Monday night in Cowboys stadium Tony Romo threw 36 passes, but it’s the five that were intercepted by Chicago that are the ones everyone will remember, and it’s Romo’s shoulders that will shelve the blame. When the Cowboys lose its Tony’s fault, and when they win he is rarely if ever given the credit he deserves. So it came as no surprise when the Cowboys suffered a humiliating 36-18 loss to the Chicago Bears that Tony Romo appeared to be yet again the proverbial cheese, he stood alone.
This was only the second time Romo has had more then 3 interceptions in a game in his entire career, but that’s a small footnote in what will be said about him when this game is discussed. It has to be frustrating for him when his receivers drop passes (which they continue to do) and his offensive line offers him up like a Thanksgiving turkey (which they continue to do). To constantly be the whipping post would make most folks bitter, but Tony never flinches. He takes the high road and continues to try to elevate his team to be better.
However, I’m not so nice. So if the blame game is going to be played then so be it, but put it where it goes. Let’s start with the second quarter and interception number one. A pass that was intended for Dez Bryant, who ran the wrong route, was caught by Charles Tillman and run in for a touchdown. He ran the wrong route! Really? Cameras cut to Romo on the sidelines “discussing” what happened with Bryant when what he should have done was rolled up a playbook and smacked Dez hard on the nose a few times with a stern “no!” This was all Dez.
Moving on to the pass meant for Kevin Ogletree, it bounced off of him and was picked off. The pass may or may not have been tipped, but either way it bounced right off Ogletree and out of his reach. The pass, however, was there. Tony was finding his receivers. I won’t lay this one on Tony either. If you don’t know the plays, stay off the field.
Now let’s talk about the lack of protection that resulted in a fumble. This interception stemmed from Romo being sacrificed by his own offense. He was trying to escape pressure but instead was caught from behind knocking the ball lose. It was recovered by Chicago and resulted in a score. Again, not Tony’s fault. He was moving and veering like his life depended on it the entire game, and with an offensive line like that it just might . Two interceptions are left folks, but you have to look at the big picture and give Romo credit. He was backed into a corner and desperately trying to make something happen for his team. That’s what leaders do. He didn’t want to force anything but with circumstances what they were he did what he had to do. So I say give the guy some breathing room… unlike his offensive line.
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Felice grew up in Port Arthur, Texas where pride and loyalty to Texas teams is like breathing. Her love of football started early thanks to her daddy who was a die hard Dallas Cowboy fan. His love of the game was infectious and his resolve on the importance of the passing game… unwavering. Game nights and “couch coaching,” with him has endeared the game to her ever since. She’s graduated from sofa seating to stadium seating but the feelings always the same. Felice lives in Corpus Christi, Texas now but as any loyal fan will tell you geography has no bearing when it comes to football.
I have loved Dallas Cowboys since I was young girl, due to my brother (rest his soul) and have continued through my adult life to be a fan, with this, Dallas in general have lost their love for the game no matter the fact that ROMO needs to go on down the road so does most of the dallas offense and defense, Jerry Jones needs to be the owner and quit trying to be the coach and just simply play ball!!!!!!! I prefer old school football but we all know that is thing of the past what a shame! NFL pays to much for as it is for these player so therefore their love of the game is gone win or lose they get paid and paid BIG……
Ok. .LOL. .Not finished yet. . I’ve got more. .
Taking all that into account and watching the Cowboys all these years, what is it that Romo is best at, that counterbalances the weaknesses in pass protection, and that gives the receivers a chance to run routes, make plays and not have to make so many complicated reads? Situations where they move Romo around, such as rollouts, fake runs, and the no huddle. Romo did a lot of rolling out to avoid the Giants pass rush and it was amazingly effective. It bought him a lot of extra time. Faking the run and then dropping back to pass also put a freeze on the defense and opens up the middle of the field for Witten more. But what I think Dallas would excell at is the no huddle. Not all the time, but when Dallas gets a good matchup they should immediately go to the no huddle. Miles, Dez and Romo are good instinctual players and can open up a defense like that. It wears down the defense and gives Dallas the opportunity to use their weapons to make plays in the open field. Romo is at his best when he is just playing ball. Not when he is sitting in the pocket trapped by pass rushers on either side. We all know Romo is a great improviser, so why don’t we simply give him the opportunity to improvise more? Right now Dallas plays like they are trying to predict what the other teams’ defense will do. This will create a situation where they are in control and the defense has to react to them. Ok. .I think I’m finished now. .I think. . . .
Actually, Fonda, Romo has been getting progressively better each year. There are a lot of problems with the Dallas offense. Let’s take them one at a time: Offensive line – The biggest problem because it creates two hardships: can’t establish a running game and cannot protect the quarterback. Staubach had Tony Dorsett, Aikman had Emmit Smith. Who has Romo had? Julius Jones? seriously? Now that they have a quality back they don’t have an offensive line to open up the running game. No running game, there is nothing to slow the pass rush down, including an offensive line. So we have a pass heavy offense with little balance. Now, next problem: Receivers. Our receivers just haven’t been what they were supposed to be. They don’t get open, they don’t make the big plays often enough and they let balls (count how many third down passes bounced off of receivers hands and chests so far this year). They often don’t finish routes, make the wrong reads (like in the first interception) and give up on plays before they are over. If receivers aren’t getting open with 1:1 or zone coverage, it’s even easier for defensive coordinators to send more pass rushers against an already undermanned offensive line. Next problem: the offensive scheme has become predictable, complicated and compresses the field. If you run plays that put receivers right next to each other, then you have a messy situation with all the defensive backs. It forces Romo to make risky passes. I don’t see Dallas doing what other teams do, such as spread the field, spread the defense thin and open up the middle of the field so guys like Dez and Austin can make some plays. Also it seems like the offense is too dependent on making reads and audibles in an attempt to figure out how to see what the defense will give up. Defenses have figured out how to outsmart the offense, confuse the receivers and force mistakes. This is what happened on the first interception. When Tillman played tight, Dez was supposed to go deep. Tillman backed off right before the ball was snapped knowing he had tricked Dez into going deep. Romo was throwing the correct read: the stop route. If I can figure that out watching the game after watching Garrett’s offensive scheme all these years, you know defensive coordinators have it down too. Sometimes we just got to make the receivers beat the guys across from them and throw them the ball instead of trying to outsmart everyone. Finally, a lot of the junk time interceptions are happening because, when Dallas is falling further behind, Romo is the last one to give up the game and is taking risks trying to make something happen. In other words, he’s the guy trying to make the play, or put someone else in the position to make the play, which means taking risks. When receivers just aren’t running routes, are giving up on plays and just seemed to have given up in general, you’re gonna get interceptions.
Thank you and you’re right it is frustrating and I’m not saying Tony is never at fault I just don’t believe in every instance that he is the entire problem. You just listed two that need to be addressed. Bryant and Garrett are huge factors in regards to the way they are playing ( or not playing as it were) right now. I also don’t see any consistency in the defense and zero productivity out of the offense. Olgetree and Whitten have been hit and miss showing one week disappearing the next, It’s gotten to the point that watching them is a chore.
BTW: I’m not a fan of the owners either.
I enjoyed your article but I tend to disagree. Romo has been in the league over SIX years. I’m pass making excuses for him. Granted, his offensive line hasn’t been up to par this year as well as his receivers. HOWEVER, at the end of the day, he doesn’t seem to be getting any better. This is it for me, IF he can’t get it done, then it’s time for Dallas to cut their ties with him and while they’e cutting take Dez and Jason Garrett too. I wish we could get rid of the owner who is hurting this team more than he is helping. Being a Cowboys fans is sooo frustrating!!!