Machota: Witten On Manziel/Romo

[lostxn]

So much confidence that Jerry felt compelled to call him before the draft to tell him that everything was going to be OK & that they weren't going to draft Manziel? I've always rooted hard for Romo since he was a non-drafted guy from EIU that turned out to be a pretty good NFL QB. But I'm not sure I've ever seen such a coddled player who has accomplished so little over so many years. Nice overall numbers, sure, but almost no postseason success & a history of shitting the bed in some of the biggest games of his career. They've seemingly been obsessed with making him 'comfortable' by refusing to bring in a legit threat to his job when they should have probably started making him uncomfortable quite some time ago. I'm ready to move on from Romo & Witten. Good players for a bad franchise but they have loser stink all over them. Next.

blah blah blah blah. Elway and Manning were always considered losers until they finally pushed past the hurdle. In both cases, it wasn't until the team around them was tops in the league.

So tired of this simplistic rhetoric when you all know it's a team game. Hell, Tom Brady is probably the best WB ever and he's lost 2 superbowls. What a loser...

Either the team is going to come together (personnel and coaching) and he'll have a shot or it never will. Odds are it never will. That's the facts and every one of you know it. So why make such a facile argument again and again?

 

[E_D_Guapo]

blah blah blah blah. Elway and Manning were always considered losers until they finally pushed past the hurdle. In both cases, it wasn't until the team around them was tops in the league.

So tired of this simplistic rhetoric when you all know it's a team game. Hell, Tom Brady is probably the best WB ever and he's lost 2 superbowls. What a loser...

Either the team is going to come together (personnel and coaching) and he'll have a shot or it never will. Odds are it never will. That's the facts and every one of you know it. So why make such a facile argument again and again?

Not talking about Elway or Manning and you're a fool if you believe Romo is on that level. At least they were elevating their teams and getting them deep into the playoffs/to the Super Bowl before they got over the hump. And look how shitty the Colts were as soon as Manning went down. Romo is good, he's not great. He's had opportunities to do more than he's done and he has failed.

You and Jerry Jones can keep on believing that Romo is a "muricle". Keep on absolving Romo and placing all the blame on everyone else. It certainly isn't all Romo's fault but I'm sick and tired of the bullshit blah, blah blah rhetoric that "Poor Romo, he's just never had the team around him to do any better than he's done. It's not his fault." Bullshit. He deserves his fair share of the blame and it's ridiculous that they have made zero effort to find the replacement for a guy with one playoff win and a shitload of embarrassing mistakes at critical times in critical games. Like it or not, that is what his legacy is going to be.

I'm ready to move on so they can quit pretending that they aren't in rebuild mode and that the proverbial window is still open. It isn't. Don't stop believin' though, bro! Put on your Romo jammies and dream of the day when he wins the Super Bowl.

 

[boozeman]

blah blah blah blah. Elway and Manning were always considered losers until they finally pushed past the hurdle. In both cases, it wasn't until the team around them was tops in the league.

So tired of this simplistic rhetoric when you all know it's a team game. Hell, Tom Brady is probably the best WB ever and he's lost 2 superbowls. What a loser...

Either the team is going to come together (personnel and coaching) and he'll have a shot or it never will. Odds are it never will. That's the facts and every one of you know it. So why make such a facile argument again and again?

It goes both ways.

Yes, it is a team game.

But the simple fact remains, when the chips are down, the QB has to elevate his play.

No matter what. And when I say "elevate" that could be something as simple as not make that rash throw trying to be a hero when the stakes are high.

That is the general issue here.

You want to talk about simplistic arguments? The one used to excuse Romo's foibles as "it's a team game" is about as simple as it gets.

 

[Clay_Allison]

So much confidence that Jerry felt compelled to call him before the draft to tell him that everything was going to be OK & that they weren't going to draft Manziel? I've always rooted hard for Romo since he was a non-drafted guy from EIU that turned out to be a pretty good NFL QB. But I'm not sure I've ever seen such a coddled player who has accomplished so little over so many years. Nice overall numbers, sure, but almost no postseason success & a history of shitting the bed in some of the biggest games of his career. They've seemingly been obsessed with making him 'comfortable' by refusing to bring in a legit threat to his job when they should have probably started making him uncomfortable quite some time ago. I'm ready to move on from Romo & Witten. Good players for a bad franchise but they have loser stink all over them. Next.

They made Romo way too important, put him in a class of his own above the rest of the team, like Marino and Elway where the "franchise QB" has pull in the FO. He should never have been elevated that much.

 

[boozeman]

They made Romo way too important, put him in a class of his own above the rest of the team, like Marino and Elway where the "franchise QB" has pull in the FO. He should never have been elevated that much.

Durrr...Marino never won a Super Bowl...took Manning and Elway forever....

Well, all of those guys had success, you know, real success that were not empty stats with a couple of playoff wins over their careers. Elway was taking entire teams, worse teams, on his damn back to just lose a Super Bowl.

Romo is nothing like any of those guys. In other words, not a "franchise QB" in the way they defined it.

If Romo is a "franchise QB" somebody changed the definition on it.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Everyone says that the Dallas Cowboys GM cannot draft correctly or evaluate players correctly so how can they have a group that makes a good team? Which is it?

 

[Carp]

Everyone says that the Dallas Cowboys GM cannot draft correctly or evaluate players correctly so how can they have a group that makes a good team? Which is it?

Good lord.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Good lord.

Are you praying?

 

[Carp]

Are you praying?

Romo has had tools to win...let's not pretend he hasn't.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Romo has had tools to win...let's not pretend he hasn't.

That's my position as well. He is after all the QB that has set all the records for the club and the team has relied on the most. I hope the coaches give him some help this season. I believe they now have the personnel to compete on both sides of the ball.

 

[lostxn]

You want to talk about simplistic arguments? The one used to excuse Romo's foibles as "it's a team game" is about as simple as it gets.

Yeah...not so much. Your argument holds no water. You know damn well Romo is not this team's primary problem. You know what is - the GM. You know the coaching and talent acquisition has not been what it needs to be to win consistently. Romo is a top 10 QB in this league and is better than several of the QBs that have won SBs during his tenure. They all had better teams around them. You know this. So stop making such a fallacious argument.

 

[lostxn]

Romo has had tools to win...let's not pretend he hasn't.

He's had one year (2007) where his team had the talent to get to the SB. They got beaten by the team that went on to win it all. Go back and watch that game. We didn't lose because of Romo. He made play after play. Crayton's drops and quitting on routes doomed us. Not to mention the O-line wearing out. Besides if we had won, we would have been blown out by the Pats in the SB just like they did the regular season. We matched up poorly with them.

Every other year our defense had major holes +/- we had no running game.

So let's not pretend he has.

 

[Carp]

He's had one year (2007) where his team had the talent to get to the SB. They got beaten by the team that went on to win it all. Go back and watch that game. We didn't lose because of Romo. He made play after play. Crayton's drops and quitting on routes doomed us. Not to mention the O-line wearing out. Besides if we had won, we would have been blown out by the Pats in the SB just like they did the regular season. We matched up poorly with them.

Every other year our defense had major holes +/- we had no running game.

So let's not pretend he has.

Every team has holes, but things have to be absolutely perfect for him to win. That is not a franchise QB...a franchise QB can make up for deficiencies the team has.

 

[ravidubey]

I'd say not getting Manziel was just as much to do with the fact that not only would Tony feel threatened, this guy wouldn't like it either.

It's not about anyone feeling threatened and more about Romo's contract and fear of "starting over".

 

[boozeman]

It's not about anyone feeling threatened and more about Romo's contract and fear of "starting over".

Not quite so certain about that. Not a major factor too, but I am sure that was a small percentage of what went into it.

 

[ravidubey]

Not quite so certain about that. Not a major factor too, but I am sure that was a small percentage of what went into it.

Playing with 20 million in dead money attributed to one player in 2015 is a big motivating factor for not drafting his replacement--especially when he's healthy and productive.

Jones believes Romo and Martin gives the team a better chance of a 2014 championship than Romo with Manziel as a backup.

I think that's technically accurate, though a 2014 playoff run at all behind this light, untested, injured, and untalented defensive front is dicey.

Personally I believe Manziel won't be NFL ready for years, if ever.

 

[boozeman]

Playing with 20 million in dead money attributed to one player in 2015 is a big motivating factor for not drafting his replacement--especially when he's healthy and productive.

Jones believes Romo and Martin gives the team a better chance of a 2014 championship than Romo with Manziel as a backup.

I think that's technically accurate, though a 2014 playoff run at all behind this light, untested, injured, and untalented defensive front is dicey.

Personally I believe Manziel won't be NFL ready for years, if ever.

I think he resurrects that franchise honestly.

 

[ravidubey]

I think he resurrects that franchise honestly.

You have good instincts for these things.

I just don't see the physical skills, and the things that most made him successful in college (slow defensive pursuit, mismatches on Mike Evans, slow defensive recovery to change of direction) don't exist in the NFL. In college he could throw ducks back against his body into the middle of the field and still win. I also think he gets hit and hurt before long.

 

[Cotton]

You have good instincts for these things.

I just don't see the physical skills, and the things that most made him successful in college (slow defensive pursuit, mismatches on Mike Evans, slow defensive recovery to change of direction) don't exist in the NFL. In college he could throw ducks back against his body into the middle of the field and still win. I also think he gets hit and hurt before long.

He also never had to learn to complete his reads in college. He would just pull he ball down and run. He can't do that in the NFL, so he only way I see him succeeding is to learn that skill. Pulling the ball down too early in the NFL results in only two things. An anemic offense and injury.

 

[ravidubey]

Pulling the ball down too early in the NFL results in only two things. An anemic offense and injury.

Right. At least Michael Vick had the sub 4.4 speed to run away from defenders and unbelievable arm strength to bail him out of bad plays. Manziel has neither. The most successful short QB, Drew Brees, was a great pocket passer in college and ridiculously productive.

I will say Manziel is a leader and is more than capable of becoming the face of a franchise if he is successful at all on the field.