Wade's comments on Romo's mechanics

[percyhoward]

Romo is probably still holding the ball too far out when he moves in the pocket

Look at the upper right hand corner of this page, at the pic of Romo, for an example.

I think it was the Pats' last TD of the AFCC vs. the Colts, NFL Films has a great shot of Brady in the pocket, stepping away from a diving pass rusher, who swipes at the place where the ball was a split second earlier. Brady felt the pressure and just instinctively pulled the ball in toward his chest at the last possible moment, eyes downfield the whole time.

If I were the defensive coaches, I'd tell all the pass rushers they get a c-note from Jerry for every ball they knock out of Romo's hands. I'd also position a D-lineman deep in the offensive backfield behind Romo and have him rush Romo from there every once in a while.

Gotta break that habit now.

 

[tunahelper]

Ball protection & release point are the two main areas of improvement for Romo.

 

[theogt]

I love the "terrible mechanics" comments. lmao... Romo has some fantastic mechanics, mainly because he remains so consistent in his delivery. His hours of practice with that delivery from all manner of situations let's him keep the same basic motion from any position. He gets his shoulders around and can quickly make the transition to whip it downfield. Watch his last throw in our victory against the Giants last year for a microcosm of his superb ability.

Terrible mechanics....

All players have things to work on, though. I'm not surprised that Wade was able to see it, and I doubt that it's anything that the former coaching staff didn't identify and outline to Tony, although they may not have been able to correct it. Something causes him to sail an inordinate amount of balls, and I think that is his footwork most of the time - which it almost always comes back to for a QB. Either that or he's tipping his hand.

I approve of this post and equally thought the "terrible mechanics" comment was hilarious. That's just ridiculous.

Tony throws sidearms at times to fit the ball into throwing lanes. Just watch. If there is someone directly in front of him he'll throw sidearmed and whiz it by him. It sounds corny, but honestly he's that damned good.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

You must be thinking of Drew Bledsoe.

Romo generally gets rid of the ball fast. Problem is, when he's scrambling or moving around he tends to not take care of the football.

at the end of the year Romo had a tendency to hold onto the football, running around, waiting for something big to open up, so when the pressure was right on him, he threw off his back foot

but Inman is right, Romo does improvise which causes him to throw off his back foot some of the time, but the other times it's just him moving around, waiting for the big play to open up, instead of dumping off to a RB or checkdown receiver, or just throwing it away when the pressure gets too close

I'm not talking in the Bledsoe instance of just standing around

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Look at the upper right hand corner of this page, at the pic of Romo, for an example.

he holds the ball much lower and further out though

good idea about the motivation

 

[CowboyJeff]

Since they're going to a timing based offense, they're probably just getting him more precise in his drop back.

I mentioned on the DCFanatics Show tonight that in two days of watching practice I noticed something in Romo's game that bothered me. Now, I hope I'm completely overanalyzing this, but here's what I noticed:

Romo has one of the quickest releases in football. He gets the ball out quickly with zip, velocity and a tight spiral. His throwing motion is a quasi-side armed throw at times. In the first two practices he accurately threw to all areas of the field except the 10-20 yard square-in patterns to his left. On Wednesday, Henry dropped a sure INT on a square-out to Romo's left. Also on Wednesday, Romo severely overthrew a receiver on a square-out to his left. Today, Romo wasn’t so lucky. Davis picked-off a square-out to Romo's left. Right after it happened I ran down the sidelines and pointed it out to Grizz that it was a square out to Romo's left.

Here's what makes me concerned about it: If defensive coaches can pick this up, they will begin rolling coverages to Romo's right. That will flood the passing lanes to Romo's right and force him to throw to his left. Coaches did something similar to Rick Mirer after a stellar rookie year, and now Rick is probably flipping burgers somewhere.

 

[hendog]

I mentioned on the DCFanatics Show tonight that in two days of watching practice I noticed something in Romo's game that bothered me. Now, I hope I'm completely overanalyzing this, but here's what I noticed:

Romo has one of the quickest releases in football. He gets the ball out quickly with zip, velocity and a tight spiral. His throwing motion is a quasi-side armed throw at times. In the first two practices he accurately threw to all areas of the field except the 10-20 yard square-in patterns to his left. On Wednesday, Henry dropped a sure INT on a square-out to Romo's left. Also on Wednesday, Romo severely overthrew a receiver on a square-out to his left. Today, Romo wasn’t so lucky. Davis picked-off a square-out to Romo's left. Right after it happened I ran down the sidelines and pointed it out to Grizz that it was a square out to Romo's left.

Here's what makes me concerned about it: If defensive coaches can pick this up, they will begin rolling coverages to Romo's right. That will flood the passing lanes to Romo's right and force him to throw to his left. Coaches did something similar to Rick Mirer after a stellar rookie year, and now Rick is probably flipping burgers somewhere.

Nice obs. Let's hope Romo improves on this.

 

[theogt]

I mentioned on the DCFanatics Show tonight that in two days of watching practice I noticed something in Romo's game that bothered me. Now, I hope I'm completely overanalyzing this, but here's what I noticed:

Romo has one of the quickest releases in football. He gets the ball out quickly with zip, velocity and a tight spiral. His throwing motion is a quasi-side armed throw at times. In the first two practices he accurately threw to all areas of the field except the 10-20 yard square-in patterns to his left. On Wednesday, Henry dropped a sure INT on a square-out to Romo's left. Also on Wednesday, Romo severely overthrew a receiver on a square-out to his left. Today, Romo wasn’t so lucky. Davis picked-off a square-out to Romo's left. Right after it happened I ran down the sidelines and pointed it out to Grizz that it was a square out to Romo's left.

Here's what makes me concerned about it: If defensive coaches can pick this up, they will begin rolling coverages to Romo's right. That will flood the passing lanes to Romo's right and force him to throw to his left. Coaches did something similar to Rick Mirer after a stellar rookie year, and now Rick is probably flipping burgers somewhere.

Interesting observation, but to temper your fears -- his best stats were throwing to the left sideline. Obviously that includes more throws than just the out route, but I wouldn't worry about teams forcing him to throw left:

Left Sideline Passes: 54/95, 768 Yards, 9 TDs/2 INTs, 105.9 QB Rating

He threw more passes to the left sideline than to the left, middle, right, or right sideline. The only direction where he had a better QB Rating (though fewer yards and TDs) was down the middle of the field.

In addition, 8 of his 13 INTs came from the right side of the field (only 4 to the left). If forcing him to throw to the left is the best way to defend him, God help our opponents.

 

[ZeroClub]

What is exactly the problem with the sidearm throwing? I mean Kurt Warner did it, and Trent Green even does it, even when he throws deep.

Besides looking ugly as hell, what is the big deal? Maybe I am missing something.

I believe the problems include that these passes are easier for defensive linemen to defend (hitting the arm during the throwing motion, knocking the ball down at the line of scrimmage) and that sidearm delivery is thought to be less consistent and accurate.

 

[superpunk]

I believe the problems include that these passes are easier for defensive linemen to defend (hitting the arm during the throwing motion, knocking the ball down at the line of scrimmage) and that sidearm delivery is thought to be less consistent and accurate.

It's not his standard motion, though. His standard motion looks a little strange, but it is quick, compact, and always the same. I posted FO's breakdown of more incomplete passes, but we were all pretty busy with camp. Here's the link.

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90765

As you can see, pretty much the only thing Romo has difficulty with is sailing his passes. And I think, if we all draw on our memory banks, we can remember that pretty clearly. From my memory, it seemed to be consistent struggle for him very early in games, before he got into the flow. I think a stronger running game could help that alot - as well as him identifying what he's doing wrong when he comes out there all jacked up.

Anyone else remember the same thing?

 

[joseephuss]

How would you rate Brett Favre's mechanics? They're terrible and he's done "OK". He's the closest thing I can relate Romo to.

We have a star on our hands. His desire/work ethic - unmatched. Sit back and enjoy the show for the next 8 years.

Wade is pulling a BP and trying not to drink the koolaid (in front of the national media). He probs gets in in his office and it's all he can do not to wet himself.:laugh2:

Favre has a much stronger arm than Romo. That is what helped him overcome his "bad mechanics". That term is probably not the best description, but of course Romo can improve his game. What QB can't? I agree with several in that he has to protect the ball better especially as he is moving around.

 

[CowboyJeff]

Interesting observation, but to temper your fears -- his best stats were throwing to the left sideline. Obviously that includes more throws than just the out route, but I wouldn't worry about teams forcing him to throw left:

Left Sideline Passes: 54/95, 768 Yards, 9 TDs/2 INTs, 105.9 QB Rating

He threw more passes to the left sideline than to the left, middle, right, or right sideline. The only direction where he had a better QB Rating (though fewer yards and TDs) was down the middle of the field.

In addition, 8 of his 13 INTs came from the right side of the field (only 4 to the left). If forcing him to throw to the left is the best way to defend him, God help our opponents.

those stats are from the old offensive system, not the new "timing offense." It makes me wonder if Romo's mechanics are better suited for throwing to the left in the old system. Like I said: I really do hope I'm over-analyzing this.

 

[Doomsday101]

Parcells said the same thing about Romo still needing some improvement. I don't see these as major changes but slight adjustments

 

[ZeroClub]

It's not his standard motion, though. His standard motion looks a little strange, but it is quick, compact, and always the same. I posted FO's breakdown of more incomplete passes, but we were all pretty busy with camp. Here's the link.

Sure. Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about Romo specifically. Just about the problems usually associated with sidearm delivery.

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90765

As you can see, pretty much the only thing Romo has difficulty with is sailing his passes. And I think, if we all draw on our memory banks, we can remember that pretty clearly. From my memory, it seemed to be consistent struggle for him very early in games, before he got into the flow. I think a stronger running game could help that alot - as well as him identifying what he's doing wrong when he comes out there all jacked up.

Anyone else remember the same thing?

I remember Romo sailing passes early.

For whatever it is worth, Staubach had a tendency to do the same thing. When he was off, Staubach was usually off high (sailing passes). And he was more likely to be off early in games, rather than later.

 

[superpunk]

those stats are from the old offensive system, not the new "timing offense." It makes me wonder if Romo's mechanics are better suited for throwing to the left in the old system. Like I said: I really do hope I'm over-analyzing this.

It's also day 2 of camp.

 

[burmafrd]

I remember that problem with Mirer. He also had the misfortune to lose the coach that drafted him (Flores, a noted QB developer) after his rookie year. the new coach never liked him and made no effort to work with him- he already had in mind another QB. There are probably quite a few QBs that could have become good if given stability and good consistent coaching. Which is EXACTLY what Romo had. You look at Carr in Texas as someone who did not have the same QB coach two years in a row all the time he was down there. To an extent the same could be said with Harrington.

 

[carphalen5150]

Is it allowed to expect more and want improvements from Romo or is that an act of treason?

 

[Doomsday101]

Is it allowed to expect more and want improvements from Romo or is that an act of treason?

Nothing wrong with wanting more. Right now we have a QB who hit over 65% of his passes and I think fine tuning his game will only lead to better overall play.

 

[theogt]

those stats are from the old offensive system, not the new "timing offense." It makes me wonder if Romo's mechanics are better suited for throwing to the left in the old system. Like I said: I really do hope I'm over-analyzing this.

Look, if it doesn't work, and there is a way that we know does work, I wouldn't worry about it. Jason isn't going to be frustratingly stubborn.

Romo didn't have this problem in the past, and based I wouldn't get excited over a few passes thrown in a couple practices.

The bottom line is that he throws very well to the left. In fact, he throws better to the left than to any other direction.

 

[theogt]

Is it allowed to expect more and want improvements from Romo or is that an act of treason?

Who said it wasn't? Now is it okay to say he has "terrible mechanics?" That's a different story. If you say something ridiculous expect to be jumped on.