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Pressure on Romo as Cowboys look to turn things around
By Albert Breer - SportingNews 8 hours, 20 minutes ago
Miles Austin(notes) can't pinpoint it, but the Cowboys receiver can feel it.
Maybe it's the way Tony Romo's(notes) commanding the huddle. Or the determined look in his eye.
Whatever. It's most certainly there.
"He's taking more of a leadership role, and you can see how excited he is," Austin told SportingNews.com. "He'd already been doing that—he's a tremendous competitor—but he's trying to be even more of that kind of asset to our team.
"You can tell. It goes without words. It's a feeling you get."
Like Austin said, it's not like the quarterback hasn't had his share of bull-by-the-horns moments since wresting the reins from Drew Bledsoe(notes) in 2006. And Romo has produced—10,000 yards and 78 touchdowns in 39 career starts provide proof positive.
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Survey says: 19 former Cowboys chime in on Romo and more
But three years running, Cowboys' collapses have been tied to Romo's late-season swoons. So if Romo's tweaking, in a place where success is measured in Lombardis, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
"It's always, 'You gotta win the Super Bowl this year,'" Romo said. "Our approach is a little different in that we are going to [try to get] better today. All we can do is control today."
Tomorrow? Here are reasons why Romo will or won't be better in 2009:
Better because …
No T.O.: Losing Terrell Owens(notes) from the offense should free Romo of concerns about keeping his top playmaker happy, and it could also make coordinator Jason Garrett better with renewed play-calling freedom.
The truth is, Dallas was best over the last three years when Owens was producing but when the team wasn't leaning on him too heavily. The Cowboys were 17-6 in that span when T.O. had three-to-five catches. They were 14-10 when he had less than three or more than five.
And since this move was made early in the offseason, Romo should be able to grow with Roy Williams, Jason Witten(notes), Austin and Patrick Crayton(notes) as a group. "This is our time to get in sync with the quarterback, and you do that by being with the guys," Austin said.
Renewed Roy: Williams now has seven months with Romo in Garrett's offense. He's also got a lot to prove after catching just 19 balls for 198 yards and one touchdown in his first 10 games in Dallas.
His old OC from Detroit, Mike Martz, chalks up Williams' struggles in Dallas to his midseason entrance: "The timing is so different, the anticipation is so different, you really need an offseason of work."
Aside from just learning, though, there's the matter of buying in. Therein, perhaps, lies another ancillary benefit of Owens' departure—while T.O. feuded with Garrett last season, it may have been difficult for Williams to get on board with the OC.
"Roy's a pretty intellectual guy, it has to makes sense to him," Martz adds. "He questions a lot of things, but all of that, from my standpoint, was very healthy. Like all good receivers, he wants the ball, and with guys like Roy or a Torry Holt(notes), you always want to get them the ball early to get them in the flow of the game. He'll be fine [in Dallas], Jason does a great job, and I think that's a perfect match—Roy will have a big year."
Adjusted approach: Marion Barber(notes) and Felix Jones(notes) are both healthy now, and with Tashard Choice(notes) in the mix, the Cowboys have the makings of a versatile, explosive running game to take pressure off Romo.
It will be on Garrett to commit to the running game like he did not do in 2008. Criticism of the airborne approach started with Dallas' first loss last fall, a game against Washington in which the Cowboys ran the ball just 11 times. For the year, Dallas had 25 carries just eight times. The Cowboys were 7-1 when they got to that threshold, 2-5 when they didn't.
There were reasons, of course. According to coaches, the loss of Jones to injury was more crushing than most people realized, and it took Garrett time—and an injury to Barber—to warm up to using Choice more freely. But health permitting, those excuses are gone—Choice and Jones aren't rookies anymore, and Barber's now in his second year as the workhorse—so it'll be a matter of finding the right mix.
Worse because …
No T.O.: For all his warts, Owens got a defense's attention. And Williams has only one 1,000-yard season on his resume, meaning that he's no T.O. Not yet, anyway. As Romo says, "It's always difficult to replace someone who's been the dominant player."
Maybe Owens does have a reputation as a quarterback killer. But the validity of that can be questioned fairly easily. In 13 NFL seasons, Owens has helped his quarterback, whether it was Romo or Steve Young or Jeff Garcia(notes) or Donovan McNabb(notes), make the Pro Bowl nine times.
Then, there's what he did to open the field for teammates. According to Stats Inc., Owens was thrown to on 433 pass attempts in 47 games as a Cowboy, or 28 percent of Dallas' pass plays. Teams forced to combat that, and commit coverage to such a dynamic playmaker, compromised themselves in other areas, allowing other players to make plays. For now, Williams doesn't strike that kind of fear into defenses.
Lining up: The offensive line, a strength in 2007, really missed Tony Sparano's firm hand in 2008, and part of that is attitude.
The Cowboys' number of rushing attempts has declined in each of the last four years, and that makes it more difficult to protect the quarterback, with more long-yardage situations accrued and more predictability in playcalling. As a result, a big, grinding unit may have lost its physical edge.
But it was more than just that last year for the Dallas line. Flozell Adams(notes), for one, looked like a shell of himself after getting big money coming off a big 2007 season, and he wasn't the only one who had an appreciable drop-off in play after Sparano was replaced as line coach by Hudson Houck. More bad news: All five starters are north of 30, which doesn't exactly portend that a big bounce-back is in the offing.
Depth depletion: Last year, losing starting left guard Kyle Kosier(notes) was devastating. Similar problems could surface at receiver.
With the exception of tailback, depth just isn't there. So staying healthy is imperative for an offense that was outstanding when its lineup was kept almost completely static two years ago.
Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.
By Albert Breer - SportingNews 8 hours, 20 minutes ago
Miles Austin(notes) can't pinpoint it, but the Cowboys receiver can feel it.
Maybe it's the way Tony Romo's(notes) commanding the huddle. Or the determined look in his eye.
Whatever. It's most certainly there.
"He's taking more of a leadership role, and you can see how excited he is," Austin told SportingNews.com. "He'd already been doing that—he's a tremendous competitor—but he's trying to be even more of that kind of asset to our team.
"You can tell. It goes without words. It's a feeling you get."
Like Austin said, it's not like the quarterback hasn't had his share of bull-by-the-horns moments since wresting the reins from Drew Bledsoe(notes) in 2006. And Romo has produced—10,000 yards and 78 touchdowns in 39 career starts provide proof positive.
ADVERTISEMENT
Survey says: 19 former Cowboys chime in on Romo and more
But three years running, Cowboys' collapses have been tied to Romo's late-season swoons. So if Romo's tweaking, in a place where success is measured in Lombardis, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
"It's always, 'You gotta win the Super Bowl this year,'" Romo said. "Our approach is a little different in that we are going to [try to get] better today. All we can do is control today."
Tomorrow? Here are reasons why Romo will or won't be better in 2009:
Better because …
No T.O.: Losing Terrell Owens(notes) from the offense should free Romo of concerns about keeping his top playmaker happy, and it could also make coordinator Jason Garrett better with renewed play-calling freedom.
The truth is, Dallas was best over the last three years when Owens was producing but when the team wasn't leaning on him too heavily. The Cowboys were 17-6 in that span when T.O. had three-to-five catches. They were 14-10 when he had less than three or more than five.
And since this move was made early in the offseason, Romo should be able to grow with Roy Williams, Jason Witten(notes), Austin and Patrick Crayton(notes) as a group. "This is our time to get in sync with the quarterback, and you do that by being with the guys," Austin said.
Renewed Roy: Williams now has seven months with Romo in Garrett's offense. He's also got a lot to prove after catching just 19 balls for 198 yards and one touchdown in his first 10 games in Dallas.
His old OC from Detroit, Mike Martz, chalks up Williams' struggles in Dallas to his midseason entrance: "The timing is so different, the anticipation is so different, you really need an offseason of work."
Aside from just learning, though, there's the matter of buying in. Therein, perhaps, lies another ancillary benefit of Owens' departure—while T.O. feuded with Garrett last season, it may have been difficult for Williams to get on board with the OC.
"Roy's a pretty intellectual guy, it has to makes sense to him," Martz adds. "He questions a lot of things, but all of that, from my standpoint, was very healthy. Like all good receivers, he wants the ball, and with guys like Roy or a Torry Holt(notes), you always want to get them the ball early to get them in the flow of the game. He'll be fine [in Dallas], Jason does a great job, and I think that's a perfect match—Roy will have a big year."
Adjusted approach: Marion Barber(notes) and Felix Jones(notes) are both healthy now, and with Tashard Choice(notes) in the mix, the Cowboys have the makings of a versatile, explosive running game to take pressure off Romo.
It will be on Garrett to commit to the running game like he did not do in 2008. Criticism of the airborne approach started with Dallas' first loss last fall, a game against Washington in which the Cowboys ran the ball just 11 times. For the year, Dallas had 25 carries just eight times. The Cowboys were 7-1 when they got to that threshold, 2-5 when they didn't.
There were reasons, of course. According to coaches, the loss of Jones to injury was more crushing than most people realized, and it took Garrett time—and an injury to Barber—to warm up to using Choice more freely. But health permitting, those excuses are gone—Choice and Jones aren't rookies anymore, and Barber's now in his second year as the workhorse—so it'll be a matter of finding the right mix.
Worse because …
No T.O.: For all his warts, Owens got a defense's attention. And Williams has only one 1,000-yard season on his resume, meaning that he's no T.O. Not yet, anyway. As Romo says, "It's always difficult to replace someone who's been the dominant player."
Maybe Owens does have a reputation as a quarterback killer. But the validity of that can be questioned fairly easily. In 13 NFL seasons, Owens has helped his quarterback, whether it was Romo or Steve Young or Jeff Garcia(notes) or Donovan McNabb(notes), make the Pro Bowl nine times.
Then, there's what he did to open the field for teammates. According to Stats Inc., Owens was thrown to on 433 pass attempts in 47 games as a Cowboy, or 28 percent of Dallas' pass plays. Teams forced to combat that, and commit coverage to such a dynamic playmaker, compromised themselves in other areas, allowing other players to make plays. For now, Williams doesn't strike that kind of fear into defenses.
Lining up: The offensive line, a strength in 2007, really missed Tony Sparano's firm hand in 2008, and part of that is attitude.
The Cowboys' number of rushing attempts has declined in each of the last four years, and that makes it more difficult to protect the quarterback, with more long-yardage situations accrued and more predictability in playcalling. As a result, a big, grinding unit may have lost its physical edge.
But it was more than just that last year for the Dallas line. Flozell Adams(notes), for one, looked like a shell of himself after getting big money coming off a big 2007 season, and he wasn't the only one who had an appreciable drop-off in play after Sparano was replaced as line coach by Hudson Houck. More bad news: All five starters are north of 30, which doesn't exactly portend that a big bounce-back is in the offing.
Depth depletion: Last year, losing starting left guard Kyle Kosier(notes) was devastating. Similar problems could surface at receiver.
With the exception of tailback, depth just isn't there. So staying healthy is imperative for an offense that was outstanding when its lineup was kept almost completely static two years ago.
Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.
Only time will tell. There can be no more sharp December declines. Period.
