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IRVING, Texas — Attitude most definitely reflects leadership. If the high-flying Dallas Cowboys (3-1) finally beak through with a playoff run in 2014, credit should go to tight end Jason Witten for showing the way by accepting a lesser role to win.
With 14 catches for 179 yards and zero touchdowns in four games, Witten is on pace for 59.2 catches and 604 yards. It would be the lowest production since he opened his career with 35 receptions for 347 yards and one touchdown as a part-time starter in 2003.
Yet no one is happier about the Cowboys’ early success and three-game winning streak than Witten. Never mind that he has taken a back seat in an offense based on running the ball with DeMarco Murray and the team’s dominant offense line. And when it's time to throw, game-breaking receiver Dez Bryant is most often the first, second and third option.
“We want to run the ball and everything else falls after that,” Witten said. "I want to be the best player I can be and have high expectations. But at the same time, I want to win football games."
Witten, who has just one playoff win in 11 seasons, is simply tired of losing. Everything else falls after that.
It’s also fitting.
While lightening-rod quarterback Tony Romo has been the face of the Cowboys for much of the last decade, Witten has been the team’s heart and soul.
No one has done more in terms of production consistency.
No one has left more on the field in an effort to win than the 11-year veteran.
Witten’s 879 receptions are more than anyone in team history, including Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin. He is second all-time in NFL history for receptions by a tight end, trailing only Tony Gonzalez, and his nine Pro Bowl appearances are the most of any current Cowboys player by a wide margin.
Witten's most inconic moment in the NFL came against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, when his helmet came off after being hit by two defenders following a catch. He gathered himself and continued to run fearlessly down the field toward the end zone before getting tackled.
And then there is his iron man streak.
Witten has played in 175 of 176 possible games, missing only one after breaking his jaw and undergoing surgery to have three plates put in. That streak includes the 2012 season, in which he played in all 16 games, despite suffering a lacerated spleen in the preseason.
Coach Jason Garrett said Witten has always been about doing whatever it takes to win.
“That’s what he’s done his whole career,” Garrett said. “Just watch him every day if you get a chance to follow him around and see how he goes about his job—every part of his job, how he acts in meetings, walk-throughs on the practice field. It’s just the way he is and it reflects in this play.”
There is no one respected more in the Cowboys locker room.
There is no one more selfless.
So what if his streak of 10 straight seasons with 60 catches or more—including seven straight campaigns with 70 or more—comes to an end.
Witten has no problem whamming the nose or sealing the end in the run game or staying in to max protect for a deep shot down field to Bryant if it results in the Cowboys winning big in 2014. Garrett continued:
He’s just a hell of a player. He’s been a hell of a player for a long time. I think his pass-catching exploits speak for itself. He takes great pride in every aspect in the game. He just embraces every aspect of the game.
I’ve got a ton of stories about he and I getting into real confrontations and conflicts about us not wanting him to lead up on the MIKE linebacker on 42 Iso and he [says]: ‘I can do that.’ Or Wham on the 350-pound nose tackle: ‘I can do that. You don’t think I can wham the nose?’ so he always takes great pride on this kind of stuff.
He’s the most complete tight end in football and has been for the last decade. He’s just a hell of a player. He’s just a great example for our football team.
Don’t be misled, Witten still wants the ball and he still has the ability to be a huge playmaker for this team—even at 32 years old.
His attitude in accepting a diminished role is all about putting winning above all else.
It’s one that is certainly permeating inside the Cowboys locker room and rubbing off on his teammates.
As much as Bryant, who is on pace for 96 catches for 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns, wants to make plays, he is now openly boasting about being a physical blocker in the run game:
It rubs off on the team. It does. I think Witten wants to win. Of course he is a playmaker. Of course he wants to make plays. But at the end of the day, he wants to win. Witt has everything a receiver or tight end dreams of. I don’t think that really means as much to him now. He wants something bigger and better than that.
The Hall of Fame is likely waiting for Witten when his career ends.
For the time being, however, he just wants to win.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
With 14 catches for 179 yards and zero touchdowns in four games, Witten is on pace for 59.2 catches and 604 yards. It would be the lowest production since he opened his career with 35 receptions for 347 yards and one touchdown as a part-time starter in 2003.
Yet no one is happier about the Cowboys’ early success and three-game winning streak than Witten. Never mind that he has taken a back seat in an offense based on running the ball with DeMarco Murray and the team’s dominant offense line. And when it's time to throw, game-breaking receiver Dez Bryant is most often the first, second and third option.
“We want to run the ball and everything else falls after that,” Witten said. "I want to be the best player I can be and have high expectations. But at the same time, I want to win football games."
Witten, who has just one playoff win in 11 seasons, is simply tired of losing. Everything else falls after that.
It’s also fitting.
While lightening-rod quarterback Tony Romo has been the face of the Cowboys for much of the last decade, Witten has been the team’s heart and soul.
No one has done more in terms of production consistency.
No one has left more on the field in an effort to win than the 11-year veteran.
Witten’s 879 receptions are more than anyone in team history, including Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin. He is second all-time in NFL history for receptions by a tight end, trailing only Tony Gonzalez, and his nine Pro Bowl appearances are the most of any current Cowboys player by a wide margin.
Witten's most inconic moment in the NFL came against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007, when his helmet came off after being hit by two defenders following a catch. He gathered himself and continued to run fearlessly down the field toward the end zone before getting tackled.
And then there is his iron man streak.
Witten has played in 175 of 176 possible games, missing only one after breaking his jaw and undergoing surgery to have three plates put in. That streak includes the 2012 season, in which he played in all 16 games, despite suffering a lacerated spleen in the preseason.
Coach Jason Garrett said Witten has always been about doing whatever it takes to win.
“That’s what he’s done his whole career,” Garrett said. “Just watch him every day if you get a chance to follow him around and see how he goes about his job—every part of his job, how he acts in meetings, walk-throughs on the practice field. It’s just the way he is and it reflects in this play.”
There is no one respected more in the Cowboys locker room.
There is no one more selfless.
So what if his streak of 10 straight seasons with 60 catches or more—including seven straight campaigns with 70 or more—comes to an end.
Witten has no problem whamming the nose or sealing the end in the run game or staying in to max protect for a deep shot down field to Bryant if it results in the Cowboys winning big in 2014. Garrett continued:
He’s just a hell of a player. He’s been a hell of a player for a long time. I think his pass-catching exploits speak for itself. He takes great pride in every aspect in the game. He just embraces every aspect of the game.
I’ve got a ton of stories about he and I getting into real confrontations and conflicts about us not wanting him to lead up on the MIKE linebacker on 42 Iso and he [says]: ‘I can do that.’ Or Wham on the 350-pound nose tackle: ‘I can do that. You don’t think I can wham the nose?’ so he always takes great pride on this kind of stuff.
He’s the most complete tight end in football and has been for the last decade. He’s just a hell of a player. He’s just a great example for our football team.
Don’t be misled, Witten still wants the ball and he still has the ability to be a huge playmaker for this team—even at 32 years old.
His attitude in accepting a diminished role is all about putting winning above all else.
It’s one that is certainly permeating inside the Cowboys locker room and rubbing off on his teammates.
As much as Bryant, who is on pace for 96 catches for 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns, wants to make plays, he is now openly boasting about being a physical blocker in the run game:
It rubs off on the team. It does. I think Witten wants to win. Of course he is a playmaker. Of course he wants to make plays. But at the end of the day, he wants to win. Witt has everything a receiver or tight end dreams of. I don’t think that really means as much to him now. He wants something bigger and better than that.
The Hall of Fame is likely waiting for Witten when his career ends.
For the time being, however, he just wants to win.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...