Irrelevant questions with Jason Witten
By Tom Curran
NBCSports.comPosted: Dec.7, 2006, 12:21 pm EST
Some remarkable players elbow for attention at the NFL's tight end position. Guys like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey and Todd Heap all seem to get appropriate attention. But Jason Witten is sometimes overlooked. Or as overlooked as anyone 6-5 and 265 pounds can be. But the 24-year-old Witten, who's already been to two Pro Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys, isn't fazed. Growing up in Tennessee and playing for the Vols and now playing for the Cowboys provides him enough attention to last two lifetimes.
Tom Curran: What's the strangest thing you've autographed?
Jason Witten: Somebody had a fake leg once that they actually took off and handed it to me to sign. It was a Cowboys fan in Tennessee, so that explains some of it. But I've been asked to sign everything from body parts to trucks.
TC: How would you deal with playing somewhere that football wasn't so important?
JW: That would be tough. You really feel it when the fans and community and the state are behind you and winning or losing is that important to them. And Tennessee is the same way. They all bleed orange up there.
TC: Your grandfather, Dave Rider, had an immense impact on your life, taking you, your mom and your brothers in after your father left the family. How is he, and can you recount the call you made to him after making your first Pro Bowl in 2003?
JW: He's doing fine. We're really close. He pretty much raised my (two older) brothers and I. He's the winningest high school football coach in the state of Tennessee, but he took us in and taught us how to be men as much as anything. After all that work and all he taught me, it was such an emotional call when I told him I made the Pro Bowl. It was a reward to him I think for so many things. He's been a blessing in our lives.
TC: Does the pain of having your father leave stay with you?
JW: It does. And being a pro athlete, everywhere you go, people will say, "Your parents must be proud of you." That makes it hard. We lost that and my dad went a different route, but my granddad came into my life. Now I'm at a point where I try not to let (my father leaving) bother me. But it is a battle for a lot of pro athletes who experienced the exact same thing.
TC: Do you have contact with your father?
JW: No. He came to a football camp I run in Tennessee a few years ago and we spoke a little, but that was it.
TC: Playing for Bill Parcells, how often do you hear the names Ben Coates and Mark Bavaro, two of the great tight ends he coached?
JW: It's probably too much to say daily, but I would definitely say weekly. It's a Catch-22. I give him so much credit for the success in my career. He embraces the position. But at the same time, he's always comparing my performance to two of the top 15 guys to ever play the position.
TC: How rampant is Romo Fever?
JW: Tony Romo Fever is everywhere. He's done an unbelievable job, and it's good to see a guy come in here and take over this team. He's done it with his arm and his speed and his playmaking ability. It's been fun.
TC: Last Sunday against the Giants, he made a terrific throw to you on the first play of your game-winning drive to gain 42 yards.
JW: With him back there, you always know you have to stay alive as long as you can and keep working open. I did that, and he made just a great throw. It was a great play by him to get our drive going and put us in position for Martin (Gramatica).
NBCSports.comPosted: Dec.7, 2006, 12:21 pm EST
Some remarkable players elbow for attention at the NFL's tight end position. Guys like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey and Todd Heap all seem to get appropriate attention. But Jason Witten is sometimes overlooked. Or as overlooked as anyone 6-5 and 265 pounds can be. But the 24-year-old Witten, who's already been to two Pro Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys, isn't fazed. Growing up in Tennessee and playing for the Vols and now playing for the Cowboys provides him enough attention to last two lifetimes.
Tom Curran: What's the strangest thing you've autographed?
Jason Witten: Somebody had a fake leg once that they actually took off and handed it to me to sign. It was a Cowboys fan in Tennessee, so that explains some of it. But I've been asked to sign everything from body parts to trucks.
TC: How would you deal with playing somewhere that football wasn't so important?
JW: That would be tough. You really feel it when the fans and community and the state are behind you and winning or losing is that important to them. And Tennessee is the same way. They all bleed orange up there.
TC: Your grandfather, Dave Rider, had an immense impact on your life, taking you, your mom and your brothers in after your father left the family. How is he, and can you recount the call you made to him after making your first Pro Bowl in 2003?
JW: He's doing fine. We're really close. He pretty much raised my (two older) brothers and I. He's the winningest high school football coach in the state of Tennessee, but he took us in and taught us how to be men as much as anything. After all that work and all he taught me, it was such an emotional call when I told him I made the Pro Bowl. It was a reward to him I think for so many things. He's been a blessing in our lives.
TC: Does the pain of having your father leave stay with you?
JW: It does. And being a pro athlete, everywhere you go, people will say, "Your parents must be proud of you." That makes it hard. We lost that and my dad went a different route, but my granddad came into my life. Now I'm at a point where I try not to let (my father leaving) bother me. But it is a battle for a lot of pro athletes who experienced the exact same thing.
TC: Do you have contact with your father?
JW: No. He came to a football camp I run in Tennessee a few years ago and we spoke a little, but that was it.
TC: Playing for Bill Parcells, how often do you hear the names Ben Coates and Mark Bavaro, two of the great tight ends he coached?
JW: It's probably too much to say daily, but I would definitely say weekly. It's a Catch-22. I give him so much credit for the success in my career. He embraces the position. But at the same time, he's always comparing my performance to two of the top 15 guys to ever play the position.
TC: How rampant is Romo Fever?
JW: Tony Romo Fever is everywhere. He's done an unbelievable job, and it's good to see a guy come in here and take over this team. He's done it with his arm and his speed and his playmaking ability. It's been fun.
TC: Last Sunday against the Giants, he made a terrific throw to you on the first play of your game-winning drive to gain 42 yards.
JW: With him back there, you always know you have to stay alive as long as you can and keep working open. I did that, and he made just a great throw. It was a great play by him to get our drive going and put us in position for Martin (Gramatica).
posted by The Gryphon at 6:22 PM
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