What are your thoughts at TE

[Galian Beast]

Obviously we all love Jason Witten, but how excited are you guys about John Phillips and James Hanna?

James Hanna especially I think could be one of the top tight ends in the future, but I am definitely concerned with the fact that these guys probably won't get much of a chance in our offense.

One thing is for certain if they approach the game like Witten does unlike Bennett they're going to develop pretty well.

I think it's crazy when you think about someone trying to expand their role from their depth thinking about Witten ahead of them. On top of that they still have to compete with Ogletree, Harris, Beasley, Holmes...

 

[Manster68]

Obviously we all love Jason Witten, but how excited are you guys about John Phillips and James Hanna?

James Hanna especially I think could be one of the top tight ends in the future, but I am definitely concerned with the fact that these guys probably won't get much of a chance in our offense.

One thing is for certain if they approach the game like Witten does unlike Bennett they're going to develop pretty well.

I think it's crazy when you think about someone trying to expand their role from their depth thinking about Witten ahead of them. On top of that they still have to compete with Ogletree, Harris, Beasley, Holmes...

I like how both Phillips and Hannah complement Witten. Phillips is the bigger body that can block, whereas Hannah looks to able to make big plays down the field.

Dallas is fine at tight end provided all are healthy.

 

[CowboyMike]

I don't think Witten's replacement is on the team yet. I don't know if Witten's replacement is even playing college ball, yet.

Witten will, in my opinion, be playing for a few more years down the road. I think he's going to have a career close to Tony Gonzales and still be effective into his mid thirties.'

That being said, I do like Phillips and Hanna as complimentary pieces to Witten. And if Witten ever has to miss a game (which we all know is extremely unlikely to happen) I actually trust Phillips to fill in pretty adequately and assume the Witten role in our offense.

 

[Eskimo]

I think we will start to use more 2-TE personnel later on in the season when Witten is healthy.

I understand they still aren't comfortable with Hanna's grasp on the offense which isn't entirely surprising considering all the varied things TEs are asked to do in this offense. I love his athleticism and speed. He seems to have good hands so far which was his major knock. He seems to be a willing blocker but is not a dominating blocker like MartyB. I really look forward to getting him out there more later in the year and exploiting mismatches - Size versus CBs, Size and Speed versus Safeties, Speed versus LBs. The best way to get the passing mismatches you want is to use 2-TE offense as a passing offense early in a set of downs so you get mismatches against LBs.

I also look forward to getting Phillips out there more now that his knee is better and he is able to execute all the roles of the 2nd TE on this roster - in-line blocker, Half-back and Full-back. He is a smart player with good hands and who runs good routes. I think he'll see the field a lot this year. I do hope we're able to lock him up for a few more years at a reasonable cost as this is a contract year and I like what he can contribute. We also have to remember that Witten will start to decline and it may happen sooner than most of the board believes.

 

[Future]

I like how both Phillips and Hannah complement Witten. Phillips is the bigger body that can block, whereas Hannah looks to able to make big plays down the field.

Dallas is fine at tight end provided all are healthy.

Well, Phillips isn't that great of a blocker, but I like where your head's at. Actually over the next year or two, I think this is the direction the team will move. Use Hanna as a receiver and another guy as more of a blocker to reduce Witten's workload. Not only could infusing a guy like Hanna make the offense a little more dynamic, but could also help Witten last a couple extra years or two.

I don't think we've got a lot of Witten left. I think he's already slowed down a touch, but because he's such a great route runner and uses his body so well, he is still effective. But make no mistake about it, teams have had to account for his ability to get down the field for his career. If he loses that threat, he's going to be much more limited.