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IRVING – Get off his back.
In so many words, that was the message Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee delivered Monday to those blaming Tony Romo for the 51-48 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Romo passed for a club-record 506 yards and five touchdowns, but his lone interception paved the way for the Broncos to kick the winning field goal as time expired in the thriller.
“Tony played fantastic,” Lee said. “The defense let us down. It starts with a guy like me. I didn’t play well enough. I didn’t make enough plays. The offense played fantastic. It should squarely be on the defense.”
Even the most ardent Romo bashers have to admit the pitiful play of the defense is a big reason why the Cowboys (2-3) will limp into this weekend’s NFC East showdown with Washington (1-3) with a two-game losing streak.
During the skid, Dallas has surrendered 81 points, 1,023 yards, 61 first downs and blew double-digit leads in both games. As a result, the Cowboys ranks near the bottom of the league in total defense (409.2 yards per game), passing defense (326.4) and points per game (27.2).
It gets worse. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Cowboys are only the fourth team in league history to allow three 400-yard passers: Eli Manning (450 yards, four touchdowns) in the 36-31 win over the New York Giants opener, Philip Rivers (401 yards, three TDs) in the 30-21 loss at San Diego in Week 4 and Peyton Manning (414 yards, four TDs) on Sunday.
Suffice it to say, it wasn’t what Jerry Jones had in mind when he fired Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator in January and replaced him with Monte Kiffin.
While Jones termed the loss to Denver a “moral victory” and said he would cut Kiffin “some slack” because the Broncos entered the game averaging an NFL-best 44.8 points, Garrett took a tougher stance after the defense yielded the third most points in franchise history.
“We knew the challenges,” Garrett said. “They’re good. Nobody’s covered them. But your expectations are some how, some way you do enough to stop them. Make them punt it a couple of times. Hold serve on offense and then you win the ball game.”
Despite the ineptitude of the defense, the Cowboys still had a chance to pull off the upset. And it might have happened had Romo not thrown the umpteenth killer interception of his career.
In trying to hit rookie tight end Gavin Escobar over the middle on second-and-16 from the Dallas 14-yard line, Romo threw into a crowd of defenders with the pocket collapsing. Linebacker Danny Trevathan made a diving grab of the ball, giving the Broncos possession at the 24 with just under two minutes left.
Ignoring the possibility that Romo stepping on the foot of left tackle Tryon Smith may have reduced the velocity of his throw, Garrett said the turnover boiled down to a poor decision.
“He probably should have come down and thrown the ball to the back,” Garrett said. “…Find DeMarco Murray…Cut the distance in half, make it a manageable third down and then go from there.”
“But those plays happen in split seconds. He saw something he liked. He cut it loose. Their defender made a good play. It was a difference-making play of the game.”
Still, teammates on both side of the ball rallied to his defense.
“In my eyes, Romo’s a fighter,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “No quarterback in the NFL takes as much criticism as he takes. And he still goes out there and acts like he hasn’t heard anything. I know he hears it, but he doesn’t let it get to him. He goes out there and performs the best way he possibly can. And we’re going to forever back him for it.”
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In so many words, that was the message Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee delivered Monday to those blaming Tony Romo for the 51-48 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Romo passed for a club-record 506 yards and five touchdowns, but his lone interception paved the way for the Broncos to kick the winning field goal as time expired in the thriller.
“Tony played fantastic,” Lee said. “The defense let us down. It starts with a guy like me. I didn’t play well enough. I didn’t make enough plays. The offense played fantastic. It should squarely be on the defense.”
Even the most ardent Romo bashers have to admit the pitiful play of the defense is a big reason why the Cowboys (2-3) will limp into this weekend’s NFC East showdown with Washington (1-3) with a two-game losing streak.
During the skid, Dallas has surrendered 81 points, 1,023 yards, 61 first downs and blew double-digit leads in both games. As a result, the Cowboys ranks near the bottom of the league in total defense (409.2 yards per game), passing defense (326.4) and points per game (27.2).
It gets worse. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Cowboys are only the fourth team in league history to allow three 400-yard passers: Eli Manning (450 yards, four touchdowns) in the 36-31 win over the New York Giants opener, Philip Rivers (401 yards, three TDs) in the 30-21 loss at San Diego in Week 4 and Peyton Manning (414 yards, four TDs) on Sunday.
Suffice it to say, it wasn’t what Jerry Jones had in mind when he fired Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator in January and replaced him with Monte Kiffin.
While Jones termed the loss to Denver a “moral victory” and said he would cut Kiffin “some slack” because the Broncos entered the game averaging an NFL-best 44.8 points, Garrett took a tougher stance after the defense yielded the third most points in franchise history.
“We knew the challenges,” Garrett said. “They’re good. Nobody’s covered them. But your expectations are some how, some way you do enough to stop them. Make them punt it a couple of times. Hold serve on offense and then you win the ball game.”
Despite the ineptitude of the defense, the Cowboys still had a chance to pull off the upset. And it might have happened had Romo not thrown the umpteenth killer interception of his career.
In trying to hit rookie tight end Gavin Escobar over the middle on second-and-16 from the Dallas 14-yard line, Romo threw into a crowd of defenders with the pocket collapsing. Linebacker Danny Trevathan made a diving grab of the ball, giving the Broncos possession at the 24 with just under two minutes left.
Ignoring the possibility that Romo stepping on the foot of left tackle Tryon Smith may have reduced the velocity of his throw, Garrett said the turnover boiled down to a poor decision.
“He probably should have come down and thrown the ball to the back,” Garrett said. “…Find DeMarco Murray…Cut the distance in half, make it a manageable third down and then go from there.”
“But those plays happen in split seconds. He saw something he liked. He cut it loose. Their defender made a good play. It was a difference-making play of the game.”
Still, teammates on both side of the ball rallied to his defense.
“In my eyes, Romo’s a fighter,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “No quarterback in the NFL takes as much criticism as he takes. And he still goes out there and acts like he hasn’t heard anything. I know he hears it, but he doesn’t let it get to him. He goes out there and performs the best way he possibly can. And we’re going to forever back him for it.”
Continue reading...