Garrett: Don't force ball to Dez Bryant

Common sense dictates that the Dallas Cowboys want to get Dez Bryant the ball a bunch.

Common sense also dictates that Tony Romo shouldn’t throw Bryant the ball when he has two or three defenders all over him.

That happened twice Sunday. Romo was picked off both times.

“I think it’s pretty clear -- you don’t force the ball to people,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “Dez is a great player, but [ Jason Witten is] a great player too, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Devin Street, Dwayne Harris, all those guys are really, really good football players, who, if given an opportunity, are going to come through for us.

“Tony understands that. Tony’s typically struck a really nice balance about trying to give these guys a chance and understanding how to read things out and throwing the ball to the right guy. In each of those cases, he probably was too aggressive throwing to Dez, and those plays hurt us, obviously.”

Romo targeted Bryant only four other times in the season-opening loss. The Pro Bowl receiver caught those four passes for 55 yards.

The 49ers clearly made containing Bryant one of the primary focuses of their defensive game plan. That’s not exactly a revolutionary concept.

Every team the Cowboys play will pay a ton of attention to Bryant. It’s on Romo and the Cowboys’ offensive coaching staff to figure out ways how to still get Bryant the ball without making ridiculously risky throws.

“It’s what happens every week in the NFL,” Garrett said. “Dez Bryant, if you look at his whole body of work throughout his career, he’s gotten doubled throughout most games every game he’s every play. The same thing with Jason Witten. These guys are really good players. Week in and week out they find ways, we’ve tried to find ways to give them opportunities.”

The Cowboys failed Sunday and paid heavily when Romo forced the issue.