Are The Cowboys Putting Too Much Faith in Witten?

[GMO415]

We didn't draft a TE, so can the Ole War Horse still cut it?

 

[GenoT]

Link won’t load...perhaps unallowed content?

 

[Sydla]

I didn't like bringing him back. They signed him, initial chatter was he was brought in to be a backup and vet presence and then the reports started to leak that Witten might be way more involved in the offense than previously sold. My fear is that as this season gets start, it's 2017 all over again where he's dominating the snap counts and not coming off the field. The notion that he gets to say how much he plays at this point is patently absurd.

I think it's possible the Cowboys are putting way too much value and loyalty into thinking Witten solves what has ailed us at TE.

I'd rather have brought in a guy with real upside like an Eifert or someone like that than bring back a guy in Witten who has a clear ceiling at this point in his career.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I’m so done with Witten.

He could have retired three seasons ago and it would have been the right time.

Witten’s got no business coming back and dictating how many snaps he gets or what role he has in the offense.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

link doesn't work,,, and I think the team is putting faith in the position group as a whole, the young guys showed something last year.

 

[JBell]

TE by committee. I don't think there's that big a of gap between Witten-Schultz-Jarwin at this point in their careers.

 

[GenoT]

Quick question...

As we sit today: who would you rather have at TE on 3rd-and-short or first-and-goal...JW or either Jarwin/Schultz?

And I’m talking about both blocking AND receiving.

Witten’s still the only consistent 3-down (or any down, for that matter) TE we have.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

I think they're putting faith in Jarwin and Schultz. And using Witten as cover. He was not an impact player when we last saw him. Even his blocking skills had deteriorated. He will not be better at 37 having been away from the game for a year.

But Jarwin and Schultz are on the upswing and have proven themselves to be serviceable. And serviceable is all you need.

I don't expect Witten to be the feature tight end. I don't think he's good enough at this point. I don't think the team does either. But that's fine. We don't need him to be. This move was made for a bunch of reasons that have little to do with on-the-field improvement, including that it allowed the team to make a 'splash' signing without investing heavy resources at a position that they don't need to invest huge resources in.

 

[DBOY3141]

We didn't draft a TE, so can the Ole War Horse still cut it?

It was a bad move.

 

[Sydla]

I think they're putting faith in Jarwin and Schultz. And using Witten as cover. He was not an impact player when we last saw him. Even his blocking skills had deteriorated. He will not be better at 37 having been away from the game for a year.

But Jarwin and Schultz are on the upswing and have proven themselves to be serviceable. And serviceable is all you need.

I don't expect Witten to be the feature tight end. I don't think he's good enough at this point. I don't think the team does either. But that's fine. We don't need him to be. This move was made for a bunch of reasons that have little to do with on-the-field improvement, including that it allowed the team to make a 'splash' signing without investing heavy resources at a position that they don't need to invest huge resources in.

I think therein is the issue. Most fans recognize him for what he is. Unfortunately, it appears this franchise does not and recent chatter/rumors that Witten will have a vital role in the offense and dictate how much he plays.

That's one BIG reason I didn't want him back. Even with Moore as the OC, my fear was that the loyalty factor from Jerry through Garrett would have a repeat of 2017 where Witten basically tells them when and how much he'll play.

 

[ksadler1]

We need a guy that can be a threat after the catch. People get all caught up on how many catches Witten still had late in his career when they don't realize that the opposing Ds were giving Witten those catches by design. They knew Witten was going to get minimal yards after the catch. You won't see teams give those to Cooper because he's capable of taking a 2 yard pass to the EZ...

 

[Sydla]

Quick question...

As we sit today: who would you rather have at TE on 3rd-and-short or first-and-goal...JW or either Jarwin/Schultz?

And I’m talking about both blocking AND receiving.

Witten’s still the only consistent 3-down (or any down, for that matter) TE we have.

Honestly?

It's probably way closer than you want to admit. Let's not undersell or even forget that Witten hasn't played in a NFL game for a year. He's no spring chicken. His skills had clearly declined even before he retired.

 

[sean10mm]

Witten can give you 5 yards when you need 10 all day long. He might be an acceptable role player at this point but that's his absolute limit. He's simply too old and too slow.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

I think therein is the issue. Most fans recognize him for what he is. Unfortunately, it appears this franchise does not and recent chatter/rumors that Witten will have a vital role in the offense and dictate how much he plays.

That's one BIG reason I didn't want him back. Even with Moore as the OC, my fear was that the loyalty factor from Jerry through Garrett would have a repeat of 2017 where Witten basically tells them when and how much he'll play.

I totally agree with you. He is the definition of a progress stopper if he is featured. But I don't believe the rumors that he'll be featured. If there is doubt, they'll confirm for themselves soon enough, in my opinion, that he's just not good enough any more. The other two guys are probably better at this point.

 

[Hennessy_King]

There is not one positive thing that could come out of Witten even being back on the team. Worst signing of a player in a long time.

 

[GenoT]

We need a guy that can be a threat after the catch. People get all caught up on how many catches Witten still had late in his career when they don't realize that the opposing Ds were giving Witten those catches by design. They knew Witten was going to get minimal yards after the catch. You won't see teams give those to Cooper because he's capable of taking a 2 yard pass to the EZ...

Agreed, but without Witten we have ZERO consistent threat in any aspect of TE play.

 

[cowboyec]

I'd rather have him than not.
maybe now we can score inside the 20.
I do believe not drafting a TE has more to do with Jarwin and Schultz than Witt.
I like this TE group....0 concerns....barring injury of course.

 

[TexasHillbilly]

Jarwin's going to show out this season over everybody else if he can stay healthy. One thing about Jason is the man rarely misses any games. If Jason can help the team win then I am all for the signing. This may be a prelude to a coaching job. Jason obviously has issues with the booth and the Cowboys are paying him to play. I would come back and play if they paid me 2mil. and I still wanted to play. I don't think he will be an every down TE.

 

[Sydla]

Agreed, but without Witten we have ZERO consistent threat in any aspect of TE play.

Meanwhile, last time I checked, nobody’s looking to trade Gronk-level talent for future low-round draft picks.

Even with Witten we likely have zero consistent threat as well.

This is one of the failures of this front office IMO - their lack of desire to upgrade the TE position. Which is peculiar, because they had a large sample of how a great TE could make an offense better when they watched Witten in his prime.

Now they just half *** it with retreads and late round picks.

 

[GMO415]

Link won’t load...perhaps unallowed content?

Yes, I had to get rid of link but perhaps this will work...
https://insidethestar.com/are-cowboys-already-relying-too-much-on-te-jason-witten/