The Tony Romo choker myth

[cowboyuptx]

Last I checked, Romo still has the highest 4th quarter QB Rating since 2000...
Romo also has the 2nd most 4th quarter comebacks over the past 2 seasons...

Has he been quite as good as these numbers would suggest? Probably not... But he certainly doesn't deserve one-third of the crap he gets about not being clutch....

And currently, Romo is 2nd in QB Rating, only Manning has thrown more TD's, only Manning has thrown less INT's... Tony is having a really good season so far, and in the long run, this could actually help make it an even better season for him/us...

PS - some credit has to go to the defender for making a clutch play of his own...

http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***...ually-at-his-best-in-the-fourth-quarter.html/

 

[Sarge]

Rodgers is clearly a better QB, however, I understand his point that had Rodgers not won that Superbowl, his critics would be hounding him absolute lack of success in close games and 4th quarter comebacks.

....but he HAS won a Super Bowl and did so with a horrendous OL. He carries that team on his shoulders, as did Manning with the Colts. Look what the Colts did the first season without him. You can't discount success - that is what MATTERS.

 

[popp1234]

....but he HAS won a Super Bowl and did so with a horrendous OL. He carries that team on his shoulders, as did Manning with the Colts. Look what the Colts did the first season without him. You can't discount success - that is what MATTERS.

Amen!

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

This was a game the sums up Romo's carer perfectly, recordbreaking, amazingly good but when you need him the most he chucks one in the triple coverage and loses the game. It's not a myth that it cost us the game last night

Exactly. Throw out all the "he kept us in the game" crap. Bottom line is that in TR's career with Dallas, we have seen scenes similar to this play out time and time again. This was not a fluke game. Moral victories in the NFL are for losers.

Did the D stink? Yes it did.
Did TR have a career statistical game? Yes he did.
Did TR have a realistic chance to take the team down the field to win the game? Yes he did
Did TR lead his team to victory? No he did not.

There is only one stat that will ever mean anything in the NFL and that is wins. 500 yards passing and 5 TD's mean absolutely nothing when your team loses.

 

[popp1234]

Exactly. Throw out all the "he kept us in the game" crap. Bottom line is that in TR's career with Dallas, we have seen scenes similar to this play out time and time again. This was not a fluke game. Moral victories in the NFL are for losers.

Did the D stink? Yes it did.
Did TR have a career statistical game? Yes he did.
Did TR have a realistic chance to take the team down the field to win the game? Yes he did
Did TR lead his team to victory? No he did not.

There is only one stat that will ever mean anything in the NFL and that is wins. 500 yards passing and 5 TD's mean absolutely nothing when your team loses.

You know what? I do not ask my star QB to be perfect. However, I do ask him to not make boneheaded decisions and turn the ball over to the opposition in crucial moments in the game. If Romo threw three horrible passes that resulted in a 3-and-out, and Denver went down the field and scored the winning field goal, I would give him all kinds of props for the game he played. That did not happen....He.Gave.The.Ball.To.The. Other.Team..when ball security mattered most......again! Make good decisions in crunch time, is that so damn hard?

 

[kramskoi]

it won't go away til he wins a Super Bowl...look at Aaron Rodgers and the Packers they are absolutely terrible in close games...i think last time i check they were like 4-12 with games decided by 4 points or less but that SB makes him untouchable to that unclutch criticism...same with Manning he blew it last year against the Ravens untouchable when you have the ring...just remember how bad it was pre-ring for Manning

Yep...he spent about 8 years with the monkey on his back. With a ring its either he tried to do too much or he doesn't have it anymore, an opinion which surely crossed the lips of Broncos fans last year after the Ravens game. He probably heard it in Indianapolis after the choke against the Saints a few years ago in the Superbowl.

 

[kramskoi]

You know what? I do not ask my star QB to be perfect. However, I do ask him to not make boneheaded decisions and turn the ball over to the opposition in crucial moments in the game. If Romo threw three horrible passes that resulted in a 3-and-out, and Denver went down the field and scored the winning field goal, I would give him all kinds of props for the game he played. That did not happen....He.Gave.The.Ball.To.The Other.Team....again! Make good decisions in crunch time, is that so damn hard?

Defense make stops in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? Special teams don't hold on run backs. Is that so hard in crunch time? Lineman don't false start. Is that so hard in crunch time. Lineman don't encroach unabated. Is that so hard in crunch time? Receivers don't fumble the ball in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? Manning don't throw a pick in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? It was crunch time for Dallas from the moment Denver went up 28-17. Dallas just had one less bullet left in the gun. You will give him all the props for giving Dallas a chance to win but none because you see him as the sole reason why they lost? Sorry my friend but when a quarterback has one forced INT in five games and outplays Manning with a defense that can't force a punt, you are indeed asking him to play perfect, because that was the only way Dallas was going to beat Denver on Sunday. Even Manning could not help throwing a pick in the heat of the battle. He just had more time than Romo to overcome it.

 

[popp1234]

Defense make stops in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? Special teams don't hold on run backs. Is that so hard in crunch time? Lineman don't false start. Is that so hard in crunch time. Lineman don't encroach unabated. Is that so hard in crunch time? Receivers don't fumble the ball in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? Manning don't throw a pick in crunch time. Is that so damn hard? It was crunch time for Dallas from the moment Denver went up 28-17. Dallas just had one less bullet left in the gun. You will give him all the props for giving Dallas a chance to win but none because you see him as the sole reason why they lost? Sorry my friend but when a quarterback has one forced INT in five games and outplays Manning with a defense that can't force a punt, you are indeed asking him to play perfect, because that was the only way Dallas was going to beat Denver on Sunday. Even Manning could not help throwing a pick in the heat of the battle. He just had more time than Romo to overcome it.

That is funny...both defenses were horrible. One QB did not hurt his team in crunch time and the other one did in this shoot out. That's what it came down to. If someone shows you who they are, BELEIVE them. Good try though. Now, you will have the last word, because this Romo-is-not-a-choker debate is so tired now after these many years.

 

[bracey]

So when we beat the eagles for the NFC east division and then again in the playoffs back to back, those win or go home games mean zero i guess.

If your going to bring those up, guess I should bring up the losses to the Eagles for the NFCE, one which was the worst loss in this franchise's history, or failing against the Giants at home in our one legitimate team that could have contended for a Super Bowl.

 

[bracey]

I could probably go back and find the same number of big gaffes by any QB who has played the game for very long. The 0 for whatever is as dumb as the froze your own kicker argument.

I bet you couldn't. The only QB I see that's comparable is Favre. And he had enough instances where he won games they had no business winning to overcome them.

I've watched football for a long time. No other QB's given me the same feeling as Romo. When that last drive started my first thought was "Here's where the soul crushing pick usually comes".

 

[popp1234]

I bet you couldn't. The only QB I see that's comparable is Favre. And he had enough instances where he won games they had no business winning to overcome them.

I've watched football for a long time. No other QB's given me the same feeling as Romo. When that last drive started my first thought was "Here's where the soul crushing pick usually comes".

I agree and I had that feeling. I never think, ok, Romo has the game in his hands now, we are good. I think, omg, please don't turn the ball over. Guess what, he turned the damn ball over, like it was scripted. Amazing!

 

[CowboyGil]

I'm through defending him. I won't slam him, but I'm through defending him. I'll just say this: When your defense has a horrible game and you already have had a record breaking day but find yourself having to grind out one more drive to get your team over the hump, you find a way. You dig deep down and find that extra little bit that maybe you didn't even know you had, put the team on your shoulders, go over and tell the defense "I got your back guys. You owe me one." and go out and win the game.

 

[DFWJC]

Romo has had time..Not trying to pick a fight here, just keeping things honest. As you can make a case, early in this game, that was the worst the line has played all season.

To the op, not blaming Romo, but he has to finish the job one day. What if Jordan never finished the job? And Romo was Jordan today.

Thanks for keeping it civil.
This is the one topic that tends to get my blood pressure up on this site.

I think Romo HAS finished many games. It's just when he doesn't--and especially if they end like the Denver game (where he played outerworldly) or last year's Washington game (where he played pretty badly) people remember it 10x due to past transgressions.

If it helps; I watched Jordan play live in high school and college Go Tarheels

 

[JBond]

I wish a poster would come up with the # of times in the past 4-5 years the defense has had a chance to make a stop to give the offense the ball back, or the amount of leads lost in the 4th quarter. It would be helpful to a lot of brain dead fans who just happen to have their eyes fixated on what #9 does & don't see a dang thing the other 44 active players do.

Or better yet, the number of turnovers and stops by the defense that were wasted by Romo and company. It works both ways.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

You know what? I do not ask my star QB to be perfect. However, I do ask him to not make boneheaded decisions and turn the ball over to the opposition in crucial moments in the game. If Romo threw three horrible passes that resulted in a 3-and-out, and Denver went down the field and scored the winning field goal, I would give him all kinds of props for the game he played. That did not happen....He.Gave.The.Ball.To.The. Other.Team..when ball security mattered most......again! Make good decisions in crunch time, is that so damn hard?

It wasn't a bad decision or a bad read on his part. it was poorly executed by the OL and TR, but that is not the same as a bad decision. The TE had a step when the decision to throw was made. In the process of the throw, his feet got tangled with smith and he couldn't complete the follow thru because of another lineman. The ball wasn't placed well because of those incidents in the pocket nor was he able to get the velocity on the ball needed for the that throw for the same reasons. And the defender made a pretty great play on the ball, to not give that credit is foolish. It was unfortunate for sure, but this was not a case of a poor decision or being reckless with the ball. Tony makes throws into tight windows all the time, this one just wasn't executed for a variety of reasons.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

People sure are obsessed with the made up concept of "clutch", even though most teams do poorly in those situations and doing well in them actually has very little correlation to being a good team. Championship-quality teams avoid them altogether, with the quarterback watching the 4th quarter from the sidelines or handing off to the back to run the clock out.

 

[tecolote]

If your going to bring those up, guess I should bring up the losses to the Eagles for the NFCE, one which was the worst loss in this franchise's history, or failing against the Giants at home in our one legitimate team that could have contended for a Super Bowl.

Those were not choke jobs, he failed agains the Giants? Really? I remember the washington game, jets, seattle and detroit when he failed in the clutch, he also threw the int yesterday but played out of his mind. Please educate me on other choke jobs in his career late in the game. Because if you base the choker thing on 5 games it is ridiculous. Again, he leads the league in 4th quarter rating, that is a fact and is not consistent with the choker label.

This team is a mess, Garrett is now under .500 as a Head Coach, Tony has 13 tds to 2 ints with a QB rating of 115 this year. And the team has a losing record!! How? That stuff just does not happen in the NFL.

 

[03EBZ06]

You know what? I do not ask my star QB to be perfect. However, I do ask him to not make boneheaded decisions and turn the ball over to the opposition in crucial moments in the game. If Romo threw three horrible passes that resulted in a 3-and-out, and Denver went down the field and scored the winning field goal, I would give him all kinds of props for the game he played. That did not happen....He.Gave.The.Ball.To.The. Other.Team..when ball security mattered most......again! Make good decisions in crunch time, is that so damn hard?

But Romo had to be perfect in order to win. Romo had to break all time single game for passing yards to win. Are you really that blind to see what is wrong with picture?

 

[footballnflstyle]

....but he HAS won a Super Bowl and did so with a horrendous OL. He carries that team on his shoulders, as did Manning with the Colts. Look what the Colts did the first season without him. You can't discount success - that is what MATTERS.

sarge..you are the most realist of all the mod's on this board..you love the cowboys as much as any of them but your comrade's can find sunlight in a underground tunnel..oh i would be re-mist not to include the cowboys loyalist the fan base!!!

 

[TNCowboy]

But Romo had to be perfect in order to win. Romo had to break all time single game for passing yards to win. Are you really that blind to see what is wrong with picture?

The NFL doesn't keep score by yards, else Marino, Fouts, etc would have rings. Favre and Manning would need both hands for all the rings.

Obviously, the defense is the biggest weakness with the team (if you exclude the front office and the coaching staff). Romo and the passing game are the team's lone strength. Undenialby. But it's also undeniable that in a huge situation, Romo continued his pattern of making a mistake on the cusp of a huge win. People can try to spin it with his stats 50 different ways, but the 3 is still in the L column this morning, and one last decent drive against Denver's staggered D and Romo would have had his biggest win in 4 years. Instead, yet another week with him homers defending him.