Austin Hooper: I'm not like Jason Witten, where's it me vs other TEs

Is there a rule that any starter is supposed to help the backup take his job? Isn't that what coaches are for?

Hell, there have been QB's notorious for not speaking to their backup like Favre and Manning. Think Clint Longley didn't have some reason for sucker punching Staubach? Someone ask Hunter Henry about Antonio Gates, he'd roll out on crutches to keep his replacement off the field.

And back when Bennett showed up, I read that Witten had tried to help him and saw immediately this guy wasn't normal and didn't take it seriously. He didn't strike me as a guy that needed or wanted help, just conveniently used it as an excuse. He was never a player on any team that you would call a "leader".

Witten picked his guys to back up like Romo and Prescott and of all people, Dez Bryant. More than once he was in Dez's corner backing him up. And if not for Witten smoothing the way for the transition from Romo to Prescott, that could have been a train wreck. He was a team guy. Just so happened that he thought he was the best TE for the team to have on the field. Even with a broken jaw.

I know it's a thing for some people to try and expose the feet of clay of those placed on pedestals but for cryin' out loud, the team has been a joke for 25 years with all kinds of aholes and jerks rolling through it and we can't back off on our only Man of the Year during that time?

DFWJC said:

Link?

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Nah..don;t need no link bro. He said it ...must be true.

Hooper now says he was being "sarcastic" but in the video below, you hear the actual question and answer. "What do sarcastic mean?"

One of the arguments I saw made over and over again for keeping Witten on this team loonnnggg after his prime was his leadership in the locker room. There is very little evidence that he was a leader Okay, great player back in the day, but in his later years he was cashing a check at the expense of younger players behind him.

CATCH17 said:

Well..Witten’s method worked for him.

Let’s see if your way makes you a future HOF’r Hooper.

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This is a team sport.

Problem with Witten was he was only looking out for himself.

Corso said:

Already the 2nd post about how Witt is a HOF'er, but not addressing that he apparently never helped the guys behind him.

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it's often overlooked. i always agreed with bennett. marty went on to a pro bowl of his own and a super bowl ring. there's a reason he didn't get many chances to perform here. witten wanted all the glory and bff romo was more than happy to accommodate. that doesn't diminish witten's greatness, but football is, after all, a team sport.

MikeB80 said:

That would be news to John Phillips and James Hanna who seemed to have no problem working along side Witten and had imo great careers here.

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you consider the careers of phillips and hanna great? i do not.

jaythecowboy said:

Yea maybe if he helped the guys behind him he'd be a Super Bowl champion as well

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It’s not like any of the guys behind him went on to stardom
Maybe he helped those who wanted help but there just wasn’t any talent there
Bennett could have been a good player but it wasn’t important to him

If people will, for once, look a little deeper, they'll see that Hooper was joking.
Sarcasm can be fun if we let it be just that
The fact the Hooper had to actually come out and tell people it was obviously sarcasm lets us know how knee-jerk some can be

There's so much gray area of what we don't actually know what went down between Witten and Bennett.
It's a dog eat dog game. I can understand Witten, who was only a 5 year vet when Bennett was drafted in the 2nd for not wanting to spend time out his way to potentially get himself cut off the team to a younger TE.
Who knows, maybe Bennett was immature being new to the NFL/money that comes with it and Witten didn't feel like force feeding someone who may of not wanted to put the time in.

Seems both guys buried any "beef" years ago.

DFWJC said:

If people will, for once, look a little deeper, they'll see that Hooper was joking.
Sarcasm can be fun if we let it be just that
The fact the Hooper had to actually come out and tell people it was obviously sarcasm lets us know how knee-jerk some can be

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sarcasm with a ring of truth.

MarcusRock said:

Hooper now says he was being "sarcastic" but in the video below, you hear the actual question and answer. "What do sarcastic mean?"

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Yeah..okay. He wasn't being sarcastic, he got his jab in and kept moving. He must've gotten some flack for it. Nice try Austin

Hagman said:

One of the arguments I saw made over and over again for keeping Witten on this team loonnnggg after his prime was his leadership in the locker room. There is very little evidence that he was a leader Okay, great player back in the day, but in his later years he was cashing a check at the expense of younger players behind him.

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If that was you, would you refuse the checks and say "oh no, I've made enough, give the other guys a chance"?

I disagree about his leadership because his was by example.

What was that he did in the locker room when Bryant was going off at Dalrymple about the media? He excused himself from his own interview and just went over and stood beside Bryant in silence. Garrett peeked in and saw that Witten had already handled it and the situation was diffused.

When the torch was passed to Prescott, what player paved the way for that because every coach and player was watching to see how Witten would handle his best friend being benched?

BigStar said:

Yeah..okay. He wasn't being sarcastic, he got his jab in and kept moving. He must've gotten some flack for it. Nice try Austin

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Wonder why he singled out Witten? I watched that video and didn't see sarcasm at all. He's a wus, afraid to stand by what he said and is trying to crawfish out of it. No respect for this clown at all.

gold jacket wearing wr TO said essentially the same thing.

Hagman said:

One of the arguments I saw made over and over again for keeping Witten on this team loonnnggg after his prime was his leadership in the locker room. There is very little evidence that he was a leader Okay, great player back in the day, but in his later years he was cashing a check at the expense of younger players behind him.

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he made speeches. most notably, "we've got to get better". "we've got to find a way to win". heard them over and over as we continued falling short of the big dance. going to mavs games with romo and garrett does not a leader make. he was a great te in his prime. but no more a leader than romo.

CouchCoach said:

If that was you, would you refuse the checks and say "oh no, I've made enough, give the other guys a chance"?

I disagree about his leadership because his was by example.

What was that he did in the locker room when Bryant was going off at Dalrymple about the media? He excused himself from his own interview and just went over and stood beside Bryant in silence. Garrett peeked in and saw that Witten had already handled it and the situation was diffused.

When the torch was passed to Prescott, what player paved the way for that because every coach and player was watching to see how Witten would handle his best friend being benched?

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In a sport like this where I go into it knowing that I have a limited shelflife, I would be very aware of my reputation before I left the game. And in a team sport I would sure as heck help my teammates develop as much as they could for the betterment of the team. I would’ve seen it as my role to help every player reach their maximum potential so that we could win championships rather than just for me to cash my check. Maybe one of the reasons we haven’t won squat in 25 years is that kind of a self-centered attitude on the part of our so-called team leaders. I don’t have any evidence for this but it just might be that a couple of years ago when Witten was looking for a coaching gig to get out of being a player nobody would hire him. Think about it not even the Dallas Cowboys would hire Jason Witten as a tight end coach. Maybe just maybe it was that attitude that it was all about him and not helping other players that made him a very unattractive candidate as a coach

CouchCoach said:

If that was you, would you refuse the checks and say "oh no, I've made enough, give the other guys a chance"?

I disagree about his leadership because his was by example.

What was that he did in the locker room when Bryant was going off at Dalrymple about the media? He excused himself from his own interview and just went over and stood beside Bryant in silence. Garrett peeked in and saw that Witten had already handled it and the situation was diffused.

When the torch was passed to Prescott, what player paved the way for that because every coach and player was watching to see how Witten would handle his best friend being benched?

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Also, FYI, even though I work in a very different environment Than professional sports I have always seen it as my role to help my coworkers develop and grow in order to reach their potential. I have especially been careful to help my junior colleagues reach their maximum potential because what helps them helps my work team. That’s why Many years ago they chose me as their department leader. It should never just be about yourself on the job it should be about helping those around you so that the team performs to its potential. Sadly that seems to be a value which has been lacking on the Dallas Cowboys for many many years

Hagman said:

Also, FYI, even though I work in a very different environment Than professional sports I have always seen it as my role to help my coworkers develop and grow in order to reach their potential. I have especially been careful to help my junior colleagues reach their maximum potential because what helps them helps my work team. That’s why Many years ago they chose me as their department leader. It should never just be about yourself on the job it should be about helping those around you so that the team performs to its potential. Sadly that seems to be a value which has been lacking on the Dallas Cowboys for many many years

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Except help goes both ways. If as a leader you have a guy that is failing because he does not want to get better all the ra-ra crap means nothing.

jrumann59 said:

Except help goes both ways. If as a leader you have a guy that is failing because he does not want to get better all the ra-ra crap means nothing.

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Absolutely. And I fired two people who fell into that category. You cannot have a winning organization if you keep those people around