Jason Witten’s departure lets defenses focus on Ezekiel Elliott
With Jason Witten now retired and missing a number one receiver, the Dak-Friendly concept doesn’t scare defenses and toughens life for Ezekiel Elliott.
In the NFL, a young quarterback’s best friend is usually his tight end. For the Dallas Cowboys, their young quarterback Dak Prescott inherited the greatest tight end of all time – Jason Witten. Witten was a versatile, reliable, durable and rare tight end that excelled at everything.
Witten was a wise veteran that knew how to settle into gaps between linebackers for critical first downs and seal the edge while blocking for his running backs. The penultimate player that defenses had to be aware of, because an eight-yard out route would keep drives alive.
And now, that weapon – that safety valve – is gone. Retired after 15 admirable years in the league. After the retirement of his good friend and teammate quarterback Tony Romo and the removal of All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant, the last piece of the pie – Jason Witten is gone. I believe that the departure of #82 is going to have a huge impact on this franchise.
In the effort to go Dak-Friendly, the team has decided they will remove Bryant and beat teams with an average receiving corp.
"Owner Jerry Jones told Pro Football Talk, “One way or the other, this year we weren’t going to have the elite one receiver.”"
You know – the one receiver that makes a cornerback require safety help. The player that manipulates the defensive backfield because they never want to leave him open. Nope, the front office doesn’t want that guy.
I guess that makes sense if you’ve watched All or Nothing: The Dallas Cowboys on Amazon. In the first 10 minutes, you’ll see the face of our franchise (Prescott) losing to 52-year old head coach Jason Garrett in passing competitions after practices.
It makes me ask – Why have a number one receiver when your quarterback isn’t better than your head coach? Maybe that also explains the removal of the back shoulder fade from the Dallas Cowboys’ playbook.
The loss of Bryant could be something the Cowboys recover from, but the loss of Witten will impact running back Ezekiel Elliott the most. Referring again to the All or Nothing series, Garrett tells Prescott to toss it to Zeke when in trouble – even with Witten wide open in the middle of the field. Prescott’s inaccuracy on a dump-off pass to Elliott resulted in a pick six against the Seattle Seahawks.
The departure of Witten is going to hurt Elliott and by association, Prescott. Last season, teams challenged Prescott to hurt them with his arm from the pocket. Prescott was unable to produce and for the first time since 1960, this franchise went 3 straight games without scoring more than 10 points.
This season, with an average group of receivers, an average tight end and an average quarterback. Wait.
Prescott was 13th in completion percentage (62.9%), 16th in passing yards (3,324), 14th in passing touchdowns (22), 19th in yards per game (207.8) and 17th in quarterback rating (86.6) – those are mid-tier, middle of the pack numbers. #Facts
As I was saying – the Cowboys receivers, tight end and quarterback allow defenses to focus exclusively on stopping Elliott. Even on passing situations, defenses will focus on Zeke if he releases into the flat from the backfield. Elliott will no longer be available as Prescott’s safety valve. The team currently looks like it will make things easier for opposing defenses.
Next: Dallas Cowboys: 3 undrafted free agents to keep an eye on
Unless Prescott shows opposing defensive coordinators that he’s able to throw accurate passes with a focus on ball placement from the pocket consistently. It’s likely that Cowboy Nation will either say hello to Cooper Rush or goodbye to Prescott and the entire coaching staff.
#GoCowboys
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#MarkMyWords
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#OneMoreTime-TonyRomo