Tony Romo Has To Be Better

[Sportsbabe]

I think you underestimate the impacts that improvements to the e mental aspects of the e game could have, i.e. decision making, understanding the opponent, etc. Not to mention how focus on the mechanics can help compensate for deterioration in physical abilities.

Like training himself to throw the ball away. I would start there.

 

[DallasInDC]

I think we already understand all that. Romo has said that every off season since forever.

I think I mentioned somewhere above that Romo's approach is no different than any previous year. It's the make up of the team that makes it more effective. I believe that getting rid of a lot of the old vets that may have had the negative we all know how the story ends mentality (the ratliffs, hatchers, etc.) has changed the team mindset from a losers mentality to one where they believe they can still win in what appears to be long odds. It also elevates the leadership of Romo and witten, church et al. Who seem to always be focused on improving their craft to the for front which builds that same mindset among the e other players. The more players that follow that lead, the less slackers you will have because no one wants to be the negative outlier.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Hopefully the defense improves greatly so the offense will not have to worry about protecting them so much,,, then Romo can ease up on being ridiculously conservative with his passes. I think that's the cause of half of his coverage sacks.

,,, and when it's 3rd and short don't freaking check out of your freaking running play!

 

[Craig]

Romo doesnt need to be better. I wouldnt complain if he were though. Improvements at any position on the defense would help this team more than improvements at qb.

 

[DFWJC]

This is comically pathetic

Let's just take the player who played better that almost anyone else and dissect his few remaining occasional issues.
If only we were dissected like that.

It's like someone eating out of a dumpster everyday is given an amazing meal, but instead he complains that just maybe a tad more spice could added to the side dish and that the chef really better get that fixed.

 

[KJJ]

The level of play we saw from Romo this season along with the running game could have gotten the Cowboys to the SB if they had a better defense. What I saw from Romo this season I would take for the rest of his career. He led the league with a 113.2 passer rating and his TD to turnover ratio was 34-12. During the playoffs he had a 125.8 passer rating and a TD to turnover ratio of 4-0. The defense is what has to be better.

 

[perrykemp]

This is comically pathetic

Let's just take the player who played better that almost anyone else and dissect his few remaining occasional issues.
If only we were dissected like that.

It's like someone eating out of a dumpster everyday is given an amazing meal, but instead he complains that just maybe a tad more spice could added to the side dish and that the chef really better get that fixed.

Agree it's knit-picking.

On the other hand, one of those "few remaining issues" is Romo taking sacks. He was probably responsible for probably 5-6 of the 10 sacks the Cowboys gave up.

In the playoffs, teams are so evenly matched the fact the Cowboys gave up 2x more sacks than most of the other playoff teams is critical.

It's one of the reasons why the Cowboys offense ranked 9th offensively of out 12 teams in the playoffs -- all the negative yards from the sacks.

Yes, Romo led the NFL in passing rating both in the regular season and the playoffs, however, if he takes that many sacks again the playoffs next year it's highly unlikely the Cowboys make it to the Superbowl.

 

[iRepDatStar]

Man we need this! All I want is for guys like Romo and Witten to win a superbowl. To me winning a superbowl would be great, but winning it with romo would be so much better

 

[benson]

Romo played absolutely LIGHTS OUT last season, no one is arguing that. He is an elite top 5 QB. The amazing thing about this is that YES, Romo has not reached his ceiling.

Honestly, he needs to realize that his body is not getting younger and he needs to hit the GYM. Get that lower back to 110%, he needs to get in the best shape of his life so that he can move like he did when he was 28. All of a sudden that arm strength is back and he's throwing darts, and throwing it into the stands on a rollout just requires the flick of the wrist.

That's the only thing he's missing, a gym-rat mentality. If successful, this guy could play 4 more seasons at a high level and bring a SB or two home.

 

[Risen Star]

You can't reasonably expect your QB to be better than MVP worthy. Which is what he was this year.

What we need is Romo being Romo but this time with an actual defense and none of our receptions deemed incomplete.

 

[Hook'em#11]

Next time Romo, throw the safe throw on 4 and 2 and hit Beasley, who was wide open.. That's DOING BETTER.. LOL

Seriously, only problem I had with Romo last season was he seemed to hold the ball too long.. I think he was too afraid of making a mistake at times. Which, is good, I guess.. I just wish he had a quicker release in some situations.

 

[tideh20heel]

One thing is for certain, all of the ose who thought Johnny football was a better option than Romo could not have been any more wrong in their opinions. Romo committed to his craft and his team ....Johnny football dedicated to partying and himself.

I was a proponent of drafting Johnny due in large part to Tony's back/age. I was dead wrong and happy I was. Great year Tony I think he can be better next year as he is further removed from surgery.

 

[Craig]

Take away the extended plays from romo and you lose more than you gain. You cant just eliminate the sacks without also eliminating the big plays.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Spoken like a great player but realistically it's hard to imagine Romo playing better over a full season than he did in 2014. Maybe you can take away the debacle vs San Fran when he clearly was not right. A couple of other off games here and there,but that's going to occur over a 16 game season

 

[KJJ]

Agree it's knit-picking.

On the other hand, one of those "few remaining issues" is Romo taking sacks. He was probably responsible for probably 5-6 of the 10 sacks the Cowboys gave up.

In the playoffs, teams are so evenly matched the fact the Cowboys gave up 2x more sacks than most of the other playoff teams is critical.

It's one of the reasons why the Cowboys offense ranked 9th offensively of out 12 teams in the playoffs -- all the negative yards from the sacks.

Yes, Romo led the NFL in passing rating both in the regular season and the playoffs, however, if he takes that many sacks again the playoffs next year it's highly unlikely the Cowboys make it to the Superbowl.

Romo only took 29 sacks which was 6 fewer than in 2013 and 7 fewer than in 2011 and 2012. Seven of his sacks came in the first 2 games when he wasn't moving very well due to stiffness still recovering from back surgery. Although some of his sacks were a result of him holding onto the ball too long I would rather him take the sack than turn the ball over. You can win taking sacks the Steelers won a SB in 08 with Roethlisberger taking 48 sacks. He took 8 sacks in the playoffs and SB but only turned the ball over once. Russell Wilson took 42 sacks this season and 44 sacks last season. Wilson has been sacked 7 times in the playoffs sacks won't kill you but turnovers will. Romo only took one more sack than Aaron Rodgers did in 2014. Although Romo took 10 sacks in the playoffs he didn't turn the ball over and turnovers have been his biggest nemesis especially in critical games. The playoff game to the Packers wasn't lost due to Romo taking some sacks. Trying to keep plays alive has caused him to hold onto the ball too long at times but at least you live to see another down after a sack.

I would rather be stuck with a 3rd and 13 after a sack than to cough the ball up on second down forcing your defense to have to defend a short field. His mobility is still pretty good but it's not quite what it was which is going to lead to more sacks especially with him trying to avoid turnovers. In the past trying to extend plays and avoid pressure has led to a number of turnovers and although sacks lead to long down situations they're much better than a turnover. The yards lost due to sacks had very little to do with the Cowboys offensive ranking. The 215 yards lost due to sacks was Romo's lowest since the 09 season when he had 196 yards lost. The main reason the Cowboys ranked 9th offensively is because they're a running team and most of the top rated offensives are pass happy. Only Seattle and Carolina ranked ahead of the Cowboys offensively that had QB's who passed for fewer yards than Romo.

 

[DFWJC]

Agree it's knit-picking.

On the other hand, one of those "few remaining issues" is Romo taking sacks. He was probably responsible for probably 5-6 of the 10 sacks the Cowboys gave up.

In the playoffs, teams are so evenly matched the fact the Cowboys gave up 2x more sacks than most of the other playoff teams is critical.

It's one of the reasons why the Cowboys offense ranked 9th offensively of out 12 teams in the playoffs -- all the negative yards from the sacks.

Yes, Romo led the NFL in passing rating both in the regular season and the playoffs, however, if he takes that many sacks again the playoffs next year it's highly unlikely the Cowboys make it to the Superbowl.

It couldn't have been because they played two teams that were really getting to the QB.
Ask Wilson and his 4 ints if maybe he should have taken a few more sacks.

Sure, there were 2-3 maybe he could have attempted to throw away. Not 6. And it's not so easy just throw it away...there are heavy risks.
But yes, we all agree he had a few that could have been thrown away. In almost all cases, it would still have then been 4th down. Only one time did it potentially cost us points...and that was when Bailey missed a 41 yarder after a sack. I doubt Romo thought we'd be out of FG range there and it was 3rd down.

10x more important......every other team had at least 2 ints while we had zero.

Saying the sacks moved us that far down in the offense rankings is crazy...and yes, it really is nitpicking (even I do agree he could have done that better).

 

[NickZepp]

The only time Romo didn't play that well was when he was hurt or on short rest. The Thanksgiving day game may be a problem next year. If he stays healthy and we keep with the running game Romo won't be a problem.

 

[T-RO]

This is comically pathetic

Let's just take the player who played better that almost anyone else and dissect his few remaining occasional issues.
If only we were dissected like that.

It's like someone eating out of a dumpster everyday is given an amazing meal, but instead he complains that just maybe a tad more spice could added to the side dish and that the chef really better get that fixed.

Agreed. People in this thread need to be asking how they can improve their own IQ.

Romo was the best quarterback in the league last year by all the base and advanced statistical metrics. It is possible but overwhelmingly unlikely he won't have a better year with his age and health ever again.

 

[percyhoward]

There were times he fixated on one player and took a sack while waiting for them to get open even though another player was wide open.

He does need to work on throwing the ball away. He took some brutal sacks in the postseason waiting for guys to get open. Especially in the GB game. The ones in the Detroit game are kind of forgotten since we won but there was a few bad ones there, too.

My ONLY complaint was the dumb sacks taken. If he can somehow find a way to get rid of the ball in those circumstances I'd be happy.

I dont like the running around back there only to take a 10-15 yard sack.

Like training himself to throw the ball away. I would start there.

Hopefully the defense improves greatly so the offense will not have to worry about protecting them so much,,, then Romo can ease up on being ridiculously conservative with his passes. I think that's the cause of half of his coverage sacks.

One of those "few remaining issues" is Romo taking sacks. He was probably responsible for probably 5-6 of the 10 sacks the Cowboys gave up....In the playoffs, teams are so evenly matched the fact the Cowboys gave up 2x more sacks than most of the other playoff teams is critical.

Seriously, only problem I had with Romo last season was he seemed to hold the ball too long.. I think he was too afraid of making a mistake at times. Which, is good, I guess.. I just wish he had a quicker release in some situations.

When you look only at Romo's sacks and compare them to incompletions, obviously the incompletion is the preferred option. But when you look at every one of Romo's drop backs (not just the sacks), and compare them to every other quarterback's drop backs in the playoffs, you can see the decided advantage of his performance over those of the other QB.

Adjusted net yards per attempt looks at all drop backs (completions, incompletions, interceptions, throwaways, and sacks). Here is how Romo compared to all other playoff QB.

pass yards - sack yards + (20 x TD) - (45 x INT) / (attempts + sacks)

Romo 8.2
Flacco 7.6
Brady 6.9
Rodgers 6.4
Stafford 6.3
Wilson 5.7
Newton 5.3
Luck 5.3
Manning 4.6
Rthlsbrgr 4.1
Lindley -0.9
Dalton 3.8

If you don't think ANY/A has anything to do with winning football games, just know that passer rating has the highest win correlation of any major individual stat. One of the criticisms of passer rating is that it doesn't include sacks and sack yardage. Well, ANY/A does. It isn't talked about as much as passer rating, and it's hard sometimes to find the data without really digging. Although regular-season ANY/A can be found at PFR, I had to do my own work for the playoff ANY/A.

This study looked at 22 NFL seasons and found ANY/A to have a slightly higher correlation to wins than even passer rating.

Adam's version of the above stat does not include touchdowns, going by the theory that passing touchdowns are worth no more than the yards it takes to get them. Here's ANY/A without TD for this year's playoffs:

Romo 6.9
Flacco 6.0
Stafford 5.8
Brady 5.5
Rodgers 5.3
Luck 4.8
Wilson 4.3
Manning 4.2
Rthlsbrgr 3.7
Dalton 3.8
Newton 2.7
Lindley -1.4


Looks like Romo knows what he's doing.

 

[HoustonSucks]

I was about to be pissed at the title of this thread... then I read on.... improving would be great but if his level of play stays the same as it was the past few months, and I think it will, he's the least of our issues, sorry.