Dez Bryant: Plummeting Star or Sleeping Giant?

By: Geoff Schleisman

The 2018 offseason is not one that three-time Pro Bowler Dez Bryant will look back on fondly. On April 13, the Dallas Cowboys cut the eight-year veteran wide receiver. His contract would’ve counted $16.5 million against the cap this season and the Cowboys ultimately decided they would prefer to pay an $8 million hit to clear him off the books for 2019. This is not a good look for a 29-year-old receiver who will see his 30th birthday come and go this November.

The news came as a shock to many in the fantasy community because Dez is viewed by most as at least a former, if not present, star wide receiver. He was a monster early in his career, putting up top-20 finishes in four of his first five seasons.

DEZ BRYANT CAREER STATS

The 2015 season, however, marked the beginning of Bryant’s decline. His catch rate dropped an astonishing 21.7% from the previous season and he averaged nearly ten fewer FPTS/G in PPR scoring. Dez was a victim of circumstance to a certain extent as he suffered a fracture of his 5th metatarsal in the first week of the season. That kept him out of the lineup for six weeks and definitely had a lingering effect for the remainder of the season. He also dealt with poor quarterback play. Tony Romo played in just three of the games Dez was active for and the rest was a mix of Matt Cassel, Brandon Weeden, and Kellen Moore. Not ideal. Nevertheless, this was a precipitous drop in efficiency for a player who had been very efficient in his first five NFL seasons. The numbers normalized a bit in 2016 with 13.8 PPR FPTS/G (21st overall WR in that category) but the catch rate was pretty low once again at 52.1%. That trend continued in 2017 with a 52.3% catch rate. His 11.7 PPR FPTS/G was good for just 30th in the league amongst wide receivers on a per game basis. That is just awful for a player who was the 12th most targeted at his position with 132 targets.

According to Dynasty RedZone ADP, Bryant is currently being drafted at 99.5, which equates to an early eighth round pick and 43rd WR off the board. While the positional rank may appear to be bearable, it is still way too high for a receiver on the back end of his career who has yet to find a home. Remember, Dez required WR1 level targets to produce as a WR3 on a per game basis last season. Wherever he ends up, he will not be the number one option, which means he won’t be the beneficiary of a 25% target share. On a league-wide basis, the number two receiving option averaged 90.6 targets in 2017 (that number includes RBs and TEs). That being said, Dez will be lucky to sniff 100 targets in 2018 and if he continues to catch the ball at a 52% clip he will need to hit the touchdown jackpot in order to produce as a WR3 again.

COULD EGO BE PROBLEM?

Another angle to consider with Dez Bryant is that he is used to being the go-to receiving option on his team. We’ve seen him blow up on the sideline multiple times throughout his career when he wasn’t happy with his targets. How will he handle playing second fiddle to a younger, better receiver? I haven’t seen anything to suggest he would handle that gracefully. He is also used to being the highest paid receiving option on his team. He reportedly turned down a deal from the Ravens similar to what Michael Crabtree ultimately signed (Three-years/$21 million/$7million signing bonus/$11 million guaranteed). That was one of the few opportunities he had to remain a WR1 in this league and he was too blinded by his ego to see it. These are all important pieces of information NFL general managers will be looking at when considering the prospect of signing Dez Bryant. Between cap considerations and character issues he has probably eliminated two-thirds of his market if not more. That tells me there is a non-zero chance he sits out the entire 2018 season. Bryant presents way too much risk for an eighth-round pick in dynasty startups. I have him ranked as my 65th WR and 150th player overall.

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St. Cloud, The Florida of The Midwest: "St. Cloud Man"

September 07, 2018Gramps

By Gramps

The interwebs are chalked full of all the stories about the awesomely outrageous acts from what the "Florida Man" does when he is in his element. "Florida Man" never disappoints the human race, the only people that "Florida Man" disappoints are his mom and dad. A little well kept secret of The Midwest is our version, "St. Cloud Man". 

This weeks "St. Cloud Man" winner and undefeated champ,  would fit in perfectly down in Americas biggest retirement home, after slicing his neighbors finger tips off with a machete. 67-year-old Clarence Junior Hilliard, Jr. (Yep, this guy has two Juniors in his name, which definitely got him a couple extra "St. Cloud Man" credit bonus points.) Hilliard's neighbor was doing guy a solid and brought some smokes over for Hilliard. When neighbor knocked on the door he was told to go away. Being a true brotato he kept knocking, trying to drop off the flavor sticks for the guy.

Finally Hilliard opens the door in true "St. Cloud Man" fashion and slices the guys finger tips off with a machete. The officials were alerted and charged Hilliard with two felonies. 

Lessons Learned:

1. "St. Cloud Man" is a nut job.

2. Not everyone loves thy neighbor.

3. Not only could second hand smoke kill you, it could also chop your fingers off.

Source link below.

Source 1 Comment

categories St. Cloud Man, Humor
tags St. Cloud Man, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Police

Bad Andy

September 07, 2018Bad Andy

Welcome to the rat pack! This Bad Andy aka Dr Spin making his intro from 6 feet under, or is it 9 feet over?? Taking the blog straight outta the oven to your dinner plate, hope you’re hungry! 

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Season	Team	G	Rec.	Tgt.	CTCH%	Team Tgt% in GP	Yds	Y/R	TD	FPTS/G	EOS Rank
2010	DAL	12	45	72	62.5	17.1	561	12.5	6	11.4	50
2011	DAL	15	63	103	61.2	19.8	928	14.7	9	14.0	19
2012	DAL	16	92	138	66.7	21.3	1,382	15.0	12	18.9	4
2013	DAL	16	93	160	58.1	27.4	1,233	13.3	13	18.4	7
2014	DAL	16	88	136	64.7	28.9	1,320	15	16	19.8	4
2015	DAL	9	31	72	43.0	25.1	401	12.9	3	9.9	81
2016	DAL	13	50	96	52.1	24.2	796	15.9	8	13.8	40
2017	DAL	12	69	132	52.3	27.2	838	12.1	6	11.7	24

St. Cloud, The Florida of The Midwest: "St. Cloud Man"

By Gramps

The interwebs are chalked full of all the stories about the awesomely outrageous acts from what the "Florida Man" does when he is in his element. "Florida Man" never disappoints the human race, the only people that "Florida Man" disappoints are his mom and dad. A little well kept secret of The Midwest is our version, "St. Cloud Man". 

This weeks "St. Cloud Man" winner and undefeated champ,  would fit in perfectly down in Americas biggest retirement home, after slicing his neighbors finger tips off with a machete. 67-year-old Clarence Junior Hilliard, Jr. (Yep, this guy has two Juniors in his name, which definitely got him a couple extra "St. Cloud Man" credit bonus points.) Hilliard's neighbor was doing guy a solid and brought some smokes over for Hilliard. When neighbor knocked on the door he was told to go away. Being a true brotato he kept knocking, trying to drop off the flavor sticks for the guy.

Finally Hilliard opens the door in true "St. Cloud Man" fashion and slices the guys finger tips off with a machete. The officials were alerted and charged Hilliard with two felonies. 

Lessons Learned:

1. "St. Cloud Man" is a nut job.

2. Not everyone loves thy neighbor.

3. Not only could second hand smoke kill you, it could also chop your fingers off.

Source link below.

Bad Andy

Welcome to the rat pack! This Bad Andy aka Dr Spin making his intro from 6 feet under, or is it 9 feet over?? Taking the blog straight outta the oven to your dinner plate, hope you’re hungry!