Watkins: A look at Tony Romo under duress

Cotton

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A look at Tony Romo under duress

May, 7, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said he wants to utilize how quarterback Tony Romo is able to make plays, especially under duress. Romo's ability to move away from trouble makes him one of the best players at his position.

Or does it?

According to ESPN's Stats and Information, Romo was fourth in the NFL with 505 yards outside the pocket and was tied for the lead with seven touchdown passes. Romo, who completed 56.7 percent of his passes outside the pocket last season, had a 116.3 quarterback rating. He also threw just one interception.

However, when Romo is rushed by five or more defenders he's tied with the New York JetsMark Sanchez for the league lead with eight interceptions. Romo made 206 pass attempts against five or more defenders last season and finished third in the NFL with 1,443 yards.

The Cowboys' offense line gets criticized for its struggles in pass protection. Romo was sacked 13 times when faced with five or more defenders, 12th most in the NFL. That's not bad.

How a quarterback performs under pressure can make or break games or seasons. While Romo can make plays on the run, sometimes he holds the ball too long, which leads to problems. According to Pro Football Focus, Romo threw the ball away 13 times in 2012.

I would think that number would be higher, given how Romo was rushed at least 200 times last season. I understand where Jones says he wants the Cowboys to use Romo's ability to dodge defenders more, but when he does that, it's only because there was a breakdown somewhere once the play started.

One Romo's biggest strengths is alluding pressure and making throws all over the field. The Cowboys believe Romo is an elite quarterback and his numbers when under duress gives them the confidence in believing that.

Can he keep that up in 2013?
 

ravidubey

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Handling pressure is a team problem. The OC has to account for it in his play design, the OL has to zone block, the backs and TE's have to pass protect or release into patterns as needed, WR's have to recognize and adjust their patterns, and the QB has to see where the extra defender is coming from and react accordingly.

In 2007 Dallas destroyed teams that blitzed.

They had Andre Gurode playing at an all-pro level and Terrell Owens with the speed and ability to get open across the middle. If you blitzed Romo killed you. Things changed when Gurode and Owens went down to injury. The Giants in the second half of the playoff game blitzed right up the middle against Gurode and TO couldn't get open.

Since Gurode's injury, the OL went into a steady decline and hit rock bottom several times. The receiving corps had a resurgence with Austin in 2009, but he lacked Owens' ridiculous combination of speed and size to break the blitz.

Last year, Washington blitzed Romo relentlessly. Ridiculously even, but the WR's couldn't get open (Hall was holding, but it wasn't getting called), the OL couldn't block, Romo couldn't throw in the cold weather, and Garrett never adjusted to it. It's like Garrett thought Washington would get tired of blitzing and stop on their own. They didn't.
 

UncleMilti

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Hats off to Washington for figuring out the easiest way to beat Dallas is to rush everyone at Romo. A big "fuck you" to Garrett and Jones who still haven't addressed or fixed the problem.
 

boozeman

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The Cowboys' offense line gets criticized for its struggles in pass protection. Romo was sacked 13 times when faced with five or more defenders, 12th most in the NFL. That's not bad.


It's not good either. It's mediocre.

How a quarterback performs under pressure can make or break games or seasons. While Romo can make plays on the run, sometimes he holds the ball too long, which leads to problems. According to Pro Football Focus, Romo threw the ball away 13 times in 2012.
This is something I don't think is brought up more. Not only does Romo not throw the ball away enough, he also doesn't have a feel for when the play is FUBAR and when he needs to move on to the next down...by throwing it away or even running the ball.

If there is one thing he has not done much since he got planted by Michael Boley is run the ball. How many times do we see his ass tapdancing around the LOS looking for that last guy to get open when he could easily have just run the ball and got positive yardage? He's not a stiff like Manning or Brady and can still run. I just wonder if he has the nerve anymore. He behaves now just like Fav-Ruh did at the end...bonehead decisions made worse by trying to overextend plays instead of just taking what's there and living for another day.

The OL is a huge issue, but he has to decide to do more as well. It is not just doing his little spin thing and heave the ball downfield.
 
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