ESPN: Sparano knew how to keep Romo grounded

[Idgit]

Was this posted yesterday, and I missed it? Good content. Don't know that I agree with Mosely's conclusion in the last sentence.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfceast/0-9-5/Sparano-knew-how-to-keep-Romo-grounded.html

Sparano knew how to keep Romo grounded
April 1, 2009 4:00 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

The Beast had a chance to have breakfast with former Cowboys assistant Tony Sparano at the recent NFL owners' meeting in Dana Point, Calif. We covered several topics, but his eyes lit up when Tony Romo's name came up. Sparano, now the Dolphins head coach, was calling plays for the Cowboys when Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe six games into the 2006 season. Asked whether he knew if Romo was truly ready to be the starter at that point, Sparano had this to say:

"We knew when we put Romo in, yeah," Sparano said. "Honestly at that point with Tony, every time you put him in a game something good happened.

"We had a lot of experience with him, more than we have with our quarterback right now in Chad Henne. We had Tony a couple of years in the preseason and Tony got a lot of playing time that way. Nothing against Drew Bledsoe at the time, but you could just see where we were. We were 3-3 I believe ... and it was just the right time."

At this point, I asked Sparano if Romo's one of those players coaches needed to stay on top of in terms of limiting mistakes.

"Tony is a pretty easy guy to coach," Sparano said. "He's an intelligent guy and he really is a competitor. If you're walking down the hall with Tony Romo, he's going to try to beat you to the door. It was always easy to motivate Tony from my end."

Bill Parcells used to talk about how important it was to "coach Romo all the way through the game." Even after he exploded onto the national scene, Parcells constantly reminded him of his humble beginnings. And Sparano had his own way of keeping Romo grounded. Someone told me a story about something that happened one day in practice in '06. When Romo made a poor throw, Sparano walked up behind the huddle and wondered aloud whether the quarterback had been thinking about his girlfriend at the time, Carrie Underwood.

With Parcells and Sparano gone, there doesn't appear to be anyone at Valley Ranch willing to remind Romo that he wasn't always on the cover of People Magazine.

 

[irvin4evs]

I love baseless assumptions.

Sparano is here, Garrett calls the plays.

Sparano leaves, Romo plays worse with multiple injuries, it must mean Sparano was the real reason for success.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Oh good grief. I guess Romo will fail here now that Tony is gone. (Of course, some people really believe that.)

You have to keep in mind that Mosley is a gargantuan Sparano homer. I think Tony was a source for him here (yes, the coaches did talk even when Parcells was here), and he's doubled the kiss-up since Sparano left for Miami.

 

[NextGenBoys]

Last year was a disaster in many areas. Coaching, execution, chemistry, mental toughness, etc.

Jason Garrett will be much more vocal and harsh on Romo. I have no doubt about that. Phillips, eh not so much.

Garrett will make a better head coach than he will coordinator. And IMO he's a good coordinator.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I miss the coaches who always had cutting remarks for their players

 

[28 Joker]

Romo should have started the season in 2006. He definately should have started the Houston game.

 

[Doomsday101]

Or was injury a factor? 14 TD and 5 ints with 6 sacks in the 1st 6 games and then after returning 12 TD 9 ints and 13 sacks.

 

[THUMPER]

Just for the record, Romo's best season to date, 2007, was AFTER Sparano left.

 

[Idgit]

It's comical the idea that Romo played better because a coach would whisper cracks about his girlfriend after a pick in practice.

The article says more about the nice things Sparano thinks about Tony. Mosely throws in the crack at the end to get people to talk about it, but it's really just more fun to hear how competitive and bright the player is from somebody who knows him well.

 

[ddh33]

And somehow it will get lost in this thread that Romo is uber-competitive, works hard, and wants to win at everything.

 

[Apollo Creed]

And somehow it will get lost in this thread that Romo is uber-competitive, works hard, and wants to win at everything.

He doesn't project it because I think he gets too caught up in perception, especially being a bright guy that understands the nature of the media and public opinion.

Everything we hear about him says he's a big time competitor, so why do people keep assuming otherwise?

 

[joseephuss]

Just for the record, Romo's best season to date, 2007, was AFTER Sparano left.

Sparano was in Dallas in 2007. Parcells was gone.

I don't think Sparano knew how to keep Romo grounded. He has been inconsistent late in the season just like the rest of the team. This past season was not much different than 2006 or 2007.

 

[Apollo Creed]

Sparano's biggest influence was on our offensive line, he kept them motivated. Our sideline is lifeless from a coaching standpoint.

 

[CATCH17]

Romo used to be buddy's with Mosley too and I think Romo doesn't like the guy anymore for some reason that I dont know of.

 

[joseephuss]

Sparano's biggest influence was on our offensive line, he kept them motivated. Our sideline is lifeless from a coaching standpoint.

I think injuries and a lack of quality depth were bigger factors than emotion. Flozell went through several games where he was less than 100%, but still playing. Kosier missed most of the season. The back ups just did not do a good job. You can't have pro-bowler at every position, but you need better back ups on the O-line. Proctor was terrible and none of the tackles are good enough to step in and replace a hobbled Flozell. That ain't good. Dallas could have benefited by letting Flozell sit and overcome his injuries, but they could not depend on their back ups. That needs to improve.

Sparano did not have to deal with those type of injuries in 2007, but we all saw what the line looked like when he had to deal with them in 2005. The line just fell apart.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I love baseless assumptions.

Sparano is here, Garrett calls the plays.

Sparano leaves, Romo plays worse with multiple injuries, it must mean Sparano was the real reason for success.

Well, the same guy who wrote the article is the same guy that came up to Matt McBriar after a game and told him that he was going to be cut because he could 'read Parcells' lips' during the game (while the writer was in the booth) after McBriar shanked a punt.

But he and his buddies will tell you he's a reputable journalist, so he always tells the truth.

I've been a harsh critic on Romo, but for the most part he had a fantastic 2007 season when Garrett was calling the plays. Mr. I Read Lips assumptions would follow the logic that if Sparano was calling the plays in '07, Romo would've had arguably the greatest season ever for a QB. Somehow I highly doubt that would have happened.

I think what needs to happen is that there needs to be more accountability on Romo's part and possible consequence when he keeps making the same mistake (a benching). It reminds me a lot of Daunte Culpepper in Minnesota when he fumbled the ball constantly. The coaches preached that he hold onto the ball better, but there was no real threat of a consequence if he continued to do it. And Culpepper never cured his fumbling problem. The same with Rex Grossman in '06...and that cost the Bears a Super Bowl, IMO.

Unfortunately, if we want more accountability from Romo, it needs to start with the O-Coordinator being more accountable as well.




YAKUZA

 

[khiladi]

Last year was a disaster in many areas. Coaching, execution, chemistry, mental toughness, etc.

Jason Garrett will be much more vocal and harsh on Romo. I have no doubt about that. Phillips, eh not so much.

Garrett will make a better head coach than he will coordinator. And IMO he's a good coordinator.

Based upon what?

 

[khiladi]

Unfortunately, if we want more accountability from Romo, it needs to start with the O-Coordinator being more accountable as well.

Why? It is TOs fault for Romo's fumbles and the OC not being able to get in Romo's face... TO is gone, so everything is going to just get better.

 

[Rampage]

Based upon what?

this is a common thing among the t.o. lovers. they feel nobody can improve.

Why? It is TOs fault for Romo's fumbles and the OC not being able to get in Romo's face... TO is gone, so everything is going to just get better.

anotyher common thing from the t.o. lovers. bringing him into a discussion that has nothing to do with and crapping on the whole team that just got rid of him.

 

[khiladi]

I didn't ask if it is possible to improve. I asked what evidence is there that he can improve. Jason was being slammed all year for his lack of running effectively. In the end, he never changed. He was criticized for not running against the Commanders and he was criticized for not adjusting the passing game, to the point he had to call three receivers in. Even that didn't help. The Steelers had everything telegraphed against this offense, from the Polamalu INT to the INT when Romo tried to force it to Witten.

He couldn't adjust the whole damn year. The offense has always been pass heavy since he has been here and the OL has never looked so bad as it did last year, when Jason Garrett took over the helm. They also brought in one of the greatest OL ever to coach the team and that didn't help.

He was one of the worse OC at making any adjustments during the game.

Like I said, what evidence is there to think he can improve. The guy has absolutely horrible peripheral vision. He cannot see the whole picture of an offense. He doesn't know how to blend an offense at all, and it is precisely because of this that all teams had to do was drop-back in coverage.

He is the second coming of Dave Schula. The only difference is Garrett has the advantage of a QB who is so good on his feet and can make ridiculous throws that it hides a lot of his flaws. If Garrett was anywhere else, like say Miami in 2005-2006, the QB production would be pathetic.