Post by prossman on Dec 21, 2008 11:46:27 GMT -7
FWST: Mac Engel: Making history escapes Tony Romo
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Making history escapes Tony Romo
By MAC ENGEL
tengel@star-telegram.com
Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo is sacked by the Ravens’ Jameel McClain. Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis
IRVING — While former Cowboy quarterback greats such as Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman’s previous Texas Stadium-heroics were fondly remembered for the final time at Texas Stadium, Tony Romo had had the chance to author one of his own.
But as the boos grew louder, it became apparent that Romo would not have a Roger or Troy moment to close out Texas Stadium.
It did not appear to be from a lack of effort on Romo’s part; it simply wasn’t there.
"I don’t know why; I don’t know," Romo said. "I don’t have a good antidote. We weren’t all on the same page. … We made a lot of mental errors in this game offensively, and eventually it came back to haunt us."
So, instead of rallying the Cowboys, Romo’s final moment at the House That Roger Built was that just maddeningly close, as the Cowboys lost 33-24 to the Ravens.
Despite a near panic-stricken final push near the end of the game, Romo could not overcome a miserable start to Saturday night, and once again he showed that when it comes to December, he’s just not the same player he usually is during the first three months of the season.
One week after suffering a bruised back standing in the face of a fierce Giants pass rush and delivering a badly needed win, Romo did not look the same against the Ravens. His throws looked, at best, hurried; his timing looked off; and his decision-making seemed questionable.
Romo finished the game 23-of-44 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
But the tone of his night was set in the first half when he competed just eight passes for 59 yards, was sacked once and threw both of his interceptions, both to Ravens safety Ed Reed.
"We eventually figured out what they were doing just in their blocking scheme," Romo said.
Several times in the first half, Romo’s quick feet bought time to set up potentially big-gains. But as was the case for the first three quarters, just as a big play seemed to be there, it was gone. On several occasions Romo had long passes lined up for Terrell Owens, and most notably to Miles Austin.
But Romo saved his biggest gaffe for less than one minute remaining in the half, when his pass intended for Owens was intercepted by Reed again, setting up another Ravens field goal.
"We weren’t on the same page," Romo said.
It wasn’t until the midway through the fourth quarter, when the Cowboys had no choice but to adopt a hurry-up offense, that Romo’s numbers began to climb.
Down 19-10, Romo led a furious drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Owens with 6:34 remaining.
And when the defense coughed up the two-point deficit, Romo led another rally, this one ending on Jason Witten’s 21-yard touchdown catch with 1:56 remaining.
But they climbed no closer.
Instead of authoring a Roger or Troy moment, Romo’s final Texas Stadium-pass went for a loss of two yards.
"It’s disappointing because you looked up to a lot of those guys who were out there," Romo said.
"It was cool to watch those clips before the game and Roger against the Redskins. It was disappointing we weren’t able to allow them to have a better evening."
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Making history escapes Tony Romo
By MAC ENGEL
tengel@star-telegram.com
Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo is sacked by the Ravens’ Jameel McClain. Star-Telegram/Ron T. Ennis
IRVING — While former Cowboy quarterback greats such as Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman’s previous Texas Stadium-heroics were fondly remembered for the final time at Texas Stadium, Tony Romo had had the chance to author one of his own.
But as the boos grew louder, it became apparent that Romo would not have a Roger or Troy moment to close out Texas Stadium.
It did not appear to be from a lack of effort on Romo’s part; it simply wasn’t there.
"I don’t know why; I don’t know," Romo said. "I don’t have a good antidote. We weren’t all on the same page. … We made a lot of mental errors in this game offensively, and eventually it came back to haunt us."
So, instead of rallying the Cowboys, Romo’s final moment at the House That Roger Built was that just maddeningly close, as the Cowboys lost 33-24 to the Ravens.
Despite a near panic-stricken final push near the end of the game, Romo could not overcome a miserable start to Saturday night, and once again he showed that when it comes to December, he’s just not the same player he usually is during the first three months of the season.
One week after suffering a bruised back standing in the face of a fierce Giants pass rush and delivering a badly needed win, Romo did not look the same against the Ravens. His throws looked, at best, hurried; his timing looked off; and his decision-making seemed questionable.
Romo finished the game 23-of-44 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
But the tone of his night was set in the first half when he competed just eight passes for 59 yards, was sacked once and threw both of his interceptions, both to Ravens safety Ed Reed.
"We eventually figured out what they were doing just in their blocking scheme," Romo said.
Several times in the first half, Romo’s quick feet bought time to set up potentially big-gains. But as was the case for the first three quarters, just as a big play seemed to be there, it was gone. On several occasions Romo had long passes lined up for Terrell Owens, and most notably to Miles Austin.
But Romo saved his biggest gaffe for less than one minute remaining in the half, when his pass intended for Owens was intercepted by Reed again, setting up another Ravens field goal.
"We weren’t on the same page," Romo said.
It wasn’t until the midway through the fourth quarter, when the Cowboys had no choice but to adopt a hurry-up offense, that Romo’s numbers began to climb.
Down 19-10, Romo led a furious drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Owens with 6:34 remaining.
And when the defense coughed up the two-point deficit, Romo led another rally, this one ending on Jason Witten’s 21-yard touchdown catch with 1:56 remaining.
But they climbed no closer.
Instead of authoring a Roger or Troy moment, Romo’s final Texas Stadium-pass went for a loss of two yards.
"It’s disappointing because you looked up to a lot of those guys who were out there," Romo said.
"It was cool to watch those clips before the game and Roger against the Redskins. It was disappointing we weren’t able to allow them to have a better evening."
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