Tony Romo gets NFL Spin Zone Player of the Week
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) throws a pass while rushed by Denver Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton (94) who is blocked by tackle Tyron Smith (77) at AT
No player gets more undeserved hate than Dallas Cowboys star QB Tony Romo, and the most annoying thing about the comments some fans make towards Romo is that they base their comments on anything that could make Romo look bad. All reason is dropped for an uneducated potshot at Tony Romo, and nobody loves to hate a player irrationally more than Romo-haters love to hate on the Cowboys QB. It’s a shame that he isn’t recognized enough for his sure-fire, top ten QB talent, and he is far more accurate than people think. Far more accurate. His historic performance against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon was the only reason the Cowboys even came close in that game, as he had to do everything on his own. In an effort to keep up with Peyton Manning and his four excellent pass-catchers, the Cowboys had to abandon their running game and run out of empty sets. The Broncos knew it was coming, but they just couldn’t stop him. He had to overcome a poor secondary that was torched by Manning in order to put up his own huge numbers, and Romo had to do it against an underrated Broncos secondary. If you think the Broncos secondary is bad, then you need to watch Chris Harris Jr. (sadly, he went down in that game with an injury), Tony Carter, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie much more closely.
Tony Romo is a no-brainer for this week’s “NFL Spin Zone Player of the Week” award, and he overcame a few huge games from the likes of Alshon Jeffery to get our honor. But Romo certainly deserves it, as he threw for 506 yards on 25-36 passing for an absolutely insane average of 14.1 yards per attempt. Romo had a sky-high, 140.1 QB Rating, and a 14.1 yards per attempt average is absolutely ludicrous. The Cowboys star signal-caller was just ridiculously good, and only a football-illiterate would describe his day with anything but superlatives. If you believe that Romo’s interception was enough to put a damper on his day, then you are allowing one poor pass to undermine a day of several incredible passes. If you think Romo’s interception was 100% his fault, then you need to read this amazing piece. The tape review is 100% factual and was backed up by the Pro Football Focus’s analysis as well.
If the 14.1 yards per attempt statistic wasn’t mind-blowing enough for you, I hope these stats make you respect Tony Romo even more. The first QB to throw for over 500 passing yards in a game in the Cowboys storied history, Romo averaged a whopping 20.24 yards per pass completion. According to PFF, he threw the ball for over 11 yards on every target, which is just an insane stat. Why? That’s a full four yards further than any of Manning’s targets, and Romo faced more pressure (the Cowboys pass rush did not even hit Peyton Manning once, which is just pathetic) than Manning and had worse receivers (Terrance Williams stepped up big-time and Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are studs, but I hope nobody really believes the Cowboys have better weapons than the Broncos) whilst going up against a more talented defense.
Romo’s command of the deep ball and ability to carry his team were extremely admirable, and he is easily the main reason this team was a part of an epic 51-48 victory that showcased one of the greatest QB duels of all time. If you are blaming Romo, then you need to re-assess your ability to watch football games, opine on football games, or you just need to stop throwing unnecessary hate. I try not to make strong statements like that against people, but I feel like there’s comes a time when enough is enough. Tony Romo played a fabulous game, and the Cowboys would have won it if their defense wasn’t so pathetic. It’s as if they don’t even know how to cover linebackers or tight ends at all.
You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.