One of the things about Dez Bryant that endears him most to coaches, scouts and fans is the all-out effort he puts into every play. It was on display during Sunday's preseason game on both his catches, when he refused to go down despite being wrapped up by a tackler.
While that is exactly the kind of attitude anyone would want in a player, Bryant does have a history with nagging injuries, and the games don't count just yet. There's a case to be made that in selling out for every last yard, Bryant could get himself seriously hurt in a mere exhibition game.
It turns out coaches do want Bryant to be smarter in those situations, but not necessarily to avoid injury. It's a matter of protecting the ball.
"I don't think you ever want to break the spirit of a player," Jason Garrett said. "But you can certainly help him with his technique. I think the biggest issue there is taking care of the football. Dez is a big, strong guy who's got big, strong hands and he really holds the ball tightly, and it's hard to get it away from him, but as you're getting spun around and all those things, you never know where those guys are coming from. So make a move, get up the field and make them miss, but make sure you're securing the ball."
Garrett emphasized that the team wouldn't ever ask Bryant to make business decisions.
"We love his spirit, we love his competitiveness, we love his fight," Garrett said. "We never would want to break that and take that out of him."
