Recommended Photo: Romo INT from all 22

[Stryker44]

Romo only has 2 picks all season? What??

 

[Kevinicus]

Because Romo's plant foot got tangled with his offensive lineman, he missed his window on what should have been a relatively easy pass.(CBS)

Looking at this, it seems pretty clear to me that Murray likely doesn't make it past the 20. He's got a safety at the 29 watching him, Travathon is looking back at Romo and if he dumps it off to Murray he's going to break off from Escobar and be right there when Demarco turns arround, and at the very least he'd slow him up giving the safeties more time to close in. I think Escobar probably gets to the 26 or 27 with a clean route/throw which is a 6 or 7 yard difference which is HUGE in this situation. I don't even think it's really a close call, Tony made the best decision, unfortunately things went wrong. I don't know how people can't see that Escobar is clearly open and the better option here.

 

[jobberone]

He is very unique in my eyes too. Some days he plays out of his mind and even elite and then other days he is horrible. Sometimes on the days he plays elite he chokes at the end. I have zero confidence in him in big time games at the end. You are right, he does need to learn that he doesn't have to take risks in those situations.. but we are now 8 years down the road and he still hasn't learned yet. Any idea when he will suddenly get it?

Fyi.. I applaud you for calling him out in this situation. A lot of other posters are defending his interception.. even saying it wasn't his fault.

Well thanks but every QB has some horrible plays in games sometimes more than a few. I can easily defend Romo. The INT is only in small part his fault. The point I've been making is that the throw was unnecessary when Romo knows there is a completely safe throw. I also agree that he makes the completion IF the receiver runs a proper out route and the LB doesn't make a very good play. I also agree with others like theogt that Romo had a window to throw to esp in a timing offense. Again the point is there is no reason to take any risk there.

I've always said Romo has to learn when he cannot afford to take risks. The only reason we had a chance in that game was Romo was having perhaps the greatest day for a QB in NFL history. He was having to make some tight throws. But you dial it back in that situation and be a caretaker when necessary. This is not a case of hindsight. The proper throw there the moment he saw that defensive formation was to go to Murray. And people are right in that we can't depend on Romo having an historic and up to then almost perfect game to be competitive. Romo contributed to the loss with a poor decision but the real culprit was the defense. And you have to give credit to Manning and that offense.

If you want to second guess then I'd look at the play call. There's no one open downfield which is predictable with 8 people in coverage and Callahan should have known they would do that. Perfect place for stacked receivers with a S12 spread formation or the like. Much more likely to be successful. Or run the damn ball! A delayed draw or a wheel route out of that formation would have been better. But that is hindsight with the retrospectoscope.

 

[jobberone]

You're flaunting your ignorance of the game here. Pre-snap reads should inform who may be open. But they don't dictate who is open. And they never EVER dictate that you absolutely have to throw it to the back coming out of the backfield.

And, by the way, you don't judge a decision based on the result but by the information that was available at the time the decision was made. Romo didn't know Escobar was going to float backwards in his route. If he could see the future, he'd be one heckuva QB that's for sure.

There is absolutely no need for personal insults esp since there have been some warnings.

No one is saying he must throw the ball but that it is the right read to go to the underneath throw. The fact Garrett said going to Murray was the right decision says it all.

 

[WV Cowboy]

So we're saying that Romo should have known ahead of time that Murray would be there, .. because I am pretty sure he can't see him from his perspective in that picture.

I am having a hard time thinking that Romo should have dumped it to Murray (although I wish he could have) when he could not see him. He would have needed another second or so to come off of focusing on Escobar to find Murray, .. and I'm not sure he had any more time.

 

[joseephuss]

Well thanks but every QB has some horrible plays in games sometimes more than a few. I can easily defend Romo. The INT is only in small part his fault. The point I've been making is that the throw was unnecessary when Romo knows there is a completely safe throw. I also agree that he makes the completion IF the receiver runs a proper out route and the LB doesn't make a very good play. I also agree with others like theogt that Romo had a window to throw to esp in a timing offense. Again the point is there is no reason to take any risk there.

Every pass in the NFL has some sort of risk. It wasn't the largest of windows, but it wasn't a small window, either. It wasn't a small enough window to say it was a completely risky throw. I'd wager that most QBs in that situation would choose to make that throw on that play. Saying it was an unnecessary throw is only based on the fact that the play resulted in an interception. And sure that was the worst possible result, but it wasn't because of the decision to make the throw. The decision was fine. Unfortunately everything that goes along with a QB making a decision on a play(blocking, route running, accuracy, zip on the pass and defenders actually making good plays) also occurred on that play. Those things have a far larger impact on what happened than the decision to make the throw.

 

[jobberone]

So we're saying that Romo should have known ahead of time that Murray would be there, .. because I am pretty sure he can't see him from his perspective in that picture.

I am having a hard time thinking that Romo should have dumped it to Murray (although I wish he could have) when he could not see him. He would have needed another second or so to come off of focusing on Escobar to find Murray, .. and I'm not sure he had any more time.

That's why a wheel route or a sprint out would have been a better option for Murray. Romo still knows where Murray is and could have throw the ball in that direction. And incompletion is an acceptable outcome for that play. I'm not going to second guess what other things Romo could have done because that's not fair.

I'm not understanding why people are so certain Murray would have been tackled for a short gain. I see some room there.

But Romo could have thrown the ball to Murray and he could have reeled off 15 yards then fumbled. Or broken two tackles and taken it to their 35 or scored.

It's hump day. Time to talk about the Commanders. We hates them.

 

[Staubacher]

Well thanks but every QB has some horrible plays in games sometimes more than a few. I can easily defend Romo. The INT is only in small part his fault. The point I've been making is that the throw was unnecessary when Romo knows there is a completely safe throw. I also agree that he makes the completion IF the receiver runs a proper out route and the LB doesn't make a very good play. I also agree with others like theogt that Romo had a window to throw to esp in a timing offense. Again the point is there is no reason to take any risk there.

I've always said Romo has to learn when he cannot afford to take risks. The only reason we had a chance in that game was Romo was having perhaps the greatest day for a QB in NFL history. He was having to make some tight throws. But you dial it back in that situation and be a caretaker when necessary. This is not a case of hindsight. The proper throw there the moment he saw that defensive formation was to go to Murray. And people are right in that we can't depend on Romo having an historic and up to then almost perfect game to be competitive. Romo contributed to the loss with a poor decision but the real culprit was the defense. And you have to give credit to Manning and that offense.

If you want to second guess then I'd look at the play call. There's no one open downfield which is predictable with 8 people in coverage and Callahan should have known they would do that. Perfect place for stacked receivers with a S12 spread formation or the like. Much more likely to be successful. Or run the damn ball! A delayed draw or a wheel route out of that formation would have been better. But that is hindsight with the retrospectoscope.

Actually Romo had to take risks the entire game. And he did thats the only reason we were tied 48 apiece.

 

[joseephuss]

So we're saying that Romo should have known ahead of time that Murray would be there, .. because I am pretty sure he can't see him from his perspective in that picture.

I am having a hard time thinking that Romo should have dumped it to Murray (although I wish he could have) when he could not see him. He would have needed another second or so to come off of focusing on Escobar to find Murray, .. and I'm not sure he had any more time.

Even if Romo does know Murrary is there and uncovered, which I think is highly possible, it doesn't change the fact that Escobar was open and it was a good read to throw it his direction.

 

[jobberone]

Every pass in the NFL has some sort of risk. It wasn't the largest of windows, but it wasn't a small window, either. It wasn't a small enough window to say it was a completely risky throw. I'd wager that most QBs in that situation would choose to make that throw on that play. Saying it was an unnecessary throw is only based on the fact that the play resulted in an interception. And sure that was the worst possible result, but it wasn't because of the decision to make the throw. The decision was fine. Unfortunately everything that goes along with a QB making a decision on a play(blocking, route running, accuracy, zip on the pass and defenders actually making good plays) also occurred on that play. Those things have a far larger impact on what happened than the decision to make the throw.

Again I'm not second guessing the decision to throw the ball there based on hindsight. Normally Romo makes that completion. I'm saying Romo knew the underneath was open. He should have made his reads as best he could but make the safe throw and get some positive yards then try to convert. If you have to punt then you do so. Perhaps they turn the ball over on their end of the field and we kick a FG and win.

The game changed from a shootout to don't lose the game. If you punt and Manning gets into FG range then that's on the defense. You just can't take chances down there that late in the game with a tie score. You really have to change your mind set in that situation.

 

[WV Cowboy]

Even if Romo does know Murrary is there and uncovered, which I think is highly possible, it doesn't change the fact that Escobar was open and it was a good read to throw it his direction.

I'm leaning towards this as well.
Even if Romo thinks he knows where Murray should be, he has to check to make sure, which would take some time.
Perhaps Murray got held up with a block, maybe he got tripped up or something himself.

If Romo can't see him, which we don't know for sure (it only looks like that was the case in looking at the picture) he still needs to find Murray before releasing the ball. Not sure he had that time.

But it is true that 'incomplete' would be ok in that situation, although it would have made for a very difficult 3rd and 16.

Giving the ball back to Manning via a punt or the INT meant pretty certain defeat for us.

 

[Crown Royal]

I live in Rio Rancho also. The Ranch is located in Bernalillo and that's not too bad.

There is a place off 4th St called Casa De Benivedes. That's a little expensive if you want to have Dinner there but they have a little take out counter, towards the back and you can order, basically the same stuff, for a cheaper price if you just want Breakfast or Lunch.

My favorite Burritos are from a place called Acapulco Taco. It's a little hole in the wall place off Wyoming and Candelaria. This is not close to your Grand Parent's house but if you should find yourself in town, it might be a place you can stop and grab a quick hand held burrito to go.

One of my favorite places to eat in Albuquerque is a place Called El Modelo. The food is great, it's down by the Rail Road Tracks, on 2nd Street. It's not easy to find and it's not in a great part of Town but the food there is very good. It is strictly a locals spot so Tourists are not going to know this place. Everything is good there but it's a good ways away from where you will be. This might be a planned thing if you should decide to go there. This is not a sit down place. You go there, you park, you walk in, you wait in line and they take your order. There is a table or two outside but really, you take this home or you sit in your car and eat. Food is worth it but you have to consider the part of town and the distance.

Those off the top of my head are worth doing. There are lots more but really, almost anyplace you go in New Mexico will give you decent Spanish Food. But to get the best, well, you would have to be in my Wife's Kitchen.

Invitation accepted. I'll be over Tuesday evening (tues before Thanksgiving). Thanks man!

 

[ufcrules1]

Well thanks but every QB has some horrible plays in games sometimes more than a few. I can easily defend Romo.

I've always said Romo has to learn when he cannot afford to take risks.

Well if every QB makes horrible mistakes in games then why does Romo have to learn anything? Seems like he is good enough just the way he is.

But you dial it back in that situation and be a caretaker when necessary. Thee proper throw there the moment he saw that defensive formation was to go to Murray.

Yeah, but all QB's make those kind of mistakes, So it's not that big of deal. He played a great game before that, so it doesn't really matter all that much.

And you have to give credit to Manning and that offense.

Absolutely you have to give Manning credit. After all, he had to almost play a perfect game to get his team the win too. His defense gave up 48 freaking points and he almost lost the game too.

Or run the damn ball! A delayed draw or a wheel route out of that formation would have been better. But that is hindsight with the retrospectoscope.

Ya think? Tony could have audibled there as well after he saw what the defense was doing. I have heard here many times that Romo is one of the best out there at reading the defense. Although, I don't know what he was thinking at the end of this game. Also, don't know what he was thinking vs KC with Dez one on one with Flowers in the endzone and Romo not even looking his way.

 

[jobberone]

Actually Romo had to take risks the entire game. And he did thats the only reason we were tied 48 apiece.

I agree with that and have said so. Not the same situation there than earlier. I'm not even that critical of Tony for the throw. If the OL protects better then Tony can move around and extend the play. If the receiver runs a better route the ball is completed. If Tony's throw isn't altered by his own teammate he likely makes the throw. Not arguing he had completed tighter passes than that all day. Not saying it was a terrible decision to throw to that window. Not arguing any of that. Just going from the thread flow of the proper read which was to Murray. Get your positive yards and go to the next down.

Tony needs to be congratulated for having an historic game. We are all privileged to have seen one of the greatest performances in history.

I'm moving on to the Skins. I've said more than enough here. You guys can have the last word.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Invitation accepted. I'll be over Tuesday evening (tues before Thanksgiving). Thanks man!

No problem, that night we will actually be making ready for Thanks Giving so there will be plenty of work to be had for everybody. Not sure what we will be having but I am sure that there will be plenty of it.

See ya then.

 

[Crown Royal]

No problem, that night we will actually be making ready for Thanks Giving so there will be plenty of work to be had for everybody. Not sure what we will be having but I am sure that there will be plenty of it.

See ya then.

So long as I can slather it with green chiles, it will taste amazing.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

OK, well, how often do you think Romo is going to see 48-48 tie with 2.36 left, the ball on our own 14 and 2nd and 16? Do you think that's something that's going to happen every season? How often or infrequently it happens has no barring on anything. It's about how you handle yourself in situations. The examples were only to show that you don't need to call an audible to go off the script and you don't need a blitz to make certain calls. Look at the play and tell me what Romo could have done to make communicate something to Murray that would have helped him get more open. Sometimes, yeah, you need to communicate things but sometimes, it's not necessary. I see nothing to be gained on that play with an audible. The receivers didn't need Romo to recognize the coverages. They all understood them and they all ran the right routes. The play actually produced what the coaching staff wanted out of it. It produced a wide open receiver and an opportunity to put yourself into a manageable 3rd down situation. We just didn't execute but there was nothing dangerous in that play about not calling an audible. Pre-snap reads are not about just calling audibles. They are about reading the defense and finding matchups. No reason at all for an audible in that situation.

I think you are making an assumption that Romo (or any quaterback) can't make in that situation. I doubt that Denver's Defense was set up to totally ignore the RB. Someone had that responsibility. It might have been one of the safeties was supposed to come down and cover that area of the field or maybe one of the Corners was supposed to have the that Short 3rd, but I would think someone would, so the pre snap read argument is not an accurate one. Romo - nor any other QB - can assume that the defender will not do their responsibility and just throw to that area on that assumption. With the defense that was lined up, it was only logical for Romo to go thru his progressions, and as such, he threw to the first read that he deemed open. It didn't work out for him for a number of reasons. I get what you are saying but I just don't think it is correct to make the assumption that Romo did not have a good pre snap read in this case. He knew where the 1 on 1 was going to be and it was a matchup that favored us for a bigger gain. I think he made the right decision in this case.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

So we're saying that Romo should have known ahead of time that Murray would be there, .. because I am pretty sure he can't see him from his perspective in that picture.

I am having a hard time thinking that Romo should have dumped it to Murray (although I wish he could have) when he could not see him. He would have needed another second or so to come off of focusing on Escobar to find Murray, .. and I'm not sure he had any more time.

I think that if Romo decides to go to Murray if the wide open play is not there, then he hits him in stride and he steps up in the pocket to create a lane, just as he did to try and get the ball to Escobar. If you watch the play again, Murray actually sits down in the soft zone and waits for the pass that does not come but, before he sits down in the zone, he is actually looking back at Romo and running slightly diagonally, towards the Flag/Sideline. If Tony decides to go to Murray, the Ball is probably thrown earlier, Smith is never an issue and the throwing lane is there. Also, the LB never gets to Murray if he hits him in stride and the Safety will not stop him inside the 20. In fact, that Safety probably gets trucked but that's just what I think would have happened.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

So long as I can slather it with green chiles, it will taste amazing.

Absolutely! I often eat Chicken Noodle Soup and saltine crackers with Green Chile on top.


Just kidding of course. I'm sure we can find something better then that.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I think you are making an assumption that Romo (or any quaterback) can't make in that situation. I doubt that Denver's Defense was set up to totally ignore the RB. Someone had that responsibility. It might have been one of the safeties was supposed to come down and cover that area of the field or maybe one of the Corners was supposed to have the that Short 3rd, but I would think someone would, so the pre snap read argument is not an accurate one. Romo - nor any other QB - can assume that the defender will not do their responsibility and just throw to that area on that assumption. With the defense that was lined up, it was only logical for Romo to go thru his progressions, and as such, he threw to the first read that he deemed open. It didn't work out for him for a number of reasons. I get what you are saying but I just don't think it is correct to make the assumption that Romo did not have a good pre snap read in this case. He knew where the 1 on 1 was going to be and it was a matchup that favored us for a bigger gain. I think he made the right decision in this case.

Watch them on film. The minute the ball is snapped, all of the LBs start dropping into coverage. There isn't one read for the run. The safeties all stay back rather then moving forward to read run and Murray runs clean through a hole were the NT makes no effort to tackle him or even impede him. I'm telling you, Denver stopped playing the run in the 4th Quarter.

Nobody will convince me that Romo did not know that he had Murray open underneath. He had to know, he's a 10 year QB vet in the NFL. He went another way and it cost us but if he thinks out the play before the snap, he knows that if the receive is not clearly open, then he can go to Murray and nobody will be there to make a play on the ball. He knows that, or he should.