"The best TE in the League..."

[NoLuv4Jerry]

why would he include "better than Cooley" in the discussion. Cooley is a "solid" player....nothing more nothing less. He cannot block....he is slow....his best attribute is that he catches the ball pretty good and they don't have anyone else on that team to be a possesion WR....so he is it. But how his name entered the disscusion with Gates, Gonzalez etc......is absurd

 

[Scotman]

Stats tell a lot.

Witten is 11-1

Cooley is 5-6

 

[CowboyPrincess]

As a expert in tight ends, I'd say Wittens is far more superior.

But seriously... not only do numbers support it, but his playing without a helmet proves it. Honestly, I haven't seen someone so focussed and determined on the field in a long time.

But I'm also bias. I luvs me some Witten

JMHO

 

[Padd]

The fact that Gumbel would ask "Better than Cooley?" just further solidifies how much of a complete idiot he is

That is what I thought as well. Gumbel is the worst.

 

[peplaw06]

Well I'm going to have to give Gumball some credit here..... He identified 3 TEs correctly.

:laugh1:

Just don't ask him what their first names are.

Gary Gates

Guillermo Gonzalez

Kevin Cooley

Rick Romo.

 

[Kilyin]

Maybe it's because I see virtually every Skins game not airing at the same time as the Cowboys, but I think Cooley is definitely one of the best TEs in the NFC. Look at who's been throwing the ball to him over the years and his production. Right now, he's ranked 3rd in reception yards and 1st in TDs in the NFC among TEs.

 

[tomson75]

Maybe it's because I see virtually every Skins game not airing at the same time as the Cowboys, but I think Cooley is definitely one of the best TEs in the NFC. Look at who's been throwing the ball to him over the years and his production. Right now, he's ranked 3rd in reception yards and 1st in TDs in the NFC among TEs.

No one should be questioning Cooley's ability. He's an outstanding player. He is not, however as good of an all around TE as Witten. IMO, the only advantage Cooley has over Witten is his ability to make tacklers miss on occassion...another aspect of Witten's game that seems to be improving I might add.

Receiving - slight advantage Witten
Blocking - adv. Witten
Route running - push
big play ability - push
RAC - Cooley

Seeing as how blocking is far more important than RAC, I'll give the advantage to Witten all day.

 

[burmafrd]

Witten had his best year when all we had otherwise was crayton (a rookie) and the slow Key. AND INTERCEPTEVERDE AS QB.

 

[CowboyChris]

You can throw Vernon Davis in there too. It might be a little early perhaps, but that guy is SERIOUS. He's been hurt this year and he's young, but he is going to be a SICK freakin' TE for San Fran.

Must not forget Dallas Clarke either.

Vernon Davis? try picking him on a fantasy team :starspin

 

[Biggems]

i cant believe he brought up cooley instead of shockey

 

[Hoofbite]

Cooley is a great player but he isn't a true TE IMO. Rarely does he line up and just block. He'll chip block here and there but I haven't seen a lot of times where he lined up on a DE and is told to stop that player 1-on-1.

Comparing stats is less then half the story. Cooley gets a TON of his yardage on designed screens for him in long yardage situations. He is and has been the Commanders #1 option for the last 2 years. With all the injuries they have had and the awful production they have had from their Wide Outs, hes the best producer they have.

Anyone who even tries to compare Witten from last year with any TE is fooling themselves. Witten was an extension of the OL last year, plain and simple.

Best combo of blocking and catching? No. TG in KC is it. Tony just doesn't have ANYTHING else to help him. No running game and no QB AT ALL. If you put TG in a Cowboy uniform, he would slaughter defenses at will.

That said, Witten is damned good. No worse then 3rd best in the league. As far as complete TE, hes #2 behind Gonzo IMO. Gates is the better receiver but doesn't block like as well.

Also, something has to be said about the Respect that Witten gets. When Bill B. targets you as the 1 player they are going to focus on, that says a lot.

 

[Hoofbite]

And Kellen Winslow is pretty good too. I'd put Winslow ahead of Cooley.

 

[MapleLeaf]

If Witten was a Commander and Cooley a Cowboy, they would be arguing and laughing with anyone that dared say Witten was close to as good as Cooley.

I have learned to except that 90% of the time it is homerism.

Cooley is a heck of a TE.

...into this discussion I was always told the best TE was one who was never taken out of the "jumbo" set.

What this means for OCs is that there is much more play call flexibility when the defence has to respect the aspect of blocking your TE brings.

TEs who can play all the downs and play them well bring the threat of releases after the block to burn you for a pass.

On goal line offence a blocking TE who can release quick may keep an extra LB back off the line just to respect his route running ability.

How many plays does Witten sit on the sidelines? I think that will give you your answer. In this league the best players stay on the field. Cooley isn't in all of Washington spread packages and he certainly isn't in their "jumbo" packages.

 

[BigBlacKahuna]

I've Thought this for awhile now. He's come a long way and gotten better. It helps that he has Jay Novacek as a mentor.

 

[HogsRLegends]

The fact that Gumbel would ask "Better than Cooley?" just further solidifies how much of a complete idiot he is

Exactly. Witten can clean Cooleys toilet seat.

 

[CowboyPrincess]

I've Thought this for awhile now. He's come a long way and gotten better. It helps that he has Jay Novacek as a mentor.

:bravo: :worthy2:

 

[Sarge]

Vernon Davis? try picking him on a fantasy team :starspin

Try waiting until he's healthy and for that matter - take a look at his last 3 weeks.

 

[Sarge]

And Kellen Winslow is pretty good too. I'd put Winslow ahead of Cooley.

So would almost everyone else.

 

[CowboyMike]

I direct everyone to this post of mine earlier in the season....

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1644840#post1644840

Thank you, have a nice day.

 

[Kilyin]

Career TDs

Witten 20
Shockey 27
Cooley 26

Cooley has played the fewest seasons among them all. You can acknowledge that Cooley is a good TE without saying he's better than Witten. It's okay.