Witten

[trueblue1687]

Does anyone else notice that Witten rarely gets yards after the catch. He makes good catches and, faults aside, I think he is a reliable pass catcher. I've been really watching his YAC and aside from Carolina (he had a nice run after a catch), it's almost like he expects to get tackled (which he obviously will), but just lays down or doesn't make much of an effort to get more yardage. Coupled with his poor blocking, I'm beggining to wonder if he is afraid of getting hit or laying the wood to defenders.

 

[ghst187]

he used to have a serious fumbling problem while running after the catch. I've noticed that he's grabbing the ball with two hands a lot before contact and going down quicker instead of fighting for an extra yard.
He hasn't fumbled doing that so I'll take the trade off.
Now if he can stop getting penalties...that's another thing

 

[Hoov]

he's not very nimble. he just cant cut or change direction very well to avoid a tackle. he's like a big ox out there, but he generally runs the route deep enough to get the first down rather than run 7 yard routes when you need 8 or 9. thats the type of player he is, he gets open and makes the cathch then gets pounded but gets back up and does it again.

he's a big time clutch player, his catch put us in position to win.

 

[zalik22]

After the contract, he has been playing slightly below par. Remember his rookie year, he broke his jaw and kept playing? He needs to be more confident and concentrate on every play.

 

[Frozen700]

i dont care..i feel sick to my stomach..i woke up slapping myself this morning....a gotdamn field goal...thats all we freaking needed....why? why? why? the hell do we keep doing this to our selves?? why not just roll over n die n forfiet the season..n go out next year? why put ur fans n ur selves through embarrasment??

u cheer n get all happy when u win the game..***** when u dont get the ball...talk about how the defense is going to step it up this sunday no matter how parcells reacted to practice this week....why?

sorry...i need this week to go by fast...time to rent dvds...watch 3-4 a day

 

[CrazyCowboy]

What TE would you trade him for? Not many!

 

[trueblue1687]

I guess I want to see some beast in these guys. Say what you want about Owens, but the guy fights like heck for YAC....that's what makes him dangerous. Barber...that guy is a BEAST. I love backs that PUNISH defenders! That's what I would like to see from Witten occassionally...not even all the time. Instead of laying down after catches (usually good catches like I said), lower your head and knock someones head off for two or three more yards....or more maybe. Seems like he needs a little more attitude sometimes, that's all.

 

[MaineBoy]

Witten is a clown who needs to get his head out of his arse.....he typifies this team right now..he has the ability and he makes good plays then falls back in to his habit of making crummy blocks - and he apparently has a clause in his contract that guarantees him at least one false start penalty per game...every game...

well Witten, as long as you got your big contract and are getting your stats, losing your focus and making stupid mental errors while we lose games for no good reason is really nothing for you to take seriously enough to maybe focus for 60 minutes.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I am not going to bag on YAC not going to bag too much on his blocking although he does need to work on it.

However that problem, and it is an ongoing problem now since he has been here, of getting at least one or two false start penalties has to stop. Even if that means sitting him for a game or half to get it through his head.

 

[BulletBob]

Witten is a clown who needs to get his head out of his arse.....he typifies this team right now..he has the ability and he makes good plays then falls back in to his habit of making crummy blocks - and he apparently has a clause in his contract that guarantees him at least one false start penalty per game...every game...

well Witten, as long as you got your big contract and are getting your stats, losing your focus and making stupid mental errors while we lose games for no good reason is really nothing for you to take seriously enough to maybe focus for 60 minutes.

Excellent post !!!

 

[George]

Does anyone else notice that Witten rarely gets yards after the catch. He makes good catches and, faults aside, I think he is a reliable pass catcher. I've been really watching his YAC and aside from Carolina (he had a nice run after a catch), it's almost like he expects to get tackled (which he obviously will), but just lays down or doesn't make much of an effort to get more yardage. Coupled with his poor blocking, I'm beggining to wonder if he is afraid of getting hit or laying the wood to defenders.

If you're talking about the catch before the blocked field goal then you need to remember that time was of the essence. Yeah, Witten is kind of a lug that doesn't have a lot of speed and he could block better but he does get open and is very reliable for 10 to 15 yard gains.

 

[dfense]

Does anyone else notice that Witten rarely gets yards after the catch. He makes good catches and, faults aside, I think he is a reliable pass catcher. I've been really watching his YAC and aside from Carolina (he had a nice run after a catch), it's almost like he expects to get tackled (which he obviously will), but just lays down or doesn't make much of an effort to get more yardage. Coupled with his poor blocking, I'm beggining to wonder if he is afraid of getting hit or laying the wood to defenders.

Alot of his routes are sit down between defenders. So he's usually in tight quarters when he gets the pass. They should run him more on post patterns.

 

[TEK2000]

I notice that he seems to shy away from the contact after he catches the ball. He's hard to bring down for the DB's but he rarely ever tries to use his size to his advantage and just plow through them. He always uses that dang Stiff Arm.

The guy is a GOOD player and I don't think I'd trade him for another TE in the league.. but sometimes I'd just like to see some outright meanness out of him after he catches the ball. BUT, maybe that's just not him.

 

[Black Bantam 74]

It's simple. He's a finesse player.

 

[trueblue1687]

If you're talking about the catch before the blocked field goal then you need to remember that time was of the essence. Yeah, Witten is kind of a lug that doesn't have a lot of speed and he could block better but he does get open and is very reliable for 10 to 15 yard gains.

That's exactly opposite of what I'm saying. The rest is pretty much what I said in the opening post. I just want to see him at least try to RUN after he catches the ball...not immitate a fainting goat and lay down. Great player, reliable, but needs to work harder.

 

[trueblue1687]

Alot of his routes are sit down between defenders. So he's usually in tight quarters when he gets the pass. They should run him more on post patterns.

He takes it literally as being "sit down". Just not real aggressive. For his size he should be dishing out some licks for extra yards. I think he's already being exposed as being a little bit on the weak side as seen with his blocking. Maybe he just isn't physically capable of grinding out YAC.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I like Jason Witten I'm not going to throw him under the bus just because of one play...although the Cowboys clearly could have one the game.

 

[trueblue1687]

It's simple. He's a finesse player.

Yeah, ok.. I guess that's why he has a thousand false starts and misses assignments...attention to detail.

 

[trueblue1687]

What TE would you trade him for? Not many!

HUH?? What are you talking about? nobody said anything about trades...just he doesn't do much after the catch....and he is a weak blocker. My point is it appears he is a little afraid or reluctant to have hard contact with defenders. As I said before...very reliable hands, clutch player, but he's laying down (90%+ times) immediately after he catches the ball. Watch close and you'll see what I mean. Against Carolina, it was reminiscent of a squirrel crossing the road when he made that big catch and run: he caught the ball, turned and stopped...then realized he could run another 15 yards and finally took off. He expects to go down right after he catches the ball. I watched him his whole career while here at UT and remember him in high school...always been that way for some reason...he's not a small guy. Jusyt puzzled as to his lack of aggression.