A healthy Romo is a must for the Cowboys
by Steve Greenberg is a writer for Sporting News.
IRVING, Texas -- How much trouble would the Indianapolis Colts be in if they were forced to play a prolonged stretch without Peyton Manning? Or the New England Patriots if they had to try to win the AFC East without Tom Brady?
No more than what the Dallas Cowboys would face if Tony Romo went down.
Romo is as valuable to his team as any quarterback in the NFL. That value was on display Friday night at Texas Stadium in a 23-22 Cowboys' win over the Houston Texans.
In five first-half possessions -- Romo taking every offensive snap -- the Cowboys scored 20 points. They should have scored 27, but Romo (nobody said he was perfect) blew up a drive when he was intercepted in the end zone on second-and-goal at the 1.
Still, the third-year starter was magnificent, completing 15 of 19 passes for 166 yards and a score.
"I thought we (were) pretty efficient tonight," Romo said. "It's exciting to come out in the first half and move the ball like we did."
And it's scary to think what the Cowboys would do without him. Thus far in the preseason, Romo has led the team to 27 points in eight possessions. Without him, the NFC East favorites have scored only 26 points in 26 possessions.
"We went down the field against a pretty good defense without much trouble," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. "That was impressive."
Romo's backup, Brad Johnson, had a 35-yard completion to rookie Danny Amendola, but mostly he went the dink-and-dunk route that does absolutely nothing to put a defense on its heels. His safe passing has kept him in the league a long time -- Johnson will turn 40 next month -- but his inability to throw the ball vertically compromises the Cowboys' high-powered attack enormously.
The Colts or Patriots might be glad to have Johnson as a backup. Then again, maybe not. Johnson won a Super Bowl as a starter with Tampa Bay, but even then his primary strength was protecting the football. That philosophy really shouldn't cut it for the Colts, Pats or Cowboys -- the three most intimidating offenses in football.
Over Johnson's past six seasons as a starter, he has never averaged more than 6.9 yards per pass attempt. In 2007, Romo averaged 8.1 yards per attempt -- second in the league to Brady's 8.3. Romo had 55 completions of 20 or more yards, second to Brady's 56.
For the Cowboys, those numbers mean they can stretch the field with wide receiver Terrell Owens and tight end Jason Witten. Owens is a terror running deep crossing routes and go routes; Witten is better over the deep middle than any other tight end in the game. Johnson can't get the ball to either Pro Bowler where he is at his most dangerous.
This is not to trash Johnson, a terrific team guy and a quality game manager. The point is that Romo, with his strong arm and his passionate devotion to the vertical game, is as irreplaceable as anyone.
"It was 20-10 at the half," Phillips said. "I would take that every game."
Of course he would. With a healthy quarterback, he won't be disappointed very often.
IRVING, Texas -- How much trouble would the Indianapolis Colts be in if they were forced to play a prolonged stretch without Peyton Manning? Or the New England Patriots if they had to try to win the AFC East without Tom Brady?
No more than what the Dallas Cowboys would face if Tony Romo went down.
Romo is as valuable to his team as any quarterback in the NFL. That value was on display Friday night at Texas Stadium in a 23-22 Cowboys' win over the Houston Texans.
In five first-half possessions -- Romo taking every offensive snap -- the Cowboys scored 20 points. They should have scored 27, but Romo (nobody said he was perfect) blew up a drive when he was intercepted in the end zone on second-and-goal at the 1.
Still, the third-year starter was magnificent, completing 15 of 19 passes for 166 yards and a score.
"I thought we (were) pretty efficient tonight," Romo said. "It's exciting to come out in the first half and move the ball like we did."
And it's scary to think what the Cowboys would do without him. Thus far in the preseason, Romo has led the team to 27 points in eight possessions. Without him, the NFC East favorites have scored only 26 points in 26 possessions.
"We went down the field against a pretty good defense without much trouble," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. "That was impressive."
Romo's backup, Brad Johnson, had a 35-yard completion to rookie Danny Amendola, but mostly he went the dink-and-dunk route that does absolutely nothing to put a defense on its heels. His safe passing has kept him in the league a long time -- Johnson will turn 40 next month -- but his inability to throw the ball vertically compromises the Cowboys' high-powered attack enormously.
The Colts or Patriots might be glad to have Johnson as a backup. Then again, maybe not. Johnson won a Super Bowl as a starter with Tampa Bay, but even then his primary strength was protecting the football. That philosophy really shouldn't cut it for the Colts, Pats or Cowboys -- the three most intimidating offenses in football.
Over Johnson's past six seasons as a starter, he has never averaged more than 6.9 yards per pass attempt. In 2007, Romo averaged 8.1 yards per attempt -- second in the league to Brady's 8.3. Romo had 55 completions of 20 or more yards, second to Brady's 56.
For the Cowboys, those numbers mean they can stretch the field with wide receiver Terrell Owens and tight end Jason Witten. Owens is a terror running deep crossing routes and go routes; Witten is better over the deep middle than any other tight end in the game. Johnson can't get the ball to either Pro Bowler where he is at his most dangerous.
This is not to trash Johnson, a terrific team guy and a quality game manager. The point is that Romo, with his strong arm and his passionate devotion to the vertical game, is as irreplaceable as anyone.
"It was 20-10 at the half," Phillips said. "I would take that every game."
Of course he would. With a healthy quarterback, he won't be disappointed very often.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:01 AM
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