Recommended Photo: Romo INT from all 22

[khiladi]

The first play of the drive was key and was mismanaged by the coaches, leading to a Romo sack. Half or more of football is prediction and expectation. Denver was likely expecting pass. Use that to your advantage and call a delayed draw or other run on FIRST DOWN. Heck even a planned scramble up the middle by Romo for 6-8 yds. He rarely ever scrambles any more. Denver did it to us on Manning's naked bootleg for a TD earlier. Good play calling on the final drive wins that ball game.

The 2nd down play is just a comedy of errors that come together to produce the INT and have been discussed here ad nauseum.

This right here as well, but that was a horse-collar in my opinion anyways....

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Hmmm. Escobar drifted up field rather than cutting across. Murray was open but is probably the last read.

This. He needed to stay in front of the LB but he drifted upfield. Hopefully the rookies will learn and not make the same mistakes in critical games down the road.

 

[Zordon]

this interception has become the new zapruder film.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

So when you need 16 yards, your primary read should be to check the ball down? Hasn't that what Dallas has been doing the last 6 years with the train reck of an offensive coach? The first game Dallas is actually exploiting the middle, and Romo is launching the ball all over the field, and Dez is running drag routes netting 75 yards, and Beasley just destroyed the slot the last series, we should just resort to typical Garrett-mode of a check-down to Murray, though he's clearly the last progression? It was bad blocking, Frederik got beat right when Escobar is about to make his cut.

If that's what you know is there. I mean, watch the play. Romo has time in the pocket. The pocket doesn't start to break down till later. If you want to look to see if the long ball is there, that's fine, you have time to do that but you can't afford to be incomplete there or not make positive yards. You have to set your offense up to have some kind of chance on 3rd down. Murray should not be the last progression. He should probably be the 2nd. You have to know what the defense is giving you. You have to understand where you are in the game. Things that might make sense in the 2nd or 3rd quarter, from your own 45 yard line may not make sense with 2 minutes left in a tied up ball game on your own 14 yard line in a 2nd and 16 situation. That is my opinion on it.

 

[Ken]

A few things are clear.

1. Escobar wasn't triple covered. He really wasn't even double covered

2. But, Murray was wide open

3. Great play by the Denver defender

4. Our defense still sucks.





YR

And Escobar has to flatten his route...rounded it and it cost them the interception.

 

[khiladi]

I have watched it and it's clearly a different philosophy. Your arguin context, but that same context had Romo doing what he want all over the middle of the field.

Dallas wanted to keep attacking while you are suggesting they play conservative. The problem is, we've see plenty of the same old check-down offense with teams playing Dallas in the same manner of safeies dropping back getting this team absolutely nowhere. So Dallas nets 9 yards, they still got what is still a 3rd and long. The same LB that was defending Escobar, where Murray stopped for the check-down, he could have pursued him and tackled him within that space as well. They still would have had to gamble the next possession in my view.

The reality is, even if Romo had time, he didn't have time in the context of the play-design. He looks at Dez or Williams, the WR playing the inside and then Escobar makes the cut. By this time, Escobar has his man beat because the LB actually trails behind him. The problem is, again, the tackle had beat Frederick and made his move already around Frederik's right side and was comig up the middle. So Smith is getting pushed back and the tackle is coming up the middle and Leary comes out of nowher taking out the tackle, but obscuring Romo's vision, for which he has to sail the ball up. If you look at the .gif that as posted, you can acally see how Romo has to elevate the ball in the middle of his throw, which he didn' want to.

A 3 man rush is what beat the Cowboys there. And as others mentioned, Escobar rounded his route, but I don't think that would have mattered, just because of the pressure up the middle and the situation in the pocket

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I have watched it and it's clearly a different philosophy. Your arguin context, but that same context had Romo doing what he want all over the middle of the field.

Dallas wanted to keep attacking while you are suggesting they play conservative. The problem is, we've see plenty of the same old check-down offense with teams playing Dallas in the same manner of safeies dropping back getting this team absolutely nowhere. So Dallas nets 9 yards, they still got what is still a 3rd and long. The same LB that was defending Escobar, where Murray stopped for the check-down, he could have pursued him and tackled him within that space as well. They still would have had to gamble the next possession in my view.

The reality is, even if Romo had time, he didn't have time in the context of the play-design. He looks at Dez or Williams, the WR playing the inside and then Escobar makes the cut. By this time, Escobar has his man beat because the LB actually trails behind him. The problem is, again, the tackle had beat Frederick and made his move already around Frederik's right side and was comig up the middle. So Smith is getting pushed back and the tackle is coming up the middle and Leary comes out of nowher taking out the tackle, but obscuring Romo's vision, for which he has to sail the ball up. If you look at the .gif that as posted, you can acally see how Romo has to elevate the ball in the middle of his throw, which he didn' want to.

A 3 man rush is what beat the Cowboys there.

No, not conservative. Smart. The play design is not hard and fast in our offense. It's designed to be flexible. If the Defense is giving you 8 yards, why would you take a chance on a play that might or might not be completed? That does not make sense to me and I am certain that this is not how our offense is designed to work. This, IMO, is why Garrett said the proper play was the check down.

If you go to Murray, I think he gets 10 yards, maybe more because there is really only 1 player who can make a play on him and he's a good 10 yards away. If you fail on the 2nd down, you have zero chance of completing a route that gets you 16 yards. You must hope that you can get the ball out to a receiver or back and then they can run for the 1st down on third. If you take the Check Down, then you have a realistic chance of getting a completion of 6 to 8 yards and that's a 1st.

Yeah, if you see the play to Escobar as the right play in that situation, then we have a philosophical difference here. No doubt about that.

On a side note, I don't think that you can say Dallas wanted to continue attacking up field on that play. There is no evidence of this. Had this been true, they would not have sent Murray out in the pattern. They would have kept him in to block. We would not have heard Garrett say that the correct play was the check down. He would have said something very different. I think that Dallas, I.E., Garrett wanted to take what the play allowed for and pick up a 1st down.

We literally watched Manning do the same thing to us all day and we never stopped their offense once. At some point, you have to consider what is to be gained and lost on any given play and make the best decision. Again I say, I do not blame this loss on that pick or Tony. However, I do believe that the INT was a mistake on Tony's part. A lot of contributing factors that went into it but a mistake, just the same. That is my opinion of the matter.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Romo already explained it. He didn't get enough on the ball. He couldn't step up into the throw and he floated it. I would blame the offensive line for getting beat on a 3 man rush before blaming the rookie TE.

 

[SultanOfSix]

Escobar is more than five yards down the field when the LBer goes to jam him.

Yes. First there was a horse collar that wasn't called. Then there was an obvious illegal contact by the LB who made the interception. I made note of this in the game thread.

 

[visionary]

pretty clear from watching this that romo had a tight window but one he had completed many times before
so reasonable choice in the heat of the moment

throwing to murray would have been better

 

[khiladi]

No, not conservative. Smart. The play design is not hard and fast in our offense. It's designed to be flexible. If the Defense is giving you 8 yards, why would you take a chance on a play that might or might not be completed? That does not make sense to me and I am certain that this is not how our offense is designed to work. This, IMO, is why Garrett said the proper play was the check down.

If you go to Murray, I think he gets 10 yards, maybe more because there is really only 1 player who can make a play on him and he's a good 10 yards away. If you fail on the 2nd down, you have zero chance of completing a route that gets you 16 yards. You must hope that you can get the ball out to a receiver or back and then they can run for the 1st down on third. If you take the Check Down, then you have a realistic chance of getting a completion of 6 to 8 yards and that's a 1st.

Yeah, if you see the play to Escobar as the right play in that situation, then we have a philosophical difference here. No doubt about that.

On a side note, I don't think that you can say Dallas wanted to continue attacking up field on that play. There is no evidence of this. Had this been true, they would not have sent Murray out in the pattern. They would have kept him in to block. We would not have heard Garrett say that the correct play was the check down. He would have said something very different. I think that Dallas, I.E., Garrett wanted to take what the play allowed for and pick up a 1st down.

We literally watched Manning do the same thing to us all day and we never stopped their offense once. At some point, you have to consider what is to be gained and lost on any given play and make the best decision. Again I say, I do not blame this loss on that pick or Tony. However, I do believe that the INT was a mistake on Tony's part. A lot of contributing factors that went into it but a mistake, just the same. That is my opinion of the matter.

We'll just agree to disagree... We have Murray checking down all the time when we are still trying to attack up field...

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

We'll just agree to disagree... We have Murray checking down all the time when we are still trying to attack up field...

OK. Agree to disagree. We do have him checking down all the time but not with the game on the line and Payton Manning QBing on the other side.

 

[VACowboy]

That would have gone for big yards because if you look at the D, the rush pattern is all spread out in order to try and collapse the pocket from all sides and the lanes are huge. Watch the LBs and the Safeties. None of them play the run. All of them drop straight into pass coverage. Wolfe, on the Strong Side runs himself right out of the play and Murray runs right past the NT and into the pattern. If that's a run play, the same thing probably happens and he's still running. Watch the defense when Murray runs into the pattern. All of them have their backs to him in coverage. The Safeties are both 15 yards off the ball. The one might have been able to close but probably not before Murray is 8 to 10 yards down the field and even then, he's probably the only guy who can make the play. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened had we run the ball there.

That's most likely Romo's call. He sees that defensive, he checks to a run. The way he'd been torching the Denver secondary, though, I can't blame him for sticking with the pass play on 2nd and 16. But my gracious, if there ever was a perfect time for a sprint draw...

 

[WV Cowboy]

Even after calling a pass play, .. if he had only seen Murray.

 

[Rack]

Hmmm. Escobar drifted up field rather than cutting across. Murray was open but is probably the last read.

I wish people understood this. A QB's job isn't to throw it to the "Most" open receiver. It's to throw it to the FIRST open receiver he finds through his progression. If Murray was the last read but he found someone open (but not as open as Murray) the ball is going to go to the first one he finds open (if Escobar runs a crisp route he would have been open. Not to mention the blatant illegal contact and the LT getting driven backwards into Romo).

 

[WoodysGirl]

Jean-Jacques Taylor

Garrett on Escobar's route: “I thought it was quarterback-friendly. I thought the guy made a good play. It was very similar to the one that Escobar caught earlier and the middle of the field was open.

"Against that particular coverage, you want to bend it across and then he can flatten it. He said he was going to flatten it and the guy made a good play coming up underneath him."

 

[Kevinicus]

I've heard a lot of people say this but I don't really agree with it. In that situation, your primary read should be dictated by the coverage. The #1 goal, in that situation, is to make positive yards and set up a manageable 3rd down. Pre Snap read tells Romo that the Safeties are in a two deep shell. Once the ball is snapped, he should read the LB drops across the board. There is literally nobody there to cover Murray and he really should know this. I can understand that what he saw was what could be described as open in the NFL with Escobar but that's not really the most open play. To be honest, Witten, IMO is a better throw then Escobar is. If you throw to Witten, you are throwing to the sideline where only Witten can catch it and he is as open as is Escobar. Also, he's not a Rookie. Having said that, pre snap, the coverage dictates Murray and Romo has to know that. Based on the down and distance and the situation on the field, I just think you have to go to the safest play because if it's not complete, at best you have 3rd and 16 and then you know you get the house. That's going to be a 7 to 10 yard completion at best and then your giving a short field to an Offense you know you haven't stopped once all day and all they need is a FG.

I think you have to understand that in that situation but hey, it's easy for me to post this on a board after the fact. It's a lot harder to do in real time of course but that is what your Franchise QB is supposed to do.

Witten?? He WAS double dovered, underneath and over the top, and that was an interception waiting to happen if that ball is thrown. Not sure what you're looking at all. Not comparable to Escobar's situation in the least. Escobar runs the route correctly and it's likely an incomplete pass, possibly 3rd and 7 or 8 if he makes a good play to catch it. If the throw isn't messed up by the pressure, it's probably 3rd and 5 or 6. If the throw goes to Murray, I'd say it's 3rd and 9 or 10. I don't think he gets all that far after the catch, especially since he was turning back towards the LOS.

 

[Kevinicus]

Jean-Jacques Taylor

Garrett on Escobar's route: “I thought it was quarterback-friendly. I thought the guy made a good play. It was very similar to the one that Escobar caught earlier and the middle of the field was open.

"Against that particular coverage, you want to bend it across and then he can flatten it. He said he was going to flatten it and the guy made a good play coming up underneath him."

I can only assume Garrett knows Romo can take the heat from the media and be okay and he is trying to protect Escobar here, because it's a ridiculous assertion. Escobar drifted towards coverage, not the empty space, that is not QB friendly.

 

[btcutter]

1. Like many has already pointed out, Romo expect a flat crossing route from Escobar hence the ball placement is on a flatter trajectory. If Romo expected Escobar to run a cross then up then the throw would be higher and over LB. If Escobar ran a sharp crossing route then the LB would have to probably interfere just to get to the ball. Great play by LB anyway.

2. I find it interesting that many all of a sudden wants Romo to check down when throughout the entire game Romo was successful throwing to the middle or deep. Furthermore, it was this same board calling Romo out just a few days ago for checking down and taking easy throws. Basically, you want him to be PERFECT all the time and we sit here 2nd guess only those passes that didn't work.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

And Escobar has to flatten his route...rounded it and it cost them the interception.

It wasn't a primary problem.




YR