Post by prossman on Jan 2, 2009 10:41:32 GMT -7
DC.COM: Spagnola: Don't Fool Yourself With Old-Time Rhetoric
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Root Of The Evil
Spagnola Don't Fool Yourself With Old-Time Rhetoric
Mickey Spagnola
January 1, 2009 3:55 PM
IRVING, Texas - This is what happens when you lose.
Players start talking, either on or off the record, and their tune rarely changes.
They suddenly question the chemistry in the locker room.
They imply the defensive coordinator couldn't call plays.
They take a stab at the offensive coordinator's system.
They suddenly decide guys showing up late for meetings matters.
Then you start hearing stuff from the outside, such as the head coach is too easy or too hard, depending on what his public perception has become.
You start hearing the quarterback doesn't practice hard enough or he had his feelings hurt by something that was said to him.
You start hearing about clandestine meetings and the owner meddling and this guy not liking that guy and this guy getting into it with that guy and . . . .
What's that saying, when the ship's going down, the rats are the first to jump, something like that?
Look, this is nothing new. This has been happening in the world of NFL football for decades, dating back to the days of leather helmets. There are always excuses for losing, and if you put 53 guys in a room, each will have their own reason.
But rarely is it them. That's just human nature. They've all got their opinions. Same as the media. Same as you guys.
Right now, Tony Romo seems to be the popular theory for the Cowboys sitting at home this weekend with all four wild-card teams favored to win on the road in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Romo seems to be the target for the Cowboys going 9-7.
You know, he can't win the big one. Or he can't win in December, and we are bombarded with the numbers as a whole, less individual inspection of each. No one says DeMarcus Ware can't win the big one. Or that Terrell Owens can't win in December.
It's always the quarterback, and again, as I've said before, why he gets the big bucks and the hot blonde.
And actually, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips didn't help the matter. Because in his final, season wrap-up press conference, when stumping "change" in order to improve next season, he specifically specified "turnovers hurt us all year and we got to get that changed."
He might as well have hung a scarlet T on Romo, who suffered 16 interceptions and lost seven fumbles this season, accounting for 23 of the Cowboys' 33 giveaways.
So the natural conclusion to be drawn is this: Romo is reckless with the football.
But why is he reckless?
Sure, Romo has a tendency to throw some ill-advised passes. But then that's part of playing quarterback the way he plays quarterback. Sure Romo has a propensity to wave the ball around like a loaf of bread. But then that's part of playing quarterback the way he plays quarterback.
What you love about Romo is what you detest about Romo, or as Wade said since he was asked, "We got to reign it in some . . . but I see too many good things, great things that other people can't do . . . .
"I think he can be an elite quarterback."
But he is going to need a little help from his friends. No, sorry, from his big friends.
Because Romo is human, and the more pressure defenses get on him, his percentage for making mistakes goes up. Makes sense, right?
And just as team's figured out at the end of the 2006 season, and that was with the mighty Bill Parcells as head coach and Tony Sparano calling plays, and just as they figured out by the end of the 2007 season, they figured out the last three-quarters of the 2008 season that the best way to stop the Cowboys was to stop Romo.
In other words, in the true spirit of Texas Hold 'Em, go all in on Romo with the pass rush. Blitz, blitz and blitz some more. Bet you get to Romo before Romo gets to you. And whatever you do, do not give him time to either sit in the pocket or slide in the pocket, as he did in 2006 and mostly in 2007, to buy time for his unconventional plays.
Because the more unconventionally you have to play quarterback, the lower your percentage of success. That's just the way it is.
And the poor Cowboys, they never could - have - figured out how to protect Romo. Not against these great defenses. And unfortunately for them, they lost the one element to best counter all the pressure teams put on the Cowboys - that threat to take the football to the house.
Felix Jones.
Look, who you worried about running by you on this offense? Marion Barber? Please.
Tashard Choice? Not really. Terrell Owens? Not if you don't let him off the line. Miles Austin?
Not proficient enough as a receiver.
So here they came, right after Romo, to be d**ned as the Browns and Eagles and Packers were in those first three games to get beat by his innate ability to create.
Think about it: Us creative ones need our space. They gave Romo little.
The Cowboys ability to pick up the blitz, er, inability, and that goes for the offensive line, the backs, the tight ends and the receivers to understand about cut-off routes, is why this team ultimately finished 9-7 and why this offense averaged just 16.5 points over the final month of the season when the Cowboys went, ugh, 1-3.
Check this out: In his 13 starts this season Romo was sacked 20 times. But 13 of those sacks came in the final four games - 65 percent in 25 percent of the games.
In 13 starts this season, Romo fumbled the ball 13 times, losing seven. But in the final four games, he had six of those fumbles, losing three.
In his 13 starts this season, he was intercepted 16 times. But of those 16, six of those came in the final four games - 38 percent in just 25 percent of the games.
And in two of those final four games, Romo suffered a severe enough back contusion to probably have missed at least one game - he played on - and suffered separated cartilage in the last one that would have sidelined him this week if the Cowboys had somehow won.
Plus, let me throw these at you and see if you detect a trend: Of the 24 sacks Romo suffered last year, eight came in the final four games when the Cowboys went 2-2, and remember he didn't even play the second half against Washington. Of the 21 sacks he suffered in that 10-start 2006 season, 12 came in the final four games.
Soooo . . . 33 of the 65 sacks Romo has suffered over his 39 regular-season starts (2� seasons-plus) have taken place in the final four games of those seasons.
And you have to wonder why the Cowboys have gone 4-8 in those games? Why they have averaged no more than 15 and 16.5 points in that final month these past two seasons.
I mean, you guys with me on all this? Any of this make sense?
My numbers beat your tidy perceptions.
Think about it: When does Romo fumble most? When he's running around. So why is he running around in the first place?
When does Romo get intercepted the majority of the time? When he's making impulse throws. What causes these impulses to kick in? In-your-face pressure.
So when enumerating all these reasons why the Cowboys finished 9-7 this season, go ahead, believe all that other predictable stuff that's been said since, well, in the memorable words of Jimmy Johnson, "since the day my daddy said this is a football."
But if you want the real root to their problems, 'tis my New Year's gift to you.
Cheers!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Root Of The Evil
Spagnola Don't Fool Yourself With Old-Time Rhetoric
Mickey Spagnola
January 1, 2009 3:55 PM
IRVING, Texas - This is what happens when you lose.
Players start talking, either on or off the record, and their tune rarely changes.
They suddenly question the chemistry in the locker room.
They imply the defensive coordinator couldn't call plays.
They take a stab at the offensive coordinator's system.
They suddenly decide guys showing up late for meetings matters.
Then you start hearing stuff from the outside, such as the head coach is too easy or too hard, depending on what his public perception has become.
You start hearing the quarterback doesn't practice hard enough or he had his feelings hurt by something that was said to him.
You start hearing about clandestine meetings and the owner meddling and this guy not liking that guy and this guy getting into it with that guy and . . . .
What's that saying, when the ship's going down, the rats are the first to jump, something like that?
Look, this is nothing new. This has been happening in the world of NFL football for decades, dating back to the days of leather helmets. There are always excuses for losing, and if you put 53 guys in a room, each will have their own reason.
But rarely is it them. That's just human nature. They've all got their opinions. Same as the media. Same as you guys.
Right now, Tony Romo seems to be the popular theory for the Cowboys sitting at home this weekend with all four wild-card teams favored to win on the road in the first round of the NFL playoffs. Romo seems to be the target for the Cowboys going 9-7.
You know, he can't win the big one. Or he can't win in December, and we are bombarded with the numbers as a whole, less individual inspection of each. No one says DeMarcus Ware can't win the big one. Or that Terrell Owens can't win in December.
It's always the quarterback, and again, as I've said before, why he gets the big bucks and the hot blonde.
And actually, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips didn't help the matter. Because in his final, season wrap-up press conference, when stumping "change" in order to improve next season, he specifically specified "turnovers hurt us all year and we got to get that changed."
He might as well have hung a scarlet T on Romo, who suffered 16 interceptions and lost seven fumbles this season, accounting for 23 of the Cowboys' 33 giveaways.
So the natural conclusion to be drawn is this: Romo is reckless with the football.
But why is he reckless?
Sure, Romo has a tendency to throw some ill-advised passes. But then that's part of playing quarterback the way he plays quarterback. Sure Romo has a propensity to wave the ball around like a loaf of bread. But then that's part of playing quarterback the way he plays quarterback.
What you love about Romo is what you detest about Romo, or as Wade said since he was asked, "We got to reign it in some . . . but I see too many good things, great things that other people can't do . . . .
"I think he can be an elite quarterback."
But he is going to need a little help from his friends. No, sorry, from his big friends.
Because Romo is human, and the more pressure defenses get on him, his percentage for making mistakes goes up. Makes sense, right?
And just as team's figured out at the end of the 2006 season, and that was with the mighty Bill Parcells as head coach and Tony Sparano calling plays, and just as they figured out by the end of the 2007 season, they figured out the last three-quarters of the 2008 season that the best way to stop the Cowboys was to stop Romo.
In other words, in the true spirit of Texas Hold 'Em, go all in on Romo with the pass rush. Blitz, blitz and blitz some more. Bet you get to Romo before Romo gets to you. And whatever you do, do not give him time to either sit in the pocket or slide in the pocket, as he did in 2006 and mostly in 2007, to buy time for his unconventional plays.
Because the more unconventionally you have to play quarterback, the lower your percentage of success. That's just the way it is.
And the poor Cowboys, they never could - have - figured out how to protect Romo. Not against these great defenses. And unfortunately for them, they lost the one element to best counter all the pressure teams put on the Cowboys - that threat to take the football to the house.
Felix Jones.
Look, who you worried about running by you on this offense? Marion Barber? Please.
Tashard Choice? Not really. Terrell Owens? Not if you don't let him off the line. Miles Austin?
Not proficient enough as a receiver.
So here they came, right after Romo, to be d**ned as the Browns and Eagles and Packers were in those first three games to get beat by his innate ability to create.
Think about it: Us creative ones need our space. They gave Romo little.
The Cowboys ability to pick up the blitz, er, inability, and that goes for the offensive line, the backs, the tight ends and the receivers to understand about cut-off routes, is why this team ultimately finished 9-7 and why this offense averaged just 16.5 points over the final month of the season when the Cowboys went, ugh, 1-3.
Check this out: In his 13 starts this season Romo was sacked 20 times. But 13 of those sacks came in the final four games - 65 percent in 25 percent of the games.
In 13 starts this season, Romo fumbled the ball 13 times, losing seven. But in the final four games, he had six of those fumbles, losing three.
In his 13 starts this season, he was intercepted 16 times. But of those 16, six of those came in the final four games - 38 percent in just 25 percent of the games.
And in two of those final four games, Romo suffered a severe enough back contusion to probably have missed at least one game - he played on - and suffered separated cartilage in the last one that would have sidelined him this week if the Cowboys had somehow won.
Plus, let me throw these at you and see if you detect a trend: Of the 24 sacks Romo suffered last year, eight came in the final four games when the Cowboys went 2-2, and remember he didn't even play the second half against Washington. Of the 21 sacks he suffered in that 10-start 2006 season, 12 came in the final four games.
Soooo . . . 33 of the 65 sacks Romo has suffered over his 39 regular-season starts (2� seasons-plus) have taken place in the final four games of those seasons.
And you have to wonder why the Cowboys have gone 4-8 in those games? Why they have averaged no more than 15 and 16.5 points in that final month these past two seasons.
I mean, you guys with me on all this? Any of this make sense?
My numbers beat your tidy perceptions.
Think about it: When does Romo fumble most? When he's running around. So why is he running around in the first place?
When does Romo get intercepted the majority of the time? When he's making impulse throws. What causes these impulses to kick in? In-your-face pressure.
So when enumerating all these reasons why the Cowboys finished 9-7 this season, go ahead, believe all that other predictable stuff that's been said since, well, in the memorable words of Jimmy Johnson, "since the day my daddy said this is a football."
But if you want the real root to their problems, 'tis my New Year's gift to you.
Cheers!