Twitter: How good was Witten?

[Bing]

Witten didnt know when to leave the party, even after the lights had been turned off he wanted to stay which made his last few seasons painful to watch but in his prime he was one of the best in the league during his time. 1st ballot HOF, questionable...but HOF induction, absolutely

 

[gimmesix]

No. First ballot is for game changers.

We'll see. I think Hall of Fame voters will show a lot more respect for Witten than some of our fans do.

 

[lostar2009]

Witten is first ballot HOF and ROH. Too bad he didnt get a ring during his time here.

 

[big dog cowboy]

 

[john van brocklin]

Needs to be ROH for sure.

HOF and ROH bound.
Should be a first ballot selection...

 

[DallasEast]

Needs to be ROH for sure.

Hope no one is surprised if Jason Witten goes into the Ring before Jimmy Johnson.

Hope no one is surprised if Witten fields questions from the media for his opinion why Johnson is still not in the Ring ten years from now.

 

[kumizi]

He was really good for a really long time but he was never one of the best/most dominant players in the league. I think of him like Drew Brees. Fantastic player but not in the top tier.

 

[terra]

He was really good for a really long time but he was never one of the best/most dominant players in the league. I think of him like Drew Brees. Fantastic player but not in the top tier.

He was considered top 3 or so for like 15 years. Some people here are SO stupid.

 

[terra]

No. First ballot is for game changers.

wow are you ignorant of the average first ballot HOF player.

 

[Doomsday101]

Hope no one is surprised if Jason Witten goes into the Ring before Jimmy Johnson.

Hope no one is surprised if Witten fields questions from the media for his opinion why Johnson is still not in the Ring ten years from now.

why would they ask him when he never played under Jimmy Johnson?

 

[BleedSilverandBlue]

Needs to be ROH for sure.

He is undoubtedly a hall of famer. Maybe not first ballot, by #82 will be enshrined in Canton someday soon. His numbers and longevity speak for themselves. A special player in pro football history.

 

[lukemartin79]

People forget Witten was outproducing TO.

He would've been in the historically great conversation had he not played in the same era as Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Gronk.

I'll always love #82, even if he was a Jones simp.

Very true. The difference being Witten was a true tight end- he was a great blocker too. Gonzalez and Gates were WRs playing the TE position because of their size. Cant remember seeing either one of them ever throwing a block ever.

 

[Toro9]

Witten was an artist. He knew defenses so well that he could almost always find a soft spot in the zone or just use his size to shield defenders away from the ball in man coverage. Even when his body started to wear down he could do the same thing, just not as far down the field. One of my all time favs without question

 

[Motorola]

Needs to be ROH for sure.

Don't understand why Bob Sturm thinks it's "Crazy!" that Witten has 4,000 more yards than Kelce.
• Kelce turns 33 on Wednesday (Oct. 5th); Witten was 38 the last year he played.
• This current season is Kelce's 10th; Witten played 18 seasons.
• Witten has played in over twice the number of games --- 271 --- to 131 for Kelce as of last night.
So, it should come as no surprise that Witten's yardage total is close to 4,000 more - it actually is 13,026 to 9,328 - but also a vast difference in the number of receptions...Witten has 1,228 catches to Kelce's 730.
(BTW - Witten's ypc is 10.6 and he scored 74 TDs; Kelce's ypc is 12.8, and his TD total to date is 60.)

Don't interpet my post as throwing shade at our Cowboys great.
I just don't get why Sturm would choose a still active TE who, even barring injury, will all in likely choose not to play that long.
A far, far better measure to highlight Jason Witten's exceptional career is to compare his totals to the other past NFL greats at tight end AND wide receiver.
● 20 NFL players have gained over 13,000 yards in receptions during their careers.
● Witten ranks 20th; he is one of only two tight ends that high...the other is Tony Gonzalez at no. 6.
● 14 NFL players have 1,000 or more receptions for their careers.
● Witten and Gonzalez are again the only two tight ends in that group --- and they rank 4th and 3rd respectively, on that list. (Only Jerry Rice and Larry Fritzgerald are ahead of them.)

Just weird why a longtime person in sports media didn't compare Jason Witten's career to other league greats and legends - a number of them who are in the HOF.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Witten was great in his early years. His rookie year he played with a broken Jaw. Later in his career he was pretty much a blocking tight end and good for picking up four yards on 3rd and 6. He should be in the ring of honor because of how popular he was. I struggle with HOF because there was no playoff success with the teams he was on.

He's going to get in without a doubt. He stacks up nicely with the all-time greats many of whom do not have rings.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/hofm_TE.htm

 

[gimmesix]

He is HOFer....don't be disappointed when he is not first ballot

He's second all-time in receptions and yards among tight ends. Some of you seem to think longevity is a ding, but the guy he's second to (Gonzalez) only played in one less game and was first ballot. No other tight end is even close to them in receptions and yards. Gonzalez was a first-ballot Hall of Famer and Witten will be, too. Don't be disappointed when he is.

 

[DallasEast]

why would they ask him when he never played under Jimmy Johnson?

It’s a hypothetical based on (hopefully) media curiosity asking someone who has been inducted being approved someone else, who should have been put in before him. The hypothetical can be extended to past Ring enshrinees as well.

 

[Insomniac]

The HOF isn't based entirely on stats but thay are a big part of the evaluation. So I decided to look at the most likely HOF candidates that aren't in.
Receptions Witten 1228 Gates 955 Kelce 730 Gronk 621
Yards Witten 13046 Gates 11841 Kelce 9328 Gronk 9286
TDs Gates 116 Gronk 92 Witten 74 Kelce 60
Yards/Rec Gronk 15.0 Kelce 12.8 Gates 12.4 Witten 10.6
Yards/Target Gronk 9.7 Kelce 9.1 Gates 8.1 Witten 7.6
% of catches for 1st downs Gronk 75.52% Gates 68.9% Kelce 68.08% Witten 54.07%

all stat from player pages on pro-football-reference.com


There's no objective way to evaluate blocking but and Gronk and Witten were clearly much better than Gates and Kelce.
In terms of playoff performance Gronk and Kelce are well ahead of the other 2. Among all players Kelce is 3rd in Playoff Receptions Gronk is 4th, Gronk is 3rd in Rec Yds Kelce is 5th. Gronk is 2nd in TDs Kelce is tied for 3rd.
Playing on a lot of winning teams makes a difference so again Gronk and to a lesser extent (at least for now) Kelce have the advantage. Gronk 4 rings (although he was injured during the playoffs for 1).

Maybe they shouldn't count it but personality, charisma and Fame also seem to affect the voters. After all it is called the Hall of FAME not the hall of great players. Not much of an argument on who has the advantage there.

Gronk is the most likely to be 1st ballot, the other 3 are all worthy of induction, but a lot of players end up having to waait their turn.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Witten is effectively Cal Ripken Jr.

Very good player that played along time, but not necessarily a game changing dynamic player at his position.

 

[HanD]

He’s better than gates. Here’s ran 2 routes. He could t block. Wittenberg was less hyped but better, more consistent and did it longer.

To me it's like the Barry emmitt debate. One is flashier and makes highlight plays. The other does everything well, not just some things and is durable and dependable.