Jason Witten: The Final Tally

Biggems

Biggems

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Two things that stand put for me.

How was "The Sloth" always open? I mean he was one of the sliwest men on the field, yet no one could cover him. Dare I say, he was so slow, he was lightning quick.

The second thing, how with him being so slow, did he commit so many false starts. It boggles my mind.

It is unfortunate that he never saw the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This is why Novacek is so dear to my fandom heart. He played in those games and delivered. I am sure Witten would have too, had he been given the opportunity.

However, he joins Tony G as first ballot HOF material, but also ringless.

He had a great career, was fun to watch, but now the Cowboy must ride away off into the sunset......tip of the hat to ya Jason.
 
DCBoysfan

DCBoysfan

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Hostile said:
An amazing career for an amazing man. For some the play that will stand out to them is running down the field with no helmet on, gaining every last yard he could. For me there will be two things that stand out. The first will be him having his jaw broken, missing only one game and playing with his jaw wired shut. He lost so much weight that Parcells told him to eat baby food to maintain his weight, and threatened to bench him until he put weight back on if he fell under a certain point. Jason stuffed rolls of quarters into his sweat pants so that he did not fall under the weight they demanded. He played through it, missing only one game in his magnificent career.

The other will be the time his estranged father, a menacing figure of 6'8" height, came to watch Jason train and Jason completely ignored the fact that his father was even there. His father denies ever being abusive to his wife, Jason's mother, or their three kids. It is an offense worse than the actual abuse to Jason. The man he reveres most in his life is not his father, but his maternal Grandfather, the man who took his daughter and three grandsons in, and who was a legendary Tennessee High School football coach who shaped this man's awesome career and made him understand that he could have an impact in this world. Wow what an impact he has had.

Jason Witten holds the record for most games played as a Dallas Cowboy. He came very close to having played in more games than any player who ever suited up for Dallas. Jason stands at 239 games played. The only men in NFL History to ever play more and at one time be a Dallas Cowboy, are Ray Donaldson at 244 games played, and Eddie Murray at 250 games played.

He holds the record for most consecutive games played in NFL History as a TE with 229. I seriously doubt it will ever be touched in my lifetime.

He holds the record for most consecutive starts by a TE with 179. That record would have been even higher (229) except for a bone headed move to start a 3rd WR one game. He was in the very next play, but the string of consecutive starts was broken.

He retires from the Dallas Cowboys as the all time leader in receptions for his career with 1152 of them. Good for 4th place all time in NFL History, 2nd most ever for a TE behind Tony Gonzalez, who was a WR/TE hybrid and never was the blocker Jason was. In my not so humble opinion, Jason Witten is the greatest pure TE to ever lace up cleats and strap on a helmet. We will never see one greater, and certainly not with the abundance of character he possesses. To put into persecptive his career as a Dallas Cowboy, he is 402 catches ahead of 2nd place all time, the Playermaker, Michael Irvin. If you put Michael Irvin (750) together with Bob Hayes (365) you have two Hall of Famers who combined are 37 receptions short of his career mark. I don't want anyone to misunderstand my point there. I am not marginalizing them in any way. Hayes was a different era. However, their combined 22 years as Dallas Cowboys fall short of his 15 year career as far as receptions go. His consistent production was simply amazing.

He finishes as the all time Cowboys leader in receiving yards, though not too far ahead of Michael Irvin. He is 21st in NFL History and would have undoubtedly this year moved past Art Monk, Irving Fryar, Steve Largent, and possibly Andre Reed. That is 3 Hall of Fame WRs. We all know WRs can put up more yards than TEs can by virtue of consistency of depth in routes each run.

He holds the NFL record for most catches by a TE in a single season with 110. 8 more than the previous record of 102 by the aforementioned Tony Gonzalez. Had Jason kept going for as long as Tony did, in other words two more seasons, it is plausible he might have eclipsed a few more of Tony's numbers.

He holds the record for the most catches in a game by a TE with 18.

He goes out as the 3rd leading TD receiver in Cowboys History behind Dez and Bob Hayes.

He leaves us with 11 Pro Bowl appearances in his 15 years. Tied for most in Cowboys History with the Great Bob "Mr. Cowboy" Lilly, and one ahead of Larry Allen, who did add an 11th honor, but with some other team.

Finally he leaves us with a leadership void in the locker room that will force other players to stand up and take over. A couple of years ago, professional wrestler Sting, did a spoof video where he was hired as an intimidation coach for his favorite team, the Cowboys. Players put on scary face paint. The video ended as Jason Witten walked past Sting to the practice field with no face paint on and Sting asked him why he was not getting in step with the intimidation policies. He reached over, got some black paint from Sting's face, put on his signature eye black lines on his cheek, and said, "We good?"

Yeah Jason, we good. Thank you. It has truly been an honor sir.
Click to expand...

Good post, I admit I usually don't read long post, but considering the author and the subject matter I made an exception.
 
armadillooutlaw

armadillooutlaw

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Biggems said:
Two things that stand put for me.

How was "The Sloth" always open? I mean he was one of the sliwest men on the field, yet no one could cover him. Dare I say, he was so slow, he was lightning quick.

The second thing, how with him being so slow, did he commit so many false starts. It boggles my mind.

It is unfortunate that he never saw the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This is why Novacek is so dear to my fandom heart. He played in those games and delivered. I am sure Witten would have too, had he been given the opportunity.

However, he joins Tony G as first ballot HOF material, but also ringless.

He had a great career, was fun to watch, but now the Cowboy must ride away off into the sunset......tip of the hat to ya Jason.
Click to expand...
Man...it's even sadder to me than Romo that Witten didn't get a ring!
At least he is healthy and has a great post football job to lean on.
And he can enjoy his wife and kids.
 
aikemirv

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I vote that this post/thread be pinned to the top for 1 month to honor Witten!

and thank Hostile for such great work!
 
Shake_Tiller

Shake_Tiller

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I was in Neyland Stadium the night Witten, as a junior, ended a six-overtime slugfest with Arkansas with a game-winning touchdown on one of those patented seam routes. When he entered the subsequent NFL draft, I truly thought he had to be the most underrated player in that draft. I don't consider myself a personnel guru, but if you saw Witten play at Tennessee, you knew he was a special athlete. The draft was Saturday-Sunday then, and I watched the entire first-day, shocked Witten hadn't been picked. Then the Cowboys made their choice.

Roger Staubach is my all-time favorite player and the only human being I would likely be nervous at a meeting -- childhood hero. Bob Lilly will always be Mr. Cowboy. Over the years I have been excited by many of the Cowboys' draft picks -- Aikman, of course, Dorsett (I learned the Cowboys had traded up to pick him while sitting in a political science class), Emmitt Smith and others. I have never been as thrilled by a Cowboys draft pick as I was by the choice of Witten. I knew they had taken an exceptional player.

Even so, I never imagined the heights to which Witten would take his career. It couldn't have envisioned what he would become.

Witten becomes one of those rare athletes who leaves on his own terms, while still a very effective NFL player. Yes he's lost speed, and he was never fast. I don't think he is quite the blocker he once was. But he is still a very, very good NFL tight end.

No modern tight end has matched Witten's contributions. At his best, he was a great blocker. His pass-catching ability speaks for itself. One must go back to the glory days of NFL tight ends -- Mackey, Ditka, maybe (maybe) Kellen Winslow, to find such a combination of skills.

Witten is an all-time Cowboy and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. What a fabulous post by Hostile. Witten was unique.
 
dallasdave

dallasdave

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Shake_Tiller said:
I was in Neyland Stadium the night Witten, as a junior, ended a six-overtime slugfest with Arkansas with a game-winning touchdown on one of those patented seam routes. When he entered the subsequent NFL draft, I truly thought he had to be the most underrated player in that draft. I don't consider myself a personnel guru, but if you saw Witten play at Tennessee, you knew he was a special athlete. The draft was Saturday-Sunday then, and I watched the entire first-day, shocked Witten hadn't been picked. Then the Cowboys made their choice.

Roger Staubach is my all-time favorite player and the only human being I would likely be nervous at a meeting -- childhood hero. Bob Lilly will always be Mr. Cowboy. Over the years I have been excited by many of the Cowboys' draft picks -- Aikman, of course, Dorsett (I learned the Cowboys had traded up to pick him while sitting in a political science class), Emmitt Smith and others. I have never been as thrilled by a Cowboys draft pick as I was by the choice of Witten. I knew they had taken an exceptional player.

Even so, I never imagined the heights to which Witten would take his career. It couldn't have envisioned what he would become.

Witten becomes one of those rare athletes who leaves on his own terms, while still a very effective NFL player. Yes he's lost speed, and he was never fast. I don't think he is quite the blocker he once was. But he is still a very, very good NFL tight end.

No modern tight end has matched Witten's contributions. At his best, he was a great blocker. His pass-catching ability speaks for itself. One must go back to the glory days of NFL tight ends -- Mackey, Ditka, maybe (maybe) Kellen Winslow, to find such a combination of skills.

Witten is an all-time Cowboy and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. What a fabulous post by Hostile. Witten was unique.
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:bow::bow::bow: Well said indeed SIR !!!!
 
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