Post by prossman on Dec 7, 2009 16:26:42 GMT -7
DC.COM:Taking Command Notes: Romo Does His Part In 31-24 Loss
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LINK
Rob Phillips
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The parallel is simple: when Tony Romo plays well - really well - the Cowboys typically win.
Romo was at his playmaking best Sunday at the Meadowlands. He set career highs in passing attempts (41), completions (55) and yards (392) and threw three touchdowns with no turnovers.
"It wasn't enough," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said after his team's 31-24 loss to the Giants.
Phillips' reasoning had nothing to do with his quarterback.
The Cowboys gave up two touchdowns of at least 70 yards - one on defense, another on special teams - and basically spotted the Giants another touchdown when Marion Barber lost a fumble in the second quarter.
The offense rushed for a season-low 45 yards due partly to circumstance - the score, the down and distance, the Giants playing eight men near the line of scrimmage - but Romo compensated by exploiting their depleted secondary. Already without safety Kenny Phillips, fellow starter Michael Johnson was inactive Sunday with an injury.
"We felt like there were holes there in the secondary that we could really take advantage of, especially with Johnson being out," said tight end Jason Witten, who had a career-high 156 receiving yards. "They've had a lot of change-up. It was there."
Romo did his part. He completed passes to eight different receivers, including 24 to Witten and Miles Austin, who had his second 10-reception game of the year. Romo was sacked twice and hit several times, but showed poise throughout.
"You always think you can do better," Romo said. "There's always stuff you look at and you want back."
One in particular, he said, was his overthrown ball to a wide-open Roy Williams in the fourth quarter while trailing 31-17. The offense eventually turned it over on downs with 3:38 remaining and didn't score again until the 1:05 mark.
"As soon as it left my hand it was the disappointing factor definitely because it was a walk-in touchdown," Romo said.
New Culprit
It used be the Redskins' Santana Moss. Now it appears the Giants' receiver Steve Smith is taking over as the new "Cowboys killer."
Once again, Smith torched the Cowboys for a huge day, catching six passes for 110 yards, including a 36-yard reception over the middle.
Smith had 134 receiving yards on 10 receptions in the Giants' Week 2 win over the Cowboys at the inaugural game at Cowboys Stadium.
Even last year, Smith had five catches and a touchdown against the Cowboys at Giants Stadium, and then five receptions for 59 yards in the rematch at Texas Stadium.
That's 26 catches for 332 yards in the last four games against the Cowboys.
- Nick Eatman
Getting Picky
While the Cowboys haven't been as great picking off passes this year, it's not because of Mike Jenkins, who now has four of the team's eight interceptions.
Jenkins, the second-year corner and 2008 first-round draft pick, came up with another interception against the Giants Sunday when he outfought Mario Manningham for the ball in the North end zone of Giants Stadium.
Ironically, Jenkins now has two interceptions in his two games here, and both have ended up in that same end zone. Last year, he picked off Eli Manning for his first career pick and only one of his rookie season, and returned it 23 yards to the same end zone corner.
Jenkins also had another interception this year against Tampa Bay that was negated by a penalty.
The other four players with one interception each this year are Terence Newman, Anthony Spencer, Gerald Sensabaugh and Orlando Scandrick.
- Nick Eatman
Short Shots
Obviously, Nick Folk's game against the Giants won't be one of his favorites as he missed two field goals, including one that he badly hooked to the left. But Folk did move up the Cowboys' scoring charts with six points. He now has 312 career points and ranks 10th in club history in less than three seasons. Folk will likely pass Toni Fritsch (317) and Richie Cunningham (320) this season and could possibly catch Chris Boniol (361) for seventh place . . . Tony Romo now has 22 career 300-yard passing games, extending his franchise record . . . In comparison, Troy Aikman (13), Danny White (10), Don Meredith (7) and Roger Staubach (5) have a combined 35 300-yard games, while Romo has 22 . . . Romo's 392-yard passing day ranks fifth on the Cowboys' all-time single-game list. Only Don Meredith, who has three of the top four passing games, and Troy Aikman have thrown for more yards in a game than Romo did on Sunday . . . Miles Austin had his second 10-catch game of the season and now has nine touchdowns . . . In the last 30 years, only three players have caught at least nine touchdown passes in a season. Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens each did it multiple times, and now Austin joins the list. Other than Irvin and T.O., the last Cowboys player to get that many touchdown catches in a season was Tony Hill (10) back in 1979 . . . Unless the Cowboys somehow return for a playoff game, this should be the last trip to Giants Stadium, as the Giants and Jets will move into a new stadium next year. The Cowboys are now 14-19 in all-time games against the Giants at Giants Stadium.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK
Rob Phillips
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The parallel is simple: when Tony Romo plays well - really well - the Cowboys typically win.
Romo was at his playmaking best Sunday at the Meadowlands. He set career highs in passing attempts (41), completions (55) and yards (392) and threw three touchdowns with no turnovers.
"It wasn't enough," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said after his team's 31-24 loss to the Giants.
Phillips' reasoning had nothing to do with his quarterback.
The Cowboys gave up two touchdowns of at least 70 yards - one on defense, another on special teams - and basically spotted the Giants another touchdown when Marion Barber lost a fumble in the second quarter.
The offense rushed for a season-low 45 yards due partly to circumstance - the score, the down and distance, the Giants playing eight men near the line of scrimmage - but Romo compensated by exploiting their depleted secondary. Already without safety Kenny Phillips, fellow starter Michael Johnson was inactive Sunday with an injury.
"We felt like there were holes there in the secondary that we could really take advantage of, especially with Johnson being out," said tight end Jason Witten, who had a career-high 156 receiving yards. "They've had a lot of change-up. It was there."
Romo did his part. He completed passes to eight different receivers, including 24 to Witten and Miles Austin, who had his second 10-reception game of the year. Romo was sacked twice and hit several times, but showed poise throughout.
"You always think you can do better," Romo said. "There's always stuff you look at and you want back."
One in particular, he said, was his overthrown ball to a wide-open Roy Williams in the fourth quarter while trailing 31-17. The offense eventually turned it over on downs with 3:38 remaining and didn't score again until the 1:05 mark.
"As soon as it left my hand it was the disappointing factor definitely because it was a walk-in touchdown," Romo said.
New Culprit
It used be the Redskins' Santana Moss. Now it appears the Giants' receiver Steve Smith is taking over as the new "Cowboys killer."
Once again, Smith torched the Cowboys for a huge day, catching six passes for 110 yards, including a 36-yard reception over the middle.
Smith had 134 receiving yards on 10 receptions in the Giants' Week 2 win over the Cowboys at the inaugural game at Cowboys Stadium.
Even last year, Smith had five catches and a touchdown against the Cowboys at Giants Stadium, and then five receptions for 59 yards in the rematch at Texas Stadium.
That's 26 catches for 332 yards in the last four games against the Cowboys.
- Nick Eatman
Getting Picky
While the Cowboys haven't been as great picking off passes this year, it's not because of Mike Jenkins, who now has four of the team's eight interceptions.
Jenkins, the second-year corner and 2008 first-round draft pick, came up with another interception against the Giants Sunday when he outfought Mario Manningham for the ball in the North end zone of Giants Stadium.
Ironically, Jenkins now has two interceptions in his two games here, and both have ended up in that same end zone. Last year, he picked off Eli Manning for his first career pick and only one of his rookie season, and returned it 23 yards to the same end zone corner.
Jenkins also had another interception this year against Tampa Bay that was negated by a penalty.
The other four players with one interception each this year are Terence Newman, Anthony Spencer, Gerald Sensabaugh and Orlando Scandrick.
- Nick Eatman
Short Shots
Obviously, Nick Folk's game against the Giants won't be one of his favorites as he missed two field goals, including one that he badly hooked to the left. But Folk did move up the Cowboys' scoring charts with six points. He now has 312 career points and ranks 10th in club history in less than three seasons. Folk will likely pass Toni Fritsch (317) and Richie Cunningham (320) this season and could possibly catch Chris Boniol (361) for seventh place . . . Tony Romo now has 22 career 300-yard passing games, extending his franchise record . . . In comparison, Troy Aikman (13), Danny White (10), Don Meredith (7) and Roger Staubach (5) have a combined 35 300-yard games, while Romo has 22 . . . Romo's 392-yard passing day ranks fifth on the Cowboys' all-time single-game list. Only Don Meredith, who has three of the top four passing games, and Troy Aikman have thrown for more yards in a game than Romo did on Sunday . . . Miles Austin had his second 10-catch game of the season and now has nine touchdowns . . . In the last 30 years, only three players have caught at least nine touchdown passes in a season. Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens each did it multiple times, and now Austin joins the list. Other than Irvin and T.O., the last Cowboys player to get that many touchdown catches in a season was Tony Hill (10) back in 1979 . . . Unless the Cowboys somehow return for a playoff game, this should be the last trip to Giants Stadium, as the Giants and Jets will move into a new stadium next year. The Cowboys are now 14-19 in all-time games against the Giants at Giants Stadium.
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