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Tony Romo: Offense 'most complete' he's been around
September, 29, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo was feeling good as Sunday night was about to turn into Monday morning.
The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-1 with their 38-17 win against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Romo completed 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He was not intercepted. He was sacked just once. He had a career-long 21-yard run in the third quarter.
He saw DeMarco Murray run for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. He saw Terrance Williams catch two touchdown passes. He saw eight players catch passes. He saw an offensive line dominate.
"In my time in the NFL this is as complete a unit as I've been a part of, and I think you can almost simplify the game a little bit," Romo said.
That was the first of many platitudes Romo threw out in his postgame news conference.
On Murray: "I think he is better than a good back. I think he is a great back."
On playcaller Scott Linehan: "Scott is as good as I've ever seen adjusting after a series."
On tight end Jason Witten: "Jason's incredible. I don't know in the history of the Dallas Cowboys you'd ever want to throw to another guy with the game in the balance than a guy like that."
The days of Romo having to carry the Cowboys are over. It's now about Murray's legs and the blocking of the offensive line. That has allowed Romo to pick his spots.
He did it in the Week 2 win against the Tennessee Titans, completing 6 of 9 passes on an 80-yard touchdown drive after the Titans closed the gap to 16-10 in the third quarter. He did it last week against the St. Louis Rams. With Dallas trailing 24-20 with 13:25 to play, Romo completed all four passes on an 84-yard touchdown drive that gave the Cowboys the lead for good.
He did it again Sunday against the Saints. Twice.
At the end of the first half he completed 5 of 7 passes for 63 yards, ending the drive with a perfect 23-yard back-shoulder touchdown throw to Williams to give the Cowboys a 24-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, he salted the game away with a huge 16-yard completion to Witten on third-and-9 from the New Orleans 38 and an 18-yard back-shoulder touchdown throw to Dez Bryant after the Saints threatened to make it a game.
The ghosts of Cowboys past -- think Green Bay Packers loss last year, Detroit Lions in 2011 -- were put to bed.
"There are a lot of things that go through a quarterback's head during a football game," Romo said. "Obviously the execution of the play and going through the progressions, but there are many situational thoughts that are going through your head, remembering back to film study and your notes. These are the things that give you the advantages when you have a beat or a heads up leading into it."
Having so many options makes Romo more dangerous. Even more dangerous than 2007, when the Cowboys finished 13-3 and he had a franchise-record 36 touchdown passes. Back then he had Terrell Owens (15 touchdown catches) and Witten go for more than 1,000 yards. He had a running game pick up 1,746 yards, led by Marion Barber's 975 yards.
He had an offensive line that featured three Pro Bowlers: Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis.
Seven offensive players went to the Pro Bowl, including Romo, but not including kicker Nick Folk.
"You can make an argument about the No. 1 receivers being similar [to past teams], but I don't know if we've ever had the depth," Romo said. "Jason Witten is still Jason Witten. We have a very, very good slot receiver [Cole Beasley] who really has not been able to show a ton because we have other good players. Terrance on the outside has really turned into a player that gives defenses trouble. I haven't talked about the linemen and DeMarco, which changes the game if you're able to do it."
The game has changed for Romo. Changed for the better, so that he does not have to do everything to make things go.
September, 29, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo was feeling good as Sunday night was about to turn into Monday morning.
The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-1 with their 38-17 win against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Romo completed 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He was not intercepted. He was sacked just once. He had a career-long 21-yard run in the third quarter.
He saw DeMarco Murray run for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. He saw Terrance Williams catch two touchdown passes. He saw eight players catch passes. He saw an offensive line dominate.
"In my time in the NFL this is as complete a unit as I've been a part of, and I think you can almost simplify the game a little bit," Romo said.
That was the first of many platitudes Romo threw out in his postgame news conference.
On Murray: "I think he is better than a good back. I think he is a great back."
On playcaller Scott Linehan: "Scott is as good as I've ever seen adjusting after a series."
On tight end Jason Witten: "Jason's incredible. I don't know in the history of the Dallas Cowboys you'd ever want to throw to another guy with the game in the balance than a guy like that."
The days of Romo having to carry the Cowboys are over. It's now about Murray's legs and the blocking of the offensive line. That has allowed Romo to pick his spots.
He did it in the Week 2 win against the Tennessee Titans, completing 6 of 9 passes on an 80-yard touchdown drive after the Titans closed the gap to 16-10 in the third quarter. He did it last week against the St. Louis Rams. With Dallas trailing 24-20 with 13:25 to play, Romo completed all four passes on an 84-yard touchdown drive that gave the Cowboys the lead for good.
He did it again Sunday against the Saints. Twice.
At the end of the first half he completed 5 of 7 passes for 63 yards, ending the drive with a perfect 23-yard back-shoulder touchdown throw to Williams to give the Cowboys a 24-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, he salted the game away with a huge 16-yard completion to Witten on third-and-9 from the New Orleans 38 and an 18-yard back-shoulder touchdown throw to Dez Bryant after the Saints threatened to make it a game.
The ghosts of Cowboys past -- think Green Bay Packers loss last year, Detroit Lions in 2011 -- were put to bed.
"There are a lot of things that go through a quarterback's head during a football game," Romo said. "Obviously the execution of the play and going through the progressions, but there are many situational thoughts that are going through your head, remembering back to film study and your notes. These are the things that give you the advantages when you have a beat or a heads up leading into it."
Having so many options makes Romo more dangerous. Even more dangerous than 2007, when the Cowboys finished 13-3 and he had a franchise-record 36 touchdown passes. Back then he had Terrell Owens (15 touchdown catches) and Witten go for more than 1,000 yards. He had a running game pick up 1,746 yards, led by Marion Barber's 975 yards.
He had an offensive line that featured three Pro Bowlers: Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode and Leonard Davis.
Seven offensive players went to the Pro Bowl, including Romo, but not including kicker Nick Folk.
"You can make an argument about the No. 1 receivers being similar [to past teams], but I don't know if we've ever had the depth," Romo said. "Jason Witten is still Jason Witten. We have a very, very good slot receiver [Cole Beasley] who really has not been able to show a ton because we have other good players. Terrance on the outside has really turned into a player that gives defenses trouble. I haven't talked about the linemen and DeMarco, which changes the game if you're able to do it."
The game has changed for Romo. Changed for the better, so that he does not have to do everything to make things go.