Theories regarding Romo

[BourbonBalz]

By the way, I'm not one of the people on here that want to give Romo a break from all criticism. In other words, I'm no Romo apologist. I fully support Romo because he's a Cowboy, but then again, I'm going to support all Cowboy players. That doesn't mean I won't criticize them. Sometimes Romo kills our chances to win, but again, I don't think he's being used properly right now and that's more damaging IMO.

 

[Avaj]

Romo last 8 games
W-L (3-5)
Comp Pct. 56.9
TD-INT (9-10)
Fumbles lost 4
Passer Rating 73.2

0 pass TD in the back-to-back starts for the 1st time in carer

 

[craig71]

By the way, I'm not one of the people on here that want to give Romo a break from all criticism. In other words, I'm no Romo apologist. I fully support Romo because he's a Cowboy, but then again, I'm going to support all Cowboy players. That doesn't mean I won't criticize them. Sometimes Romo kills our chances to win, but again, I don't think he's being used properly right now and that's more damaging IMO.

I'm gonna see what the rest of the year holds,that's all any of us can do.Something that bothers me about Romo is his lack of awareness/pocket presence of late.You have a point about the offensive philosophy,but i'm starting to think it could be also related to a lack of identity.What is the identity of this team?Are they a big play offense or are they a power running team,so far they have been neither on a consistant basis.

Craig

 

[gbrittain]

I am just glad September and October does not matter at least that is what I was told. That is the good that will come out of this, I think that little myth will fall by the wayside.

 

[DIAF]

Romo's problem is...duh duh duh dunnnnn.......he sucks when the pressure is on. He sucked when the pressure was on late in the season in 06, 07, 08, and now the spotlight and the pressure is REALLY on this franchise from the get-go and what is happening? He's wilting. Its four years in a row now this has happened, anyone see a pattern here? But oh no, first it's the OL, then TO, then the defense, then the WR corps being garbage. However the one constant remains; the guy taking the snaps behind the center.

It's been four years. He is what he is. A UFA with some football skill and a great big gaping hole in his chest. Zero heart.

Someone said earlier that he thought hearing it from the fans, the media, etc. scares him into playing, well, scared. I don't know if that's the truth, but if it is, he isn't an NFL starting QB.

 

[BIGDen]

I think it is simple. Romo is trying so hard not to throw picks he is thinking too much and it is affecting his accuracy. That is about all I can think it is. He had WRs open quite a bit today but just missed them, over and over.

He is trying to hard to make the perfect pass, instead of just letting it fly.

Absolutely. It's like a pitcher after a terrible outing (Giants game) starting to aim his pitches. His confidence which, although was sometimes his undoing, was also one of his great strengths. People can say he "sucks" and all that nonsense, but the guy has won most of his starts, played in 2 Pro Bowls, led his team to a division title and 2 playoff appearances, put up incredible numbers and broken team records. HE DOES NOT SUCK. He IS playing poorly and appears to have gotten a bit gunshy. I truly hope that this is temporary because he showed over the course of 3 seasons to be a "special talent" (to use the words of Aikman himself).

Some Cowboys fans may not be believers in Romo, but ALL should be pulling for this guy! He is the starting QB of the team you root for and is the best chance we have at any kind of success this year. If you're packing it in after a 2-2 start, that's great. Enjoy the baseball playoffs and the start of hockey, but I truly don't understand the point of repeatedly posting how this team has no chance.

I am down on this team and this season right now, but I've been watching football for over 30 years and I know that this season is FAR from over.

Not "drinking Kool-Aid" or being a "homer", just have seen way too many football seasons end very differently than they have started.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I'm certainly not giving up on Romo, the team, or the season. I do think the coaching staff, especially Garrett, has to make some serious adjustments or it will be over. We've put ourselves in a very bad position extremely early in the year. We're not two full games out of first place with two losses I counted on as wins before the season started. Losing at home to N.Y. hurt. We have to get that game back. I know it's early, but the Giants. Saints, Eagles, Vikings, 49ers, Packers (depending on Monday night), Bears, etc. all have better records right now. I realize that can change rapidly, but we will have to start playing much bette for it to change in our favor. We have to start showing up for 60 minutes in all phases of the game and start winning games we're supposed to win and even some we're not supposed to win. That's what we've go to do in order to even be in the running for a playoff spot.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I know it's been mentioned in another thread, but remember the start the Giants got off to in 2007? They lost their first two games and gave up 80 points on defense. I remember how the season ended for them. Not saying we'll win the Super Bowl, but we can right the ship IF the coaching staff makes some philosophical changes and IF they can get the most out of the players' talents.

 

[RainMan]

The root of my problem with Romo was never that he was a gunslinger at heart. It was that, and his innate playmaking abilities, that made him seem special. My problem was that the long ball and his playmaking abilities always seemed to disappear in December, and that he needed to develop a Plan B for when his A game was off. Meaning, he needed to learn how to to self destruct when he can't just lob 20-yard completions all over the place.

I worry that instead of developing a Plan B he has merely scrapped his Plan A.

 

[RainMan]

I know it's been mentioned in another thread, but remember the start the Giants got off to in 2007? They lost their first two games and gave up 80 points on defense. I remember how the season ended for them. Not saying we'll win the Super Bowl, but we can right the ship IF the coaching staff makes some philosophical changes and IF they can get the most out of the players' talents.

I soooo want to believe we can be that team to do something similar. What continues to -- and always has -- made me a non-believer, however, is the man we have roaming the sideline.

Tom Coughlin wasn't a loser. He had advanced to a conference championship game and was a long-respected coach in this league.

I mean we're asking Wade Phillips, a man who is 60-something and has been in this league in some capacity for 33 years, to win his first playoff game en route to getting us to a Super Bowl.

Tall, tall task.

 

[Texan_Eph89]

It's simple.
Bellchick built a system for Brady, not the other way around.

We need to run a West Coast style of system.
Quick release, Big receivers, great TEs, RBs that can catch as well as run.

Our OL is big and strong which would be suited well for WC, granted they're slow, but if the ball leaves the pocket soon then there's no issue there.

West Coast system works, and we have the check down type of receivers.
Garrett just wants that deep game too much to make it work.

 

[craig71]

Maybe if Romo would revert back to playing Romo football all would be well.It's just that I don't know what Romo is any more,is he a pocket passer or is he an improviser,lately it seems that he is neither on a consistant basis.I remember last year when he said he was going to emulate Brady and Brady's pocket awareness.Maybe the root of the problem is that Romo is trying to emulate other "franchise" quarterbacks instead of him just being Tony Romo.


Craig

 

[Texan_Eph89]

Maybe if Romo would revert back to playing Romo football all would be well.It's just that I don't know what Romo is any more,is he a pocket passer or is he an improviser,lately it seems that he is neither on a consistant basis.I remember last year when he said he was going to emulate Brady and Brady's pocket awareness.Maybe the root of the problem is that Romo is trying to emulate other "franchise" quarterbacks instead of him just being Tony Romo.


Craig

Yep, definitely part of the problem.

 

[Hoofbite]

Dude plays for the other team. Simple as that.

I was way off with my "Turnover Tony" sig pic a while back. Should have been:

"Turncoat Tony"

 

[fannypack]

WC doesn't really require the best QB since Montana I wouldn't think. If Romos *** can't throw a slant or throw a ball to a WR bread basket get Kitna in for atleast one game. Just one, if the old dude has nothing we'll move forward, but we picked him up for a reason.

 

[fannypack]

Dude plays for the other team. Simple as that.

I was way off with my "Turnover Tony" sig pic a while back. Should have been:

"Turncoat Tony"

I made a new one, Captain Overthrow

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I'm beginning to think that the Giants game bent his brain a little, and is now experiencing a Vandy-like crisis of confidence. I hope I'm wrong.

I've been thinking the same thing. I don't think we're all the way to that point, but we might be on our way to that point. And we can't go there or we're really screwed.

This is why I get so mad at RJ's system and calls. Let's say it's 2nd and 13. Instead of running a play to get six or seven yards(which many defenses will practically give you in that situation) to leave a manageable 3rd and six, we always seem to throw down the field. When that's incomplete, we just do it again. And those 3rd and 10+ situations are always very low percentage passes, no matter who you are.

Remember 2007, when Tony's 3rd and long first down percentage was insanely high? Like, best of all time high? I'm afraid that imprinted on Garrett's brain that he can always get away with that, when the truth was that Tony was playing at an unsustainable clip during that early stretch. Now, it's not working like it did.

And again, this goes back to Garrett. I knew the Broncos would take Witten away today because that's what Belicheat did in 2007. Where was Bennett today? Where is the little dump down to the back that Norv ran endlessly to Emmitt? Why does everything have to be so far down the field, especially when Romo's accuracy is obviously off? When you see that, don't you call shorter passes to 1) have a greater chance of completing them (obviously) and 2) maybe build the QB's confidence back so that he feels better on the longer throws when they do present themselves?

Tony isn't lost yet, but we have GOT to try to chip our way down the field rather than going for big chunks so often. If we continue to go for broke so often, not only are we going to lose this year, we might lose our QB. And we simply cannot afford to do that.

As it is, I still think this is why Holmgren will be our next coach. He may be the only coach out there with the skins on the wall to get through to Tony.

 

[dbair1967]

I've been thinking the same thing. I don't think we're all the way to that point, but we might be on our way to that point. And we can't go there or we're really screwed.

This is why I get so mad at RJ's system and calls. Let's say it's 2nd and 13. Instead of running a play to get six or seven yards(which many defenses will practically give you in that situation) to leave a manageable 3rd and six, we always seem to throw down the field. When that's incomplete, we just do it again. And those 3rd and 10+ situations are always very low percentage passes, no matter who you are.

Remember 2007, when Tony's 3rd and long first down percentage was insanely high? Like, best of all time high? I'm afraid that imprinted on Garrett's brain that he can always get away with that, when the truth was that Tony was playing at an unsustainable clip during that early stretch. Now, it's not working like it did.

And again, this goes back to Garrett. I knew the Broncos would take Witten away today because that's what Belicheat did in 2007. Where was Bennett today? Where is the little dump down to the back that Norv ran endlessly to Emmitt? Why does everything have to be so far down the field, especially when Romo's accuracy is obviously off? When you see that, don't you call shorter passes to 1) have a greater chance of completing them (obviously) and 2) maybe build the QB's confidence back so that he feels better on the longer throws when they do present themselves?

Tony isn't lost yet, but we have GOT to try to chip our way down the field rather than going for big chunks so often. If we continue to go for broke so often, not only are we going to lose this year, we might lose our QB. And we simply cannot afford to do that.

As it is, I still think this is why Holmgren will be our next coach. He may be the only coach out there with the skins on the wall to get through to Tony.

Not sure what you are watching, because almost everything we complete right now is little short stuff. Take away Romo's one great play yesterday to Hurd (53yds) and we had a very pedestrian 202 yds on 24 completions. Thats barely 8.0yds per completion, which is awful. Most of the completions were short passes vs NYG and Carolina too.

Denver totally stoned our running game, especially after the first qtr. We had opportunities to make plays on both sides of the ball and didnt do it.

 

[Disturbed]

Romo's problem is...duh duh duh dunnnnn.......he sucks when the pressure is on. He sucked when the pressure was on late in the season in 06, 07, 08, and now the spotlight and the pressure is REALLY on this franchise from the get-go and what is happening? He's wilting. Its four years in a row now this has happened, anyone see a pattern here? But oh no, first it's the OL, then TO, then the defense, then the WR corps being garbage. However the one constant remains; the guy taking the snaps behind the center.

It's been four years. He is what he is. A UFA with some football skill and a great big gaping hole in his chest. Zero heart.

Someone said earlier that he thought hearing it from the fans, the media, etc. scares him into playing, well, scared. I don't know if that's the truth, but if it is, he isn't an NFL starting QB.

Sadly we are all starting to come to this realization. Many on the board have defended Romo in the past, but his continued poor play is starting to make people re-evaluate things.

Unfortunately we have no one to turn to....Kitna is at best a backup. So perhaps with our 7-9 or worse...maybe 5-11 season we can draft a QB next year.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Not sure what you are watching, because almost everything we complete right now is little short stuff. Take away Romo's one great play yesterday to Hurd (53yds) and we had a very pedestrian 202 yds on 24 completions. Thats barely 8.0yds per completion, which is awful. Most of the completions were short passes vs NYG and Carolina too.

Well duh... The longer passes were incomplete. That's kind of my whole point, that those are lower-percentage passes in the first place.

And I wouldn't keep running them especially when Tony has shown that he's off.

What's happened to the old Witten "post up" play? How about running the same thing with Bennett?