Witten should be complaining that more balls should be thrown to Crayton

Jason Witten is too much of a gentleman to create uproar over who gets the ball.  We saw a certain receiver make a mess of things in Dallas during the 2008 season, and drag Jason into the muck.  Looking at the past, however, may help put some things into perspective for the upcoming 2010 season.

In compiling the receiver (and tight end) ratings, the quarterback rating formula was utilized with one small omission: interceptions were not included.  The reasoning had to do with assignment of blame.  While some interceptions are obviously the fault of the receiver, such as when Carolina’s Steve Smith ran a slant and go instead of a slant in Dallas, other interceptions are either the fault of the quarterback (see Romo heaving a deep pass to Hurd into double-coverage in the Dallas home opener last season), or just really bad luck (e.g., the ball that bounced off of Witten’s heel and right into the hands of the Giants defensive back).  It would not be fair to arbitrarily reduce the performance for an individual that may not be at fault.

Since no interceptions were included in receiver ratings, quarterbacks also were absolved of their interceptions.  Comparing the new quarterback rating to the receiver ratings was quite revealing.

Miles Austin is a stud!

Only three other wide receivers had a higher rating than his 129.4, and one of those receivers’ numbers is skewed by a very fluky play (Brandon Stokley’s deflected pass caught for a long touchdown in Cincinnati).  The other two receivers did not combine to post the receiving and yardage numbers Miles Austin (81-1320-11) did last season (Robert Meachem, NO [45-722-9] and Jacoby Jones, HOU [27-437-6]).

When weighted for total yardage and receptions, only Vincent Jackson of the Chargers came close to the performance by Miles Austin.  Remember that Miles only had 12 games as a starter.

Jason Witten, however, was only the 12th rated tight end last season.  His rating was a mere 104.4 (Romo’s passer rating sans interceptions was also 104.4 in 2009).

This is where a little history comes into play.  In Jason’s finest season, 2007, when he caught 96 passes for 1145 yards and 7 touchdowns, the Cowboys passing offense was record-setting.  Jason accumulated about a 123 rating that season.

Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton combined for approximately a 120 rating in 2007.  In 2008, Owens, Crayton and Williams combined for roughly a 99 rating.  Crayton actually had the best rating of the wide receivers in 2008, almost reaching a 105 score.

Correspondingly, Jason Witten had about a 111 rating in Owens’ last season in Dallas.  The top three Cowboys receivers averaged around 7.5 yards per attempt in 2008.  In 2007, Crayton and Owens averaged a little more than 9 yards per attempt.  Last season, the top three Dallas receivers once again averaged close to 9 yards per attempt.

That stretching of the field should have led to a better season for Jason Witten.  Upon further inspection, however, the combination of Crayton and Austin averaged 10.1 yards per pass attempt (Crayton averaged 9.3), while Roy Williams averaged a lowly 6.8 yards per attempt.

In addition, Crayton has the second highest receiver rating on the team: 111.7.  Patrick’s rating ranks 21st among the top wide receivers in terms of receptions in the NFL.  In other words, Crayton’s rating would make him a number one option in at least 11 NFL cities.

On the other hand, Roy Williams’ rating (92.8) ranks him 64th in the NFL among the top receiving wide receivers.  This would make Roy a good third receiver, but certainly not a second receiver in the NFL.

In 2007, the Cowboys had three legitimate threats in the passing game with Owens, Crayton, and Witten combining for over a 120 receiver rating.  Last season, Crayton and Austin accumulated a 123.2 receiver rating.  The fact that Crayton and Williams accounted for a 101 receiver rating really shifted defenses towards Witten and Austin.  Patrick took advantage, however, and still put up decent numbers.

The most startling statistic, however, is that of the top 96 wide receivers in the NFL in terms of receptions, only 15 had a larger negative disparity between their receiver rating, and that of the quarterback.  Practically speaking, Romo had about a 104.4 rating (not including interceptions), which is roughly 11.6 points above the receiver rating of Roy Williams: 92.8. 

That stat places Roy Williams in the company of receivers such as Chansi Stuckey (NYJ), Julian Edelman (NE), and Jerheme Urban (AZ).  I did not see many defensive coordinators shade defensive coverage towards those guys either.

Hopefully 2010 will bring an upgrade at the second wide receiver position: be it Crayton, another receiver, or a vastly improved Roy Williams.  With a legitimate third option in the passing game, the Dallas offense should return to its potent 2007 form.