Post by prossman on Dec 24, 2008 10:07:58 GMT -7
DMN: Todd Archer: Dallas Cowboys' Romo confident he'll respond to higher stakes
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Dallas Cowboys' Romo confident he'll respond to higher stakes
11:35 PM CST on Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Tony Romo loves it when the pressure is on, whether it's on the 18th tee with a $2 Nassau on the line with nobody watching or with a playoff spot on the line, like Sunday for the Cowboys at Philadelphia with everybody watching.
"The competitive guy inside of you really enjoys playing in these situations when you know you have to win," Romo said. "You've got to go do it on the road, against a tough opponent in a difficult environment. I suspect our team will be ready to go."
But even Romo knows at some point you have to win when it matters most, too.
So far in his two seasons as a starter, December and January have not been kind to him.
In 12 regular-season games, he has thrown 14 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions while being sacked 30 times. And he has a 5-7 record. He is 0-2 in the playoffs, with two touchdown passes, one interception and four sacks.
A playoff-delivering win against the Eagles on Sunday would go a long way in helping his reputation.
"Here's an easy analogy: Joe Montana wasn't Joe Montana before he won a Super Bowl," Romo said. "Everybody probably questioned them at that time, 'Do they have the quarterback to go win a Super Bowl?' I mean, the Giants, their coach was fired at this point last year, maybe. Eli [Manning] wasn't a great leader, I heard.
"It is what it is until you win. So this team, we don't have anything that you need to win the Super Bowl – until you win. Then you have everything."
What makes Romo successful is what also gets him in trouble.
A month ago against San Francisco, he slipped away from an unblocked defender and connected with Terrell Owens on a 75-yard touchdown. On Saturday against Baltimore, he spun away from an unblocked Terrell Suggs, but his deep throw to Owens was underthrown and intercepted by Ed Reed.
"There's a line in there as far as being able to improvise and also being able to make plays that some guys can't make," coach Wade Phillips said.
Romo said he knows he can't make mistakes in games of Sunday's magnitude. In the Cowboys' win against the New York Giants, he completed 20 of 30 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns. Most important, he was not intercepted. In the Cowboys' losses to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, he was intercepted a total of five times.
Romo's 13 interceptions this season are fifth most in the NFL, but his 3.2 interception percentage is the lowest since he took over at halftime against the New York Giants in 2006.
He was intercepted 16 times in 337 throws in 2006 and 19 times in 511 throws last year.
But it's not just the "how many" that matters. It's the "when," too.
"I have to fix it," Romo said. "I have to go back and decide why I did that, and make sure the next time I get in that situation, I don't. It's part of the game. It's part of the learning process. And I will get better, I promise you that."
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Dallas Cowboys' Romo confident he'll respond to higher stakes
11:35 PM CST on Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Tony Romo loves it when the pressure is on, whether it's on the 18th tee with a $2 Nassau on the line with nobody watching or with a playoff spot on the line, like Sunday for the Cowboys at Philadelphia with everybody watching.
"The competitive guy inside of you really enjoys playing in these situations when you know you have to win," Romo said. "You've got to go do it on the road, against a tough opponent in a difficult environment. I suspect our team will be ready to go."
But even Romo knows at some point you have to win when it matters most, too.
So far in his two seasons as a starter, December and January have not been kind to him.
In 12 regular-season games, he has thrown 14 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions while being sacked 30 times. And he has a 5-7 record. He is 0-2 in the playoffs, with two touchdown passes, one interception and four sacks.
A playoff-delivering win against the Eagles on Sunday would go a long way in helping his reputation.
"Here's an easy analogy: Joe Montana wasn't Joe Montana before he won a Super Bowl," Romo said. "Everybody probably questioned them at that time, 'Do they have the quarterback to go win a Super Bowl?' I mean, the Giants, their coach was fired at this point last year, maybe. Eli [Manning] wasn't a great leader, I heard.
"It is what it is until you win. So this team, we don't have anything that you need to win the Super Bowl – until you win. Then you have everything."
What makes Romo successful is what also gets him in trouble.
A month ago against San Francisco, he slipped away from an unblocked defender and connected with Terrell Owens on a 75-yard touchdown. On Saturday against Baltimore, he spun away from an unblocked Terrell Suggs, but his deep throw to Owens was underthrown and intercepted by Ed Reed.
"There's a line in there as far as being able to improvise and also being able to make plays that some guys can't make," coach Wade Phillips said.
Romo said he knows he can't make mistakes in games of Sunday's magnitude. In the Cowboys' win against the New York Giants, he completed 20 of 30 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns. Most important, he was not intercepted. In the Cowboys' losses to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, he was intercepted a total of five times.
Romo's 13 interceptions this season are fifth most in the NFL, but his 3.2 interception percentage is the lowest since he took over at halftime against the New York Giants in 2006.
He was intercepted 16 times in 337 throws in 2006 and 19 times in 511 throws last year.
But it's not just the "how many" that matters. It's the "when," too.
"I have to fix it," Romo said. "I have to go back and decide why I did that, and make sure the next time I get in that situation, I don't. It's part of the game. It's part of the learning process. And I will get better, I promise you that."