NewsBot
New Member
- Messages
- 111,281
- Reaction score
- 2,947
IRVING, Texas — If Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys hope to finish what they started in 2014, they have no choice but to bounce back against the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
Either that, or commence to blowing a golden opportunity with another poor December finish.
The Cowboys indeed disappointed themselves with a 33-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday.
Romo, the 34-year-old quarterback who had been playing so well and in the midst of a career-best campaign, took a huge step back with his worst performance of the season.
Romo completed 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. His quarterback rating of 53.7 was his worst in his last 80 starts.
Clearly, the Cowboys didn't play well defensively against the Eagles. But they have understood all season that they are challenged on that side of the ball and have counted on the offense to make up the difference.
With Romo struggling with accuracy and arm strength, the Cowboys were out of sync and had no chance.
"There is no question about it, Tony didn't have the kind of game we got to have to beat a team like Philadelphia," owner Jerry Jones said. "We do know our team has to be able to compensate offensively for what we are trying to do defensively. And we didn't do that."
In looking back on it, Romo acknowledges he didn't handle the short week well, and it affected his ability to throw the ball.
Tony Romo doesn't look right. Bad throws all over the place.
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) November 28, 2014
The Cowboys had only three days to prepare for the Eagles following a Sunday night game against the New York Giants. Coach Jason Garrett held only light walkthrough practices to keep the players fresh.
But more importantly, Romo got away from his normal routine of doing extra core exercises on Wednesday to strengthen his surgically repaired back.
“Yeah, it’s a first time that we had a short week [this season], so we had to figure out what we thought was best,” Romo said Sunday. “When I look back, I think I would change a couple of things. Saying that, I don’t think we have any more short weeks this year, so that will be a benefit going forward.”
Remember, Romo's back has also been further compromised by two fractured transverse processes, suffered in a loss to the Washington Commanders on Oct. 27. He sat out the Nov. 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Romo has taken pain-reducing medication to get on the field for each of the last three games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Giants and Eagles. But he had no problems in victories against the Jaguars and Giants, completing 71 percent of his passes and throwing for 521 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in both games.
But Romo got out of his routine in the short week leading up to the Eagles game, and it showed with a noticeable lack of arm strength and mobility.
"When I go back and watch, I just look and everything wasn’t as firing as exact as you want it to, and that was disappointing when I look back on it," Romo said. "Like I said, we’ll get right back into the routine and [are] going to be good to go this week. Getting back into what feels like the normal routine will help this week. The little things that help you get to where you need to be.”
Getting back to the routine meant sitting out of practice on Sunday, which was like a normal Wednesday. He will return to practice Monday, resuming his normal schedule leading up to Thursday's game.
Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo won't practice today (a Wednesday in Jason Garrett's world). Typical "Wednesday" off for Romo.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) November 30, 2014
Romo has a history of bouncing back from bad games with good performances throughout his career. The Cowboys are counting on some of that old Romo magic against the Bears on Thursday.
“He’s just a mentally tough individual,” Garrett said. “I think he does a really good job within games, dealing with success and adversity and focusing on the task, and I think he does that from week to week.”
Romo and the Cowboys (8-4) need to bounce back against the Bears so they can keep pace in the race for the playoffs. They are one game behind the Eagles in the NFC East with four games to play.
Their struggles to finish are well-chronicled.
Romo is 12-17 as a starter in December, and the Cowboys missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons because of their failures in the final month.
“More than anything, it’s a time to start playing your best football and our football team needs to understand the sense of urgency is now,” Romo said. “It’s time to take the next step, and our guys understand the sense of urgency of right now and what’s available and what’s ahead of them if they can go on and play their best football.”
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...
Either that, or commence to blowing a golden opportunity with another poor December finish.
The Cowboys indeed disappointed themselves with a 33-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday.
Romo, the 34-year-old quarterback who had been playing so well and in the midst of a career-best campaign, took a huge step back with his worst performance of the season.
Romo completed 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. His quarterback rating of 53.7 was his worst in his last 80 starts.
Clearly, the Cowboys didn't play well defensively against the Eagles. But they have understood all season that they are challenged on that side of the ball and have counted on the offense to make up the difference.
With Romo struggling with accuracy and arm strength, the Cowboys were out of sync and had no chance.
"There is no question about it, Tony didn't have the kind of game we got to have to beat a team like Philadelphia," owner Jerry Jones said. "We do know our team has to be able to compensate offensively for what we are trying to do defensively. And we didn't do that."
In looking back on it, Romo acknowledges he didn't handle the short week well, and it affected his ability to throw the ball.
Tony Romo doesn't look right. Bad throws all over the place.
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) November 28, 2014
The Cowboys had only three days to prepare for the Eagles following a Sunday night game against the New York Giants. Coach Jason Garrett held only light walkthrough practices to keep the players fresh.
But more importantly, Romo got away from his normal routine of doing extra core exercises on Wednesday to strengthen his surgically repaired back.
“Yeah, it’s a first time that we had a short week [this season], so we had to figure out what we thought was best,” Romo said Sunday. “When I look back, I think I would change a couple of things. Saying that, I don’t think we have any more short weeks this year, so that will be a benefit going forward.”
Remember, Romo's back has also been further compromised by two fractured transverse processes, suffered in a loss to the Washington Commanders on Oct. 27. He sat out the Nov. 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Romo has taken pain-reducing medication to get on the field for each of the last three games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Giants and Eagles. But he had no problems in victories against the Jaguars and Giants, completing 71 percent of his passes and throwing for 521 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions in both games.
But Romo got out of his routine in the short week leading up to the Eagles game, and it showed with a noticeable lack of arm strength and mobility.
"When I go back and watch, I just look and everything wasn’t as firing as exact as you want it to, and that was disappointing when I look back on it," Romo said. "Like I said, we’ll get right back into the routine and [are] going to be good to go this week. Getting back into what feels like the normal routine will help this week. The little things that help you get to where you need to be.”
Getting back to the routine meant sitting out of practice on Sunday, which was like a normal Wednesday. He will return to practice Monday, resuming his normal schedule leading up to Thursday's game.
Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo won't practice today (a Wednesday in Jason Garrett's world). Typical "Wednesday" off for Romo.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) November 30, 2014
Romo has a history of bouncing back from bad games with good performances throughout his career. The Cowboys are counting on some of that old Romo magic against the Bears on Thursday.
“He’s just a mentally tough individual,” Garrett said. “I think he does a really good job within games, dealing with success and adversity and focusing on the task, and I think he does that from week to week.”
Romo and the Cowboys (8-4) need to bounce back against the Bears so they can keep pace in the race for the playoffs. They are one game behind the Eagles in the NFC East with four games to play.
Their struggles to finish are well-chronicled.
Romo is 12-17 as a starter in December, and the Cowboys missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons because of their failures in the final month.
“More than anything, it’s a time to start playing your best football and our football team needs to understand the sense of urgency is now,” Romo said. “It’s time to take the next step, and our guys understand the sense of urgency of right now and what’s available and what’s ahead of them if they can go on and play their best football.”
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...