- Messages
- 79,281
- Reaction score
- 45,652
Let's start with an admission that I am not a doctor, have almost no knowledge of how the human back affects athletes performances, and certainly have no clear details about his surgery from the spring of 2013 that I originally considered nothing more than the cosmetic procedure that they told us it was.
However, for the benefit of this exercise, I was hoping I could receive a little latitude to link some pieces together in hopes of explaining some things (maybe, just to myself) about the odd season of Tony Romo.
Statistically, Romo's season was very solid. In fact, when you look at a +21 TD/INT ratio, a completion percentage up in the range of his career best years, and a passer rating that was in the high 90s again, it would be difficult to say that the offense was not playing optimally because the QB play was poor. And, that is not the intent of this column today.
But, before the season disappears too far into our memories, I want to make sure I put something on paper about what my eyes saw when watching Romo play this year that seemed very disconcerting at the time, but now is perhaps justified by his mental and physical approach that are all resulting in his play slipping a bit. Moving forward, you can understand the entire trend causing questions about what level of play we should expect as he now starts his 6-year extension that he signed, ironically enough, last spring within spitting distance of the back procedure.
Romo is a special player because of his athleticism that allows him to make plays that don't appear to exist. If there is a component of QB play that is vital to almost every player who rises above the pack of ordinary at this position to place them in a category where $100 million contracts are possible, it would have to be the improvisational skills. Just this week, we saw it on full display in the playoffs where Colin Kaepernick and Aaron Rodgers put on a show in arctic temperatures that involved several plays on both sides where the play broke down and the QB figured something out on his own. This, while coached to some extent and practiced to teach the receivers and linemen to respond properly to the "2nd part of a play" comes down to a precious balance of instincts, athleticism, wisdom, and yes, the willingness to risk your own well-being to move the chains.
Read the rest: http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2014/01/tony-romos-back-may-explain-everything.html
However, for the benefit of this exercise, I was hoping I could receive a little latitude to link some pieces together in hopes of explaining some things (maybe, just to myself) about the odd season of Tony Romo.
Statistically, Romo's season was very solid. In fact, when you look at a +21 TD/INT ratio, a completion percentage up in the range of his career best years, and a passer rating that was in the high 90s again, it would be difficult to say that the offense was not playing optimally because the QB play was poor. And, that is not the intent of this column today.
But, before the season disappears too far into our memories, I want to make sure I put something on paper about what my eyes saw when watching Romo play this year that seemed very disconcerting at the time, but now is perhaps justified by his mental and physical approach that are all resulting in his play slipping a bit. Moving forward, you can understand the entire trend causing questions about what level of play we should expect as he now starts his 6-year extension that he signed, ironically enough, last spring within spitting distance of the back procedure.
Romo is a special player because of his athleticism that allows him to make plays that don't appear to exist. If there is a component of QB play that is vital to almost every player who rises above the pack of ordinary at this position to place them in a category where $100 million contracts are possible, it would have to be the improvisational skills. Just this week, we saw it on full display in the playoffs where Colin Kaepernick and Aaron Rodgers put on a show in arctic temperatures that involved several plays on both sides where the play broke down and the QB figured something out on his own. This, while coached to some extent and practiced to teach the receivers and linemen to respond properly to the "2nd part of a play" comes down to a precious balance of instincts, athleticism, wisdom, and yes, the willingness to risk your own well-being to move the chains.
Read the rest: http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2014/01/tony-romos-back-may-explain-everything.html
