Witten proud of Gavin Escobar for getting stronger, improving as a blocker

[50cent]

According to Witten, the 23-year-old is on the right path.

“We know he can run the seams and can do some things in the passing game, but we need him to be solid in there [on the line],” Witten said. “He’s worked hard. To see that package grow for him and being out on the field is going to be a lot better because he can now do both.
“I’m proud of him. I know he’s worked hard. It’s paying off for him and I think his role will continue to grow. We need that. We need that not only in the slot, but we need that other guy up the middle.”

TMI, Jason...TMI[/quote]

#pause

 

[BoysFan4ever]

I remember one play he made all year.

 

[Nova]

You'll have to do better to show your work. 88 snap. 52 pass, 34 run. Do you proofread?

If he had 6 more pass snaps - and 6 less runs. That's 58/86 - practically the same as the first half %. Your comparisons are meaningless.

Hannah had 1 fewer pass snap per game as well. So again we are talking a 6 or so snap difference over 8 games! That says little

Also, I think your understanding of te blocking is way off. Ends do block in the pass game as well. They chip before going in the pattern and sometimes stay in to double guys with a tackle

Gotcha. I see the error now. Wrote everything down in a bit of a hurry and ended up not counting 2 snaps.

So it should be, 54 passing snaps, 34 rushing, 61% of plays were passing plays over last 8 games. Rushing percentage remains constant. Which still means 1.5 passing snaps less per game on less snaps overall.

Now if you look at receiving snaps only in relation to total snaps, there isn't much of a deviation. But if you're looking at how many snaps in the passing game, there is a sizable deviation considering the smaller sample size.

Which supports my statement which was also a typo, Hanna was the more indispensable of the two last year and that it wasn't run blocking that was keeping Hanna off the field later on.

 

[Nova]

Actually, we also picked up a fullback, which was an indication that neither Hanna nor Escobar's blocking was doing much for the running game.

That's why I mentioned a change in formation philosophy. Clutts was actually with the teams early on too. He just didn't take many snaps until the last 4 games. So yeah, both guys numbers dropped in the run game although Hanna's percentage of run blocking snaps went up while Hanna's remained constant.

Basically I was saying that Escobar wasn't stuck on the sideline as for his run blocking as much as his role in the passing game like I previously thought.

 

[Hoofbite]

Ooh!! I know!!!: everybody. At least, everybody who bothered to read his draft write up or listen to the post-draft press conference.

I remember being told he wasn't drafted to block.

It wasn't that accepted.

 

[Idgit]

I remember being told he wasn't drafted to block.

It wasn't that accepted.

Not sure who told you that, but from his draft day press conference they made it clear they wanted him to play all over and that he was a player who was going to need to work on his strength and his blocking.

 

[KB1122]

Reading over his quotes this offseason, when did they appoint Witten to be the PR Director?

 

[Jarv]

So how much bulk to he add?

 

[Future]

I agree somewhat but Romo might be the bigger issue. I love Romo as a QB but he is a guy who doesn't easily adapt to new targets. He just seems to need a specific chemistry with guys. He's not a qb who trusts guys from day 1 and who he trusts is not predictable (Robinson? Beasley?)

Yea, I agree with that.

But on the flip side, JG could make it a point of emphasis to get guys the ball. I know he can't control Tony's arm with a remote control, but he can make it a point of emphasis if he wants.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

Reading over his quotes this offseason, when did they appoint Witten to be the PR Director?

Right! He seems to be the guy most quoted. And you know pretty much what he's going to be saying.

 

[Lonestar94]

I remember one play he made all year.

2 actually, the wide open TD against the Rams, and the flip TD the last week of the season.

 

[TheCount]

I really hope that they give this guy a better chance than they did Bennett. I know it's only been one year, but what a wasted pick to this point. He needs to play 50%+ of offensive snaps.

Conclusion:
That indicates to me that while both players saw a declination in snaps likely due to shift in formation philosophy, Hanna consistently got the same percentage of chances in both the passing and run game. And the shift in philosophy for formation in passing downs was mostly felt by Escobar... coaches must have liked what our WRs could do more than our 2nd rounder.

I think it depends on what you consider an "opportunity". Running a route doesn't mean you're being given an opportunity to make a play. Having the ball thrown to you, gives you that opportunity.

When Bennett was here, there were quite a few times he'd be running down the field wide open, waving his arms in the air, but Romo never even looked at him because he was the 5 read on the play, or he had already made up his mind where he was going to throw it before the ball was even snapped.

Witten doesn't know what that's like because Romo always looks at him first or second.

I certainly agree that it's hard to get your 2nd TE involved when your 3rd WR is a better player.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

2 actually, the wide open TD against the Rams, and the flip TD the last week of the season.

The flip was the only one I remembered. I missed some of the Rams game.

 

[AbeBeta]

Gotcha. I see the error now. Wrote everything down in a bit of a hurry and ended up not counting 2 snaps.

So it should be, 54 passing snaps, 34 rushing, 61% of plays were passing plays over last 8 games. Rushing percentage remains constant. Which still means 1.5 passing snaps less per game on less snaps overall.

Now if you look at receiving snaps only in relation to total snaps, there isn't much of a deviation. But if you're looking at how many snaps in the passing game, there is a sizable deviation considering the smaller sample size.

Which supports my statement which was also a typo, Hanna was the more indispensable of the two last year and that it wasn't run blocking that was keeping Hanna off the field later on.

You still fail to see the context. 1.5 snaps fewer per game for Escobar vs. 1 snap fewer per game for Hanna.

That's just random noise that you are calling a pattern supporting your argument

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm just glad that Escobar is putting in the time and dedication to put himself in a position of getting more playing time.

 

[conner01]

I'm just glad that Escobar is putting in the time and dedication to put himself in a position of getting more playing time.

thats what is really important. they knew he had to grow as a blocker when they took him. but he is a huge guy with good speed and great hands. the most important thing is he is putting in the work he needs to to become a complete player.

 

[Nova]

You still fail to see the context. 1.5 snaps fewer per game for Escobar vs. 1 snap fewer per game for Hanna.

That's just random noise that you are calling a pattern supporting your argument

Here, I’ll hold your hand and walk you through it.

I first said: “Gotta earn it”. So my thesis was that Escobar was given chances but did not make it work, rather than his growth being stunted.

So I showed that he was given more chances early on, and he actually lost those chances as the season progressed—which would indicate that he was outworked or that the coaches liked another option more.

What I found was that, yes, he in fact was given more opportunities early on. I checked to see if he was losing snaps to Hanna, and it turns out that he really wasn’t as Hanna was losing snaps also. So my guess is that the coaches had a change in formation philosophy that reduced the 2nd and 3rd TE roles.


I think we can both agree on that so far. But here’s where I’m losing you…


Passing downs:

Yes. Both players snaps decreased. They lost snaps in the second half of the season, again likely due to change in formation philosophy.


The difference is that Hanna’s snaps remained proportional. He was on the field less, but he still had the same ratio of passing down snaps to rushing down snaps as they year progressed… a 50/50 split.


Escobar had no such constant. He was on the field less, yes. But he was also on the field less because his proportion of passing snaps decreased—whether it was pass blocking or receiving snaps.


The bulk of his passing down snaps came in the first half of the season—his strongest snap count being the first two games of the season.


Now if you want to argue that it’s not enough of a deviation, that’s fine. I wouldn’t completely disagree with you. It’s a small sample size and it only decreased by about 5%. But Escobar overall lost 31 snaps over the last half of the season. 24 snaps lost on passing downs, only 7 lost on run blocking downs. Not 100% conclusive, but I’d say that his run blocking wasn’t the most suspect aspect of his game because of this—he was still getting a strong number of run blocking snaps, despite his total snaps decreasing.


Hanna was more indispensable. There was an autocorrect typo that changed it to more indefensible in the first post, so I get why you may have misunderstood me because of the error. He played an equal number of passing/rushing snaps and played over 100 snaps more. I don’t think that is arguable.

 

[AbeBeta]

Here, I’ll hold your hand and walk you through it.

I first said: “Gotta earn it”. So my thesis was that Escobar was given chances but did not make it work, rather than his growth being stunted.

So I showed that he was given more chances early on, and he actually lost those chances as the season progressed—which would indicate that he was outworked or that the coaches liked another option more.

What I found was that, yes, he in fact was given more opportunities early on. I checked to see if he was losing snaps to Hanna, and it turns out that he really wasn’t as Hanna was losing snaps also. So my guess is that the coaches had a change in formation philosophy that reduced the 2nd and 3rd TE roles.


I think we can both agree on that so far. But here’s where I’m losing you…


Passing downs:

Yes. Both players snaps decreased. They lost snaps in the second half of the season, again likely due to change in formation philosophy.


The difference is that Hanna’s snaps remained proportional. He was on the field less, but he still had the same ratio of passing down snaps to rushing down snaps as they year progressed… a 50/50 split.


Escobar had no such constant. He was on the field less, yes. But he was also on the field less because his proportion of passing snaps decreased—whether it was pass blocking or receiving snaps.


The bulk of his passing down snaps came in the first half of the season—his strongest snap count being the first two games of the season.


Now if you want to argue that it’s not enough of a deviation, that’s fine. I wouldn’t completely disagree with you. It’s a small sample size and it only decreased by about 5%. But Escobar overall lost 31 snaps over the last half of the season. 24 snaps lost on passing downs, only 7 lost on run blocking downs. Not 100% conclusive, but I’d say that his run blocking wasn’t the most suspect aspect of his game because of this—he was still getting a strong number of run blocking snaps, despite his total snaps decreasing.


Hanna was more indispensable. There was an autocorrect typo that changed it to more indefensible in the first post, so I get why you may have misunderstood me because of the error. He played an equal number of passing/rushing snaps and played over 100 snaps more. I don’t think that is arguable.

I'll hold your hand. Your argument about 1st vs 2nd half hinges on 6 snaps. Game over.

 

[Doomsday101]

thats what is really important. they knew he had to grow as a blocker when they took him. but he is a huge guy with good speed and great hands. the most important thing is he is putting in the work he needs to to become a complete player.

It has become obvious for some they did not like the selection so will rag on Escobar from here on out. I said it that night at this sight I would not have taken a TE so it was not like I was jumping up and down over the selection. I do understand why Dallas would take him, since the draft is not about next year it is about the future and with Witten getting up in age now heading into his 12th year in the league there is a logic to the selection. Reality is he is a member of the Cowboys regardless if a person agrees with the pick or not and now that he is a member it is in the teams best interest that he developes into a quality player now and for the future of this team. Seeing Escobar working his tail off to increase his strenght is very encouraging

 

[JD_KaPow]

Here, I’ll hold your hand and walk you through it.

I first said: “Gotta earn it”. So my thesis was that Escobar was given chances but did not make it work, rather than his growth being stunted.

So I showed that he was given more chances early on, and he actually lost those chances as the season progressed—which would indicate that he was outworked or that the coaches liked another option more.

Well, except for the fact that his usage increased at the end of the season: in the last 3 games, he had more snaps than Hanna. I would argue that the data is way too messy to support any big conclusions.