Tony Romo will throw it deep more now that he is healthy
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) walks off the field after at the end of a 30-21 loss to the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Cowboys star QB Tony Romo hasn’t been throwing it deep nearly as often this year as he usually does, and this is something that I observed after Week 2 and was extremely intrigued by. Was this by design? Was it just a statistical quirk after two games? Well, the Cowboys still didn’t throw many deep passes after two more weeks, and we now know the answer. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Tony Romo did not throw as many deep passes because of his rib injury that has been extremely painful and, likely, limiting. The Cowboys just didn’t want Romo to take those shots downfield for this reason. That, and Bill Callahan didn’t want Romo to throw it deep as often.
The Cowboys offense is actually more efficient when taking advantage of Romo’s excellent deep ball, and the deep throws will increase today against the Denver Broncos. That’s really the only susceptible part of an otherwise staunch Broncos pass defense, and the Cowboys will be hoping that superstar Dez Bryant and, especially, rookie deep threat Terrance Williams can get open vertically today.
Per Werder, Tony Romo will get the green light to throw it deep more now that his ribs are healthier, and that’s certainly great news for fantasy owners of Romo looking for higher yardage, fantasy owners of the Cowboys receivers, and Cowboys fans looking for an upset victory over the Broncos. The coaches believe that Romo is now healthy enough to take shots downfield again, so expect a lot of yards in a heavy passing day this afternoon. Romo has thrown for significantly less yards per reception this year, and thus his yards per attempt have also been down to 6.7. He has only thrown one interception, but it’s actually worth it to trade a couple of picks for significantly more yardage (don’t believe me, then go check out every adjusted Y/A stat on Pro-Football Reference).
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