Confident Tony Romo nowhere to be found
The Dallas Morning News
GLENDALE, Ariz. - His right hand packed in ice afterward, Tony Romo hid the famous dimples behind a mask.
Nothing to smile about anyway, right?
Not after you lose a sloppy overtime game to the Cardinals, 30-24, in front of a schizoid crowd of 64,389, half Cards, half Cowboys, polar opposites forced by wayward allegiances to sit side by side, cheek to cheek.
And if that scene wasn't weird enough, you witnessed the Cowboys quarterback's continued retreat into a shell.
The numbers say he completed 61 percent of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-24 overtime loss to Arizona.
The body language? This is not the quarterback we thought we knew.
When he's feeling it, Romo wears his heart on his sleeve. He's an infectious presence on a team that has thrived on his enthusiasm. When he's happy, he chest bumps, he arm pumps, he bounces. A few times in his short, intense tenure, he's looked as if he might leap into an official's arms.
Question: Does that description sound anything like the Cowboys quarterback you've seen the last few weeks?
"Sporadic," is how Wade Phillips described Romo's play Sunday.
Jerry Jones said Romo "looks like a guy trying to compete and figure it out.
"The defense is throwing a lot at him."
The Cardinals' plan for the Cowboys sounds simple enough, of course, unless you're standing in the hot breath of it.
Still, for the most part, Arizona rushed four linemen as the rest of the defense dropped into coverage. As Romo bounced on the balls of his feet, looking for someone, anyone, to get open, the Cards' defensive front rapidly encircled him.
Result: They came at him from behind, where he's not feeling the pressure and consequently unable to squirt out of the rush's grasp, normally a strong point. They sacked him three times. Not only that, they blindsided him, forcing three official fumbles and one that didn't count because of a premature whistle.
Romo doesn't do a good job of protecting the ball as it is, and that was before he sprained a pinky in overtime. When he doesn't see the rush coming, he's particularly vulnerable.
And that's what he's looked
like lately: a once-confident quarterback suddenly vulnerable.
Maybe he's thinking too much. Maybe he's worried what T.O. thinks.
Maybe he's overcompensating for turnovers. The most overblown stat of the season was his NFL-leading interception streak going into the Arizona game. Well, he didn't throw one Sunday. So much for that stat.
A sports culture primer on Romo: Like Don Meredith, a kindred spirit, he's the type of QB who's going to throw interceptions. He has to compensate by throwing touchdowns. For better or worse, he has to play like his idol, Brett Favre. Cut loose, let it rip, have a little fun.
Otherwise, he plays as if he's lost his confidence. And a QB with no confidence is lost.
For the record, Jerry doesn't believe in body language. He says he used to get critical letters about Troy Aikman's look, and he never paid them any mind.
But Aikman and Romo are two different kinds of quarterbacks. Aikman - stoic, aloof, cold-blooded - ran a highly efficient offense that needed his precision, not his personality.
These Cowboys make too many mistakes on offense to grind the ball down the field. They need big plays. They need big plays from their quarterback.
They need Tony Romo, the happy gunslinger who captured a fandom's hearts. Whoever this new guy is, it's not working out.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - His right hand packed in ice afterward, Tony Romo hid the famous dimples behind a mask.
Nothing to smile about anyway, right?
Not after you lose a sloppy overtime game to the Cardinals, 30-24, in front of a schizoid crowd of 64,389, half Cards, half Cowboys, polar opposites forced by wayward allegiances to sit side by side, cheek to cheek.
And if that scene wasn't weird enough, you witnessed the Cowboys quarterback's continued retreat into a shell.
The numbers say he completed 61 percent of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-24 overtime loss to Arizona.
The body language? This is not the quarterback we thought we knew.
When he's feeling it, Romo wears his heart on his sleeve. He's an infectious presence on a team that has thrived on his enthusiasm. When he's happy, he chest bumps, he arm pumps, he bounces. A few times in his short, intense tenure, he's looked as if he might leap into an official's arms.
Question: Does that description sound anything like the Cowboys quarterback you've seen the last few weeks?
"Sporadic," is how Wade Phillips described Romo's play Sunday.
Jerry Jones said Romo "looks like a guy trying to compete and figure it out.
"The defense is throwing a lot at him."
The Cardinals' plan for the Cowboys sounds simple enough, of course, unless you're standing in the hot breath of it.
Still, for the most part, Arizona rushed four linemen as the rest of the defense dropped into coverage. As Romo bounced on the balls of his feet, looking for someone, anyone, to get open, the Cards' defensive front rapidly encircled him.
Result: They came at him from behind, where he's not feeling the pressure and consequently unable to squirt out of the rush's grasp, normally a strong point. They sacked him three times. Not only that, they blindsided him, forcing three official fumbles and one that didn't count because of a premature whistle.
Romo doesn't do a good job of protecting the ball as it is, and that was before he sprained a pinky in overtime. When he doesn't see the rush coming, he's particularly vulnerable.
And that's what he's looked
like lately: a once-confident quarterback suddenly vulnerable.
Maybe he's thinking too much. Maybe he's worried what T.O. thinks.
Maybe he's overcompensating for turnovers. The most overblown stat of the season was his NFL-leading interception streak going into the Arizona game. Well, he didn't throw one Sunday. So much for that stat.
A sports culture primer on Romo: Like Don Meredith, a kindred spirit, he's the type of QB who's going to throw interceptions. He has to compensate by throwing touchdowns. For better or worse, he has to play like his idol, Brett Favre. Cut loose, let it rip, have a little fun.
Otherwise, he plays as if he's lost his confidence. And a QB with no confidence is lost.
For the record, Jerry doesn't believe in body language. He says he used to get critical letters about Troy Aikman's look, and he never paid them any mind.
But Aikman and Romo are two different kinds of quarterbacks. Aikman - stoic, aloof, cold-blooded - ran a highly efficient offense that needed his precision, not his personality.
These Cowboys make too many mistakes on offense to grind the ball down the field. They need big plays. They need big plays from their quarterback.
They need Tony Romo, the happy gunslinger who captured a fandom's hearts. Whoever this new guy is, it's not working out.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:50 AM
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