Romo to Witten TD

[CowboyWay]

I'm not as negative as some of you are about last nights game, but I did notice one thing that did bother me.

I would have rather seen romo tuck that ball and go down, than force the ball into witten for the score.

To me, Romo needs to work on not turning the ball over. He tucked the ball, then at the last second, with a guy right behind him, and right in front of him, untucked the ball and threw a risky throw to witten.

Yeah, yeah, we scored. I don't care. I'd rather see Romo take the safe play and show me he's learned a thing or two. I'm afraid he'll never learn when to say "when", and just give up on a play. I think its the most important part of his game he needs to work on.

Thoughts?

 

[alancdc]

I think you make a good point about taking care of the ball, but any QB that has his number 1 weapon 1 on 1 would probably have thrown that pass.

 

[AmericasTeam31]

I don't EVER want a QB who is gonna give up on a play! That is the difference between an opportunity to connect with Witten for 6 points or try another play with more chances that something goes wrong. The throw itself was not as risky as untucking the ball... there was no way the DB was intercepting that pass...

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Romo could have placed the ball a little better, but the DB was not in front of Witten, so he had a pretty big target to throw to

 

[DFWJC]

I see your point, but Witten was not double covered...and I like his odds one-on-one vs just about anyone.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I see your point, but Witten was not doubled covered...and I like his odds one-on-one vs just about anyone.

that's that trust factor Romo has with Witten

throw it anywhere in his area, and he will go and get it, and he did, he basically took the ball away from the defender

 

[Boyzmamacita]

If Romo had decided not to throw it and we ended up not scoring, everybody would be mad about that. He has to trust himself in these pressure situations. He has things to work on for sure, but if he sees one of his targets one-on-one and he believes he can get the ball to him, he has to try it. Otherwise, why is he even out there? I'm more concerned with him protecting the ball when no one is open than using his instincts to make something happen.

 

[CowboyWay]

Well, I was more concerned with the actual tuck, and untuck than the actual throw. I think that was the most dangerous part. I probably should have emphasized that more in the original post. Thats where Romo seems to get in alot of trouble.

 

[theogt]

That's what makes Romo Romo. 99% of QBs don't make that play and take the sack or throw it away. Romo gets the TD.

 

[Idgit]

I'll take the td every time, thanks.

 

[BrassCowboy]

I don't EVER want a QB who is gonna give up on a play! That is the difference between an opportunity to connect with Witten for 6 points or try another play with more chances that something goes wrong. The throw itself was not as risky as untucking the ball... there was no way the DB was intercepting that pass...

I agree with you there. I loved that play, and it was what he possessed more of in his first year and a half, but last year I think he was too conservative by design (aside from the ints).

 

[heir]

I actually liked the fact that he tucked the ball. Right before he threw the pass he had held the ball firmly with 2 hands. I was happy about that and to me that showed he is focusing on ball security

 

[rynochop]

I see your point, but Witten was not doubled covered...and I like his odds one-on-one vs just about anyone.

Yep...i have to admit though, it was kind of a dangerous throw. If one of the DBs had jumped it, woulda gone the other way.

 

[Funxva]

Yep...i have to admit though, it was kind of a dangerous throw. If one of the DBs had jumped it, woulda gone the other way.

The guy would have had to go through Witten to jump it.

 

[LarryCanadian]

I think the original poster has a SUPERB point. It is worth questioning or reviweing. You have to admit, re-watching that play, that Romo took one of his patented risk/reward throws there. He made a great throw and an amazingly quick release on it, because he had prepared to take the sack, and then spotted that little window of opportunity and made that mili-second choice. He wants to try. If the game is 30-23 Cowboys at that point with 4 minutes left, I might not want him to make that choice. If we are down by 2 TD's with 10 minutes left, and same down/distance, then probably yeah.

It was a risk though, and I though that play is a perfect synopsis of the risk/reward personality of Romo. That is who he is. Not sure you benefit from totally changing it, but if you can temper it and make him think about options at different points of the game then he will have matured.

Good observation though, and I wonder if any of the beat writers will comment on it.

LarryCanadian

 

[Carl23]

I think the original poster has a SUPERB point. It is worth questioning or reviweing. You have to admit, re-watching that play, that Romo took one of his patented risk/reward throws there. He made a great throw and an amazingly quick release on it, because he had prepared to take the sack, and then spotted that little window of opportunity and made that mili-second choice. He wants to try. If the game is 30-23 Cowboys at that point with 4 minutes left, I might not want him to make that choice. If we are down by 2 TD's with 10 minutes left, and same down/distance, then probably yeah.

It was a risk though, and I though that play is a perfect synopsis of the risk/reward personality of Romo. That is who he is. Not sure you benefit from totally changing it, but if you can temper it and make him think about options at different points of the game then he will have matured.

Good observation though, and I wonder if any of the beat writers will comment on it.

LarryCanadian

I agree with both you and CW.

The play had been going on for FAR too long. he had already tucked the ball and in my mind you need to take the sure-thing 3-points. In my mind, it's more important to get sure points early in the game than it is to take risks.

Late in the game, if we're behind and need points? Sure, take a gamble and make the throw. Just don't do it when you don't need to.

It tells me that he hasn't matured one bit. There were too many bodies and movement behind/around him to be certain that somebody wasn't about to clobber him. Add to it that the throw was not the easiest and you have too much risk for the 4-point reward.

 

[Aikmaniac]

The moment Tony starts second-guessing a split-second pass like that...there's a greater issue. That would mean he doesn't trust himself or his target.

 

[Carl23]

The moment Tony starts second-guessing a split-second pass like that...there's a greater issue. That would mean he doesn't trust himself or his target.

My point was that he should never have gotten to that point. He should have given up on the play by then.

 

[Four]

good lord, Romo isn't a bus driver, his completion percentage and TD to INT ratio is very good.

Let the kid play and don't cry, we have a great QB.

Some people wouldn't be happy with joe flippin montana back there.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d811e0cad/Pre-WK-1-Tony-Romo-highlights

You can watch Romo's video highlights here. It's the last highlight. Witten is open and really, if the ball is a few inches lower, it wouldn't have looked nearly as contested as it looked. I like a decision that nets us points. As long as he keeps two hands on the ball in traffic, I'm fine with him slinging it into a tight spot like that to a guy like Witten.