Jason Witten

[highschoolcoach]

TE Witten makes Dallas offense go
Alex Marvez / FOXSports.com

The spotlight is on two No. 81s â€â€￾ Terrell Owens and Randy Moss â€â€￾ entering Sunday's Dallas-New England game.
But it's No. 82 that makes the NFL's top-ranked offense click.

Tight end Jason Witten leads Dallas in three receiving categories: Catches (29), yards (407) and touchdowns (four). By comparison, Owens has 21 grabs for 387 yards and three scores.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo also has tried connecting with Witten on 45 passes compared to Owens' 47. That is telling, as no NFL player was thrown more passes in 2006 than Owens.

After reaching the past three Pro Bowls, Witten isn't a secret to opposing defenses. But under new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, the Cowboys (5-0) are capitalizing on the attention given Owens by targeting Witten more frequently. Witten has 15 catches in the past two games; Owens has five.


"When you double-team T.O., it gives (Witten) a lot of chances to isolate inside," said Dolphins safety Renaldo Hill, whose team played Dallas in Week Two. "He's real good at finding open spots in zones. He's fast and sure-handed. If Romo puts the ball somewhere in the area, he's probably going to come up with it."

Having a close friendship with Romo doesn't hurt either. The high trust level between the two triggers memories of the quarterback-tight end bond between former Cowboys Troy Aikman and Jay Novacek.

"He's a great security blanket," Romo told Patriots media earlier this week. "He's always a guy you can rely on to win a lot of matchups one-on-one. I'll look for stuff and sometimes come back (to him) because I know where he'll be."

So will New England, which gives Witten his biggest individual challenge of the season. San Diego's Antonio Gates is the only tight end to have more than four receptions against the Patriots (5-0).

"They really try to re-route you before you get going," Witten said Friday. "For the most part, they do a good job with the tight end because their linebackers can cover pretty well."

Gates (40) is the NFL's only tight end with more catches than Witten. But Witten is considered the better all-around player.

"Jason gives you some things that Gates couldn't do and vice-versa," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, a Chargers assistant the previous three seasons. "We utilize him blocking outside backers, defensive ends and those types of things. Gates was utilized more as a wide receiver at tight end. But they're similar because they're both really talented."

The 6-foot-5, 266-pound Witten credits former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells for not allowing him to become one-dimensional.

"The only way I was going to play as a rookie was to block," said Witten, a 2003 third-round draft choice. "It didn't matter how talented I was in the receiving game. His standard was really high for what he wanted and I appreciate him for that. I've been able to feed off that and be a better player because of it.

"I take pride in being a complete tight end and not just a pass-receiving tight end. That's where I try to separate myself from the other guys. It's a mentality."

Witten's work ethic has earned his teammates' respect. He was voted a team captain this season despite being only 25 years old.

Cowboys backup quarterback Brad Johnson said Witten's passion for football translates to the field.

"He talks about it all the time," said Johnson, a 16-year NFL veteran. "He understands protections and the passing game. He's a tremendous blocker. He works hard in practice. He's the best tight end I've played with."

And Witten believes he can get better.

"I think there's a lot of upside," he said. "To be this experienced at a young age, I've been very fortunate. I just continue to work and stay humble. This is exciting for me now just because of this team. We're off to such a great start and I'm proud to be a leader."

 

[Stonewall]

It's always great to see talented white players leave college early and head to the NFL as Witten did after his junior year at Tennessee. Ten years ago, it was rare to see white players bolt from campus. Another step in defeating the Caste System. Witten, at 25, should only get better.

 

[Don Wassall]

I agree. Whites who are juniors and are NFL ready should enter the draft. The reality is that I-A is the NFL's minor league and college players make big-time money for colleges while receiving nothing themselves. It's too bad that college football has become corporatized like everything else in U.S. society, but since it is that way white players are taking a year out of their pro careers, not to mention costing themselves financially, by sticking around an extra year out of misplaced loyalty to their school.

 

[lumsdenpower]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMSY_fWwMW0

The best TE in the NFL..(Even if Shockey have more talent)

 

[Deadlift]

I see that Jason Witten just passed 5,000 receiving yards for his career.

Wesley Walls, who appears to have been screwed by San Fran, finished his career with 5,291 yards and a very good 54 TD's. I just found out that he was a 2nd Round pick... I do have a Walls' trading card from 1997, but it didn't provide his draft information.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WallWe00.htm

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Wesley was a huge star at Ole Miss. I remember hearing his name from 1988 on up. He was definitely screwed by SF for the 4 seasons he was there, but was allowed to play by NO and Carolina. He could have done much more than he did had he been given more opportunities early in his career. Still, he was a 5 time Pro-Bowler.
Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[Deadlift]

My card says his hometown is Pontoloc, but I think they meant Pontotoc (which is outside Oxford)?Edited by: Deadlift

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Yeah, its Pontotoc. I know quite a few folks from there. Pontotoc is a little over a half hour east of Oxford. Its closer to Tupelo.

 

[Don Wassall]

Jason Wittenmade his 600th career reception on Sunday, just the fourth tight end ever to have that many.

He's still fairly young and has a chance to be the most prolific tight end in league history before he's done.

 

[Electric Slide]

Jason Witten made his 600th career reception on Sunday, just the fourth tight end ever to have that many.  

  He's still fairly young and has a chance to be the most prolific tight end in league history before he's done. 

Great for Jason on an especially prolific day too! I think his long catch, broken tackle and run without his helmet from last season will go down as his legacy image for years to come. The tight end position is one of the true success stories in the Caste era. This season NFL.com's rankings of the top tight ends (I don't know what they are using to rank them) has 9 of the top 21 TE's white, Tony Gonzalez, Aaron Hernandez, Tony Moeaki, and 9 black. The top two are white, Witten and Chris Cooley. Even Dallas Clark is tied for 19 having missed several games.

I think white players have been so successful at TE that even the most anti-white coach can't possibly think that a white player can't play TE simply due to his skin color. Edited by: Electric Slide

 

[Thrashen]

Witten will only need to average 45 yards in the remaining two games in order to reach his 3rd 1,000 yard season of his career.

 

[sport historian]

Jason Witten made his 600th career reception on Sunday, just the fourth tight end ever to have that many.  

  He's still fairly young and has a chance to be the most prolific tight end in league history before he's done. 

Long-time Sports Illustrated writer, Dan Jenkins, in the second of his Billy Clyde Puckett novels, had an interesting paragraph on the subject of white tight ends. With his fictional protaganist as the narrator, he wrote that coaches like white tight ends because the TE has to do a lot of blocking while getting fewer receptions than the wide outs. The coaches believed that a white player will carry out this unselfish role better than a black player, and that coaches considered white players more intelligent and team-oriented.


I'm sure Jenkins picked this up over the years but couldn't write it in one of his Sports Illustrated articles. He put it in a novel.

The Billy Clyde Puckett character in the novel, "Semi-tough," is a white running back with Jim Brown's ability. I have been meaning to make a post on who this fictional character was based on in Happy Hour. Edited by: sport historian

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Jason Wittenmade his 600th career reception on Sunday, just the fourth tight end ever to have that many.

He's still fairly young and has a chance to be the most prolific tight end in league history before he's done.

Long-time Sports Illustrated writer, Dan Jenkins, in the second of his Billy Clyde Puckett novels, had an interesting paragraph on the subject of white tight ends. With his fictional protaganist as the narrator, he wrote that coaches like white tight ends because the TE has to do a lot of blocking while getting fewer receptions than the wide outs. The coaches believed that a white player will carry out this unselfish role better than a black player, and that coaches considered white players more intelligent and team-oriented.





I'm sure Jenkins picked this up over the years but couldn't write it in one of his Sports Illustrated articles. He put it in a novel.



The Billy Clyde Puckett character in the novel, "Semi-tough," is a white running back with Jim Brown's ability. I have been meaning to make a post on who this fictional character was based on in Happy Hour.

Thanks for posting this, sport historian. Interesting connection there!

 

[backrow]

Witten is having yet another great season, barring injury i am sure he will get 1k, again.

now, that blurb on rotoworld just set me off:

Beat writer Tim MacMahon says it's "just a matter of time" before Martellus Bennett moves on from the Cowboys.

Bennett needs a change of scenery. He oozes with potential, but has underperformed in each of his three-plus seasons with the Cowboys. In Monday night's win over the Redskins, he looked lethargic as a blocker and was not aggressive on a goal-line back shoulder throw. Bennett is a free agent after this season.


how exactly does he ooze with potential? he's pretty big and fast, but that's about it. if that was all it took i would have made a great NFL tight end for crying out loud! there's more to the game than just that and even if that's the case, shouldnt he be called a bust after 3 years of not playing up to his "great" potential? he does play behinmd Witten, but there's no rule that you can't have two succesful TEs on the same team (ie Pats 2010-11). imagine if it was Gronkowski underperforming like that for 3 years, would media cut him that much slack?

 

[Don Wassall]

If any backup White TE had played like Bennett did in front of a national audience the other night -- multiple mistakes, total lack of passion -- he would have been cut the next day.

Bennett and the Dallas WRs who had no clue what they were doing were a disgrace. The White center who couldn't hike the ball accurately or at the right time was just as bad. Are the Cowboys practices nothing but loaf-a-thons?

 

[whiteathlete33]

Thank god our star white tight ends are usually safe from being demoted. As good as Witten is, if he were a receiver he may have lost his starting position to an afflete because of more "upside" for the other player.

 

[Leonardfan]

John Phillips is better than Bennett. He is their 3rd string TE. I think as the season goes Phillips will be used more and open some eyes.

 

[Don Wassall]

Jason Witten's catch and run TD reception against the Redskins yesterday was a thing of beauty. I've been reading so often about how "slow" Jason supposedly is these days, yet he outran black Washington d-backs who he outweighs by about 60 or 70 pounds for a 58 yard score. During the highlights of Week 11 games on the cartoonishly negro-centric NFL Network, Deion Sanders said "4.8" as Witten ran into the endzone. What then does that make the black d-backs who were unable to run him down? Tiny and slow.

Sanders was the epitome of the fast "modern" showboat NFL player who was uninterested in tackling; he will never give ground on the "speed" issue, the only area where blacks are in the same ballpark with Whites when it comes to athleticism; every other characteristic of athleticism is White dominated.

 

[Thrashen]

Jason Witten's catch and run TD reception against the Redskins yesterday was a thing of beauty. I've been reading so often about how "slow" Jason supposedly is these days, yet he outran black Washington d-backs who he outweighs by about 60 or 70 pounds for a 58 yard score. During the highlights of Week 11 games on the cartoonishly negro-centric NFL Network, Deion Sanders said "4.8" as Witten ran into the endzone. What then does that make the black d-backs who were unable to run him down? Tiny and slow.

Sanders was the epitome of the fast "modern" showboat NFL player who was uninterested in tackling; he will never give ground on the "speed" issue, the only area where blacks are in the same ballpark with Whites when it comes to athleticism; every other characteristic of athleticism is White dominated.

Nice post.

Despite Sanders’ rich history of televised anti-white racism, shameless Ebonics usage, and overall annoying personality, corporations have selected him for many endorsements of late.

His role as the “Direct TV Fairy” (an appropriate organism for such a wimp to portray) has been particularly odious. In the commercial below, which plays 24-7 on every channel, the little black fairy is in an airport with “country looking,” middle-aged white football fan and his “hot” blonde wife. After bestowing the DWF with some sort of cellphone-based access to live NFL games (who buys this stupid sh-t?), the man’s “hot” white wife, smitten by Sanders, exclaims “Well aren’t you just the cutest thing!”

I recently watched a commercial for the metrosexual clothing company, “Van Heusen,” also featuring Sanders. The shockingly-ugly Negro was announcing some sort of corporate “Superbowl Contest” in which the (so-called) “winner” would be able to attend the Superbowl and have the great “privilege” of meeting the yammering little black twerp. Sounds like a fun “prize”…

 

[SchaafC]

Nice post.

Despite Sanders’ rich history of televised anti-white racism, shameless Ebonics usage, and overall annoying personality, corporations have selected him for many endorsements of late.

His role as the “Direct TV Fairy†(an appropriate organism for such a wimp to portray) has been particularly odious. In the commercial below, which plays 24-7 on every channel, the little black fairy is in an airport with “country looking,†middle-aged white football fan and his “hot†blonde wife. After bestowing the DWF with some sort of cellphone-based access to live NFL games (who buys this stupid sh-t?), the man’s “hot†white wife, smitten by Sanders, exclaims “Well aren’t you just the cutest thing!â€

I recently watched a commercial for the metrosexual clothing company, “Van Heusen,†also featuring Sanders. The shockingly-ugly Negro was announcing some sort of corporate “Superbowl Contest†in which the (so-called) “winner†would be able to attend the Superbowl and have the great “privilege†of meeting the yammering little black twerp. Sounds like a fun “prizeâ€â€¦

:high5:

 

[Don Wassall]

Witten's 18 receptions today not only was the most ever by a Dallas Cowboy in a game, it broke the NFL record for the most catches ever by a tight end. :hail:

Jason Witten has been a big-time Caste buster in his own right. He was the first White tight end in over 20 years to surpass 1,000 receiving yards (in 2007, and also in 2009 and 2010). He'll likely become the leading career receiver in Cowboys history next week. He has a good chance of surpassing 1,000 receptions before he retires. He's also a Brett Favre/Cal Ripken type Iron Man who never misses a game, even playing with a lacerated spleen in the season opener.

Jason Witten is one of the greatest football players of his generation, and has helped elevate White tight ends to a position of rough equality with black tight ends in the NFL by the quality of his play. Even at this site it seems like we sometimes take his greatness for granted, but we should all enjoy and appreciate his career while it lasts.

 

[Leonardfan]

Witten's 18 receptions today not only was the most ever by a Dallas Cowboy in a game, it broke the NFL record for the most catches ever by a tight end. :hail:

Jason Witten has been a big-time Caste buster in his own right. He was the first White tight end in over 20 years to surpass 1,000 receiving yards (in 2007, and also in 2009 and 2010). He'll likely become the leading career receiver in Cowboys history next week. He has a good chance of surpassing 1,000 receptions before he retires. He's also a Brett Favre/Cal Ripken type Iron Man who never misses a game, even playing with a lacerated spleen in the season opener.

Jason Witten is one of the greatest football players of his generation, and has helped elevate White tight ends to a position of rough equality with black tight ends in the NFL by the quality of his play. Even at this site it seems like we sometimes take his greatness for granted, but we should all enjoy and appreciate his career while it lasts.

Great post Don. Witten has really been the tip of the spear for the reemergence of white TEs in the league. He is better than Gates, Gonzalez or Graham - the TEs that get all the hype but are more or less oversized WRs. Witten actually plays all facets of the position at an elite level. His performance yesterday was amazing. I hope he plays long enough to rack up enough stats to become the top TE in history.

 

[Wes Woodhead]

I remember when he was playing at Tenn wearing # 1 my Daddy told me "look for that young man to set some records in the NFL".

 

[Don Wassall]

Witten only needs 11 catches in the Cowboys' final three games to break the single season record for receptions by a TE, currently held by Tony Gonzalez with 102. With Dez Bryant possibly out for the rest of the year with an injury, Witten will become an even more important part of the Dallas offense. He should break the record easily.

 

[Carolina Speed]

With 8 catches on Sunday, Jason Witten moves into the top 20 of NFL's all-time receptions list. Number 851 moves him into a tie with for 19th with Irving Fryar.

Should he stay healthy he could move up to as high as no. 15 by the end of the year.

The next white receiver behind Witten is Steve Largent with 819 at no. 23 and the next ACTIVE white receiver is Wes Welker no. 24 with 818.

The sad news is; you have to go all the way down to no. 124 and TE Dallas Clark for the next highest active white receiver on the list. Hopefully some of our younger receivers such as Jordy Nelson will move up this list in the years to come.