Witten #41 2012/13 top 100

[ringmaster]

He had a good season but I'd hold your horses on proclaiming his 2012 season the greatest ever by a TE... especially considering his 9.4 yard per reception and only 3 TDs.

Just look a year before an you see Gronk's 1327 yards receiving (14.7 per reception) and 17 TDs.

Yes because Gronk is younger and is also injury prone, as for his 9.4 yards a catch it had alot to do with the O-line's inability to block consistently for deeper routes for him imo.

I can say this about Jason there are alot of good TEs in this league but when it comes to route running no one does it better than him at the position.

 

[muck4doo]

Yes because Gronk is younger and is also injury prone, as for his 9.4 yards a catch it had alot to do with the O-line's inability to block consistently for deeper routes for him imo.

I can say this about Jason there are alot of good TEs in this league but when it comes to route running no one does it better than him at the position.

Well put.

 

[TheCount]

He's was the best player on our team last year, IMO.

I think Dez and Spencer were better, but Witten is ole reliable. He's had too many penalties lately and I think his blocking has slipped a peg. He's also never been much of a red zone threat and I think that hurts his reputation as a play maker just a bit amongst the elite TE's.

Yes because Gronk is younger and is also injury prone, as for his 9.4 yards a catch it had alot to do with the O-line's inability to block consistently for deeper routes for him imo.

I can say this about Jason there are alot of good TEs in this league but when it comes to route running no one does it better than him at the position.

Witten's been with us 11 years, it's safe to say he's just not a "deep route" kind of guy. He made his name working the middle of the field on mid depth routes and occasionally breaking those for longer runs. Witten is a true TE, not one of these TE/WR hybrids like Jimmy Graham. Witten has the benefit/drawback of playing on a team that hasn't had very many consistent pieces other than himself, and as a reward, he's caught a lot more balls than guys with similar skill sets on more consistent and balanced teams - see Heath Miller.

 

[percyhoward]

You don't hear it mentioned a whole lot, but WPA (Win Probability Added) put Witten at #1 in the NFL among tight ends in 2012. That means the plays on which Witten was targeted positively affected the outcomes of games to a greater degree than did the plays on which any other TE was targeted during the regular season.

WPA has an extremely high correlation with winning -- even higher than passer rating.

WPA Leaders at TE during Witten's Career
2003 Gonzalez
2004 Gates
2005 Shockey
2006 Gates
2007 Witten
2008 Scaife
2009 Gonzalez
2010 Davis
2011 Gronkowski
2012 Witten

Since 2003, Gonzalez has led all TE with 10 Top 5's in WPA. Gates has had 7, and Witten 6. No other TE has more than two.

And remember, this stat only includes the plays on which that TE was the intended receiver. It completely ignores their impact as blockers.

Witten is already the most complete TE of his generation.

 

[TheCount]

You don't hear it mentioned a whole lot, but WPA (Win Probability Added) put Witten at #1 in the NFL among tight ends in 2012. That means the plays on which Witten was targeted positively affected the outcomes of games to a greater degree than did the plays on which any other TE was targeted during the regular season.

WPA has an extremely high correlation with winning -- even higher than passer rating.

WPA Leaders at TE during Witten's Career
2003 Gonzalez
2004 Gates
2005 Shockey
2006 Gates
2007 Witten
2008 Scaife
2009 Gonzalez
2010 Davis
2011 Gronkowski
2012 Witten

Since 2003, Gonzalez has led all TE with 10 Top 5's in WPA. Gates has had 7, and Witten 6. No other TE has more than two.

And remember, this stat only includes the plays on which that TE was the intended receiver. It completely ignores their impact as blockers.

Witten is already the most complete TE of his generation.

Good stat. I think a lot of this is because Witten (and TE's in general) can act as an extended running game and for a team that has struggled running the ball consistently as much as we have, It's like saying running the ball effectively raises your chances to win.