Sold on Romo?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I think Romo is at a crossroads in his development.... he will either make smarter decisions and take care of the ball or he will take chances with the ball(throwing and not securing it)

He got away with alot last year when things were going good early on... he didnt get away with as much as the year wound down

with that said... I am hopeful... I feel good about him

Romo is coming in early so he can do the same things he did last season. He is expecting Rivera do not allow him to set up and he can only throw on the run. Donovan McNabb will allow any wideout that he sees to become an all pro. Plus i heard TO got an uzi. just say yes so you can be free

 

[Billy Bullocks]

I loved his fire and charisma. Im a little worried with how much of the BS he tried last year that went his way, that wont always happen. But in general, he got hte ball out quick, hit the open man, and played pretty damn well in most pressure situations.

You can't put any losses on him. And you can definately say he played a pretty big part in alot of the wins.


I think 25 or so teams in the league would probably be more than happy to have Tony Romo.

 

[ljs44]

I have a question for you.

In 1989 Troy Aikman began his career with the Dallas Cowboys. Though he showed definite promise that year, for many people the jury was still out. In fact, for some people, the jury was out until 1992.

I can honestly say that from the first time I saw the guy play I was sold that he was the real deal and worthy of the 1st overall pick in the draft. I had no way to envision 3 SB championships, but I knew he was a major league QB.

My question is this. Going into the 2007 season, how many people here are absolutely sold that Tony Romo is the real deal? Do you have that completely confident feel that your hope in the guy is going to be rewarded?

I will be the first to go in this discussion and say that I am NOT sold that he is. Any Cowboys fan obviously HOPES that he is, and I am in that category. But I can't honestly say that I have the same level of confidence that he will turn out that I had with Aikman early on.

How about you?

I would agree about Troy.

And for some reason, I'm sold on Romo. I have never really had this feeling about a player for Dallas before. I just think he's the guy. I think he throws for 30 tds this year. I think he's the answer for 10 years. I might be drinking the cool-aid, but I just have this feeling in my gut.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Romo has this year to prove if he's the real deal or a fluke. If he's the man great, if not then Jerry will have to open the wallet and go after a top flight QB.

 

[cowboyed]

I truly hope so Dooms. I am so tired of the rotating door at the QB position.

A member at the Ranch Forum, choppinbrocolli, submitted this post based on his ear witness account...He is a respected poster over there and an attorney.

I was listening to Gil Brandt on Sirius NFL Channel this morning (yesterday or Monday) and he had Jason Garrett's dad on for an interview. What an interesting interview this guy gave. Gil Brandt started out by telling Garrett that when he was at the Combine, he met with Tony Romo and Jason Witten and they were all excited talking about the "passing tree" (apparently the passing tree is something Mr. Garrett invented years and years ago, and now the Cowboys are basing their pass offense on it). He said they were very excited about the possibilities it brought to the passing game (not sure what that means, but anytime you've got your guys reinvigorated with a new scheme, it can't be bad). That brought on several minutes of Mr. Garrett just gushing over Tony Romo. He said he got the chance to work with Romo when he was at Eastern Illinois, as well as a little bit since he became a Cowboy. He said that Romo is an incredible athlete and is a great basketball player as well as a football player. He also said that he was amazed at how easily Romo picked up the 3-, 5-, and 7-step drops after being a QB who operated mainly out of the shotgun in college. Listening to the way he just gushed over Romo confirmed to me that people who know things about QBs know that Romo is going to be a good one.

Garrett also talked a lot about coaching with Tom Landry. He said "Tom Landry invented football" and that he was probably the greatest football coach to ever live (probably meaning from an X's and O's standpoint, rather than just overall greatness, which is always open to debate). There was also a reference to Jerry Jones seeing that kind of knowledge in Jason Garrett, but I didn't fully catch the comment. It sounded impressive, though (and would explain why Jerry rushed to hire Jason as quickly as he did--there's a great deal of respect there).

I didn't get to hear the entire interview, but what I heard was very interesting. If Jason brings half as much enthusiasm and knowledge to our coaching staff as his dad has, this team is going to go a long way. I always enjoy hearing two old coaches, particularly two old Cowboys (Garrett and Brandt), talk shop.

 

[philo beddoe]

I really like Tony Romo a lot. His sense of humor, the way he carries himself, the way he began with a bang when the job was his. I have high hopes, but I am not yet sold he is our long term answer at QB.

Maybe it's just me, but I think it is dangerous to ever be comfortable at any position unless you have the absolute best guy in the NFL at that spot.

I saw Tony live 2 years ago in pre season and his arm did not impress me at all. I've taken a lot of heat for that opinion. I love his accuracy. I think he's got some natural leadership skils. Is that enough? I'm not ready to say that yet.

I think we need to draft a QB early as insurance. My preference is 3rd round, no later than 4th.

I completely agree about drafting a QB in the 3rd or 4th.

 

[philo beddoe]

How much rope will Romo have this year? How many lacklustre games would it take before Johnson steps in as the starter? I guess I think Romo will see the year through at starter and play well with the occasional bad stretch.

If Johnson takes over as starter........SEASON OVER**********

 

[STSINAZ]

i think wade will reel him in the way elway was...if he turns into a gunslinger he could be in trouble

 

[Waffle]

I have a question for you.

In 1989 Troy Aikman began his career with the Dallas Cowboys. Though he showed definite promise that year, for many people the jury was still out. In fact, for some people, the jury was out until 1992.

I can honestly say that from the first time I saw the guy play I was sold that he was the real deal and worthy of the 1st overall pick in the draft. I had no way to envision 3 SB championships, but I knew he was a major league QB.

My question is this. Going into the 2007 season, how many people here are absolutely sold that Tony Romo is the real deal? Do you have that completely confident feel that your hope in the guy is going to be rewarded?

I will be the first to go in this discussion and say that I am NOT sold that he is. Any Cowboys fan obviously HOPES that he is, and I am in that category. But I can't honestly say that I have the same level of confidence that he will turn out that I had with Aikman early on.

How about you?

You pose a great subject for debate here. However...with all due respect RCaldw...how on earth can YOU not be sold on Romo??? I'm not saying that anyone who doesn't think Romo is the real deal is wrong. But I know darn well based on some of our previous discussions that you were virtually sold on Drew Henson(when he was a third stringer), felt like all he needed was the chance, and that the mean ol' coach was just too stubborn to play him. So how can you now you say you aren't sold on Romo as a Pro Bowler??? After TEN regular season games?

Romo got the chance and far exceeded anything some of you ever predicted for the guy.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Nope, but he shows a lot of promise. More than the Steelers Crapfilledburger. I watched several of Ben's games, and they were all based off of the running game. He showed some ability, but not the mindset to handle the pressure. They running game took the pressure of of him to perform. For Romo to succeed, he has to mature quite a bit. He has the talent to be good, how good will depend on how he matures. I don't think he will ever be considered in a class with Farve, Marino, Aikman, Montana, or Unitas. He could be in the rung just below them and a several time champion. (of course you win several championships, and you all the sudden become an all-time great even though it's a team game)

 

[rcaldw]

You pose a great subject for debate here. However...with all due respect RCaldw...how on earth can YOU not be sold on Romo??? I'm not saying that anyone who doesn't think Romo is the real deal is wrong. But I know darn well based on some of our previous discussions that you were virtually sold on Drew Henson(when he was a third stringer), felt like all he needed was the chance, and that the mean ol' coach was just too stubborn to play him. So how can you now you say you aren't sold on Romo as a Pro Bowler??? After TEN regular season games?

Romo got the chance and far exceeded anything some of you ever predicted for the guy.

To say I was "sold" on Drew Henson is a bit much. To say that I felt he needed a chance and that the coach was stubborn is a completely accurate take on how I felt. And I'll tell you what, I STILL feel that way about the Henson days around Dallas. AND, I'm not ashamed of that. No one, no matter how much chest beating they do will ever convince me that Bill Parcells handled Drew Henson the right way. So, we will just agree to disagree on that one.

What that has to do with Tony Romo I have no idea, except I guess you were on board with Romo the entire time and want to gloat about that a bit? If that is the case then "kudos", you saw it coming, I didn't.

Now, back to your point, and I have an answer for you.

When I look at a young QB I'm looking more at ABILITIES than PERFORMANCE. Especially at the beginning. Why? Because initial performance, or performance over a short stretch, can be very deceiving and ultimatley disappointing.

With Aikman you had the ups and downs of 1989-90, but you could clearly see the raw abilities. Leadership, toughness, huge arm, amazing accuracy, the things that would eventually turn into wins for our team.

The "Pro Bowl" means nothing to me, in terms of Romo. It says he played well enough to outdo other NFC QB's who could have been given the same honor. That is certainly nice, but the guy isn't a rookie, and pro bowl appearances don't mean anything in terms of the ultimate team goals. (Other than you are playing well enough to give your team a chance)

What I saw was Romo get off to a very hot start, and struggle coming down the stretch. Maybe that is not how you saw it, but that is how I saw it. To get beat by the Detroit Lions, at home, with home field advantage for a playoff game on the line, is insane. Just plain insane.

What I see positive in Romo is that his teammates seem to love him. He makes quick decisions. He has a quick release. He never gives up.

What I see that concerns me, is that I don't think he has a really big arm, I think he tries to squeeze the ball into places too often where you NEED a really big arm (and eventually it will catch up to him).

So, if you want to know why I'm not "SOLD" on him, that's why. The losing streak at the end of last year, plus what I consider to be some questionable things about his "raw" abilities.

Having said that, I've already said that I'm hopeful, and I truly am. Unlike you, I don't live or die with whether "I was right". All I want is for our Dallas Cowboys to be consistently good again, and that will require a franchise QB. I'm hoping Romo is that guy.

 

[GlitzCowboy]

It's written in the "stars". Yep. Forget pedigree and all that crud, he's got "it" and I see it as plainly as I saw it with Aikman.

And when this is all said 'n done, I truly believe we'll have a couple more lombardi's sitting in our display case, not to mention possibly even a guy uttered in the same breath as LT as one of Parcell's true shining accomplishments over his career.

 

[starfrombirth]

Huh?

He hit plenty of wide open receivers in stride. Parcells said he got away with a few he probably shouldnt' have thrown (which because of Parcells overall conservative nature can be taken with a grain of salt), and he got careless with the ball sometimes (when scrambling in and out of the pocket), but never said he made "too many bad decisions" as something that was generally applicable.

He hit plenty but he MISSED many that he SHOULD have hit. An elite qb doesn't miss an open receiver. And I think if you go back and look at those plays where he hit the open receiver, you will see that many times the receiver had to adjust to the throw. Good luck! I'm not saying that he is bad, just not an elite qb. Still he is better than what we've had.

p.s. I even remember him bouncing some to wide open receivers.

 

[LD Fan]

...... For Romo to succeed, he has to mature quite a bit. He has the talent to be good, how good will depend on how he matures.

Exactly my take.

I'm very optimistic at this point though. Ask me this question in 12 months and I'll give you the right answer.

 

[Doomsday101]

He hit plenty but he MISSED many that he SHOULD have hit. An elite qb doesn't miss an open receiver. And I think if you go back and look at those plays where he hit the open receiver, you will see that many times the receiver had to adjust to the throw. Good luck! I'm not saying that he is bad, just not an elite qb. Still he is better than what we've had.

p.s. I even remember him bouncing some to wide open receivers.

Your right Payton Manning never bounced a ball in or missed a WR. Romo was hitting 65.3 precent of his passes so he was not bouncing balls any more than any other QB, he also had the highest yards per attempt so it was not as if he was just throwing short passes to be at 65%.

 

[aikemirv]

He hit plenty but he MISSED many that he SHOULD have hit. An elite qb doesn't miss an open receiver. And I think if you go back and look at those plays where he hit the open receiver, you will see that many times the receiver had to adjust to the throw. Good luck! I'm not saying that he is bad, just not an elite qb. Still he is better than what we've had.

p.s. I even remember him bouncing some to wide open receivers.

I'm sorry, but go tell that to his 65% completion percentage and then go find me a Cowboys QB who has ever done that for a year and let me know how many there are, because complaining about his accuracy is ridiculous!

Just a little research

Aikman twice in his career did it but never had over an 8ypa average.

Staubach and White - nope!

 

[Doomsday101]

I'm sorry, but go tell that to his 65% completion percentage and then go find me a Cowboys QB who has ever done that for a year and let me know how many there are, because complaining about his accuracy is ridiculous!

I agree. Romo had the 2nd highest completion rate last season and the highest Yards per attempt in the NFL. If Romo is not accurate then the rest of the league really sucks.

 

[Waffle]

To say I was "sold" on Drew Henson is a bit much. To say that I felt he needed a chance and that the coach was stubborn is a completely accurate take on how I felt. And I'll tell you what, I STILL feel that way about the Henson days around Dallas. AND, I'm not ashamed of that. No one, no matter how much chest beating they do will ever convince me that Bill Parcells handled Drew Henson the right way. So, we will just agree to disagree on that one.

What that has to do with Tony Romo I have no idea, except I guess you were on board with Romo the entire time and want to gloat about that a bit? If that is the case then "kudos", you saw it coming, I didn't.

Now, back to your point, and I have an answer for you.

When I look at a young QB I'm looking more at ABILITIES than PERFORMANCE. Especially at the beginning. Why? Because initial performance, or performance over a short stretch, can be very deceiving and ultimatley disappointing.

With Aikman you had the ups and downs of 1989-90, but you could clearly see the raw abilities. Leadership, toughness, huge arm, amazing accuracy, the things that would eventually turn into wins for our team.

The "Pro Bowl" means nothing to me, in terms of Romo. It says he played well enough to outdo other NFC QB's who could have been given the same honor. That is certainly nice, but the guy isn't a rookie, and pro bowl appearances don't mean anything in terms of the ultimate team goals. (Other than you are playing well enough to give your team a chance)

What I saw was Romo get off to a very hot start, and struggle coming down the stretch. Maybe that is not how you saw it, but that is how I saw it. To get beat by the Detroit Lions, at home, with home field advantage for a playoff game on the line, is insane. Just plain insane.

What I see positive in Romo is that his teammates seem to love him. He makes quick decisions. He has a quick release. He never gives up.

What I see that concerns me, is that I don't think he has a really big arm, I think he tries to squeeze the ball into places too often where you NEED a really big arm (and eventually it will catch up to him).

So, if you want to know why I'm not "SOLD" on him, that's why. The losing streak at the end of last year, plus what I consider to be some questionable things about his "raw" abilities.

Having said that, I've already said that I'm hopeful, and I truly am. Unlike you, I don't live or die with whether "I was right". (Another Undeserved Cheap Shot!!! )All I want is for our Dallas Cowboys to be consistently good again, and that will require a franchise QB. I'm hoping Romo is that guy.

My post earlier had nothing to do with MY opinion about Romo or to thump any chest to proclaim that "I was right" about anything. It was about YOU and your current opinion about Romo versus your opinion about Henson. Based on the very constructive discussions I thought we have had in the past, for you to say that "chest thumping" was my motivation was just an undeserved cheap shot.

Anyway...did you see how awful our defense played toward the end of last season? To use the losing streak as an indictment on Romo is ridiculous. Sure, he had his faults and made some mistakes too, but he still completed 60% of his passes and averaged 250 yards a game during the month of December. Did Aikman have that good a statline during any stretch in the '89 season? Without researching the matter, I'll go out on a limb and say no. Yet you still believed Aikman was the guy? Hmmm.

Well, I think when someone is the overall #1 pick in the draft, most would tend to believe in the guy. But it doesn't always turn out that way. Just ask Tim Couch or David Carr. And this is what it's really all about, isn't it? You're not sold on Romo because of "pedigree." It's a direct result of that now infamous scouting report that said Henson would "have been a #1 pick" had he chose football over baseball and because he played at a major university...and Romo went (GASP!!!) undrafted!!! Not only that, he played for a Division II school!

No matter what you say now, we all know you were (still are) totally sold on Henson. You thought Henson only needed the opportunity. You weren't alone either my friend. And he only played in one and a half real games. That's fine. It's your opinion. Romo's played in 10, took his team to the playoffs in spite of a defense that collapsed late, made a Pro Bowl, and you're still not sold. That's cool. Whatever.

 

[aikemirv]

I agree. Romo had the 2nd highest completion rate last season and the highest Yards per attempt in the NFL. If Romo is not accurate then the rest of the league really sucks.

I think it just goes back to the problem that a lot of fans are overly critical of our own players because a lot see every play.

Romo threw high early in ball games, but once he settle down he was exceptionally accurate.

 

[SultanOfSix]

He hit plenty but he MISSED many that he SHOULD have hit. An elite qb doesn't miss an open receiver. And I think if you go back and look at those plays where he hit the open receiver, you will see that many times the receiver had to adjust to the throw. Good luck! I'm not saying that he is bad, just not an elite qb. Still he is better than what we've had.

p.s. I even remember him bouncing some to wide open receivers.

As a few have already shown just how silly your argument is, I would like to continue it, and ask that of the 35% that he missed, how many should he have hit. You have described them as "many". Let's low-ball the value for this, and assume many is 30% of what he missed. So, 0.3 of 35% is 10.5%, which would make his completion percentage over 75% for the ten games he played in.

I don't think there are many people out there who would not want a QB who completes 75% of his passes.