Throwing Bones to Our WR's?

[Doomsday]

Part of the problem is TO is not making the tough catches in traffic. How times this year have our QBs been intercepted or TO dropped balls on slants or drag routes? Yesterday he dropped 2 first down passes on balls that went right through his hands because the defender had tight coverage.

Also Romo seems to be late on slant passes a lot of the time, for a guy with such a quick release you would think he would be much better at it.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Part of the problem is TO is not making the tough catches in traffic. How times this year have our QBs been intercepted or TO dropped balls on slants or drag routes? Yesterday he dropped 2 first down passes on balls that went right through his hands because the defender had tight coverage.

I'm not sure TO has ever been the guy who makes the tough catch in traffic. He's more of the guy that gets a step and he's gone. I figure RW11 will be the guy once he and Romo get on the same page. At least, that's what I envisioned when we got him.

 

[Doomsday]

I'm not sure TO has ever been the guy who makes the tough catch in traffic. He's more of the guy that gets a step and he's gone. I figure RW11 will be the guy once he and Romo get on the same page. At least, that's what I envisioned when we got him.

I thought so to but I cant recall them throwing one slant to RW11 since Romo has been back. Every team in the league uses slants effectively but us it seems like. You would think with all the deep routes we run the slants and comeback routes would be there for the taking.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Ask the QB, he's the one who ultimately decides who to throw too.

While that's true, there are many plays in which some of the receivers are just running decoy routes and there is no intention of ever throwing to them. On any given play there may only be two or three reads and a checkdown. As much as people value a QBs ability to "go through his reads", very rarely is there a pass play in which he has more than 3 reads, because frankly NFL pass rushes don't allow for it and coverages are too complex.

 

[MONT17]

I dont know if Romo is looking for the big play all the time... I think Romo has to wait until the defense breaks down because he cannot get enough zip on the ball to complete passes outside the numbers on a regular basis...


create highlight reel of Romo and Im willing to bet ALL of his completions are inside the numbers... u will be hard pressed to find 7 step drops, ball out on time, after the back foot hits highlights... the staple of any real QB!


if Bledsoe wasnt so OLD, Romo would still be on the bench...

 

[TD-33]

I may be wrong, but you know I think they decided early on (JG, maybe Romo too) to "show off" for the 80+ retired Cowboys/crowd and stadium closing by going for these huge plays down field. DAMN THE TORPEDOS!! Full Speed Ahead!! They wanted to capture a huge amount of momentum by blowing the game open right off the bat. And it definitely would have worked.

Only one problem though....

 

[dbair1967]

While that's true, there are many plays in which some of the receivers are just running decoy routes and there is no intention of ever throwing to them. On any given play there may only be two or three reads and a checkdown. As much as people value a QBs ability to "go through his reads", very rarely is there a pass play in which he has more than 3 reads, because frankly NFL pass rushes don't allow for it and coverages are too complex.

Most of his ints though he never even looks anywhere else...he does like a rookie QB would do and locks on to one guy (usually Owens) and throws it no matter what.

 

[percyhoward]

So the WRs weren't getting open because there was too much double coverage and they were getting pressure at the same time. I suppose it happening more than we know. We often don't get to see the play develop esp away from the ball. But that just says we got out executed which is a fancy way to say they were beating us.

They were beating our passing game, yes. Especially, the wide receivers.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

I was wondering why, after witnessing the power of a no-turnover performance against the Giants, Garrett would call the high-risk passes that he did in the first half last night. Especially in light of the recent success we've had with screens and runs.

I went back and looked at the last four big wins we had this season: at GB, vs. TB, at Was, vs NYG. In none of those games did we have a deep pass play called that resulted in a completion in the first half. We won all four of those games. In two of those games, there were no completions on passes thrown more than 25 yards all game long. So why were we thinking that this game last night was going to be different?

On two separate 2nd-and-short situations (the only two 2nd-and-shorts that we had in the first half between the 30's) we decided to go deep. The first one, intended for Roy, was picked. The second, for Owens, was thrown out of bounds. We went right back to it the very next play, and Reed got his second interception. The length of the throws on the INT's wasn't the only thing they had in common. Each pick followed a string of successful plays. Romo's first pick came after gains of 7, 4, and 7 yards to start the game. His second came after gains of 8, 9, and 8 (and then the pair of bombs to Owens).

We weren't following any established winning pattern with those playcalls. Maybe Garrett felt pressure to get the WR's involved, and decided that he would do so if presented with a favorable down and distance--no matter what kind of success we were having at the time by going with short, high-percentage plays.

Yeah, maybe I'm reading too much into it, and sure, you could talk about execution, etc. But why not stick to the plays that we know we can execute, and more importantly, that we know have led to wins? Winning--not placating--has to be the ONLY objective.

Turnover Tony threw those underthrown ducks

 

[percyhoward]

I may be wrong, but you know I think they decided early on (JG, maybe Romo too) to "show off" for the 80+ retired Cowboys/crowd and stadium closing by going for these huge plays down field. DAMN THE TORPEDOS!! Full Speed Ahead!! They wanted to capture a huge amount of momentum by blowing the game open right off the bat. And it definitely would have worked.

Only one problem though....

It would have made the trade for Roy look pretty good, too.

 

[percyhoward]

As much as people value a QBs ability to "go through his reads", very rarely is there a pass play in which he has more than 3 reads, because frankly NFL pass rushes don't allow for it and coverages are too complex.

Good point. Then factor in the strength of the opponent, the unfamiliarity with the opponent, and what part of the game it was.

 

[percyhoward]

Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
Chicago
Philadelphia
Green Bay
Tampa Bay
Washington
NY Giants

Those are the top nine pass D's, according to defensive passer rating. 9 of our 15 games have been against one of those teams. We're 5-4 in those games, and we didn't get the five wins by establishing the deep ball to Owens/Williams in the first half of those games.

In the first half of those games, our top 2 WR's totalled 259 yards. That's an average for each receiver of just under 26 yards on 2.3 catches in the first half of those games.

We got our first half yards in those big games against tough pass D's, mostly by running the ball. And lately, we've been running the ball very, very well.

Why would a play-caller deviate from a successful formula like that?

 

[percyhoward]

I think the original poster has a point in that the offensive coordinator isn't helping Romo at all with his play calling. We want Romo to learn to win December games by taking the safe throws, not forcing things, extending drives, etc. -- yet our offensive coordinator consistently forgets about the run game and calls for the receivers to run long, down the field routes.

Like you say, Romo's gunslinger mentality is a separate issue. But I'd even say the way Garrett doesn't stifle it is a good thing. You just have to pick your spots. Against teams like the 49ers and Seattle, sure, why not let'em go for it? But against the better pass D's, when we've won, Garrett (and Romo) have shown patience when it came to picking the right time to throw deep.

I think the combination of the big stage, Choice having led the team in receiving yards the two previous games, the Roy trade not looking like a good move so far, complaints from the WR's about not being involved, all may have led Garrett (and Romo) to be a little more willing to sacrifice some of that patience that they've been showing in games against similar tough opponents.

 

[WarDaddy]

Where has the drag route gone with TO? How come we don't throw many hooks or comebacks with RW or Crayton? At least those two have shown the ability to consistantly beat one on one coverage. It is perfectly fine to draw up a play intended to gain only 7-8 yards. It's called playoff football. Be fair to your Defense. Try to win the time of possession game before you have a lead in the 4th. It's ok.

Why not game plan to have guys singled up, beat the coverage, and do that until someone stops it?

What happened to game planning to take advantage of the weaknesses of your opponent?

This team seems to game plan to have some sort of talent showcase or aerial assault. It doesn't always have to be pretty.

TO should avg. 6-7 catches a game but that will not happen if he avgs. 25 yards a catch. Those nonsensical deep balls are the throws he gets mostly and they are too low percentage to be a staple in the offense. 1 or 2 a game max. is more than enough and that is after establishing the run or shorter throws.

I've never been one to doubt Jason Garrett. I like his aggressive nature but those "cute" running plays (draws) and go routes on every other 1st and 2nd down are tough to watch every week. The Texas Tech offense will not translate to the pros.

 

[TD-33]

Tony hasn't looked accurate since his splint came off.