Clarifying My Stance on Tony Romo

[Chuck 54]

Where have I heared this before......Oh yeah:

Next?

Are you making that up? Or do you actually know someone who said it? I'm guessing you just made it up since no one would have really cared about Tom Brady when he was drafted.

 

[Cbz40]

Only stands too reason.......DB isn't going be starting long if he doesn't get rid of the ball quicker.

One of the young QB's has to be ready to start and the other has to be ready at #2.

 

[2much2soon]

""I like Tony, from what I have seen. If you didn't know his background and who he was, watching him throw the football you wouldn't know ... he was an undrafted quarterback. I think you would think he was a rather high draft pick just watching him throw the ball."

-- Troy Aikman

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/sports/football/12376058.htm

Romo appears the have the touch and accuracy of a high draft pick. He also has nice field presence and confidence.
All I dispute is that he can throw lasers like Favre. Aikman didn't say that either, according to this post.

 

[Rack]

I don't care if he has a "Strong" arm or not. As long as he doesn't have a "Weak" arm. And Romo doesn't have a weak arm.

Tom Brady doesn't have a strong arm either, would anyone here NOT want a Tom Brady (and NO I am not comparing Romo to Brady ) in Dallas?

You can be a great QB in the NFL with an average arm. As long as he's not lofting out routes (ala Steve Walsh) then I have no problem with it.

 

[junk]

Romo has a significant lead mentally understanding the offense. Running a NFL unit. He quickly makes his reads and gets the ball to the open receiver.

Arm strength? Same knock on Brady. Thats exactly what they said about him.

I reread Romo's draftinsiders - page 8 2003 edition

*Fine athlete with a live arm and the ability to make all the throws
*Has shown excellent accuracy, touch and timing as a passer hitting receivers in stride on a consistent basis.
*Quick release and ability to get ball away under pressure.
*Good feel for the pocket
*good decision making
*goes through progessions well with quick decisions.
*Has makeup to be NFL starter
*Threw for 8212 yards in college
*"May be gem of QB draft class"
*Should emerge as starter in time with proper coaching
* Would shine in a WCO
*Compared to Rich Gannon

You don't play 3 seasons for Parcells at QB and not have an NFL arm. They send those guys home.






Tick, Tock

Good write up. What did draft insiders have to say about Henson?

 

[InmanRoshi]

Are you making that up? Or do you actually know someone who said it? I'm guessing you just made it up since no one would have really cared about Tom Brady when he was drafted.

Grading System
Tom Brady | QB | Michigan | Big Ten
Selected by New England Patriots in round 6, pick 30 (#199 overall)
Ht Wt 40 BP SS LS VJ BJ Grade
6'4½" 210 5.25 - 4.44 - 24.5 8'3" 5.90

Tom Brady

Vincent Laforet/Allsport

Two-year starter. Very tall with a thin build. Needs to upgrade his overall strength. Pocket passer with average quickness. Can slide from pressure, but is not very elusive. Doesn't look to run. Holds the ball a bit low, but has a fairly quick release. Lacks a strong arm. Doesn't rifle the long outs, but he's an accurate passer with a good feel for touch. Sails some throws and hangs some deep balls. Leader. Eyeballs his primary target at times, but shows the ability to come off and find alternates. Generally makes good decisions. Had a good Orange Bowl.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2000/nfldraft/players/13296.html


Joel Buchsbaum's write up.

QB TOM BRADY
(6-4 1/2, 211, 5.25) Michigan
Notes: Baseball catcher and football quarterback in high school who was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the June 1995 baseball draft. Opted for football and redshirted at Michigan in ’95. Saw limited action in ’96 and ’97 and started the past two years. Completed 3-of-5 passes for 26 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in ’96, 12-15-103-0-0 in ’97, 214-350-2,636-15-12 in ’98 and 180-295-2,216-16-6 in ’99, when he often shared time with super sophomore Drew Henson. Went all the way against Alabama in the Orange Bowl and completed 34-46-369-4. Unlike many Michigan quarterbacks, Brady is a pocket-type passer who plays best in a dropback-type system.

Positives: Good height to see the field. Very poised and composed. Smart and alert. Can read coverages. Good accuracy and touch. Produces in big spots and in big games. Has some Brian Griese in him and is a gamer. Generally plays within himself. Team leader.

Negatives: Poor build. Very skinny and narrow. Ended the ’99 season weighing 195 pounds and still looks like a rail at 211. Looks a little frail and lacks great physical stature and strength. Can get pushed down more easily than you’d like. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can’t drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own.

Summary: Is not what you’re looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength and mobility, but he has the intangibles and production and showed great Griese-like improvement as a senior. Could make it in the right system but will not be for everyone.

http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/draft_1999/scoutingreports_qb.asp#QB TOM BRADY

 

[Tricky-22]

Great Post Hos.

I just really hope that one of them steps foward. At this point, I believe that it will be Henson at some point.

But it really doesn't matter, as long as someone, Henson, Romo, or whoever becomes the next great QB in the long line of great Cowboys quarterbacks.

Because this great franchise deserves nothing less than excellence behind the center.

 

[JackMagist]

Hos you have every right to your opinion and though I disagree with you on the Tony Romo issue I don't think you have to explain yourself for it. You are entitled to your agendas just like everyone else. :laugh2:

Seriously though...I took a lot of crap from people for exactly the opposite reason; I was not impressed by Henson. So I think it is safe to say that the board is pretty well polarized on this issue and there is nothing for it but to know that any opinion that either of us express on the issue will meet with criticism.

Let me preface the rest of what I am about to say with this: Everything I saw wrong with Henson is correctable and I fully hope and expect to see him make the adjustments. Now own with the show.

My reasons for not being impressed with Henson have nothing to do with his arm strength; he has a big arm to be sure. What I did not care for was the mental aspect of his game. He did not read through his progressions well; he tended to lock onto his primary receiver from the start and did not check off quickly enough. The defense could tell who he was trying to go to from the very start and by the time he checked down it was too late because he was either getting pressure or he thought he was getting pressure and threw the ball away.

Now throwing the ball away is not a bad thing if you have no one open and are getting pressure. There were, however, a few times that Henson threw it away when his protection seemed to be holding and he could have given his receivers more time. He was sort of the anti-Bledsoe in this regard of not holding the ball long enough. Granted he held the ball the standard 4 seconds before his release but he did not seem able to actually feel the pressure, he just assumed that it was there.

The throwing the ball away part does not concern me at this point because pocket awareness should come with experience and for now he is avoiding the bigger mistake of getting sacked or throwing the INT. However, the problem of locking onto his primary receiver and not checking down does concern me. It is the very flaw that killed Hogeboom years ago; it can be a fatal flaw for a QB.

Also, while you are bashing Romo for throwing touch passes (you call them lobs) it should be remembered that they are a vital and necessary part of a QBs repertoire. It brings to mind when Terry Bradshaw came into the league. He always had the big gun but for several years all he knew how to do was throw the ball as hard as he could. It was costing him too and he was getting pushed by Terry Hanratty and Joe Gilliam and actually lost the starting job to these guys at times. It was not until he learned to throw a touch pass (or lob them) that he became a complete QB and his team and career took off. A big arm alone cannot get it done in this league.

My preference for Romo stems from these key points. He recognizes coverages better and checks down to his 2nd and 3rd receivers much better than Henson. He has a better feel for pressure in the pocket and makes little moves in the pocket to avoid the pressure and allow his receivers to clear. He is so smooth at doing this that you hardly realize the pressure was there and is one reason that he seemed to have better protection. Henson does not yet have that pocket awareness. And lastly being a long time student of QB play I VALUE the ability to throw a touch pass; it allows the QB to get the ball into places that a big gun cannot get it. I have not yet seen the ability to throw that type of pass from Henson.

Of all the flaws that I saw in Henson only the habit of locking onto his primary worries me. I have seen that flaw be the end of some otherwise very good QBs in the NFL.

All of this does not mean that I do not like Henson; I hope he does well and I believe that he will. I have said repeatedly that Henson is not ready at this point in time and I stand by that. I believe that he will be much more ready next year and that he could very well beat out Tony Romo next year. But this year Romo is the much more polished of the two and has far fewer flaws to work out. I admit that Romo does not have the big arm that Henson has but if you look back and are willing to admit it neither Staubach nor Aikman had the strongest arms in the league either...they just got the job done. And 8 out of 10 is getting the job done IMO.

 

[Nors]

Good write up. What did draft insiders have to say about Henson?

I believe they wrote a very glowing right up on Henson

I posted that a ways back. With my web browsing skills I prolly could find it!

 

[blindzebra]

The guy completed 8 of 10 passes. Playing X-files with that is really just silly.

Just wait and get some actual proof before arguing he can't cut it. Arguing he can't play right now is simply assinine.

1st teamers on defense or not Jason Witten is gonna get open and catch passes. KJ is gonna catch passes in traffic. You just have to get the ball to them and Romo does appear to be able to do that. Romo faces 1st teamers at times in practice yet throws the least picks of the 3 QBs unless media just refuse to report his picks.

Romo is not my fave guy because I think he plays wayyyyy too much golf for my liking but he is clearly outplaying Henson at this point and to deny that is simply comical. I do think everyone would agree Henson has the higher upside and more athleticism but good lord how many QBs with all world talent just flat suck at the position?

Romo was the number 2 for a reason and it would not at all shock me for him to remain the number 2 all year.

To me Henson is alot like Rogers in that just because a guy has more talent doesn't mean he gets it all together and performs.

Ultimately it would be wonderful if either guy became our answer after Bledsoe but nothing has lead me to believe either guy is thus far.

I replied to a post about nothing bad happening in Romo's performance, with observations on 4 throws where arm strength did come into play.

I really love the overreaction to observations around here.

I could cite multiple posts that are complete fabrication about things Henson did or did not do on Saturday, so where is the out cry in those threads from you?

 

[Tristan]

I've seen numerous scouting reports on Romo, and the consensus is that his arm is sub-par, and will always provide some limitations. Those limitations could be somewhat masked by a west coast offense, but we don't run a west coast offense. Also, his height has been determined to be a smidgen over 6'1", so comparisons to Tom 6'5" Brady are without merritt. Simply put he has armstrength limitations and height limitations, add that to the fact that he was passed by every team in the draft and you have your reasons for why some of us don't give this guy much hope. We have a very high standard, and a proud heritage of QB's here in Dallas, so excuse me if I don't get to excited about having a future QB with limitations. Jeff Garcia is a valid comparison, and there were many times he just could not make a certain pass to an open WR due to his physical limitations, moxie can only get you so far. I have fond memories of Aikman making throws into tight spots downfield that others could not, this ability can make the difference between SuperBowl Champion and also rans. Drew Henson has that rare ability and protype height and thus at least warrants consideration and optimism for the future. I'll take a possible Aikman or Elway type any day over ten Jeff Garcias, but thats just me. I hope to God that Tony Romo is never our long term starter, and I am not ashamed of it. I don't like the Idea of having a dorky short guy with a weak arm leading our great franchise, that's not how we do it! I am however rooting for him to be a nice long term back up.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Romo impresses at Indy
By Matthew Stevens/ Sports Reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1


Media Credit: Stephen Haas
Eastern senior Tony Romo excelled at the arm strength and IQ tests at the NFL combine. Romo was clocked at 57 mph during throwing drills and answered 37 out of the 50 questions correctly on the IQ test.



Eastern quarterback Tony Romo must have appreciated being in Indianapolis this weekend because at the NFL combine held in the racing capital of the world, he did everything fast.

"I wanted to show everyone that speed wasn't a problem," Romo said. "This was excatly why I worked so hard for two weeks in Florida, and it payed off."

The NFL prospect was placed in the second group Sunday afternoon along with Southern California's Carson Palmer, Louisville's Dave Ragone and Texas' Chris Simms.

Romo earned the second-fastest time in the shuttle run and was timed at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard-dash.

"Basically, that's why I went to Florida, to increase my speed, and I feel like I'm a completely different player since I left," Romo said.

Romo impressed even himself during the IQ test by answering correctly 37 of 50 questions in only 12 minutes. The highest score last season during the combine was 41 and most quarterbacks only got through 22 questions.

"The whole point of the test was to see how quickly you can process the information given," Romo said.

The 2002 Walter Payton Award winner astonished many scouts in throwing drills after being clocked at 57 mph, which is impressive compared to future Hall of Fame Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Farve's 61 mph.

"My arm strength has gotten much stronger since my last game at Eastern," Romo said.

 

[blindzebra]

Romo impresses at Indy
By Matthew Stevens/ Sports Reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1


Media Credit: Stephen Haas
Eastern senior Tony Romo excelled at the arm strength and IQ tests at the NFL combine. Romo was clocked at 57 mph during throwing drills and answered 37 out of the 50 questions correctly on the IQ test.



Eastern quarterback Tony Romo must have appreciated being in Indianapolis this weekend because at the NFL combine held in the racing capital of the world, he did everything fast.

"I wanted to show everyone that speed wasn't a problem," Romo said. "This was excatly why I worked so hard for two weeks in Florida, and it payed off."

The NFL prospect was placed in the second group Sunday afternoon along with Southern California's Carson Palmer, Louisville's Dave Ragone and Texas' Chris Simms.

Romo earned the second-fastest time in the shuttle run and was timed at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard-dash.

"Basically, that's why I went to Florida, to increase my speed, and I feel like I'm a completely different player since I left," Romo said.

Romo impressed even himself during the IQ test by answering correctly 37 of 50 questions in only 12 minutes. The highest score last season during the combine was 41 and most quarterbacks only got through 22 questions.

"The whole point of the test was to see how quickly you can process the information given," Romo said.

The 2002 Walter Payton Award winner astonished many scouts in throwing drills after being clocked at 57 mph, which is impressive compared to future Hall of Fame Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Farve's 61 mph.

"My arm strength has gotten much stronger since my last game at Eastern," Romo said.

I believe we all have this memorized by now.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Tony Romo looks better in every aspect of the game ... THAT'S why I am rooting for him ...

I'll take what I see with my own two eyes over an ostrich with an agenda any day of the week and twice on Sundays ...

Hos, you're as transparent as they come right here ...

 

[Banned_n_austin]

Quarterbacks with less than roundhouse arms can and do succeed in the NFL. Some as accomplished as Montana and many others with enough right ingredients to compensate for their lack of arm strength.

I don't really have a good enough sense of Tony's arm strength yet (kinda surprisingly, having seen all the preseason games last year and two in 03), to rate it...is it Penningtonesqye, is it Dilferesque? Just haven't seen him attempt enough different kind of passes and see some of them fail due to lack of zip or distance to know.

Last Saturday night TR did a lot of "lobbing", but Bill calls the plays and I am wondering if Rono's sets weren't as limited by design as Bledsoe's were.
One thing I love about Tony is that nifty footwork..that one aspect will make or break his game more than arm strength, imo. He isn't cut out to be a Kerry Collins, Vinny T, or Drew Bledsoe, but a systems QB, I think.

He could end up a very good one, and his feet are the reason why.

I'm not trying to be sexist here ... so please forgive me ...

But when a woman who has most likely never played the game can provide more valuable insight than anyone else on an issue like this ... that should tell you something ...

At least SHE is not spinning things into something they are not ...

Once again - props Barb.

 

[Waffle]

Romo impresses at Indy
By Matthew Stevens/ Sports Reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1


Media Credit: Stephen Haas
Eastern senior Tony Romo excelled at the arm strength and IQ tests at the NFL combine. Romo was clocked at 57 mph during throwing drills and answered 37 out of the 50 questions correctly on the IQ test.



Eastern quarterback Tony Romo must have appreciated being in Indianapolis this weekend because at the NFL combine held in the racing capital of the world, he did everything fast.

"I wanted to show everyone that speed wasn't a problem," Romo said. "This was excatly why I worked so hard for two weeks in Florida, and it payed off."

The NFL prospect was placed in the second group Sunday afternoon along with Southern California's Carson Palmer, Louisville's Dave Ragone and Texas' Chris Simms.

Romo earned the second-fastest time in the shuttle run and was timed at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard-dash.

"Basically, that's why I went to Florida, to increase my speed, and I feel like I'm a completely different player since I left," Romo said.

Romo impressed even himself during the IQ test by answering correctly 37 of 50 questions in only 12 minutes. The highest score last season during the combine was 41 and most quarterbacks only got through 22 questions.

"The whole point of the test was to see how quickly you can process the information given," Romo said.

The 2002 Walter Payton Award winner astonished many scouts in throwing drills after being clocked at 57 mph, which is impressive compared to future Hall of Fame Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Farve's 61 mph.

"My arm strength has gotten much stronger since my last game at Eastern," Romo said.

Ahh Ben. You were the one who posted this article earlier.

If the info in this write-up is indeed accurate, I find myself asking why some think Romo has a weak arm? Is it because of a few throws in warm-ups and some "touch" passes the other night in Tempe? I'll admit I wasn't necessarily mesmerized by the speed of the few throws made by Romo during the game, but I would hardly compare his arm strength to that of Jason Garrett's as some have attempted to do.

Wouldn't Parcells have jettisoned Romo instead of signing him to a multi-year deal if he indeed had a noodle arm? Just asking.

 

[InmanRoshi]

I've seen numerous scouting reports on Romo, and the consensus is that his arm is sub-par, and will always provide some limitations. Those limitations could be somewhat masked by a west coast offense, but we don't run a west coast offense. Also, his height has been determined to be a smidgen over 6'1", so comparisons to Tom 6'5" Brady are without merritt.

We are talking about armstrength, so absolutely the comparison is valid in regards to armstrength. The question is whether you can overcome not having a cannon with making quick reads, good decisions and throwing an accurate pass or not. Brady shows that arm strength is not imperative to success. Heck, on most of Brady's bio's he's accredit with the dreaded "touch" word when describing his arm *shudder*.

If you want to make a statement that Tony Romo is short, and short QB's can't win in the NFL, then we can dicuss that topic as well..

The problem with Cowboy fans, especially the new school Cowboy fans who didn't watch Staubach, is they have such Troy Aikman blinders on that they don't look around the NFL, including the history of the NFL, and take notice that there have been numerous different kinds of QB's who have won Superbowls and they were not all Aikman look alikes. Its like they've been involved with so many Aikman vs. Steve Young internet debates over the years that they've grown stubborn.

Parcells has won with numerous different kinds of QB's. Simms, Hostetler, Bledsoe were all different QB's with different strengths.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

I believe we all have this memorized by now.

But ...

But ...

But ...

:tantrum:

But I saw him warm up and throw limited short pass routes ...

 

[Waffle]

I believe we all have this memorized by now.

I've been out of pocket for a few days BZ...but I'm seriously wondering why this article is being dismissed by some.

 

[blindzebra]

I'm not trying to be sexist here ... so please forgive me ...

But when a woman who has most likely never played the game can provide more valuable insight than anyone else on an issue like this ... that should tell you something ...

At least SHE is not spinning things into something they are not ...

Once again - props Barb.

I'm still waiting to see what is spin about this breakdown on QBs, and where I say Henson is the second coming of Aikman and Romo is a hack.


Hos, Adbutcher and I had a blast, met up with fans from another board and they were a great bunch of guys.

Overall thoughts:

Bledsoe was awful, that ball patting was driving us crazy. His only good throw was on a pick play to Witten.

Romo out played Bledsoe, he made good reads and gets the ball away on time, but his arm is not even close to the Drews. He paired up with Witten and made a really nice touch pass over the defender.

Henson was solid, he played within himself made good reads and had several of those WOW throws. He had no protection at all, and his only poor throw was the high one to Zuriel that could have been a TD.

Typical though, I'd expect nothing less.