SI: NFC scout says about Witten "He’s almost resigned now to catching the ball and falling down."

[big dog cowboy]

Not buying the assertion in the OP one bit. The drop in his ypc last year is completely due to the horrible qb play. Overall it has been pretty consistent his entire career.

NFL career statistics
Season Receiving Fumbles
Year Team GP GS Tgt Rec Yards Avg Long TD
2003 DAL 15 7 54 35 347 9.9 36 1
2004 DAL 16 15 122 87 980 11.3 42 6
2005 DAL 16 16 89 66 757 11.5 34 6
2006 DAL 16 15 90 64 754 11.8 42 1
2007 DAL 16 16 141 96 1,145 11.9 53 7
2008 DAL 16 16 121 81 952 11.8 42 4
2009 DAL 16 16 124 94 1,030 11.0 69 2
2010 DAL 16 16 128 94 1,002 10.7 33 9
2011 DAL 16 16 117 79 942 11.9 64 5
2012 DAL 16 16 147 110 1,039 9.4 36 3
2013 DAL 16 16 111 73 851 11.7 34 8
2014 DAL 16 16 90 64 703 11.0 34 5
2015 DAL 16 16 104 77 713 9.3 35 3
Career 207 197 1,438 1,020 11,215 11.0 69 60

 

[Bleu Star]

BS click bait. Nothing more.

 

[Denim Chicken]

3 yards is bad. He made his living where most TEs make their living. Over the span of his career, he's an all-time great. But he's simply not a threat after the catch anymore.

He never was, that's the point. Would it surprise anyone if he exceeded his 3.9 yard career average this year?

Witten YAC (per rec)
2006 4.0
2007 4.0
2008 4.1
2009 4.7
2010 4.2
2011 4.5
2012 2.8
2013 4.6
2014 3.8
2015 3.1

 

[DogFace]

We will run a 1 yard out and prove this guy wrong when he takes it 75.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I don't know what the heck you want in a TE but he was ranked #9 in yards and #4 in receptions for the TEs last year. I'll take that any day considering what kind of QBs he had to work with last year.

I don't "want" anything. I said he's still very valuable, and he is. I'm just being clear-eyed about the fact that he's on the downside of his career. He's coming down off a very high peak, and I'm hopeful that it's a very gentle slope down, but I also know that older players sometimes fall off a cliff at some point (remember all our 32-year-old offensive linemen back in 2010?). It's hard to predict when that may happen, but teams should be out in front of it instead of scrambling to react when it hits.

 

[Falco78]

Well suck me sideways, he is the true definition of a pro and plays the game exactly as I like to see it played. I saw a young kid at the kids bus stop this morning wearing a Witten jersey and I had to give him a high five and tell his dad good job

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

He might not get much YAC and I am sure he has lost some speed over the years...but it still amazes me that he can continue to get open down the field and sometimes against pro bowl LBs and DBs.

 

[tyke1doe]

Can't say I disagree at all. Generally, where Witt catches it is where it will be spotted. Not a game changer anymore, yet still a reliable pros pro though.

I agree. The scout's comments were not anything to get upset over. We know that Witten isn't going to outrun anyone. Heck, we've known this for some time, which is why the Colts picked Dallas Clark over Witten in the draft.

However, Witten still has the savvy of a skilled route runner and knows where to be and where to find the openings in the secondary. And he's as sure-handed as you can get.

 

[Blackspider214]

He's still reliable but this offense would be much better if we can get one of these TEs we have that are younger to stretch the field. And make defenses respect us down the field. Escobar has that potential but we seem to be married to Witten. Too often Romo goes to him well before the sticks on 3rd down.

 

[Chuck 54]

Is that any different than 10 years ago?

Witten has never broken tackles or made anyone miss...period. He gets open; he catches the ball, and he only gets YAC if there's no defender in position to make the tackle. It's always been that way...so what?

 

[Risen Star]

Yeah. We should be looking to upgrade that position.

 

[drawandstrike]

This is NOT news people. Tony Romo is not nearly what he was either. I think people really don't want to focus on how Tony played last year pre and post injury. The best of these 2 guys is way behind them. Wake up!

Last year with his best behind him Witten was the 5th most effective TE in the league when it came to catching the ball. He tied Carolina's Greg Olsen for 5th among TE's with 77 catches. He's still far better than about 25 of the guys starting in this league, even with the drop off.

 

[drawandstrike]

Is that any different than 10 years ago?

Witten has never broken tackles or made anyone miss...period. He gets open; he catches the ball, and he only gets YAC if there's no defender in position to make the tackle. It's always been that way...so what?

This is incorrect. Witten, like Marion Barber, used to be really good at stiff arming people high, fighting off tacklers up high. Then the NFL changed the rules, the 'Marion Barber' rule.

http://niketalk.com/t/76376/nfls-new-marion-barber-rule-takes-marion-barber-by-surprise

That not only affected Barber, it affected Witten. Pushing guys off by the helmet used to be de riguer. Now it'll get you flagged. Plus defenders learned not to try to tackle Witten up high, they'd just bounce off. They've been coached to go low and take his legs out.

 

[drawandstrike]

I will take his 9.3 yards another 70 times this year!


About 7 yrd per target!

77 catches for a 9 yd per catch average, actually.

http://www.nfl.com/player/jasonwitten/2505629/profile

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Yeah. We should be looking to upgrade that position.

There is always the first round next year.

You can be giddy with excitement and expectations with the idea of possibly spending a first round pick on a CB or TE.

 

[Oh_Canada]

As much as I respect Witten, his precense and Romo's dependency on him is stifling to this offense sometimes and is only going to be worse this year. Time to transition and begin to use Escobar more.

 

[drawandstrike]

Thanks to the people who reminded us all for 12 games last year we had guys named Weeden and Moore playing QB, which did indeed affect Witten's #'s.

 

[MarkP88]

Why do people find insult in stuff like this? The guy wasn't ragging on Witten in a way meant to put him down...he just noted what is apparent: he's getting older and isn't what he once was. Doesn't mean he can't play anymore or that he's not worth having. But his best days are behind him. Happens to us all, unfortunately.

 

[Zman5]

I don't "want" anything. I said he's still very valuable, and he is. I'm just being clear-eyed about the fact that he's on the downside of his career. He's coming down off a very high peak, and I'm hopeful that it's a very gentle slope down, but I also know that older players sometimes fall off a cliff at some point (remember all our 32-year-old offensive linemen back in 2010?). It's hard to predict when that may happen, but teams should be out in front of it instead of scrambling to react when it hits.

Clear eyed? I'd suggest you do some homework before you enlighten us with your "clear eye" wisdom. Starting with Witt's career stats everyone posted.

 

[ConceptCoop]

He never was, that's the point. Would it surprise anyone if he exceeded his 3.9 yard career average this year?

Witten YAC (per rec)
2006 4.0
2007 4.0
2008 4.1
2009 4.7
2010 4.2
2011 4.5
2012 2.8
2013 4.6
2014 3.8
2015 3.1

You're changing your argument now. That's cool, I guess. He was still down a yard from his career average. 25% is a big drop. Again, the scout was right.