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'Romo-friendly' offense reality at last
Monster line, reliable ground game and right playcaller driving QB's best season
Updated: December 23, 2014, 12:49 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- It was nearly six years ago -- February 2009, to be exact -- that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones first uttered the phrase "Romo-friendly."
Back then, it was kind of an obscure phrase in connection with quarterback Tony Romo, even though Jones did his best to explain it.
"Romo-friendly," Jones said at the time, "means let's utilize his skills to the fullest and make sure everything we do maximizes his abilities."
Now we know exactly what Jones meant. The Cowboys have wasted many of the prime years of Romo's career trying to make this offense "Romo-friendly," but they've finally achieved it.
The result has been easily the best season of Romo's career.
The 34-year-old has 32 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, with a league-leading passer rating of 114.4, and he's had a better such rating than the opposing quarterback in 12 of his 14 starts this season.
More important, Romo has played his best football at winning time. In three December games, Romo has completed 79 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Can you say Romo-friendly?
Think about it: Romo literally has every conceivable toy a quarterback could want and a coaching staff whose philosophical approach allows him to use all of them.
Romo has a complete running back in DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing and takes as much pride in blocking and receiving as he does in carrying the ball.
Joseph Randle has proved a capable change-of-pace option, with 12 runs of 10 or more yards in just 47 carries, while Lance Dunbar is more of a receiver, with 10 of his 18 receptions going for 10 or more yards.
Receiver Dez Bryant is an athletic freak who's one shy of tying the franchise record of 15 touchdown catches. Terrance Williams provides a constant deep threat. Slot receiver Cole Beasley has four touchdowns in the past five games and has earned Romo's trust in any situation, and Dwayne Harris is usually used on bubble screens when he's not being a devastating blocker in the running game.
Tight end Jason Witten is among the best to ever play the game, and his seven-catch, 90-yard, one-touchdown performance Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts shows what happens when he's not given the proper respect.
Gavin Escobar is a mismatch player who has four touchdowns among only nine receptions, while James Hanna is a good blocker.
Coach Jason Garrett persuaded Jones to use three first-round picks on offensive linemen in the past four years -- and the Cowboys have hit on each of them. Now the Cowboys have one of the NFL's best offensive lines, allowing them to be equally proficient at running or passing.
The offense has enough quality players that there's no need for Romo to force the ball into coverage. He can go through his progressions, make the correct read and throw it to the open receiver.
And because the Cowboys no longer have the worst defense in the universe, as they did last season, Romo doesn't feel the need to score on every possession. He'll take a sack or throw a ball away on third down instead of forcing the issue.
"There's no question I'm much better now than I've ever been, for a multitude of reasons," Romo said. "Football is the ultimate team sport -- to do things at the quarterback position you need help."
Having talent is obviously important, but playing the game the right way is equally so.
The Cowboys have rarely done that since Garrett joined their coaching staff in 2007.
They've thrown the ball way too much over the years, with Garrett, Romo, whoever was calling plays and a raggedy defense getting their shares of the blame.
That's all changed this season because of guard Zack Martin and playcaller Scott Linehan.
Martin, one of the best rookies in the league, gave the offensive line three cornerstone players -- and Garrett the belief that the Cowboys could run the ball against any team in any situation.
Linehan has been persistent about running the ball whether it's working or not, because, with opponents committing a safety to stop it, that opens up other facets of the offense such as play-action passes or deep balls.
The Cowboys have achieved offensive equilibrium this season, running the ball 50.5 percent of the time.
Romo has thrown more than 30 passes once in the past eight games. The man with a franchise-record 45 300-yard games has just one this season -- and that was 10 games ago, against the Houston Texans.
For Romo, less has been more.
Romo ranks 23rd in pass attempts (401) and 16th in completions (282), but he leads the league in yards per attempt (8.5) and trails only Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (plus-31) and Denver's Peyton Manning (plus-26) in touchdown/interception differential.
"Tony is a really, really good football player -- he's been a good football player for a long, long time," Garrett said, "and when he plays the right way and in the right environment, he can be among the best in this league -- and that's how he's played throughout this year."
A Romo-friendly environment has made it a lot easier.
Monster line, reliable ground game and right playcaller driving QB's best season
Updated: December 23, 2014, 12:49 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- It was nearly six years ago -- February 2009, to be exact -- that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones first uttered the phrase "Romo-friendly."
Back then, it was kind of an obscure phrase in connection with quarterback Tony Romo, even though Jones did his best to explain it.
"Romo-friendly," Jones said at the time, "means let's utilize his skills to the fullest and make sure everything we do maximizes his abilities."
Now we know exactly what Jones meant. The Cowboys have wasted many of the prime years of Romo's career trying to make this offense "Romo-friendly," but they've finally achieved it.
The result has been easily the best season of Romo's career.
The 34-year-old has 32 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, with a league-leading passer rating of 114.4, and he's had a better such rating than the opposing quarterback in 12 of his 14 starts this season.
More important, Romo has played his best football at winning time. In three December games, Romo has completed 79 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Can you say Romo-friendly?
Think about it: Romo literally has every conceivable toy a quarterback could want and a coaching staff whose philosophical approach allows him to use all of them.
Romo has a complete running back in DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing and takes as much pride in blocking and receiving as he does in carrying the ball.
Joseph Randle has proved a capable change-of-pace option, with 12 runs of 10 or more yards in just 47 carries, while Lance Dunbar is more of a receiver, with 10 of his 18 receptions going for 10 or more yards.
Receiver Dez Bryant is an athletic freak who's one shy of tying the franchise record of 15 touchdown catches. Terrance Williams provides a constant deep threat. Slot receiver Cole Beasley has four touchdowns in the past five games and has earned Romo's trust in any situation, and Dwayne Harris is usually used on bubble screens when he's not being a devastating blocker in the running game.
Tight end Jason Witten is among the best to ever play the game, and his seven-catch, 90-yard, one-touchdown performance Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts shows what happens when he's not given the proper respect.
Gavin Escobar is a mismatch player who has four touchdowns among only nine receptions, while James Hanna is a good blocker.
Coach Jason Garrett persuaded Jones to use three first-round picks on offensive linemen in the past four years -- and the Cowboys have hit on each of them. Now the Cowboys have one of the NFL's best offensive lines, allowing them to be equally proficient at running or passing.
The offense has enough quality players that there's no need for Romo to force the ball into coverage. He can go through his progressions, make the correct read and throw it to the open receiver.
And because the Cowboys no longer have the worst defense in the universe, as they did last season, Romo doesn't feel the need to score on every possession. He'll take a sack or throw a ball away on third down instead of forcing the issue.
"There's no question I'm much better now than I've ever been, for a multitude of reasons," Romo said. "Football is the ultimate team sport -- to do things at the quarterback position you need help."
Having talent is obviously important, but playing the game the right way is equally so.
The Cowboys have rarely done that since Garrett joined their coaching staff in 2007.
They've thrown the ball way too much over the years, with Garrett, Romo, whoever was calling plays and a raggedy defense getting their shares of the blame.
That's all changed this season because of guard Zack Martin and playcaller Scott Linehan.
Martin, one of the best rookies in the league, gave the offensive line three cornerstone players -- and Garrett the belief that the Cowboys could run the ball against any team in any situation.
Linehan has been persistent about running the ball whether it's working or not, because, with opponents committing a safety to stop it, that opens up other facets of the offense such as play-action passes or deep balls.
The Cowboys have achieved offensive equilibrium this season, running the ball 50.5 percent of the time.
Romo has thrown more than 30 passes once in the past eight games. The man with a franchise-record 45 300-yard games has just one this season -- and that was 10 games ago, against the Houston Texans.
For Romo, less has been more.
Romo ranks 23rd in pass attempts (401) and 16th in completions (282), but he leads the league in yards per attempt (8.5) and trails only Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers (plus-31) and Denver's Peyton Manning (plus-26) in touchdown/interception differential.
"Tony is a really, really good football player -- he's been a good football player for a long, long time," Garrett said, "and when he plays the right way and in the right environment, he can be among the best in this league -- and that's how he's played throughout this year."
A Romo-friendly environment has made it a lot easier.
talk about revisionist history
