Tony Romo bashers will be disappointed to hear this but Romo
wasn’t responsible for the Dallas Cowboys missing the playoffs last season. To
be honest, Romo had his most productive season as a pro in 2011 which bodes
well for the upcoming year.
Sure he had a few lapses where the “old” Tony came out but
he was very solid for the Cowboys throughout the year. Too bad the Cowboys’
defense wasn’t as consistent.
The Cowboy’s defense allowed all but seven of their
opponents to score 20 or more points last season. And those seven teams that
they held under 20? Let’s just say they weren’t among the leagues’ scoring
leaders.
Six of the seven teams that Dallas held under 20 points were
ranked 20th or lower in scoring. The Buffalo Bills were the only
team that was ranked higher than 20th and that was only because of a
scoring burst they went on at the beginning of the season. Buffalo’s scoring
had fallen off by the time they faced the Cowboys in Week 10.
As bad as the Cowboys’ defense was last year though, it was
still an improvement over the previous season. In 2010 the Cowboys defense was
ranked 23rd overall allowing 27.2 points per game. Last year they
moved up to 14th overall while allowing 21.7 points per game.
And good news Cowboys’ fans, the defense will be even better
this season. It was hard trying to implement defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s
complicated system with last year’s lockout shortened offseason so expect the
Cowboys to benefit from a full offseason to learn the finer points of his
scheme.
More time to implement Ryan’s scheme helps but the Cowboys
were also able to pick up a few defensive free agents this offseason and they
will most likely pick up a few players in the draft. The biggest signing was Brandon
Carr who was brought in to replace Terrance Newman at cornerback.
Newman was burned constantly last season so finding a
replacement for him was a top priority for the Cowboys. They also continued
their youth movement at linebacker by choosing not to resign veterans Bradie
James and Keith Brooking and signing Dan Connor away from the Carolina
Panthers.
The Cowboys added one more player to their struggling
defensive backfield signing safety Brodney Pool away from the New York Jets.
Pool played for Ryan in Cleveland so he should have no problem fitting into
Ryan’s defensive scheme.
So there is no reason that this can’t be a top-ten or even a
top-five defense if the Cowboys can continue to make improvements. If the
defense does its job then all eyes will truly be on Romo this season. Let’s
just hope he doesn’t take a step backwards this year.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
As a fervent Romo-hater, I have to agree that he isn't the one to blame for last season's failures. But when it comes to choosing where to point the finger, I'm at a loss.
ReplyDeleteJason Garrett's complete lack of leadership, poor play calling, and erratic decision making (icing your own kicker, anyone?) made it nearly impossible for them to succeed as a team.
Jerry Jones' delusions of grandeur are still holding back a fairly good team from realizing their potential.
And yes, Rob Ryan's complex defense never really took, but do you think it's a coincidence that Wade Phillips was run out of town for his crappy defense, only to coach the Texans to the second best defense in the NFL? He didn't suddenly remember how a great defense works, it's the PLAYERS in Dallas that are the real problem. I'm highly skeptical that Ryan's second year as defensive coordinator is going to bring any real change in that department.
I have never been a Romo basher. Yeah, I have been upset at some errors that he has made in the past, but I've always known that QBs do make mistakes. They have even lost games every once and a while, even the HOFers. I also knew that ever since he has taken over the starting QB spot, there has been a drastic change in Dallas offensive plays for the good. He certainly was much better than Bledso who was a four time Pro Bowler. So, any fake Cowboys fans who have ever called for Romo's (including the author of this blog) removal have never really been a Cowboys fan. And their calling for Romo removal from the Cowboys is an unforgivable offense. They are fakes, and they must be branded as one.
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