or not, he can and will make a different for Dallas.
