Cassel, Bryant yet to find a rhythm
New QB knows he must get football to All-Pro receiver.
Matt Cassel was enjoying his first win as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback when the question of getting the ball to Dez Bryant came up up.
Cassel knew the right answer and didn’t hesitate to give it: He had to get better at finding the All- Pro receiver.
Cassel might be new to Dallas and merely fill - ing in for Tony Romo, but the 33-year-old has been here before. He replaced an injured Tom Brady for almost the entire 2008 season in New England. And the Patriots had a vocal receiving star in Randy Moss.
“All those guys have a competitive edge to them, and that’s the reason that makes them so good,” Cassel said. “At the same time, it’s my job obviously to, in whatever capacity I can, continue to get him the ball and do those things, but also be open with him and talk to him and try to alleviate some of those issues that might come up.”
Bryant was particularly vocal on the sideline after Cassel didn’t see him on what could have been a touchdown against a blitz by Washington in the fifirst half Monday night. He went three periods without a catch.
But the pair connected three times for 62 yards in the fourth quarter of a 19-16 victory, starting with a 42-yarder that set up a tying fifield goal. The other two were the key catches on a drive to the winning fifield goal in the fifinal seconds.
“I was really pleased with how he worked his way through that frustration and showed up late in the game to make a difffffffffffference for our team,” coach Jason Garrett said of Bryant.
Cassel came to the Cowboys from Buffffalo in a trade two weeks into the season after Romo fifirst broke his left collarbone. He was thrust into the starting job when Dallas decided backup Brandon Weeden wasn’t the answer after three straight losses.
At that point , Bryant was still out with a bro- ken right foot, and even when he returned, practice time was limited. Bryant had his only 100-yard receiving game of the year (104 yards) in his second game back with Cassel. Romo returned two weeks later.
Now that Romo is out again and Bryant is close to healthy after also battling a knee issue, Cassel is getting his best chance to build a rapport with Bryant. The Cowboys (4-8) are somehow still alive in the NFC East and will visit Green Bay (8-4) on Sunday.
“I think it always takes time. There’s no doubt about it,” said Cassel, who lost four starts before Romo’s return but won the fifirst game after the Dallas star was injured again. “I think Dez and I haven’t had a lot of time on task, but at the same time, I think we’re defifinitely getting to learn one another.”
Bryant, last year’s NFL leader in receiving touchdowns, is returning to the scene of his catch that wasn’t in a playoffff loss at Green Bay.
But Bryant said he’ll try to put the play behind him on game day. And his quarterback for the rematch won’t be haunted by the memory; he wasn’t even there in January.