Twitter: How good was Witten?

[Runwildboys]

Well done!!!!!

Bruce Matthews, Dan Fouts. Did Julius Peppers or Kevin Greene win one? Darren Woodson was one of the greatest S's of all time, no super bowls.

Woodson has 3 rings. Who are you thinking of?

 

[Runwildboys]

I couldn't agree more. I don't think opposing coaches were staying up asking, "How do we guard this guy."

Obviously, his longevity and his target share are impressive. However, for all the talk about what a great team guy he was it is important to note that he completely abandoned team in the middle of the draft to try something else (I get it, great ooportunity blah blah blah).

And then dumb*** Garrett thought it would be a good thing to name this guy captain when he returned to the team after abandoning them.

Those last Garrett years were completely dysfunctional.

Well, maybe the fact that coaches weren't asking "How do we guard this guy?" is the reason they couldn't guard that guy.

 

[atlantacowboy]

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.

Modern era players have to have stats. But you can't compare Witten stats to lets say........ Dave Casper and draw any conclusions. You have to look at him compared to other TEs of his era. The Stats that matter are things like catches, TDS, yards, and pro bowls. The voters aren't looking at things like % of catches for 1st downs

 

[kskboys]

Woodson has 3 rings. Who are you thinking of?

Oops. Posting drunk!!!!

 

[atlantacowboy]

I don't like the idea of letting guys into the ROH without rings. If you didn't bring glory to the franchise, you shouldn't be there. The HOF is another issue. They are honoring personal stats and honors. Fine. But the ROH should be reserved for Cowboy greats who lead the team to super bowl wins. If you let in Witten, why not Demarcus Ware and Romo? No ring, no ROH.

 

[75boyz]

He was great, until his last 3 years, and last 2 especially. We weren't going anywhere anyways. Obviously a class act and a great guy.

Yep loved him to death but just like you say here those last 2 or 3 were him going down, posting up like a power forward and getting the dump off 2 yds short of the first down.

It became a very annoying signature play in his last couple of years.

But before then, he was the total package. He just stuck around a couple more years than he should.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

And so what? I don;t think anyone has claimed he was a game changer, have they?
Trying to think of a single post you have ever made that was worth a bucket of warm spit.
Can't.

Awwwwwww, your feeeeewings hurt tenderheart?

“Trying to think…” sums you up perfectly, luulz. You’re doing the best you can boy.

 

[BourbonBalz]

First ballot HOF good.