Cowboy Hank
Brand New Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2013
- Messages
- 144
People have argued for years about whether or not Romo has the ability to win the "big game". Some say he's a clutch player, some say he folds under pressure. He's certainly provided plenty of evidence for both sides over the years which makes the argument never-ending. Personally, I don't think the pressure of a big game is what gets to him. I believe the pressure he puts on himself due to his circumstances surrounding him are what causes his downfall.
Romo has never had a complete team around him. If the defense was good, the offense wasn't. If he had a good corps of receivers, the o-line was a problem. Or the running back was the problem. Whatever the problem was, Romo has never had a complete team around him and that's where the internal pressure comes from.
I believe last week's game against Green Bay was a perfect example. Romo knew the defense couldn't hold so he put all the pressure on his own shoulders, thinking HE had to make a play to keep the Cowboys in it. When he gets the idea that everything depends on him and that HE has to make a play, he takes chances he shouldn't and ends up doing something that makes us all cringe.
The interception on 2nd and 6 last week was bad. Garrett called a run/pass option depending on what the defense showed. If you look at the all-22, Green Bay's safeties were only seven yards off the line of scrimmage. That means all 11 defenders were in the box, so Romo (correctly) went with the pass play. His mistakes were his failure to change the protection to account for Clay Matthews coming off the end unblocked and after pulling off a Houdini escape, throwing off-balance and slightly behind Miles Austin so Shields could intercept the pass. That's not a play-calling error, it's an execution error that I blame on Romo's belief that he had to make a play then and there or the game is lost.
Of course this is just my opinion and it doesn't account for fumbling the snap on a field goal attempt and it doesn't absolve Romo of execution errors like the one described above. I just believe it helps explain why he can be a clutch player in some situations and folds faster than the Chicago Cubs in September in others.
What do you think?
Romo has never had a complete team around him. If the defense was good, the offense wasn't. If he had a good corps of receivers, the o-line was a problem. Or the running back was the problem. Whatever the problem was, Romo has never had a complete team around him and that's where the internal pressure comes from.
I believe last week's game against Green Bay was a perfect example. Romo knew the defense couldn't hold so he put all the pressure on his own shoulders, thinking HE had to make a play to keep the Cowboys in it. When he gets the idea that everything depends on him and that HE has to make a play, he takes chances he shouldn't and ends up doing something that makes us all cringe.
The interception on 2nd and 6 last week was bad. Garrett called a run/pass option depending on what the defense showed. If you look at the all-22, Green Bay's safeties were only seven yards off the line of scrimmage. That means all 11 defenders were in the box, so Romo (correctly) went with the pass play. His mistakes were his failure to change the protection to account for Clay Matthews coming off the end unblocked and after pulling off a Houdini escape, throwing off-balance and slightly behind Miles Austin so Shields could intercept the pass. That's not a play-calling error, it's an execution error that I blame on Romo's belief that he had to make a play then and there or the game is lost.
Of course this is just my opinion and it doesn't account for fumbling the snap on a field goal attempt and it doesn't absolve Romo of execution errors like the one described above. I just believe it helps explain why he can be a clutch player in some situations and folds faster than the Chicago Cubs in September in others.
What do you think?
