Jason Witten had a seperated shoulder?

[Go Big D!]

He missed one game.

and had 3 plates applied to put his jaw back together.

love the man!

 

[ladiewolve]

He left the game and went into the locker room. But he came back in to the game and had that big catch.

He is an outstanding player!

 

[Rack]

and Emmitt said we have no leaders lol... this was an emmitt smith type gutsy peformance like the game he had against the Giants all those years ago. Witten is a plain beast hes now my favorite player on the team!

That's not the type of leadership he was referring to.

 

[Aikbach]

What a stud, I saw him favor it at times and he wasn't quite himself on a few after the catch runs but what a beast.

My favorite Cowboy by a mile.

 

[Da Hammer]

That's not the type of leadership he was referring to.

what did he mean? sometimes i have trouble understanding him lol and to be honest i wasnt paying close attention i just remember him saying something about us not having leaders on this team...

 

[Rack]

what did he mean? sometimes i have trouble understanding him lol and to be honest i wasnt paying close attention i just remember him saying something about us not having leaders on this team...

He was talking about vocal leadership. You know, you're down 10 points going into the 4th quarter and you've just turned the ball over. Everyone on the bench has their heads down and looks like they've given up... who's gonna get up in their faces and fire them back up? That's what he's talking about.

No doubt Witten, Romo, TO, etc... are leaders, but Emmitt is talking about who is THE leader when the chips are down and someone has to stand up and rally the troops.


That brings me back to that NFC CHampionship game in 1994. The Cowboys got down early 21 -0 in the first quarter. Emmitt was playing with a bad hamstring on a very sloppy, wet field. He ended up pulling his OTHER hamstring in that game but still kept playing, and playing well. Now THAT is leadership.


Leadership isn't giving a guy a pat on the back when you're up 21 points and he just fumbled. Leadership is inspiring your teammates (either through actions or through talking) when the chips are down and it looks like you're about to lose.



Reminds me of another saying.. Toughness isn't the ability to play through pain. It's the ability to play WELL through pain. Witten is one tough son of a gun.

 

[Torn_ACL]

Flozell adams had some sort of neck stinger also and only missed one play.

It was actually just a loose contact lens.

 

[Da Hammer]

He was talking about vocal leadership. You know, you're down 10 points going into the 4th quarter and you've just turned the ball over. Everyone on the bench has their heads down and looks like they've given up... who's gonna get up in their faces and fire them back up? That's what he's talking about.

No doubt Witten, Romo, TO, etc... are leaders, but Emmitt is talking about who is THE leader when the chips are down and someone has to stand up and rally the troops.


That brings me back to that NFC CHampionship game in 1994. The Cowboys got down early 21 -0 in the first quarter. Emmitt was playing with a bad hamstring on a very sloppy, wet field. He ended up pulling his OTHER hamstring in that game but still kept playing, and playing well. Now THAT is leadership.


Leadership isn't giving a guy a pat on the back when you're up 21 points and he just fumbled. Leadership is inspiring your teammates (either through actions or through talking) when the chips are down and it looks like you're about to lose.



Reminds me of another saying.. Toughness isn't the ability to play through pain. It's the ability to play WELL through pain. Witten is one tough son of a gun.

yea that was my point about Witten he's not vocal by any stretch but what he does on the field every single game and the toughness he shows. so i disagree with Emmitt as far as saying that we need a vocal leader. playing through a serious injury like he did tonight or getting your helmet knocked off and still running trying to score a TD is a lot better definition of a leader than any type of vocal leadership. if you cant get hyped up seeing your teammate battle like that through pain and adversity well then it doesnt matter who tries to fire them up with words cause its not gonna work! which is what your saying with your last point so i agree with u

 

[Rack]

yea that was my point about Witten he's not vocal by any stretch but what he does on the field every single game and the toughness he shows. so i disagree with Emmitt as far as saying that we need a vocal leader. playing through a serious injury like he did tonight or getting your helmet knocked off and still running trying to score a TD is a lot better definition of a leader than any type of vocal leadership. if you cant get hyped up seeing your teammate battle like that through pain and adversity well then it doesnt matter who tries to fire them up with words cause its not gonna work! which is what your saying with your last point so i agree with u

We absolutely DO need a vocal leader. Not to flap his gums every time the go to the sidelines, but one to fire up the team when it's needed. We can't rely on Witten to get his helmet knocked off and run for 70 yards everytime we need to get the team fired up. We need someone that has the respect of the team to get up and rally them at certain times.

We've had those type of players every single time we've won a superbowl. Every single team that has won a superbowl has had at least 1 of those types of players.

There's leaders that lead by action, and leaders that lead by action and words. Championship teams need both types.

 

[BigWillie]

What I wonder most about are these character concerns he had that made him fall in the draft.

Guy is obviously a great teammate.

Great family man.

One of the most active NFL players for charities and giving back to his local community.

Ah well. All those other teams loss is our gain.

 

[Rack]

What I wonder most about are these character concerns he had that made him fall in the draft.

Guy is obviously a great teammate.

Great family man.

One of the most active NFL players for charities and giving back to his local community.

Ah well. All those other teams loss is our gain.

I don't recall him having any character issues coming out of college. I think he fell in the draft cuz he wasn't (isn't) fast. Which only further proves my point that teams put too much stock into 40 times.

 

[AdamJT13]

I don't recall him having any character issues coming out of college. I think he fell in the draft cuz he wasn't (isn't) fast. Which only further proves my point that teams put too much stock into 40 times.

Witten ran a 4.65 at the Combine, which was only .03 slower than the fastest tight end that year (L.J. Smith) and the same as Dallas Clark. And Witten was taller and heavier than either of them.

It might have been a combination of his relative lack of experience as a tight end (he played more at defensive end as a freshman) and questions about his overall athleticism (he had a 31-inch vertical, which was 6 inches less than either Smith or Clark). Or maybe it was something else.

Either way, we lucked out, and now we have a guy who just might be putting together a Hall of Fame career, if he keeps this up.

 

[BAT]

Witten was ranked the best TE in the draft before the combines.


I just remember going pyscho when Parcells/Ireland/Jones' braintrust bypassed him for Al frikkin Johnson. I did not in my wildest dreams think he was going to last until the 3rd. It was amazing how many TEs were taken before him.

 

[BAT]

We absolutely DO need a vocal leader. Not to flap his gums every time the go to the sidelines, but one to fire up the team when it's needed. We can't rely on Witten to get his helmet knocked off and run for 70 yards everytime we need to get the team fired up. We need someone that has the respect of the team to get up and rally them at certain times.

We've had those type of players every single time we've won a superbowl. Every single team that has won a superbowl has had at least 1 of those types of players.

There's leaders that lead by action, and leaders that lead by action and words. Championship teams need both types.

This is more evidently missing on D than on O IMO.


Romo, Witten and even TO inspire/cajole/console by deeds as well as words. I don't see that on D, quiet lead by example guys abound (Ware, Zach, even Roy at one time) but the majority of the leaders cannot back up their talk (make impact plays to back up their chatter). Closest is probably Ellis, maybe Newman.


But the inconsistency is telling.

 

[Rack]

This is more evidently missing on D than on O IMO.


Romo, Witten and even TO inspire/cajole/console by deeds as well as words. I don't see that on D, quiet lead by example guys abound (Ware, Zach, even Roy at one time) but the majority of the leaders cannot back up their talk (make impact plays to back up their chatter). Closest is probably Ellis, maybe Newman.


But the inconsistency is telling.

Sorry, but you aren't getting what I'm saying. It's not an offense/defense thing. It's an inspirational leader thing that can fire up the whole team, not just a unit.


We had that in Michael Irvin. In fact, he's the last one we had.

 

[BigWillie]

I don't recall him having any character issues coming out of college. I think he fell in the draft cuz he wasn't (isn't) fast. Which only further proves my point that teams put too much stock into 40 times.

Yep. Most had him ranked as a 1st-2nd round talent. IIRC, even Kiper had him rated ahead of Dallas Clark for a long time leading up to the draft. Come draft day and he falls like a rock.

IIRC, Parcells was actually going to take him in the 2nd round, but took Al Johnson instead. From what I remember, Parcells was shocked that Witten lasted to the 3rd round.

You have to remember guys like Teyo Johnson, Bennie Joppru and LJ Smith were selected ahead of him that were TE's.

 

[Rack]

Yep. Most had him ranked as a 1st-2nd round talent. IIRC, even Kiper had him rated ahead of Dallas Clark for a long time leading up to the draft. Come draft day and he falls like a rock.

IIRC, Parcells was actually going to take him in the 2nd round, but took Al Johnson instead. From what I remember, Parcells was shocked that Witten lasted to the 3rd round.

You have to remember guys like Teyo Johnson, Bennie Joppru and LJ Smith were selected ahead of him that were TE's.

Yeah I remember all that. I was also PO'd when we didn't take him in the 2nd. I just figured it was some dumb numbers thing like he didn't run fast enough.

Kind of surprised he did that well at the combine cuz he doesn't look that fast when he runs with the ball. He's an excellent route runner but that doesn't have anything to do with speed.

I think Witten's only weakness is he isn't very good after the catch as far as making people miss or breaking tackles. Now, breaking tackles and taking a hit aren't the same thing, and he can sure as hell take a hit.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

man, that would upset me bad........great game Jason--a true professional

 

[dbair1967]

what a 3rd round steal Witten was

yep...we're fortunate to have him...was rated a late 1st rd pick by many

and Parcells passed on him once for Al Johnson

 

[Redball Express]

But catching the ball is not Witten's only responsibility.

It would seem that a separated shoulder, regardless of degree, also comes into play in blocking..and that's where I think it will be more of an issue.

Constant pounding on that shoulder is not going to be a good thing at all.

Over the course of a game, it's bound to get worst for him. And over games, that can't be good.

This is a real concern as the season goes on.

On a positive note, I saw Bennett really do and excellent job on the screen pass and make a very good run after tha catch. He slowed a good bit of speed in the open field.

Get well..Jason.