Ian Allan
As I continue to push around some of the numbers from 2008, I notice that Chris Cooley put together some unusual stats last year.
Cooley, recall, scored almost half of his team’s touchdowns in 2007. Washington finished with 18 TD passes that year, and he caught 8 of them – a real red-zone menace.
But with a new coaching staff and offense in place, Cooley wasn’t used as extensively in that area. He dropped down to only one touchdown catch. At the same time, he still managed to catch 83 passes.
I believe that makes Cooley to the first-ever tight end to catch 80 passes without scoring at least 2 TDs. According to my numbers, only six players (at any position) have caught 80-plus passes in the last 25 years without scoring at least 2 TDs. Running backs James Wilder and Roger Craig caught 85 and 81 catches without scoring at all. And three wide receivers caught lots of balls while scoring only once: Keyshawn Johnson (106 receptions), Laveranues Coles (90) and Curtis Duncan (82) back in 1992.
Below, see the number of touchdowns scored by tight ends who’ve caught at least 80 passes in the last 15 years.
TIGHT ENDS WITH 80-PLUS TDs, 1994-2008
No Yds Name, Team (Year)
102 7 Tony Gonzalez,K.C.(2004)
99 5 Tony Gonzalez,K.C.(2007)
96 7 Jason Witten,Dall.(2007)
96 7 Ben Coates,N.E.(1994)
96 10 Tony Gonzalez,K.C.(2008)
93 9 Tony Gonzalez,K.C.(2000)
89 3 Kellen Winslow,Clev.(2006)
89 10 Antonio Gates,S.D.(2005)
87 6 Jason Witten,Dall.(2004)
87 4 Shannon Sharpe,Den.(1994)
84 6 Ben Coates,N.E.(1995)
83 1 Chris Cooley,Wash.(2008)
82 5 Kellen Winslow,Clev.(2007)
82 2 Eric Johnson,S.F.(2004)
81 13 Antonio Gates,S.D.(2004)
81 4 Jason Witten,Dall.(2008)
80 10 Shannon Sharpe,Den.(1996)
—Ian Allan
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
