University of Tennessee Athletics
When foes overload on T.O., Witten makes 'em pay
August 09, 2008 | Football
BY ALBERT BREER, sportingnews.com??
OXNARD, CALIF. ??? News flash: The Cowboys have secured a No. 2 receiver who can force defenses to respect someone other than Terrell Owens in the passing game.
Caveat: He has been on the team for five years.
You might have missed it, but Jason Witten???who is, in fact, a tight end and not a wide receiver???led the Cowboys with 96 catches last year. Those went for 1,145 yards and seven touchdowns.
And yet, the clamor for a suitable complement to Owens was palpable this offseason. First, Larry Fitzgerald's name came up. When he got a new deal, talk turned to Anquan Boldin and Chad Johnson and Roy Williams.
All the while, the Cowboys had a player who ranked second in catches and receiving yards and fourth in touchdowns among tight ends. In the process, Witten makes everyone around him better.
"He attracts so much attention and, in turn, he opens up things for everyone else, even 81," said Patrick Crayton, referring to Owens. "Both of them, they bring so much attention it makes it a lot easier for us."
Witten (6-5, 262), a third-round pick in 2003, already has made four Pro Bowls, one shy of the franchise record for tight ends, set by Jay Novacek. Witten has had at least 64 catches in each of the past four years, and at least six touchdowns in three of those seasons. He is only 26.
And if that's not enough, there's this: In the middle of last season, it became apparent teams were game-planning against Witten the same way they would Owens.
Witten says, more often than not, that while there was a ???true??? double-team on Owens, he would see bracket coverage, with a linebacker taking him underneath and a safety covering him over the top. If Witten's doing his job, he, like Owens, can eliminate two guys from coverage.
"They have leverage on me, and that's tough for a tight end. It puts you in a bind a lot of times," Witten said. "It's awareness more than anything else with the tight end, because a lot of it is underneath stuff. If they're aware of it, they can jump it and get on it a lot quicker. That makes it a lot tougher on you."
Witten's ability to recognize coverages and adjust his route is a great asset.
More than just getting bigger or stronger or faster, Witten has worked to understand everything around him, to know everyone's role. Crayton said, "He runs routes like a wideout. That's what it is."
But there is more to it than that.
"At tight end, you're never really going to outrun a safety," he said. "So changing speeds is something you've got to work on. I was blessed with speed and size, but it's changing speeds, and then the biggest thing I think I have over other guys is awareness and being on the same page with a good quarterback."
That hasn't been an issue, even though Witten entered the league as the youngest player drafted in '03.
He did just fine with Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe. But having Tony Romo, who came to the Cowboys the same year, on the field kicked things into overdrive for Witten.
The two have been connected at the hip from the start, and the benefits of that extend from the practice field to the meeting room to the game field.
"It creates a lot of good habits," Witten said. "And when you have a quarterback like that, who's a friend, you're able to communicate with him a lot easier just because it's OK to say the bad thing, the thing that bothers you or concerns you. I promise you, he'll tell me, 'Hey, you gotta get open,' and he may not say that to another receiver."
The relationship stands to continue for some time. Witten is signed through 2012. Romo is under contract through 2013.
And that allows Witten to dream big. At his position, he looks up to Tony Gonzalez. But in terms of leaving his mark on the game, Witten's list isn't limited to just the tight end position.
"If nothing more, I feel like I can play at that level that (Gonzalez is) playing at," Witten said. "But Tony's done it for seven, eight years; he's caught a lot of balls. That's what the great players do: They do it year-in and year-out. You know what Tom Brady's going to do, you know what Peyton (Manning's) going to do and that's where I'm trying to get at my position, to be able to produce like that."
| Witten's rank among TEs Where Jason Witten ranked among tight ends in 2007: | ||
| Catches | ||
| 1. | Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs | 99 |
| 2. | Jason Witten, Cowboys | 96 |
| 3. | Kellen Winslow, Browns | 82 |
| 4. | Antonio Gates, Chargers | 75 |
| 5. | Chris Cooley, Redskins | 66 |
| Receiving yards | ||
| 1. | Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs | 1,172 |
| 2. | Jason Witten, Cowboys | 1,145 |
| 3. | Kellen Winslow, Browns | 1,106 |
| 4. | Antonio Gates, Chargers | 984 |
| 5. | Chris Cooley, Redskins | 786 |
| Touchdowns | ||
| 1. | Dallas Clark, Colts | 11 |
| 2. | Antonio Gates, Chargers | 9 |
| 3. | Chris Cooley, Redskins | 8 |
| 4. | Jason Witten, Cowboys | 7 |
| Heath Miller, Steelers | 7 | |
