Player that's so good people take him for granted

[BARRYRAY]

Witten--in the one quarter they tried a cb on him, he ate that guy for lunch, he cannot be covered one on one, they had to change their scheme, he gets my vote for best TE in the league right now, think he's better than Jay Novachek in his prime. Conversely don't throw Dan Campbell the ball, he looked like Larry "hands of stone" Brown on the one they did throw him. Sort of like when Moose would break a "long one" for two yards on the fullback keeper...

 

[WV Cowboy]

Witten--in the one quarter they tried a cb on him, he ate that guy for lunch, he cannot be covered one on one, they had to change their scheme, he gets my vote for best TE in the league right now, think he's better than Jay Novachek in his prime. Conversely don't throw Dan Campbell the ball, he looked like Larry "hands of stone" Brown on the one they did throw him. Sort of like when Moose would break a "long one" for two yards on the fullback keeper...

While I love Witten, and am glad we have him, ... "better than Novacek in his prime?", ... "best TE in the league?"

I think that both of those statements are a stretch.

Gates, Gonzalez, Heap are all pretty darn good TE's.

Like I said, I love Witten, but I would like to see him break a tackle now and then.

:cunning:

 

[joseephuss]

He is the best TE that Dallas has had since Jay. In some ways he is better than Jay. I think after a few more seasons, it will be easy to say that he is the best in team history. Right now, there are several great TEs in the NFL. Witten is near the top and there is nothing at all wrong with being a small step below Gonzales or Gates or Crumpler.

 

[Jarv]

Witten sure opened up the game for Key and Glen in the 2nd half. Witten toasted them so much in the 2nd quarter that the left Key and Glen 1-1 most of the game in the 2nd half.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Campbell does not have "stonehands" He may not have hands like Witten, but he's not Morganesque either. That was probably the first pass to Campbell in a game since he went down last year.

Also, I don't think many people take Witten for granted. What's cool is that our other receiving threats on the team are taking advantage of when opposing team's D tries to take him out of the offense.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I sure don't take him for granted. I started a thread after the Washington game saying he needs to be the focal point of our passing attack and the primary read in most of our routes, much like Gonzalez and Crumpler are to their teams.

The guy is almost unstoppable in single coverage. For goodness sakes he's the ONLY Pro Bowl skill position performer we have on offense. I believe his play and his catches set the table for everything we try and do offensively in the passing game.

One of the biggest disappointments to me in the first 2 games was the lack of looks and passes thrown his way. WITTEN, NOT GLENN, should have been the primary route and read for Bledsoe on the 4th down play against the Skins. If he would have been, we probably would have won that game despite all the other miscues on D in the last 4 minutes of the game.

 

[Sarge]

He is the best TE that Dallas has had since Jay. In some ways he is better than Jay. I think after a few more seasons, it will be easy to say that he is the best in team history. Right now, there are several great TEs in the NFL. Witten is near the top and there is nothing at all wrong with being a small step below Gonzales or Gates or Crumpler.

He has a way to go to be the best in Cowboys history.

 

[VACowboy]

Campbell does not have "stonehands" He may not have hands like Witten, but he's not Morganesque either. That was probably the first pass to Campbell in a game since he went down last year.

Also, I don't think many people take Witten for granted. What's cool is that our other receiving threats on the team are taking advantage of when opposing team's D tries to take him out of the offense.

The cool thing is, you can't take them all out. Dallas might not have a Randy Moss, but the team does have a set of receivers and TEs that will burn you bad if you pay too much attention to any one. I think Key will get his catches regardless of the coverage, but I think you can tell who's not being gameplanned in a given game by who leads the team in catches.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

He has a way to go to be the best in Cowboys history.

He has had the best single season of any Cowboy TE....however one season does not a career make.

As you said he has a long way to go to prove it over his career and not just one season.

I think he has what it takes, we will see.

 

[Mash]

Witten is a very solid TE.....doen't match up with the best in this league....he is limited....doesn't block well....has average speed for a TE.....great hands though it seems.

 

[joseephuss]

He has a way to go to be the best in Cowboys history.

Ditka really made his mark as a Bear. He may be the greatest TE to ever wear a Cowboy uniform, but his great years were not in Dallas.

Novacek was great, but injuries cut his career to only 6 seasons with Dallas. Barring injuries or the salary cap, Witten will play longer with Dallas.

Dupree and Cosbie are the top tight ends in team history. Pick one you like and I will gladly take the other although Dupree is one of my favorite all time Cowboys. I think Witten can be better than either. I think as a pure receiving threat, he may already be better. I think he is improving as a blocker.

I consider a few more seasons to be about 3. And that does not include the rest of this season. But I can see that as a "way to go" as well. By that time(6 seasons) he may have all the records for a tight end in team history.

 

[Sarge]

He has had the best single season of any Cowboy TE....however one season does not a career make.

As you said he has a long way to go to prove it over his career and not just one season.

I think he has what it takes, we will see.

I too think he has what it takes. But it takes a lot to fill Jay Novacheks' shoes IMO.

Time will tell. He'll be around for a long time - that's for sure.

 

[VACowboy]

Witten is a very solid TE.....doen't match up with the best in this league....he is limited....doesn't block well....has average speed for a TE.....great hands though it seems.

Witten blocks at least as well as Gates and Gonzalez. Has average speed? Is that why he burns every LB who tries to cover him 1/1?

We must be watching two different guys.

 

[joseephuss]

Witten is a very solid TE.....doen't match up with the best in this league....he is limited....doesn't block well....has average speed for a TE.....great hands though it seems.

Witten blocks as good as if not better than Gates, Crumpler, Shockey and even Gonzales. Blocking isn't the strength of any of these guys. They are asked to be big receivers. They all do a great job of it.

 

[Big D]

Dat Nguyen. He gets alot of grief from fans who wish to see better production from the LB position but let him miss a game or two due to injury and see how much fun we have replacing him. You don't know what you've got 'til its gone.

 

[jlust22]

Speaking of Witten, I heard Stephen Jones on the Ticket today talking about the Cowboys cap situation. He mentioned that the Cowboys have plenty of room to make whatever moves are necessary during this season, but they also want to save some room so they can try to lock of younger players utlizing the leftover cap room. He specifically mentioned Witten as a guy they would like to do that with so hopefully that will get done at some point this season. I assume he will get a contract similar to the one Heap and Gates got. Not bad for a guy who is only 23 years old.

 

[MadCow]

Witten--in the one quarter they tried a cb on him, he ate that guy for lunch, he cannot be covered one on one, they had to change their scheme, he gets my vote for best TE in the league right now, think he's better than Jay Novachek in his prime. Conversely don't throw Dan Campbell the ball, he looked like Larry "hands of stone" Brown on the one they did throw him. Sort of like when Moose would break a "long one" for two yards on the fullback keeper...

A bit much. He's in the category or maybe a half step below the elite TE's but not quite at the top in my opinion. Potentially... yes. Presently... not yet. I love what he adds to the team, needs more time and productivity before he can be claimed as the current best.

Also, if he's not better than the current TE crop then I couldn't imagine him being better than Novacek in his prime. Not yet.

 

[bobtheflob]

I think of Witten as being very good in the traditional sense for TE's. He's not actually all that relatively fast, but he runs good routes, has very good hands, and is good at using his body to block out defenders. He almost never seems to be wide open because he can't just burn linebackers and safeties, and he is usually brought down pretty soon after catching the ball. I just think that recently we've seen a new era of tight ends in the nfl. I was watching Gates the other day and he just seems to have extraordinary athletic ability. Combined with his great hands, he looks like a man among boys out there. Witten looks like he could be one of the best tight ends in the history of the nfl at this pace, he just happens to be playing during what looks to be the golden age for tight ends in the nfl.

 

[VACowboy]

I saw Witten WIDE open several times Sunday.

 

[Justis]

I wouldn't say Witten is the best TE in the league, buy I also wouldn't say any other TE in the league is a better TE. He's not quite the reciever Gonzales is, but he's a much better blocker.