Cowboys Corner

Pro Bowl snub just another sign of dying Romo-mentum and Romo Mania

One day later, I still find it interesting that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, coming off the best season of his career, was passed over as an NFC Pro Bowl replacement for Super Bowl participant Eli Manning by rookie quarterback Cam Newton.

Newton had a great rookie season, no doubt. He was the first rookie to throw for more than 4,000 yards, 4,051 to be exact. He set the single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 14. He also threw 21 touchdown passes with 17 interceptions.

Newton did not have a better year than Romo who passed for 4,184 yards. He was also was more efficient and had fewer miscues.

Romo had a career-best touchdown interception ratio of 31-10 to go along with a career-best passer rating of 102.1, which ranked fourth-best in the league among all quarterbacks. Only Aaron Rogers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady had a better rating.

Only Brees and Rodgers had a better completion percentage than Romo’s 66.3. Newton 60 percent of his passes and had a quarterback rating of 84.5.

Romo did all this in a season in which he also showed toughness and courage as he played one game with a fractured rib and punctured lung, leading the Cowboys to a comeback victory against the 49ers. He actually played several games with the fractured rib, taking pain-killing shots.

Now you are telling me Romo, a three-time Pro Bowl participant, didn’t have a season worthy of going to Hawaii as a replacement for Manning?

No, this is simply a case of “the chickens coming home to roost.”

Remember in 2006 when Romo burst on the scene and was all the rage? Fans couldn’t get enough of the spunky, upstart quarterback, an undrafted free agent who took over for the aging Drew Bledsoe.

The Cowboys rode a wave of “Romo momentum” to the playoffs in what would be the final genius act in what was Bill Parcells’ final season as coach.

Romo Mania swept the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex as well as the nation. A legion of Romo-sexuals and Romo-sapiens were born.

His soaring popularity was why he made the Pro Bowl despite starting only 10 games, including only eight when the voting was conducted.

The decision then was spurred by hype, not by performance. The case is the same this year.

Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner from Auburn and the No. 1 pick, is all the rage.

Heck, if it was solely about performance then Detroit’s Matt Stafford would have gotten the nod after passing for 5,038 yards with 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

But Stafford, the third alternate behind Newton and Romo, trails significantly in Q rating.

Nope, this is about buzz.

Romo’s star has simply faded.

Fans and the media are disillusioned with him, if not disenchanted, because of unfulfilled expectations.

He’s no longer the cute, heartwarming hero who came from nowhere to quarterback America’s Team.

He no longer gets the benefit of the doubt.

Romo just gets all the blame for the Cowboys failures.

It’s not fair.

But often times what will make you laugh will make you cry.

-- Clarence E. Hill Jr. 

 

 

Jerry Jones said combination of players, coaching, personnel moves hurt Cowboys down the stretch

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he can’t blame only the players for the way the season ended. He said it was a combination of problems, including the players, coaches and personnel decisions that accounted for the 1-4 finish that left the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

“We may have gotten a little overzealous with some young players in the middle of our offensive line,” Jones said. “We’re going to have to make sure we not only have given them a chance to grow and have progress, but we also have in there the kind of protection we want in the middle for Tony.”

Jones said the Cowboys’ young guards and centers – Phil Costa, Bill Nagy, Kevin Kowalski – earned their chance to play. But he said his prime consideration is protecting Romo.

“We’ve got to look at the whole picture and make sure we don’t compromise things because, again, I’m more into not squandering the prime years of Romo,” Jones said. “And so we want to make sure we’ve given him every opportunity, and protection’s one of those opportunities. and we’ll work hard on that in our offseason.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jones thinking veteran for backup quarterback, but how 'bout those Texans

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’d like to have a backup quarterback with more experience than Stephen McGee. Then again, the Houston Texans made the playoffs and won a game behind a third-string quarterback with no experience.

“So I do know it can happen,” Jones said, giving reporters a wink Monday as he spoke at the Senior Bowl. “An inexperienced one can get you pretty far down the road.”

But turning serious, Jones said it’s important for the Cowboys to get a veteran to replace backup Jon Kitna, who retired. Kitna played the last 10 games in 2010 when Romo was hurt and stepped in during the Week 2 game in San Francisco this season.

“We like the progress of McGee,” Jones said. “Probably if somebody else has to really start taking snaps, we’d like to see some more experience.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jones hints Newman slump might have been combination of injury, skill drop-off

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said if cornerback Terence Newman was playing hurt late in the season, it might have hurt his performance. But if he was hurt, it wasn’t any more than any other “healthy” NFL player at that point in the season.

Newman’s slump was highlighted in the season finale against the New York Giants, when the veteran cornerback was hurdled twice by a tight end, was outrun by receiver Victor Cruz and was an ineffective tackler.

 “I don’t just point to him. I would point to several areas of our team,” Jones said Monday at the Senior Bowl. “But usually there’s combinations of some type of compromise, whether it be drop-off because of injury, because of nicks, which can happen at the end of the season – but everybody has it, that’s the NFL. Every team goes through that. These teams that are in there right now, especially the Giants, are a great example of how to keep competing with that in the face of injury.

“And then we had some skill level drop-off, and that’s part of what, one of our big challenges are, and then we’ve got to also evaluate what we did, how we’re doing it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Jerry Jones calls Giants ‘an inspiration’ for Cowboys, says only Romo was playing at that level

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Monday at the Senior Bowl that the New York Giants did what he wanted the Cowboys to do – get hot and get on a roll in time for the playoffs.

“Just like the Green Bay Packers were last year, in a different way,” Jones said. “They’re a real inspiration of, frankly, what I had hoped that we were going to be, and that is a team that had played, had good days and bad days, but then near the end really took off on a run and then really made improvement. They did it, and we didn’t. We went the other way.”

Jones spoke after the first practice for the all-star game, where he and the Cowboys coaching staff watched the workouts.

Jones said the biggest difference for the Giants down the stretch -- when they caught the Cowboys by beating them twice in the last four weeks -- was the play of Eli Manning and the defense, although he praised his own quarterback, Tony Romo.

“We had good quarterback play,” he said. “But I’d say as a team, they just got better and better near the end. Their depth, that’s how I view us. I had counted – we had counted – on getting better, and we didn’t. We went the other way.”

Even if the Cowboys had made the playoffs, Jones said he wonders if they could have matched the level of play the Giants have shown in their playoff victories against Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco, two of them on the road.

“We didn’t play good enough to compete or play at this level, and I don’t know what we would have been competing, had we gotten in the playoffs, at the level the Giants are,” Jones said. “I thought Romo was competing at a level that would have given us that opportunity, but the rest of us need to play better and get better before we can be really gelling the way the Giants are.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

How close are the Cowboys to the Giants?

The Cowboys could have eliminated the Giants. Not once, but essentially twice. If they could have held their 12-point, fourth-quarter lead on Dec. 11, the Giants would have been 6-7 and two games back of the Cowboys with three to play. Dallas had a chance to put away the Giants again in the regular-season finale in a winner-take-all game, but New York won 31-14.

How close do you think the Cowboys are to being in the Giants' position? Cast your vote, or post in the comments below.

Now, the Cowboys will watch their rivals in the Super Bowl against the Patriots.

The question is: How close are the Cowboys to the Giants?

Clarence E. Hill Jr., beat writer:

So close, yet so far. The games and scores say they are close but don't be deceived: The Giants have a better defense powered by a proven pass rush. More importantly, the Giants have players who have gotten it done on the biggest of stages. 

Charean Williams, beat writer:

They are as far away as two Lombardi Trophies. The Giants are on the verge of winning their second in five years. The Cowboys won their last to wrap up the 1995 season. The Giants have a quarterback who knows how to win big games, and on the road. He has the most road postseason victories in history already and is 7-3 in the postseason overall. In two weeks, he could own more Super Bowl rings than his more-acclaimed older brother. The Giants also have a better receiving corps, a better coach, a better offensive line and a better front seven than the Cowboys. As close as they came to eliminating the Giants this season, the Cowboys have a long way to go to catch up.

Carlos Mendez, beat writer:

Isn't this Jerry Jones' question? It's probably been driving him crazy. But he, and the rest of us, must resist the temptation to fool ourselves. The Giants are in the Super Bowl, because they have a bona fide defense that is capable of pressuring the quarterback with four players. They can run the ball. Their receivers are beasts -- all of them. And their quarterback plays at an elite level when the games matter most. I still think about Eli Manning's performance at Cowboys Stadium on Dec. 11. Laser sharp. The Cowboys played the Giants close, because they are close at quarterback. But they are not close in the front seven, at receiver, at running back or in the offensive line. Even the no-pedigree tight ends of the Giants outperformed the Cowboys' in both games. Maybe when DeMarco Murray comes back. Maybe when Miles Austin is healthy for 16 games. Maybe if the Cowboys draft a top-flight corner. Maybe if the offensive line is better. Maybe the Cowboys are close. Maybe -- no, probably -- it is an illusion.

David Humphrey, editor:

Dallas is close to the Giants in terms of talent. It's their play in December/January where the separation begins and ends. As soon as Dallas learns how to close a season, they'll be a major contender again

What got Callahan to Dallas? Jerry Jones, the stadium, the reputation of the franchise

So what attracted new offensive coordinator Bill Callahan to the Cowboys?

He doesn’t have a personal connection to head coach Jason Garrett or owner Jerry Jones. But he had worked with quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson, and running backs coach Skip Peete is the brother of Skip Peete, who played quarterback for him in Philadelphia.

Callahan laid out the reasons Dallas appealed to him during a press conference Thursday at Valley Ranch:

“The ownership, No. 1,” Callahan said. “You’re looking at a great owner, who all he cares about is winning. All he wants to do is win, and I’m all about that. And the commitment that he makes to winning, I think is second to none, in so many ways. The stadium itself. And over the years, I’ve heard nothing but great things from the coaches and the players who came out of the Dallas franchise. So that was extremely attractive.”

Callahan said the Cowboys offense is tempting for any coach to get his hands on.

 “Obviously, with Tony, you’re looking at one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” he said. “The two young backs, these two guys, the way they complement each other, that was exciting to see.”

Callahan had a chance to keep a close eye on the Cowboys because not only did his former team, the Jets, play the Cowboys in Week 1, the Jets also played many of the Cowboys’ opponents.

“We had a chance to see them throughout the year because of the AFC East and the crossover with the NFC East,” he said. “It was great to see this team roll and see their receivers and Austin and Dez and Witt, all those guys did great. That’s the exciting aspect of this job. All those pieces are in place. You’re always trying to get better. Now it’s just a matter of shoring up the offensive line, continuing to improve that aspect of these young players and their development and again, get in this playoff and try to take a run at it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

Steve Young says Romo as good as Brees, Brady at elite plays but struggles with 'game manager' part of QB's job

NFL analyst Steve Young says Tony Romo is as good as any quarterback when it comes to the highest level of quarterback play, but that he struggles with another important part of the job – game management.

Young, speaking on a conference call last week to promote ESPN’s coverage of the NFL’s conference championship games, was talking about Alex Smith’s reputation in previous seasons as a “game manager.”

 “The problem I have with the idea of game manager, it's definitely code for: ‘He can't play championship football.’ It's like calling someone a scrambler. That's code for: ‘He isn't a real quarterback,’ Young said. “The truth is, scrambling is a side light to it. It doesn't really have to define you. And game manager, that's 60 or 70 percent of the job. To my mind, Tony Romo, the 30 percent that's the extra-highest level, point-of-the-spear championship play that Drew and Tom and all those guys do, Tony does really well. But he struggles with more of the commodity, the game manager stuff.”

Romo is coming off what his coach, Jason Garrett, called his best season yet, with a career-best 102.5 passer rating, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Romo's critics won't let him forget the second-half turnovers he had against the Jets and the Lions that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

But ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer doesn’t blame Romo. He blames the team around him.

“Tony has greatness in him,” he said. “I think when you talk to other people that really play the quarterback position, and I see it as well, there's a few guys that really have incredible greatness in them, and Tony is one of them. I think the issue here is he needs more help from his teammates. I think they are not nearly as talented as people say they are, from 1 to 53. I'm talking about the total roster. I don't think there's as much order and structure in the organization as the Giants have and the teams that have the elite quarterbacks have. I think the only thing that's keeping Tony from ascending into the upper echelon of quarterbacks is his team, is the help from his friends and his teammates, and I think once that all comes together, you're going to see the fullness of Tony's greatness come out."

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Garrett didn't want to give up play-calling in 2011, but willing to let Callahan's role 'evolve'

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said he didn’t consider giving up his play-calling role this year because it would have been disruptive.

“I think it’s important to be consistent through the good times and some of the times where you struggle a little bit,” he said Thursday at Valley Ranch in a press conference to introduce offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Callahan. “And you certainly want to make pointed change when things don’t go well. The way we want to progress going forward is keeping the structure in place as it’s been. I think it’s been good for a lot of people. We’ll just keep going and keep trying to get better.”

Garrett said quarterback Tony Romo had perhaps the best season of his career, and he wants to keep Romo comfortable with the playcalling structure.

But Garrett said he’s open to change, even if it means pulling back on his playcalling and letting Callahan’s responsibilities grow.

“I think that’s something that will evolve, and I think that really probably evolves for a lot of head coaches as they grow into their role more and more and they assemble their staffs around them,” Garrett said. “Again, our starting point will be pretty much how it’s been in the past both in terms of how we set it up in the offseason, each week and during the game. But I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. His role will be significant, and we’ll just see how the role evolves.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez

 

Garrett hasn't ruled out switch to 4-3 defense, but says team hasn't talked about it yet

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has not dismissed the idea of a switch to the 4-3 on defense.

But he said the team is not at the point yet where it needs to decide whether to keep the 3-4 that it has played since the arrival of Bill Parcells.

“We played a lot of three-man line, and we also played some four-man line in different situations this past year,” Garrett said Thursday at Valley Ranch. “We haven’t gotten to the point where we’re going to talk about what we’re going to play yet. We’re still evaluating the tape. ... Let us go through the process. You’ll see some of that stuff once we get back on the field.”

The Cowboys expect to begin offseason work in early May, shortly after the draft. The first OTAs are expected the week before Memorial Day.

-- Carlos Mendez

Twitter @calexmendez