Romo's art is still 'a work in progress'
A liberal dose
August 20, 2007
IRVING -- Cowboys center Andre Gurode admits that about one month after the 2006 season ended -- amid the fun and surf of Hawaii and the NFL Pro Bowl -- he was concerned about his quarterback.
'Most people say it's easy to let that game go,' Gurode said of his team's first-round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. 'But even at the Pro Bowl, we were happy as teammates and we supported each other, but every now and then that thought came in.
'We'd see the Colts come onto the field, and they were in the Super Bowl. Or the Bears. We should have had that chance.'
Since February, Gurode's concerns about Tony Romo have faded. He sees a more confident, calm and refined quarterback. But two games into his first preseason as a starting quarterback, and despite the apparent growth, Romo remains an unfinished product.
'Two preseason games into this thing, I feel a lot more comfortable with Tony than I did last spring,' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. 'It's a work in progress. Everything we're seeing now and everything we saw in training camp is all good.'
Romo's teammates see a different person than they did in December or January. He's a player who realizes how much rides on his development, including a possible lottery-type contract extension.
'That Seattle game affected him. It stayed on his mind, as well as everybody's mind,' Gurode said. 'Even from that game his focus has been, I don't want to say desperate, but there is urgency. It's, 'We need to get this right, and we need to get this right, right now.''
Improving to 2-0 in the preseason with Saturday night's 31-20 win over the Broncos, Romo is completing 72.4 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and one interception. He has been efficient, not spectacular or flashy.
And unlike last season when Romo appeared too excitable at times -- think Joey Harrington or Rex Grossman -- he's calmed a bit.
But he's not perfect. Nor should he be. Romo may be a veteran by age, but in game experience, he's still a rookie.
Romo is 27 and entering his fifth NFL season, but he has only 10 regular-season starts. That's one fewer than Arizona's Matt Leinart and three fewer than Tennessee's Vince Young, a pair of 24-year-olds.
Until the season begins, the book on Romo remains the same: Force him to be a pocket passer to limit his effectiveness. When Romo was on his way to being named NFC player of the month in November, he was usually at his best when he moved around and made throws on the run.
When he faced New Orleans in December, it was clear the league had figured him out. The Saints made him stand in the pocket, and he wasn't as effective in a 42-17 loss.
'He enjoys freelancing and throwing on the move, but I think he has the ability to stand in the pocket and make all the throws,' Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said.
The Cowboys want him to keep the mobility and freelance aspect of his game. They like that he moves up into the pocket and doesn't continually retreat. But there is a catch.
'Watching him on tape last year, he improvised when he had protection; we want him to improvise when protection breaks down,' Wilson said. 'The only way he can actually learn that is by playing.'
What Romo is attempting to do now is adjust to the league after it adjusted to him. How well he does likely will determine how much success he has in the NFL.
So far in the preseason, the results are encouraging.
'Here is the bottom line: If you can't do it in the preseason, it's probably hard to do it in the regular season,' Romo said after Saturday's game. 'If you can do it in the preseason, you give yourself a better chance.'
COWBOYS' 2007 SCHEDULE
Preseason
Thu., Aug. 9 Indianapolis W, 23-10 Sat., Aug. 19 Denver W, 31-20 Saturday at Houston 7 p.m. (KTVT/11) Thu., Aug. 30 at Minnesota 7 p.m. (KTVT/11) Regular season Sun., Sept. 9 NY Giants* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Sept. 16 at Miami 3:05 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sun., Sept. 23 at Chicago* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Sept. 30 St. Louis Noon (KDFW/4) Mon., Oct. 8 at Buffalo* 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Sun., Oct. 14 New England 3:15 p.m. (KTVT/11) Sun., Oct. 21 Minnesota Noon (KDFW/4) Sun., Oct. 28 bye week Sun., Nov. 4 at Philadelphia* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Nov. 11 at NY Giants 3:15 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sun., Nov. 18 Washington Noon (KDFW/4) Thu., Nov. 22 NY Jets* 3:15 p.m. (KTVT/11) Thu., Nov. 29 Green Bay* 7:15 p.m. (NFLN) Sun., Dec. 9 at Detroit Noon (KDFW/4) Sun., Dec. 16 Philadelphia 3:15 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sat., Dec. 22 at Carolina* 7:15 p.m. (NFLN) Sun., Dec. 30 at Washington Noon (KDFW/4)
*nationally televised games
August 20, 2007
IRVING -- Cowboys center Andre Gurode admits that about one month after the 2006 season ended -- amid the fun and surf of Hawaii and the NFL Pro Bowl -- he was concerned about his quarterback.
'Most people say it's easy to let that game go,' Gurode said of his team's first-round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. 'But even at the Pro Bowl, we were happy as teammates and we supported each other, but every now and then that thought came in.
'We'd see the Colts come onto the field, and they were in the Super Bowl. Or the Bears. We should have had that chance.'
Since February, Gurode's concerns about Tony Romo have faded. He sees a more confident, calm and refined quarterback. But two games into his first preseason as a starting quarterback, and despite the apparent growth, Romo remains an unfinished product.
'Two preseason games into this thing, I feel a lot more comfortable with Tony than I did last spring,' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. 'It's a work in progress. Everything we're seeing now and everything we saw in training camp is all good.'
Romo's teammates see a different person than they did in December or January. He's a player who realizes how much rides on his development, including a possible lottery-type contract extension.
'That Seattle game affected him. It stayed on his mind, as well as everybody's mind,' Gurode said. 'Even from that game his focus has been, I don't want to say desperate, but there is urgency. It's, 'We need to get this right, and we need to get this right, right now.''
Improving to 2-0 in the preseason with Saturday night's 31-20 win over the Broncos, Romo is completing 72.4 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and one interception. He has been efficient, not spectacular or flashy.
And unlike last season when Romo appeared too excitable at times -- think Joey Harrington or Rex Grossman -- he's calmed a bit.
But he's not perfect. Nor should he be. Romo may be a veteran by age, but in game experience, he's still a rookie.
Romo is 27 and entering his fifth NFL season, but he has only 10 regular-season starts. That's one fewer than Arizona's Matt Leinart and three fewer than Tennessee's Vince Young, a pair of 24-year-olds.
Until the season begins, the book on Romo remains the same: Force him to be a pocket passer to limit his effectiveness. When Romo was on his way to being named NFC player of the month in November, he was usually at his best when he moved around and made throws on the run.
When he faced New Orleans in December, it was clear the league had figured him out. The Saints made him stand in the pocket, and he wasn't as effective in a 42-17 loss.
'He enjoys freelancing and throwing on the move, but I think he has the ability to stand in the pocket and make all the throws,' Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said.
The Cowboys want him to keep the mobility and freelance aspect of his game. They like that he moves up into the pocket and doesn't continually retreat. But there is a catch.
'Watching him on tape last year, he improvised when he had protection; we want him to improvise when protection breaks down,' Wilson said. 'The only way he can actually learn that is by playing.'
What Romo is attempting to do now is adjust to the league after it adjusted to him. How well he does likely will determine how much success he has in the NFL.
So far in the preseason, the results are encouraging.
'Here is the bottom line: If you can't do it in the preseason, it's probably hard to do it in the regular season,' Romo said after Saturday's game. 'If you can do it in the preseason, you give yourself a better chance.'
COWBOYS' 2007 SCHEDULE
Preseason
Thu., Aug. 9 Indianapolis W, 23-10 Sat., Aug. 19 Denver W, 31-20 Saturday at Houston 7 p.m. (KTVT/11) Thu., Aug. 30 at Minnesota 7 p.m. (KTVT/11) Regular season Sun., Sept. 9 NY Giants* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Sept. 16 at Miami 3:05 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sun., Sept. 23 at Chicago* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Sept. 30 St. Louis Noon (KDFW/4) Mon., Oct. 8 at Buffalo* 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Sun., Oct. 14 New England 3:15 p.m. (KTVT/11) Sun., Oct. 21 Minnesota Noon (KDFW/4) Sun., Oct. 28 bye week Sun., Nov. 4 at Philadelphia* 7:15 p.m. (KXAS/5) Sun., Nov. 11 at NY Giants 3:15 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sun., Nov. 18 Washington Noon (KDFW/4) Thu., Nov. 22 NY Jets* 3:15 p.m. (KTVT/11) Thu., Nov. 29 Green Bay* 7:15 p.m. (NFLN) Sun., Dec. 9 at Detroit Noon (KDFW/4) Sun., Dec. 16 Philadelphia 3:15 p.m. (KDFW/4) Sat., Dec. 22 at Carolina* 7:15 p.m. (NFLN) Sun., Dec. 30 at Washington Noon (KDFW/4)
*nationally televised games
posted by The Gryphon at 9:57 AM
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