Why isn't Blake Jarwin Starting?

[Runwildboys]

He said most of Witt’s. Arches go for 3-4 yard gains.....he’s not wrong.

If that's true the others must average what; 16-20 yards, to make his average 9.4?

 

[OmerV]

This is atleast another year of The Sloth starting, if he wants to catch Gonzalez in receptions.

Tony Gonzalez+ 1,325 1997-2013
Jason Witten 1,178 2003-2019

I really doubt this is a major motivation for Witten. If it was he likely wouldn't have retired before, and really the yardage total is what gets the most attention, and he isn't going to catch Gonzales on that front.

Witten starting shouldn't really be a problem if the team would just get Jarwin in the mix more. They could benefit from both skill sets. The lack of targets for Jarwin has been disappointing in my mind.

 

[OmerV]

If that's true the others must average what; 16-20 yards, to make his average 9.4?

The math seems to be a bit elusive on this site sometimes.

 

[KMY_Amber]

so if most of witten's catches are 3-5 yards (your perception) how is he averaging 9.4 YPC?...and he is accordingly to you he is slumbering in mud...

He probably caught a few longer ones, and a lot of 3- to 5-yarders. Don't care about his YPC, my eyes tell me he's not breaking away into space. Yes, he's slumbering in mud most times to me, that's how it looks, to me and DCs too (so he's no real threat). He's slow(er) now, and he was never really a fast TE in the first place. So he looks painfully slow now on 3rd and long when they need a TE who can get open fairly quickly. As well, he looks painfully slow too on play action passes that only gain 4 yards because the defender is on his back immediately, even though he was just wide open a second ago.

and for Jarwin to be targeted and have opportunity to make tough catches he has to get open...has he? was he targtted? why not? you can't tell me its on the coaches. TE plays are for all TEs and not just Witten.

OK, I'll admit, I don't know if Jar's getting open, maybe he runs the worst routes and is never open. I'll contend that. But if so, dump him and try someone else. If Witt's the best TE on the roster, that's not good, not when you need chunks of yardage. Yes, he's serviceable, and he's reliable, but why not trade for one of those Philly TEs who ALWAYS seem to have the ability to stretch the field?

and Dak has shown he will throw to Jarwin when he is open and so far he has been a one trick pony pretty much...why force target a player? why force the ball to a player? makes ZERO sense.

He throws to a covered Witt, just hoping Witt has boxed out his man. Dak forces it into Witt a lot. Witt doesn't have to be open, but Jarwin does...which I get has something to do with Dak's comfort.

again, you are saying witten catches in the flat and can't run after the catch and Jarwin can...why isn't jarwin getting open on those catches? its not about Athleticism, its about being a good FOOTBALL PLAYER....

I contend that Jarwin's not getting those opportunities. Witt's on the field, so he gets them. Jury's out whether Jarwin is a good football player, but I do believe that he can catch that same PA TE flat pass and has the ability to turn that into more yards than Witt. Again, if Jarwin sucks, find someone else. But counting on Witt as a TE #1, in all situations, I think it limits the offense. Witt should be a situational TE#1, not in all sets.

and no one denies he stretches the field better...but he is not a good TE and as much as you wish/want/think he is the next coming of Kelce, Ertz, Engram...he is not. he is got ways to go yet, but he is improving and he is getting better.

Don't know if he's the second coming of even Witt, but I'd like to find out. I do know this...a 37-year-old Witt is past his peak, and is a welcome sight to most DCs, because even their slowest LB can cover Witt. No matchup problem there for most defenses. And the 5-yard PA flat pass is not even worth worrying about, so they can just key the run every first down, and "sacrifice" the occasional 5 yards to Witt. For me, that's not a good use of plays or personnel.

again, as the first option he may struggle.....but as a 3rd, 4th or 5th option he can take advantage since he will be matched up against lesser players, while the defense is focused on everybody else....

you are playing stat sheet, spreadsheet football extrapolating Jarwin to be a viable TE and he is not.....not yet, he may yet become one, but right now he is not.

right now Witten is ranked 10th in the league amongst TEs in yards and 8th in catches.....not bad for a guy as you said catching 3 yard passes.....and he is obviously the 3rd or 4th option on the team.

Some pass plays, Witt's the first option, you can see Dak looking for him. And it takes Witt time to get open these days, so I wish he wasn't the first option, but he is. Dak's just comfortable with him. I get it.

But Moore and Dak need to truly move away from all this dinking and dunking early in the game and instead look downfield more. They play it too close to the vest early. The comfort of throwing 3- or 4-yard gains to Witt contributes to this. So of course then they start slow, trying for 14-play drives when every single 4-yard play must be well-executed, instead of using the talent on the outside, and a faster TE that can crease the seam, and more screens...more plays with the potential for big chunks, so then it's only a 7- or 8-play drive.

Ultimately, I don't know if Jarwin is a solid #1 TE, but we can sure put him in on more single TE sets and test him out. We know what we have in Witt, and that's good...but also bad if you're going to think that 4-yard flat pass is real progress that the defense should be concerned about. If I'm the DC, you can have that all day, I'm still keying Zeke on every run set. But if I see 15-yard plus chunk plays on PA, then that'll make me consider keeping a safety back to help.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

If that's true the others must average what; 16-20 yards, to make his average 9.4?

YPC accounts for how much total yardage (on average) a catch goes for.

It doesn’t differentiate between the distance the pass traveled or how much YAC the receiver contributed.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

what you said makes no sense, even without looking at the stats on his catches..

if MOST of his catches are 3-4 yard gains, then he has to be making some BIG plays to average 9.4 YPC...yet everyone says he is slow and slumbering...

you can't have it both ways...slow and slumbering unable to make big plays, yet most catches are 3-4 yards yet he averages 9.4 YPC....

come on.....you want me to list everyone of his catches?

I interpreted what the original poster (post #158) was saying (“most of his catches go for 3-4 yard gains”) to mean Witten is only gaining 3-4 yards after the catch, which was in the context of comparing him to Jarwin who is clearly a much better YAC threat.

If the OP wants to clarify he can.

 

[Runwildboys]

YPC accounts for how much total yardage (on average) a catch goes for.

It doesn’t differentiate between the distance the pass traveled or how much YAC the receiver contributed.

Why does it matter whether it's before or after the catch? He's still getting the yards...Besides which, I recall seeing him run for quite a few yards this season. I don't think he's catching the ball downfield much.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Why does it matter whether it's before or after the catch? He's still getting the yards...Besides which, I recall seeing him run for quite a few yards this season. I don't think he's catching the ball downfield much.

He’s averaging 9.4 YPC.

Jarwin is averaging 12 YPC on 39 career receptions.

Travis Kelce averages 13.6, Eric Ebron 13.8, Hockenson 13.5, 13.4, et cetera.

The point is being made that Jarwin provides more of an actual receiving threat. If you wanna hang your hat on Witten’s supposed blocking prowess, that’s fine.

 

[Runwildboys]

He’s averaging 9.4 YPC.

Jarwin is averaging 12 YPC on 39 career receptions.

Travis Kelce averages 13.6, Eric Ebron 13.8, Hockenson 13.5, 13.4, et cetera.

The point is being made that Jarwin provides more of an actual receiving threat. If you wanna hang your hat on Witten’s supposed blocking prowess, that’s fine.

I'm all for Jarwin getting more opportunities, even if it means Witten's role is reduced. I just dislike when people try to make it seem like Witten is a detriment to the team and only getting 3 or 4 yards per play. Fact is, he's open more than probably 70% of TEs and WRs in the league, and he moves the chains. Just as important, he gives Dak somewhere to throw the ball, as opposed to holding onto it and taking a sack.

 

[Dak_Attack_09]

I really doubt this is a major motivation for Witten. If it was he likely wouldn't have retired before, and really the yardage total is what gets the most attention, and he isn't going to catch Gonzales on that front.

Witten starting shouldn't really be a problem if the team would just get Jarwin in the mix more. They could benefit from both skill sets. The lack of targets for Jarwin has been disappointing in my mind.

I blaming coaching and Dak, they need to adjust ASAP.

 

[NumOneQB]

And yet, Witten is open more often.

Because he plays 90% of the snaps.

 

[Runwildboys]

Because he plays 90% of the snaps.

Because he's open more often, and an excellent blocker, and the best safety valve on the team.

 

[noshame]

The answer to the title topic...…….Jerry Jones.

I'll repeat this for the 100th time

Love Jason, but he would not start for another team in the NFL.

 

[Risen Star]

Can you imagine how good this team would be if Pollard and Jarwin started?

It makes you sick thinking about it.

 

[NumOneQB]

Because he's open more often, and an excellent blocker, and the best safety valve on the team.

Excellent blocker? So Witten went from an average blocker in his prime to an excellent blocker one year removed from retirement?

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

He’s averaging 9.4 YPC.

Jarwin is averaging 12 YPC on 39 career receptions.

Travis Kelce averages 13.6, Eric Ebron 13.8, Hockenson 13.5, 13.4, et cetera.

The point is being made that Jarwin provides more of an actual receiving threat. If you wanna hang your hat on Witten’s supposed blocking prowess, that’s fine.

39 career receptions? wow...ok, and how many for Kelce? Ebron? Hockenson? you are playing stat sheet matt and extrapolating that Jarwin would be a better starter. he is a 4th or 5th option player, that when given opportunity every so often find the right match up the offense can exploit. On a regular basis he can't perform as well.....but go ahead, why not translate those stats to him getting 1400 yards in a season, if he was targeted 100 times and makes 90 catches....

geez people.....

and why is he not getting any other catches other than the few he is got this year since he has been given opportunities, unless you think Dak favors Witten over a guy that's open? or maybe even the coaches are telling Dak not to throw it to Jarwin, or even better than that, the coaches are scheming Jarwin not to be open....

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The answer to the title topic...…….Jerry Jones.

I'll repeat this for the 100th time

Love Jason, but he would not start for another team in the NFL.

yet, he is 10th in catches and 8th in yards among the 32 starting TEs in the league...hmmm interesting dilemma

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I interpreted what the original poster (post #158) was saying (“most of his catches go for 3-4 yard gains”) to mean Witten is only gaining 3-4 yards after the catch, which was in the context of comparing him to Jarwin who is clearly a much better YAC threat.

If the OP wants to clarify he can.

jarwin has to get open more consistently and make more catches before he can run after the catch.....

 

[kskboys]

TE was a problem on our team last season.

TE is not a problem on our team this season.

What's different? HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

39 career receptions? wow...ok, and how many for Kelce? Ebron? Hockenson? you are playing stat sheet matt and extrapolating that Jarwin would be a better starter. he is a 4th or 5th option player, that when given opportunity every so often find the right match up the offense can exploit. On a regular basis he can't perform as well.....but go ahead, why not translate those stats to him getting 1400 yards in a season, if he was targeted 100 times and makes 90 catches....

geez people.....

and why is he not getting any other catches other than the few he is got this year since he has been given opportunities, unless you think Dak favors Witten over a guy that's open? or maybe even the coaches are telling Dak not to throw it to Jarwin, or even better than that, the coaches are scheming Jarwin not to be open....

You’re sincerely dim aren’t you, lol?

Kelce’s has averaged 12.9 YPC on 459 receptions. Ebron has averaged 11.8 YPC on 270 receptions.

Witten hasn’t even averaged double digit YPC since 2014, lool.

You do know they have Witten starting right? So how dumb are you to then ask ”why is he (Jarwin) not getting any other catches other than the few he is?”