The Continuing Struggles of Tony Romo
There are so many ways the Dallas Cowboys could have beaten the Denver Broncos today.
Could there have been other ways to lose that game? Probably. But this was another game that should be in the win column. This team is not that far away from being 4-0. Should they be? No. They are exactly what they are.
Why is that? Check it out after the jump.
Against a pretty decent offense, the Dallas defense played well enough to win. The only really bad play was the Brandon Marshall TD that gave them the lead. But they were on the field far too long in the second half. In no way is the defense to blame for the Cowboys having the same record as the Redskins today.
After a couple of shaky outings, the defense has become one of the strengths of this team. Kyle Orton was under pressure for a significant portion of the game, with the Cowboys posting three sacks. Was the rush defense stellar? No. But they did stop the Broncos for no yards on two straight 1-yard to go situations.
Special Teams are not the problem either. Nothing notable in the returns columns, Mat McBriar averaged nearly 50 yards per punt and there were no turnovers by the ‘Boys. Denver did not have great consistent field position. Again, an area that was good enough for the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Denver Broncos.
Which brings us to the offense. Quite simply, this offense sucked today. The run game was lousy after two straight 200-yard games. Whether that was because Felix was hurt, Marion and Tashard aren’t quite home-run hitters (or just didn’t have spectacular games) or the offensive lines couldn’t open any holes, it’s hard to tell. Probably a combination of all of the above.
But this game is just another reason why Tony Romo can’t be trusted to win football games for this team. Was this a big game? Yes, but definitely not bigger than the Giants game. On the road in that environment is enough to make a lot of QB’s struggle. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what Tony Romo is right now. Just another mediocre QB. On an extremely mediocre team.
I hear a lot of talk about how the Dallas Cowboys don’t have a good receiving corps. While I personally disagree, the point is not to have a great group of receivers. While that’s nice, the point is to give your quarterback enough weapons to win the game. And the Dallas Cowboys definitely have that if you combine a solid bunch of WR’s with good RB’s and a couple of above-average to excellent tight ends.
Frankly, I thought the Dallas Cowboys receivers played well in this game. Tony Romo simply couldn’t get them the ball. Even on a couple of completions in the second half, a couple of Tony’s passes were hauled in on extremely nice catches by his wide outs – the Hurd 4th & 3 play and Roy Williams’ final catch. But Romo had trouble hitting those guys when they were open.
The best plays this team runs on offense are where Tony Romo dumps the ball off to a running back or tight end and they run after the catch. Not where Tony threads a ball through three guys so they can make a play.
It hardly seems worth it to write about this team. Anyone who’s watched this team over the first four weeks knows it’s going nowhere fast. Well, anyone except Jerry Jones. Because I know he’s watched them. Yet he continues to sit on his hands and hope that things work out.
I’m pretty sure Bill Cowher is available. I see him there every Sunday on CBS and wish he was patrolling the Cowboys sidelines. Nothing against Wade. I think Wade Phillips should be our defensive coordinator tomorrow if it meant Cowher was coming to coach. But it’s obvious this team is not going to win the Super Bowl.
So changes need to be made. What that means for #9, I don’t know. All he has to know is that he needs to get better. Now.
Romo pic: blogs.tampabay.com
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