Tony Romo's Defenses In His Career

[NeonDeion21]

From: http://cover32.com/cowboys/2015/02/12/dallas-cowboys-and-tony-romos-defenses/

- I took the five major defensive stats (Yards/Game, Points/Game, Red Zone Efficiency, Turnovers and Points/Drive) and listed the team’s rank in each year.

- I then took the average of each stat over all the years that the quarterback started to show what their average defensive rank was in all five categories.

- The years that are highlighted in gray are years in which that team made the playoffs.

- I also listed the quarterbacks’ passer rating for comparison sake.

Let’s first take a look at Tony Romo’s career defenses. Below shows the eight seasons in which Tony Romo started the year as a starter in Dallas. Take a look and see what you notice:



When I look at this chart, the first thing I notice is that I see a lot of below average defenses. The Cowboys haven’t had a defense finish above 15th since 2009 in terms of points allowed. Another thing I see is that whenever Dallas has an average defense in terms of points/game or points/drive, the team typically makes the playoffs.

The misconception about the Tony Romo era in Dallas is that the team only goes as far as Tony Romo’s play takes them. But the truth is that Dallas has only gone as far as their defense takes them. Romo has played well-above average in each of his eight seasons as a starter and even his second best season personally only ended with an 8-8 season for the Cowboys. I’ll say it again. It’s never been about how Tony Romo has played. It’s whether or not the defense was “good enough” that year for the team to make the playoffs.

Read the rest at: http://cover32.com/cowboys/2015/02/12/dallas-cowboys-and-tony-romos-defenses/

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Tony Romo made bad decisions.

Stop blaming the defenses.

You guys look silly when you do that.

 

[T-RO]

Tony Romo made bad decisions.

Stop blaming the defenses.

You guys look silly when you do that.

You look silly when you open your mouth.

The OP had numbers and facts. You? Take away the prejudice and you got nothing.

 

[jobberone]

You look silly when you open your mouth.

The OP had numbers and facts. You? Take away the prejudice and you got nothing.

I think he was tongue in cheek there.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

You look silly when you open your mouth.

The OP had numbers and facts. You? Take away the prejudice and you got nothing.

That's twice in one day I used the face palm.

 

[perrykemp]

Looks to me that the statistics say Romo has had basically an average defense throughout his career.

16th in yards, 18 in points.

 

[DandyDon1722]

Excellent work Neon.

I'm sure KJJ is going to chime in and pontificate on other quarterbacks and their defenses and argue how those quarterbacks willed their teams to championships, but there is no question a bad defense puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I think this season's numbers are a bit skewed and can be somewhat attributed to a very efficient offense. We still couldn't get off the field when we needed to.

To be honest, unless the team surprises us with some free agents, we will have to hope the players on the current roster can continue to improve (Lawrence, Hitchens, Wilcox, etc) enough in order for the defense to go from average to good. It's possible.

 

[CF74]

Romo's best defense has been a ball control power run game...

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Excellent work Neon.

I'm sure KJJ is going to chime in and pontificate on other quarterbacks and their defenses and argue how those quarterbacks willed their teams to championships, but there is no question a bad defense puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I think this season's numbers are a bit skewed and can be somewhat attributed to a very efficient offense. We still couldn't get off the field when we needed to.

To be honest, unless the team surprises us with some free agents, we will have to hope the players on the current roster can continue to improve (Lawrence, Hitchens, Wilcox, etc) enough in order for the defense to go from average to good. It's possible.

Agreed, they were actually better than most everyone thought they would be last season. Hopefully most of these guys haven't hit their ceiling.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Romo's best defense has been a ball control power run game...

Hopefully they don't screw that up.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Tony Romo made bad decisions.

Stop blaming the defenses.

You guys look silly when you do that.

not sure if you are being sarcastic, but in some of these seasons, that case can be made. His interception totals in 2007 and 2012 were too high. 2009 was a bit high, but not as bad as those 2 (19!)

 

[jazzcat22]

Great stats, and chart to see this comparison.
I agree, defenses has held this team back many of times. But sometimes circumstances held this entire team back. Like dropped passes, fumbles, missed tackles. As well as some mistakes by Romo.

Yes Romo threw some bad picks, but if the defense didn't give up scores, he wouldn't be in a pressure situation as often as it seemed.
So, how many times did Romo bring us back to score, or have us in a position to win, only for the defense to lose it by not making a stop, or get that sack.
It works both ways, because it's a team effort.

A friend of mine contended for years, buying into that defense does not matter, just have a killer offense and out score your opponent. These past few years he's been changing his thinking, knowing how important a better than average defense can be.

 

[percyhoward]

Looks to me that the statistics say Romo has had basically an average defense throughout his career.

That's how it averages out, anyway.

Defense Avg Rank (points per game)
Playoff Seasons
Aikman 5th
Staubach 8th
White 11th
Romo 13th

Non-Playoff Seasons
Staubach 10th
White 13th
Aikman 19th
Romo 23rd

 

[casmith07]

That's how it averages out, anyway.

Defense Avg Rank (points per game)
Playoff Seasons
Aikman 5th
Staubach 8th
White 11th
Romo 13th

Non-Playoff Seasons
Staubach 10th
White 13th
Aikman 19th
Romo 23rd

You mean...football is a team sport? Madness!

 

[casmith07]

Also, the 2009 season is a shame. Our 3-4 peaked that year, but our offensive line was criminally atrocious.

 

[Jstopper]

not sure if you are being sarcastic, but in some of these seasons, that case can be made. His interception totals in 2007 and 2012 were too high. 2009 was a bit high, but not as bad as those 2 (19!)

I don't think you meant to say 2009. He only threw 9 int that year

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I don't think you meant to say 2009. He only threw 9 int that year

Yes, meant 2008

 

[DFWJC]

Tony Romo made bad decisions.

Stop blaming the defenses.

You guys look silly when you do that.

You sound really silly there,Red.
All QBs make bad decisions at times,. The true game records show that Romo has made them FAR less than most. And on top of that,he's pulled an unreal number of games out of the fire for us.

Btw, you know you're inbad company when UFC gives you a like. Talk about epic low life troll regarding Romo. You're better than that.

 

[percyhoward]

not sure if you are being sarcastic, but in some of these seasons, that case can be made. His interception totals in 2007 and 2012 were too high. 2008 was a bit high, but not as bad as those 2 (19!)

2007, 2008, and 2012 all had something in common. They were the only years since Romo began the year as a starter that any of his top 4 receiving targets (WR or TE) for that year had anything over a 4.0 INT% on throws to them. So a big part of the high INT totals was the intended receiver, as well as the distance of the pass. I included the percentage of Romo's attempts that were throws of 20+ yards. (That data doesn't go back to 2006, but the deep percentage for that year was probably the highest.)

Romo's INT%
2006
Glenn 7.1
Crayton 3.0
Owens 2.9
Witten 1.7

2007 (deep 12.5%)
Owens 6.4
Crayton 3.8
Witten 2.1
Hurd 0.0

2008 (deep 13.1%)
Owens 6.1
Williams 5.0
Witten 2.9
Crayton 0.0

2009 (deep 7.8%)
Crayton 3.2
Witten 2.4
Austin 1.7
Williams 1.2

2011 (deep 11.7%)
Bryant 3.3
Robinson 2.5
Witten 2.0
Austin 0.0

2012 (deep 10.8%)
Ogletree 9.1
Austin 3.5
Witten 2.1
Bryant 1.5

2013 (deep 10.5%)
Williams 2.8
Austin 2.3
Bryant 1.4
Witten 0.0

2014 (deep 14.0%)
Bryant 4.0
Williams 1.8
Witten 1.2
Beasley 0.0

 

[SuspectCorner]

2007, 2008, and 2012 all had something in common. They were the only years since Romo began the year as a starter that any of his top 4 receiving targets (WR or TE) for that year had anything over a 4.0 INT% on throws to them. So a big part of the high INT totals was the intended receiver, as well as the distance of the pass. I included the percentage of Romo's attempts that were throws of 20+ yards. (That data doesn't go back to 2006, but the deep percentage for that year was probably the highest.)

Romo's INT%
2006
Glenn 7.1
Crayton 3.0
Owens 2.9
Witten 1.7

2007 (deep 12.5%)
Owens 6.4
Crayton 3.8
Witten 2.1
Hurd 0.0

2008 (deep 13.1%)
Owens 6.1
Williams 5.0
Witten 2.9
Crayton 0.0

2009 (deep 7.8%)
Crayton 3.2
Witten 2.4
Austin 1.7
Williams 1.2

2011 (deep 11.7%)
Bryant 3.3
Robinson 2.5
Witten 2.0
Austin 0.0

2012 (deep 10.8%)
Ogletree 9.1
Austin 3.5
Witten 2.1
Bryant 1.5

2013 (deep 10.5%)
Williams 2.8
Austin 2.3
Bryant 1.4
Witten 0.0

2014 (deep 14.0%)
Bryant 4.0
Williams 1.8
Witten 1.2
Beasley 0.0

Just another brick in the wall of the Jason Witten wing in the pantheon of Greatest Dallas Cowboys Players. Witten owns whatever space he occupies in any passing route he runs. Although he can outrun almost nobody - he will out-position, out-hustle, and overpower any hapless defender tasked with covering him. It's no wonder at all that Witten has long been considered Romo's 'security blanket.' Romo ain't no dummy and Witten is pure greatness.