Team vs. Player

[shockandroll]

I've noticed a common theme in many threads and posts, blaming a player for a single mistake or critiquing something an individual could have done better, without talking about the rest of the players.

Witten getting pushed out by a 188 pound guy. Romo should not have fumbled. Fine. But no talk about Jones getting stuffed on 1st and goal which led to us trying to pass it in on 2nd and 2.

This is the real issue, imo. Not Witten getting pushed out, not Romo fumbling. What put Romo in that position? Inability to gain short yardage, again.

Another example is people upset that a CB gets beat for a jump ball against a 6'5" beast with a great vertical leap. But they ignore the dline failed to get pressure which allowed the QB to make a good throw.

Some are screaming for Romo's head over a pick 6 but do not seem to care about a blocked punt getting returned for a TD.

I completely agree with the criticism on specific plays and am not suggesting that goes away. I'm just curious why so many seem to forgive failed team efforts and only focus on individual mistakes.

Romo throws a pick, that's bad, the entire offense trips over each other and allows it to go for a long return for a TD, that's also bad. Witten gets pushed out at the 3 after a very long reception, bad. Jones getting stuffed on 1st and goal, worse, imo.

A CB getting beat, bad. No pressure from the line, very bad. Yet many only talk about the CB and do not get on the line for failing to do their jobs.

People are upset at Romo for 342 yards, 2 TD's 1 INT and 1 fumble but do not expect more from our defense against Sanchez then allowing 335 2 TD's, 1 INT and 1 fumble. The Jets are supposed to have an average offense and the defense got torched. Only 3 of their 27 points are a result of a Romo turnover and I don't see threads about why our defense allowed 17 points and the special teams allowed 7.

It's a team game, you can cut all the individuals you want but if we don't fix the team problems, you will continue to be disappointed. Something to think about.

 

[LeonDixson]

If you hate Romo, you're going to blame Romo even if it's Choice that fumbled against the Commanders. Or you blame Romo for a playoff loss against the Giants because he throws an int on a desperation play at the end of the game instead of blaming the myriad of other mistakes the team made.

If you hate Newman or think he's not what he once was, your going to blame him instead of the pass rush. BTW, you missed what I think was the key on at least one of the TDs to CJ; the absence of Sensabaugh who has a very good vertical and was assigned to play over the top of CJ before Gerald got hurt.

In short, some people either don't have the ability or they just refuse to look at the big picture. They have to resort to blaming their pet peeve at the moment.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Why are you still stuck on the Jets game? That’s where most of your examples are coming from. I think the block punt, Witten pushed out at the 1, lack of running game, defense had no healthy corners, ect, ect was talked about plenty after week 1.

Defensive line didn’t get pressure on the jump ball fade is also another bad example. It’s a quick pass. You don’t have time to get pressure. I don’t think you are being realistic when placing blame.

 

[Reality]

If you hate Romo, you're going to blame Romo even if it's Choice that fumbled against the Commanders. Or you blame Romo for a playoff loss against the Giants because he throws an int on a desperation play at the end of the game instead of blaming the myriad of other mistakes the team made.

If you hate Newman or think he's not what he once was, your going to blame him instead of the pass rush. BTW, you missed what I think was the key on at least one of the TDs to CJ; the absence of Sensabaugh who has a very good vertical and was assigned to play over the top of CJ before Gerald got hurt.

In short, some people either don't have the ability or they just refuse to look at the big picture. They have to resort to blaming their pet peeve at the moment.

Exactly! Very well said!

#reality

 

[Reality]

Why are you still stuck on the Jets game? That’s where most of your examples are coming from. I think the block punt, Witten pushed out at the 1, lack of running game, defense had no healthy corners, ect, ect was talked about plenty after week 1.

Defensive line didn’t get pressure on the jump ball fade is also another bad example. It’s a quick pass. You don’t have time to get pressure. I don’t think you are being realistic when placing blame.

I cannot speak for everyone but I am glad to read a thread missing the "L-word" (That would be Lions for the impaired or warped)

#reality

 

[LeonDixson]

I cannot speak for everyone but I am glad to read a thread missing the "L-word" (That would be Lions for the impaired or warped)

#reality

DOH!! You just had to say it, didn't you?

 

[shockandroll]

Why are you still stuck on the Jets game? That’s where most of your examples are coming from. I think the block punt, Witten pushed out at the 1, lack of running game, defense had no healthy corners, ect, ect was talked about plenty after week 1.

Defensive line didn’t get pressure on the jump ball fade is also another bad example. It’s a quick pass. You don’t have time to get pressure. I don’t think you are being realistic when placing blame.

Just using that game as an example since there are other examples of it in other threads right now. I'll use the Lions game...

I still see people ticked that Romo choked but I don't see many who are upset at Robinson for blowing his route. I don't see threads talking about how the defense melted down in the second half even though they gave up 10 second half points that were not the result of turnovers. They also gave up a 60 yard TD drive after the pick to Witten.

If they would have held even one of those TD drives to a FG, the game is tied. If they get a stop, we win.

I certainly agree about Romo's mistakes being a big deal but that's easy to look at. Since one was a result of a new WR messing up his route and another was due to pressure and Romo throwing off his back leg, I believe the issue will be fixed as the line improves and Romo, Austin and Dez get healthy. Not to mention as Robinson learns the offense better.

I'm very concerned about the defense giving up points though, that is not as easy to fix. I think they will get better, but we can't beat teams like the Pats without great play from our running game, defense and special teams. I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect Romo to play perfect football against great teams.

Pick any game you want, I'm talking about people placing blame on specific players or plays and ignoring everything else. There is a thread right now talking about Romo's fumble being more costly than the blocked punt that went for a TD. It mentioned nothing about the oline breaking down and the receivers not getting open, or the fact that we were even trying to throw instead of running it in.

I think a few people are missing the big picture when getting worked up about a bad play. Yes it was bad, but there are many things that went into it beyond just one player in most cases.

 

[Eskimo]

I think Romo gets the blame because we are so used to him carrying the whole team that we get upset when he fails to make the play to win us the game. Many of the other QBs on top teams have had a more well-rounded team than we have had.

What I mean is Romo has had to carry us despite usually only playing with one good WR, a poor pass blocking OL, a smoke-and-mirrors running game that he has to create with his fakes and a defense that will choke in game's biggest moments forcing him to build a big lead by the 4th quarter or lead a last minute game winning drive (which the defense might ultimately give away anyway).

No other top QB has had to routinely work under such adverse conditions. They usually have had a group of good WRs, or a good pass blocking OL, or a good running game or a good defense. Those who don't have those things will usually just lose games because they play on bad teams.

Garrett needs to reinforce to Romo that this is a team game and he has to let the game come to him and play as a team. He is no longer expected to win every game for us. He has to trust in his defense and it is okay to throw the ball into the ground at his RB's feet when there is nothing there.

 

[LeonDixson]

I think Romo gets the blame because we are so used to him carrying the whole team that we get upset when he fails to make the play to win us the game. Many of the other QBs on top teams have had a more well-rounded team than we have had.

What I mean is Romo has had to carry us despite usually only playing with one good WR, a poor pass blocking OL, a smoke-and-mirrors running game that he has to create with his fakes and a defense that will choke in game's biggest moments forcing him to build a big lead by the 4th quarter or lead a last minute game winning drive (which the defense might ultimately give away anyway).

No other top QB has had to routinely work under such adverse conditions. They usually have had a group of good WRs, or a good pass blocking OL, or a good running game or a good defense. Those who don't have those things will usually just lose games because they play on bad teams.

Garrett needs to reinforce to Romo that this is a team game and he has to let the game come to him and play as a team. He is no longer expected to win every game for us. He has to trust in his defense and it is okay to throw the ball into the ground at his RB's feet when there is nothing there.

BRAVO!! BRAVO!! BRAVO!! I agree with you whole heartedly. I know some disagree and they are entitled to their opinion. But I, for one, agree completely.

 

[28 Joker]

Mike Lombardi stated that the Cowboys were deficient in talent and were "only winning games due to Tony Romo".

However, that isn't and hasn't been the case at all. The Cowboys have very good talent and some very good young talent on this team. Yet, Dallas is directly losing games, because of Romo's reckless, poor decision making and his lack of a fundamental understanding of game management.

Romo's turn-overs have really hurt this team in the past, and they continue to hold this team hostage. It's not just the points he gives the other teams; it's the points he takes off Dallas' side of the scoreboard. This is disturbing for a quarterback who has been in the league since 2003. It's a shame that Romo would rather gamble the other 52 players' hard work away by continuing to throw aces, when the aces and high cards need to be stuffed into his back pocket.

This team doesn't need a reckless, gambling, ace throwing fool. This team is talented. This team needs a field general who understands how to drop the cards and when to throw the aces and high cards and when to hold the cards close to your vest.

They need Troy Aikman's focused leadership, unselfish nature, cool, calm, strong demeanor, strong confidence, toughness, intelligence, and rocket arm. However, Matt Hassleback could get the job done with the talent on this team, imo. Romo just has to be that hero and "go for it". In the movies, the "hero" usually dies first. So far this year, the Cowboys have croaked twice due to his turn-overs. The turn-over differential is very critical to winning in the NFL and in football. The quarterback touches the football on every play, and they get big money for a reason. They can't be turn-over machines. They are supposed to protect the football at costs.

Romo is getting paid to win the S.F. and Washington games or pull them out. Without the running back, the offensive line, the kicker, and the defense, Romo doesn't have the opportunity to win the Washington game for example. Furthermore, Romo is getting paid not to flat out blow games that the team has command of or is winning by 24 points (in the second half).

The excuses for this erratic player are getting old. It's time to call a spade a spade. I could list about 9 or 10 big time games where Romo's team was in a position to win the game, but Romo played poorly or made some very bad, untimely mistakes which ultimately cost his team the games. Not making the playoffs in 2008 can be traced directly back to Romo's erratic, poor December play.

If Romo is gong to keep turning the football over, perhaps, he should go line up for the PAT or FG instead of the defense having to go out there.

 

[Ring Leader]

Mike Lombardi stated that the Cowboys were deficient in talent and were "only winning games due to Tony Romo".

However, that isn't and hasn't been the case at all. The Cowboys have very good talent and some very good young talent on this team. Yet, Dallas is directly losing games, because of Romo's reckless, poor decision making and his lack of a fundamental understanding of game management.

Tale of two extremists.

 

[Eskimo]

Mike Lombardi stated that the Cowboys were deficient in talent and were "only winning games due to Tony Romo".

However, that isn't and hasn't been the case at all. The Cowboys have very good talent and some very good young talent on this team. Yet, Dallas is directly losing games, because of Romo's reckless, poor decision making and his lack of a fundamental understanding of game management.

Romo's turn-overs have really hurt this team in the past, and they continue to hold this team hostage. It's not just the points he gives the other teams; it's the points he takes off Dallas' side of the scoreboard. This is disturbing for a quarterback who has been in the league since 2003. It's a shame that Romo would rather gamble the other 52 players' hard work away by continuing to throw aces, when the aces and high cards need to be stuffed into his back pocket.

This team doesn't need a reckless, gambling, ace throwing fool. This team is talented. This team needs a field general who understands how to drop the cards and when to throw the aces and high cards and when to hold the cards close to your vest.

They need Troy Aikman's focused leadership, unselfish nature, cool, calm, strong demeanor, strong confidence, toughness, intelligence, and rocket arm. However, Matt Hassleback could get the job done with the talent on this team, imo. Romo just has to be that hero and "go for it". In the movies, the "hero" usually dies first. So far this year, the Cowboys have croaked twice due to his turn-overs. The turn-over differential is very critical to winning in the NFL and in football. The quarterback touches the football on every play, and they get big money for a reason. They can't be turn-over machines. They are supposed to protect the football at costs.

Romo is getting paid to win the S.F. and Washington games or pull them out. Without the running back, the offensive line, the kicker, and the defense, Romo doesn't have the opportunity to win the Washington game for example. Furthermore, Romo is getting paid not to flat out blow games that the team has command of or is winning by 24 points (in the second half).

The excuses for this erratic player are getting old. It's time to call a spade a spade. I could list about 9 or 10 big time games where Romo's team was in a position to win the game, but Romo played poorly or made some very bad, untimely mistakes which ultimately cost his team the games. Not making the playoffs in 2008 can be traced directly back to Romo's erratic, poor December play.

If Romo is gong to keep turning the football over, perhaps, he should go line up for the PAT or FG instead of the defense having to go out there.

I think you need to go back and look at the end of 2008 and see if Romo was really the problem back then.

You could make the case that he cost us the Pittsburgh game but there is no way you can argue that he cost us the game against Baltimore or Philadelphia. The defense gave up back-to-back long TD runs in the 4th quarter after Romo got us back into that game and we gave up 44 points against Philadelphia. If Romo was really the problem in 2008 then why did we go 1-2 in his absence?

You can argue that Romo's turnovers cost us against the Jets but I could also argue that his pass protection was very poor that game, Dez was injured and a non-factor after the first series of the game, we could not run the ball at all and our OL/RB failed to punch the ball in from the 1-yard line after a brilliant throw from Romo put us there in the first place. The punt block for a TD played a much bigger role in the loss than Romo's late INT which would have never happened without the blocked punt anyway. I would say most of the best QB's in the game would not have had us in position to win that game.

In the Detroit game his 3 INTs were the major factor that caused us to lose our lead but his play was the major reason we had that lead in the first place. I could also argue that the two pick-6s are a definite anomaly with one of them the fault of the WR. I could also argue that if the defense had held them after the 3rd INT to a FG, Romo probably leads us down the field for a FGA to win the game.

You can try to put the blame on him but he has been playing under extremely adverse conditions. I think outside of the untimely INTs he has been playing the best I have ever seen him play. I am extremely excited to see what he does with a healthy Dez and Miles. Outside of his first season, he has never had the opportunity to play with two good starting WRs. Heck, he even made RW11 look like a decent player early last year before he broke his collarbone - the same player that is on the bench of the offensive powerhouse known as the Chicago Bears who play in a very WR friendly offense.

We cannot be playoff contenders without a healthy Romo. What Kitna did last year was pure smoke and mirrors on offense combined with a defense that forced a ridiculous amount of turnovers in our wins and other assorted big plays (McCann's punt return for a TD against the Lions, Sean Lee's two INT's against Manning, McCann's pick 6 against the Giants, Felix's long sreen TD catch against the Giants, Miles Austin TD on the reverse against the Saints, Kitna's bootleg TD, etc.) We get a chance every Sunday to see an extremely talented and probably most entertaining QB in the last ten years play football and we should all be thankful for that.

 

[shockandroll]

BRAVO!! BRAVO!! BRAVO!! I agree with you whole heartedly. I know some disagree and they are entitled to their opinion. But I, for one, agree completely.

I do too, that was a good post.

 

[shockandroll]

I think you need to go back and look at the end of 2008 and see if Romo was really the problem back then.

You could make the case that he cost us the Pittsburgh game but there is no way you can argue that he cost us the game against Baltimore or Philadelphia. quote]

I don't think you can even argue about the Steelers game. He was not great but it was against a great Steelers D in terrible weather. He gave us a 10 point lead going into the 4th quarter and the defense gave up a TD in the 4th, the special teams blew coverage that set up a FG in the 4th, 10 point lead gone. Romo failed to pull out a comeback win, but the defense and st's lost the lead.

That game is a perfect example of the idiotic expectations people put on Romo. They ignore what the defense and special teams did in the 4th and just look at the pick.

The Steelers D went out and forced a turnover, ours gave up a TD, that's been one of the biggest problems. We had a 10 point lead and st's and the D could not hang on to it. Not many teams would have been able to succeed against the Steelers defense in that situation, imo.

 

[Shinywalrus]

We are going to be psychologically biased toward overweighting the impact of individual plays at "pivotal" moments and undervaluing the plays that led to that moment. That's why you see the pseudo-scientific hand wringing about Witten and how his inertia should have carried him forward and the Chicken Littling about Romo.

For my part, I think the team is where it is so far this season for a few simple reasons, some of which are individual issues and some of which aren't:

1.) The "Switch" in offensive line has created an athletic, terrific pass blocking line that couldn't run block their collective way out of a wet paper bag. We can't run straight ahead, and it's the guys in the middle (and our lack of a true fullback) that are to blame.

2.) Injuries have decimated our secondary (until very recently).

3.) Our offensive playcalling has (partially because of point 1 above) at times shown poor situational awareness and a fair amount of unnecessary cuteness.

4.) Our safeties and inside linebackers without "50" on their jersey are average or below average and we've paid for it with poor defense against 3rd down conversions.

5.) As much as some won't like to admit it, interception returns for TDs (the TD part, not the interception!) are largely luck. We got bit twice in one game - very tough to overcome.

We're going to struggle with a couple of these all season - they are real personnel issues - but some of these are one-offs. The focus on individual plays like the Witten pushout or complaints that our rampaging defensive line didn't happen to make a stop in a particular drive after having done so the rest of the game...are misleading and a waste of time.

If we stay moderately healthy and can keep the coin flip plays pretty even, no reason this isn't a playoff team.

 

[Eskimo]

We are going to be psychologically biased toward overweighting the impact of individual plays at "pivotal" moments and undervaluing the plays that led to that moment. That's why you see the pseudo-scientific hand wringing about Witten and how his inertia should have carried him forward and the Chicken Littling about Romo.

For my part, I think the team is where it is so far this season for a few simple reasons, some of which are individual issues and some of which aren't:

1.) The "Switch" in offensive line has created an athletic, terrific pass blocking line that couldn't run block their collective way out of a wet paper bag. We can't run straight ahead, and it's the guys in the middle (and our lack of a true fullback) that are to blame.

2.) Injuries have decimated our secondary (until very recently).

3.) Our offensive playcalling has (partially because of point 1 above) at times shown poor situational awareness and a fair amount of unnecessary cuteness.

4.) Our safeties and inside linebackers without "50" on their jersey are average or below average and we've paid for it with poor defense against 3rd down conversions.

5.) As much as some won't like to admit it, interception returns for TDs (the TD part, not the interception!) are largely luck. We got bit twice in one game - very tough to overcome.

We're going to struggle with a couple of these all season - they are real personnel issues - but some of these are one-offs. The focus on individual plays like the Witten pushout or complaints that our rampaging defensive line didn't happen to make a stop in a particular drive after having done so the rest of the game...are misleading and a waste of time.

If we stay moderately healthy and can keep the coin flip plays pretty even, no reason this isn't a playoff team.

I agree 100% with everything in this post.

We've got so many people jumping off the bridge who haven't noticed that we just won the lottery. We have a good team this year - much, much better than I expected. This is the best top to bottom football team we've had since the 90s. We've just had so many changes in personnel, coaches/scheme, injuries, fluke losses and amazing comebacks to notice.

 

[BIGDen]

If you hate Romo, you're going to blame Romo even if it's Choice that fumbled against the Commanders. Or you blame Romo for a playoff loss against the Giants because he throws an int on a desperation play at the end of the game instead of blaming the myriad of other mistakes the team made.

If you hate Newman or think he's not what he once was, your going to blame him instead of the pass rush. BTW, you missed what I think was the key on at least one of the TDs to CJ; the absence of Sensabaugh who has a very good vertical and was assigned to play over the top of CJ before Gerald got hurt.

In short, some people either don't have the ability or they just refuse to look at the big picture. They have to resort to blaming their pet peeve at the moment.

Really well said! Excellent post!

 

[shockandroll]

We are going to be psychologically biased toward overweighting the impact of individual plays at "pivotal" moments and undervaluing the plays that led to that moment. That's why you see the pseudo-scientific hand wringing about Witten and how his inertia should have carried him forward and the Chicken Littling about Romo.

For my part, I think the team is where it is so far this season for a few simple reasons, some of which are individual issues and some of which aren't:

1.) The "Switch" in offensive line has created an athletic, terrific pass blocking line that couldn't run block their collective way out of a wet paper bag. We can't run straight ahead, and it's the guys in the middle (and our lack of a true fullback) that are to blame.

2.) Injuries have decimated our secondary (until very recently).

3.) Our offensive playcalling has (partially because of point 1 above) at times shown poor situational awareness and a fair amount of unnecessary cuteness.

4.) Our safeties and inside linebackers without "50" on their jersey are average or below average and we've paid for it with poor defense against 3rd down conversions.

5.) As much as some won't like to admit it, interception returns for TDs (the TD part, not the interception!) are largely luck. We got bit twice in one game - very tough to overcome.

We're going to struggle with a couple of these all season - they are real personnel issues - but some of these are one-offs. The focus on individual plays like the Witten pushout or complaints that our rampaging defensive line didn't happen to make a stop in a particular drive after having done so the rest of the game...are misleading and a waste of time.

If we stay moderately healthy and can keep the coin flip plays pretty even, no reason this isn't a playoff team.

I pretty much agree other then I think Sensy and Elam are playing well and good fits in this defense. Depth behind them is lacking.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I cannot speak for everyone but I am glad to read a thread missing the "L-word" (That would be Lions for the impaired or warped)

#reality

Lesbians?????????????