SHARP WITT'
Dallas star TE set for new year against old rival
FRISCO, Texas — The Giants’ strength may work against them Sunday night. It has in the past, when the Cowboys have been the opponent.
“They create a lot of pressure, but with that, there can sometimes be opportunities,” tight end Jason Witten said. “For me, opportunity presents itself.”
It certainly has, and he’s made the most of it. Witten has terrorized the Giants over most of his 14-year career, bludgeoning them to the tune of 146 catches for 1,489 yards and 13 touchdowns over 28 regular-season games. He set the single-game NFL record for receptions by a tight end Oct. 28, 2012, against the Giants, catching 18 passes for 167 yards in a loss.
“There’s confidence,” Witten said Thursday after practice. “More than anything, when you know somebody and you know what kind of games it’s going to be, it gives me a lot of confidence because I know the type of matchup it is. It’s physical and I just try to find those holes and be able to make some of those plays.”
Despite those gaudy numbers, Witten doesn’t consider himself a Giants killer. He smiled sheepishly when asked about it, pointing to all the success Big Blue has had in his time in Dallas. The two teams are 14-14 in his career, though the Giants won the lone playoff encounter in 2008, en route to the Super Bowl XLII crown.
“There’s an old saying: pat on the back, slap in the face are six inches apart,” said Witten, who was held to 13 catches for 92 yards and no touchdowns last season in a pair of losses to the Giants. “They’ve won two Super Bowls while I’ve been here, too, so I don’t now if I’m a Giants killer.
“There was a couple of games there where things got hot for me. Every player goes through those, much like a baseball player. You feel like you can hit any ball that’s thrown to you.”
Witten is on the verge of becoming the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receiving yards, needing just 17 to pass Michael Irvin’s mark of 11,904. This record means a lot to him because of the relationship he shares with Irvin, the flamboyant Hall of Fame wide receiver who now is a an NFL Network analyst.
The two have vastly different personalities — Witten is quiet and lets his play do the talking — but there are similarities. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett shared memories of all the days he remembered Irvin working by himself long after practice was over, the same tireless work ethic many have used to describe Witten.
“He emptied the bucket every single day,” Witten said. “That’s certainly what I’ve tried to do.”
Garrett said: “Each and every day in everything that [Witten] does, I’ve never seen him kind of mail it in. Never once.”
The receiving yards mark would be the latest record for the veteran tight end, along with being the Cowboys’ all-time receptions leader (1,089) and one of two tight ends in NFL history in the 1,000-catch club (Tony Gonzalez is the other).
The 35-year-old Witten has 13 straight seasons of at least 50 catches and 10 Pro Bowl selections, he leads all Dallas players in games started (213) and con- secutive games started (163), and Sunday night he will equal Ed “Too Tall” Jones’ franchise record of 224 games played.
On Thursday, when asked about his obvious future in the Hall of Fame, the 35-year-old Witten said he was honored but preferred to steer the conversation in another direction. That time will come. It’s not here yet.
He’s more interested in the present and helping the Cowboys repeat as NFC East champions. While good friends Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware and Doug Free retired following last season, Witten signed a four-year extension worth up to $29.6 million in late March.
Retirement hasn’t been a consideration.
“I like living in a world where you’re defined right now,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of doing, and what this team is capable of doing, and I really enjoy that process of it all.
“Right now, I’m just trying to make the kids’ fantasy team proud.”
That shouldn’t be a problem this week. The Giants are in town, after all.