Romo says accuracy is not about footwork

[cern]

Weedon threw the tightest spiral.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

That's interesting because Romo himself said that early in his career he wasn't very accurate or good at throwing the ball. I think it was the "A football life."

He wasn't but remember at the beginning of every training he'd say how he worked on his game but would never tell us how. (lol)

 

[Bigdog]

And Peyton Manning was obsessed with his footwork. At least it appears that way when ESPN did that documentary on him after he joined the Broncos and he was down at Duke over the summer working out.

 

[G2]

So it can't be taught, but it can be learned.

I dunno, I think if we go right into it, it could be taught. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[cern]

It's a lion's nature to kill. But it still needs to be taught how.

 

[cern]

I dunno, I think if we go right into it, it could be taught. Maybe I'm wrong.

I think it can be improved thru teaching. But troy aikman thinks otherwise.

 

[tkluu]

Dak throws well rolling to his right, but not as much to the left.

curious as to where this comment came from. The some of his best throws I can remember off hand from Dak are going to his left

1) Dez TD against Pittsburgh
2) Gallup TD against STL
3) Beasley TD game winner against NYG

 

[CWR]

All I know is when Dak is throwing off his back foot the ball is typically inaccurate. Maybe it is all about his shoulder ect, but I think for him at this point the two go hand in hand.

 

[atlantacowboy]

Recently, Tony Romo was on 105.3 The Fan discussing the mechanics of throwing the football, and he had some interesting perspective on the work Dak is doing.

Romo qualified himself by admitting he was an obsessive geek when it came to arm angles, shoulder position, and release points to get the ball into certain windows with accuracy depending on what side of the field and type of throw was required. He spent hours upon hours trying to perfect this over his career for different situations.

He said footwork is overrated in terms of accuracy. He said that he instead focused on shoulder and arm position, and that the footwork just naturally follows. His reasoning was that, because QBs are often on the move or off balance when throwing, footwork is never going to be consistent anyway, but shoulder position and arm angle can be if you can rotate your upper torso into position before the throw.

In essence, he was saying he was already accurate from a perfect throwing position (no pass rush pressure) right out of college, but he had to learn to throw accurately from different live-action positions when he had to lean or slide from pressure. Being able to do that and put balls over the top of coverage and in tight windows is what separates QBs in the pros.

That makes a lot of sense.

On the flip side, Jon Kitna is ALL about footwork. He uses the phrase "ankle's eye" when throwing, as if you need to position your front foot toward the target to get it there accurately. I think that is important for Dak because he's tall and has a big windup compared to Romo. However, that doesn't apply when you can't set your feet. Dak throws well rolling to his right, but not as much to the left.

The important point is that Dak develop enough confidence in his arm and accuracy that he can throw sooner and in tight coverage, particularly in the red zone where things are really compact. The reports are that he looks more comfortable, but live action will tell soon enough.

And Dak's biggest issue is throwing from the pocket, so Kitna is certain right to focus there. However, as he moves around in the pocket, Romo's approach is valid as well.

Certainly worth watching early on this season.

Romo for most is his career was running for his life. He had to adapt b/c there was rarely time to plant and throw.

 

[eromeopolk]

The quarterbacks you mentioned played with the greatest rosters ever assembled. Romo and Kitna did not.

Jerry Jones revisionist history. Romo played with more Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowlers than any Cowboys QB in 2007 (NFL record 13 Pro Bowl Players) . He had a top 10 defense in 2005, 2007-2009. Romo also played most of his entire career with a Pro Bowl RB, WR, TE, and at least 2 OL. 5 of Romo's 10 seasons as starting QB was .500 or below (mediocrity). However, he is the Cowboys all time leading passer in rating, yards, and TDs.

Kitna had Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson when they went 0-16. Marinelli was the Head Coach. He passed for 4000 yds back to back years (2006-2007) but threw more interceptions than TDs each 4000 yd season.

All I want Dak to do is win. He is very good at that winning thing. Lets not mess it up.

 

[Afigueroa22]

Romo was infamous for throwing the game killing interception. Would that be considered an accuracy problem?

He has thrown more game winning TDs than game killing interceptions. Also, being 5th all time in QB rating says he does not have an accuracy problem.

 

[buybuydandavis]

In essence, he was saying he was already accurate from a perfect throwing position (no pass rush pressure) right out of college, but he had to learn to throw accurately from different live-action positions when he had to lean or slide from pressure.

Footwork is probably where you should start when you're *not* accurate from a perfect throwing position. When you've got that down, then you start working on body position off the perfect throwing position.

Dak is still in the first stage.

Still, I bet Tony could help Dak, and a lot of QBs. He should run a QB camp in the offseason. Show us the magic. Time spent coaching NFL QBs would be good for a career as an announcer.

 

[erod]

Jerry Jones revisionist history. Romo played with more Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowlers than any Cowboys QB in 2007 (NFL record 13 Pro Bowl Players) . He had a top 10 defense in 2005, 2007-2009. Romo also played most of his entire career with a Pro Bowl RB, WR, TE, and at least 2 OL. 5 of Romo's 10 seasons as starting QB was .500 or below (mediocrity). However, he is the Cowboys all time leading passer in rating, yards, and TDs.

Kitna had Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson when they went 0-16. Marinelli was the Head Coach. He passed for 4000 yds back to back years (2006-2007) but threw more interceptions than TDs each 4000 yd season.

All I want Dak to do is win. He is very good at that winning thing. Lets not mess it up.

Romo played with the statistically three worst defenses in Cowboys history, including one that was the worst in NFL history.

Dak rarely breaks 30 points. Romo did it frequently. But Romo had to win shootouts, whereas Roger, Troy, and Dak didn't very often.

This isn't hard.

 

[erod]

He has thrown more game winning TDs than game killing interceptions. Also, being 5th all time in QB rating says he does not have an accuracy problem.

Not to mention that Romo is the highest rated 4th-quarter quarterback in NFL history. For the stat geeks.

 

[lostar2009]

No wonder why some of his balls was off. He never work on foot work.

 

[Hadenough]

I believe in footwork as a great foundation in a lot of sports and Romo has some good points that I never really thought of. My theory on Dak is he has a slightly weaker arm than most QBs so he needs to have the idea setting to throw the ball. The harder he tries to throw the ball the less accurate he becomes. Thats why he is fine on the short throws but when he needs to put the ball on a rope 20 yds away to a WR running a deep crossing route who has his man beat by 6 feet he struggles. Sure he can lob the deep balls and hit guys that are wide open but that middle of the field is danger for a guy who struggles with accuracy. Notice his passes to Gallup tend to be down the sideline where its nice and safe.
The reason I say that Dak has a weak arm is because that first season we saw his mechanics go off and he was throwing to Beasley in the flat about 35 feet away and he was arming the ball and his ball fell short by about 10 feet. Never in my life have I seen a QB throw such a weak pass arming the ball. I dont know how many of you remember the pro bowl that Dak was in when he competed against Brees, Rivers and Dalton. Watching Dak throw the ball vs those other QBs was painful. Yeah it was just a circus event but he looked like a boy among men even though his body was the biggest. On the deeper targets at first he tried to be casual and the ball landed way short then he stepped into it and it was still short so he had to really wind up and stepped into it and finally got it there.
While all the other QBs had no trouble getting the ball there.
Now to Daks credit his strengths are he doesnt make mistakes he is a leader and is durable. But the one weakness is his arm strength and accuracy and thats the most important trait of a QB.

 

[Pantone282C]

QB's are so different in their styles that it's hard to pin it down except by the individual QB. Stafford could cross his legs and make the throw because he's all about shoulder position.

When coaches used Aikman as a teaching tool it was mostly from his hips down because he was technically the best they'd seen. And he was very consistent in his set up.

The trick is to get the QB to change his instincts and that is hard. They worked with Bernie Kosar and finally gave up. He could do it at practice like they wanted but come gamedays and he was back to instinct. But what he really excelled at, beside being smart, was what Russell Wilson has mastered.

Wilson throws the best deep ball in the league because he does want Kosar used to do, just throw the ball where the receiver can get to it. Don't have to thread the needle, just give them the chance and his deep ball in indefensible because of the trajectory, it looks like it's falling out of the sky in a 90 degree angle and the DB has no play except PI. He learned to do that so QB's can hone their skills but there's just some throws they do not do well. With Romo it was that slant to anyone but Witten and he did OK with Robinson but judging the speed of the WR and where to put the ball in front of him but not too far in harm's way was a struggle for him.

Prescott's issues are the same as they were in college but that does not mean he can't overcome that. His inconsistencies are hard to explain because it comes at odd times. It makes sense that Kitna is starting from the ground up with him.

There it is.The deep ball is truly hard to defend if you put it out there far enough and have a receiver like Cooper.. He made Prescott look good on a couple of under thrown balls last season. Other times, Prescott nails it. Real head scratcher.

 

[Pantone282C]

I always lead with my foot when I toss a beer to somebody. It works Everytime! Lol!! Salud!!!!!!!

Magic Johnson's mini hook shot is my go-to delivery!

 

[Pantone282C]

Shoulder angles or footwork I think the key is the amount of time Romo put into it and how obsessed he was and trying to perfect it. This may be a case of there being two paths to success but both will take the four-wheel drive off-road determination to get there. Whichever path Dak decides to take I hope he becomes obsessed with it.

That is the deal. Do it, do it, do it.

 

[Whirlwin]

Maybe that's why he threw so many interceptions I don't know.