Gruden says Cowboys quarterback looked a lot like Aikman
11:51 PM CST on Thursday, November 23, 2006
IRVING – Cowboys coach Bill Parcells wants us to put away the oil we're using to anoint Tony Romo.
No problem. A tape recorder is easier to carry and more practical when it comes to interviewing Jon Gruden.
The Tampa Bay coach would rather develop his own quarterback than build up someone else's. But as a connoisseur of the position, Gruden was compelled to weigh in on Romo's performance Thursday.
"I thought it was Troy Aikman out there," Gruden said. "He's a fine quarterback."
Tampa Bay's Cover 2 defense no longer frustrates opponents the way it once did. The unit doesn't rank among the league's top 10 for the first time this decade. It's been 14 years since a quarterback humbled the Buccaneers secondary the way Romo did on Thanksgiving.
"He threw five touchdown passes, and four of them were into our bread-and-butter defense," Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber said. "So yeah, he was as prepared as anyone we've played against this year. He made us look really bad."
Try really, really bad.
Romo didn't come close to throwing an interception. He completed 22 of 29 passes and at least three of his throws were dropped.
The Tampa Bay defenders were torn. They were so generous to Romo during the game, how much praise would they heap on him afterward? Should they use some of that oil Parcells talked about, or take responsibility for multiple defensive breakdowns?
The Bucs landed somewhere in the middle.
Barber lauded Romo for not making bad choices. But he also chastised himself and his teammates for not doing their jobs, saying, "it was not so much them kicking our [expletive] as it was us kicking our own [expletive]."
Gruden didn't disagree.
"There are a number of things that happened," the Bucs coach said. "We had a guy fall down one time. We had a number of things happen I really don't want to get into.
"Romo escaped a couple of times. He broke containment, he bought time. We didn't get a lot of pressure on him. He has a lot of great receivers, and he put it together. He ripped us today.
"He's a very polished technician right now, and he's got a bevy of guys to go to. He's got a great future."
Tampa Bay's future with Bruce Gradkowski isn't nearly as clear.
The rookie had his moments. But a Dallas defense that rudely handled rookie quarterbacks Vince Young and Matt Leinart earlier this season treated Gradkowski with the same disdain.
The Cowboys spotted Gradkowski a touchdown and 66 yards through the air on his first possession, then limited him to 54 yards passing and no touchdowns the rest of the way. He was intercepted twice and finished with a quarterback rating of 29.2.
The Bucs are on the wrong end of all kinds of numbers these days. Tampa Bay has already lost eight games and any hope of making the playoffs. Thursday marked the team's third game in the last 11 days. Two of them were on the road, where the team has yet to win.
"Yeah it's a big factor," Gruden said of the three-game stretch that he and general manager Bruce Allen have called unfair. "It's a hard deal."
But the deal this day was Tony Romo.
Strong safety Jermaine Phillips said the Cowboys quarterback has a nice arm and put some throws in tight spots. He picked up on Gruden's theme and pointed out that in Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn and Jason Witten, the Cowboys have plenty of playmakers to help Romo out.
It sounds as if Phillips was more disappointed in the Bucs' performance than he was impressed by Romo. Is that fair?
"Well, you can't say it's not what Romo does," Phillips said. "They had [Drew] Bledsoe in there, and he wasn't doing the job.
"So obviously, Romo is doing something right."
It was painfully obvious to Tampa Bay on this afternoon.
IRVING – Cowboys coach Bill Parcells wants us to put away the oil we're using to anoint Tony Romo.
No problem. A tape recorder is easier to carry and more practical when it comes to interviewing Jon Gruden.
The Tampa Bay coach would rather develop his own quarterback than build up someone else's. But as a connoisseur of the position, Gruden was compelled to weigh in on Romo's performance Thursday.
"I thought it was Troy Aikman out there," Gruden said. "He's a fine quarterback."
Tampa Bay's Cover 2 defense no longer frustrates opponents the way it once did. The unit doesn't rank among the league's top 10 for the first time this decade. It's been 14 years since a quarterback humbled the Buccaneers secondary the way Romo did on Thanksgiving.
"He threw five touchdown passes, and four of them were into our bread-and-butter defense," Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber said. "So yeah, he was as prepared as anyone we've played against this year. He made us look really bad."
Try really, really bad.
Romo didn't come close to throwing an interception. He completed 22 of 29 passes and at least three of his throws were dropped.
The Tampa Bay defenders were torn. They were so generous to Romo during the game, how much praise would they heap on him afterward? Should they use some of that oil Parcells talked about, or take responsibility for multiple defensive breakdowns?
The Bucs landed somewhere in the middle.
Barber lauded Romo for not making bad choices. But he also chastised himself and his teammates for not doing their jobs, saying, "it was not so much them kicking our [expletive] as it was us kicking our own [expletive]."
Gruden didn't disagree.
"There are a number of things that happened," the Bucs coach said. "We had a guy fall down one time. We had a number of things happen I really don't want to get into.
"Romo escaped a couple of times. He broke containment, he bought time. We didn't get a lot of pressure on him. He has a lot of great receivers, and he put it together. He ripped us today.
"He's a very polished technician right now, and he's got a bevy of guys to go to. He's got a great future."
Tampa Bay's future with Bruce Gradkowski isn't nearly as clear.
The rookie had his moments. But a Dallas defense that rudely handled rookie quarterbacks Vince Young and Matt Leinart earlier this season treated Gradkowski with the same disdain.
The Cowboys spotted Gradkowski a touchdown and 66 yards through the air on his first possession, then limited him to 54 yards passing and no touchdowns the rest of the way. He was intercepted twice and finished with a quarterback rating of 29.2.
The Bucs are on the wrong end of all kinds of numbers these days. Tampa Bay has already lost eight games and any hope of making the playoffs. Thursday marked the team's third game in the last 11 days. Two of them were on the road, where the team has yet to win.
"Yeah it's a big factor," Gruden said of the three-game stretch that he and general manager Bruce Allen have called unfair. "It's a hard deal."
But the deal this day was Tony Romo.
Strong safety Jermaine Phillips said the Cowboys quarterback has a nice arm and put some throws in tight spots. He picked up on Gruden's theme and pointed out that in Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn and Jason Witten, the Cowboys have plenty of playmakers to help Romo out.
It sounds as if Phillips was more disappointed in the Bucs' performance than he was impressed by Romo. Is that fair?
"Well, you can't say it's not what Romo does," Phillips said. "They had [Drew] Bledsoe in there, and he wasn't doing the job.
"So obviously, Romo is doing something right."
It was painfully obvious to Tampa Bay on this afternoon.
posted by The Gryphon at 12:12 PM
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