Babe Laufenburg on the Ticket

[Macarthur]

Had some interesting comments on Romo/Cowboys:

- Cowboys are a 4 win team without Romo.

- Romo against the Giants last game had the highest ever QB rating in a loss. EVER.

- 2 Weeks ago Romo is labeled a loser yet has a 141.3 rating 4 TDs and leads his team to 34 points at home. Meanwhile, Tim Tebow is labeled a winner when he leads his team to 10 points, needs a 59 yard FG to send a game to OT. Then must have a fumble by the opposing team going in to score. Yet, Tebow is a winner and Romo a loser?

[83Indian]

Romo can do nothing to change perception short of winning a superbowl. Too many great Cowboy QB's to live up to. Has nothing to do with stats or QB rating. Babe knows this as well.

[regaleagle]

If the train keeps speeding down this "dissatisfied with Romo" track, before ya know it the Cowboys will be trading Romo to another team and have regrets doing so. It is my belief Romo is among the Top 5-7 qb's in the NFL, given the right line and other supportive mechanisms to play under. I agree totally with Babe's assessment of Romo, and fully support him as our franchise qb going into next year.

[alpha42]

I feel bad for Romo. He has played very well this season. Unfortunately, he's in that catch-22 situation. When the qb wins he gets too much credit, and when he loses he gets too much blame. Babe as always very insightful, loved the Tebow comparison. Anybody who has seen the Broncos this year knows the Broncos "D" is very underrated.

[Farmersfan]

Had some interesting comments on Romo/Cowboys:

- Cowboys are a 4 win team without Romo.

- Romo against the Giants last game had the highest ever QB rating in a loss. EVER.

- 2 Weeks ago Romo is labeled a loser yet has a 141.3 rating 4 TDs and leads his team to 34 points at home. Meanwhile, Tim Tebow is labeled a winner when he leads his team to 10 points, needs a 59 yard FG to send a game to OT. Then must have a fumble by the opposing team going in to score. Yet, Tebow is a winner and Romo a loser?


I generally agree with Babe's assessment of things and Romo is playing at a much higher level right now. But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous. Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete! Of course this season seems to be an anomoly for Dallas because almost accross the board the whole team sucks. But there is a big difference!
But to be fair I have moved about 180degrees towards dumping this entire thing right in Jerry Jone's lap! After his post game interviews and his comments about Garrett and some of the players I am thinking that either Garrett is a complete retard or Jerry isn't truthful about things. Did you hear what Jerry said about why he went to the sidelines in the Philly game? Apparently even after they had discussed it a lot during the week Garrett was still going to allow Romo and Felix Jones back in the game after they found out the Giants had won. He said he had to go to the sidelines to make sure Garrett understood that Romo and Jones were not going to play.................. He also said the Phil Costa has played this season far better than they could have expected. Seriously, I think the Cowboy problems start and end right there!!!!!!

[Farmersfan]

- 2 Weeks ago Romo is labeled a loser yet has a 141.3 rating 4 TDs and leads his team to 34 points at home.



And to be fair, Romo was labeled a loser a long time before his 141.3 rating in a loss to the Giants. Even A perfect QB rating in a couple of games isn't going to change a career long trend that has created these impressions. It isn't like a lot of people watched Romo in that single game and decided he was a loser because of that game......................



And

[Txbroadcaster]

[QUOTE=Farmersfan;1653753]I generally agree with Babe's assessment of things and Romo is playing at a much higher level right now. But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous. Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete! Of course this season seems to be an anomoly for Dallas because almost accross the board the whole team sucks. But there is a big difference!
But to be fairQUOTE]

I saw no one saying Dallas was going to compete this year for a SB

[Farmersfan]

I generally agree with Babe's assessment of things and Romo is playing at a much higher level right now. But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous. Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete! Of course this season seems to be an anomoly for Dallas because almost accross the board the whole team sucks. But there is a big difference!
But to be fairQUOTE]

I saw no one saying Dallas was going to compete this year for a SB



[QUOTE=Farmersfan;1653753 But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous.

[Txbroadcaster]

[QUOTE=Txbroadcaster;1653756]

and?

you said

.Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete!

[Farmersfan]

[QUOTE=Farmersfan;1653758]

and?

you said

.Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete!



I really can't hold your hand all the time TXB!




But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous.


Just so you can stop being obtuse let me say that in my opinion the Cowboys THIS SEASON were not any more highly thought of than the Broncos! But Romo didn't get his loser label this season!!!!

[Macarthur]

I generally agree with Babe's assessment of things and Romo is playing at a much higher level right now. But to compare the Cowboys that Romo has played with in his career to the Broncos that Tebow is playing with now is a bit ridiculous. Romo manages to lose with a team that many pick to compete for a Superbowl while Tebow manages to win with a team nobody expects to even compete! Of course this season seems to be an anomoly for Dallas because almost accross the board the whole team sucks. But there is a big difference!
But to be fair I have moved about 180degrees towards dumping this entire thing right in Jerry Jone's lap! After his post game interviews and his comments about Garrett and some of the players I am thinking that either Garrett is a complete retard or Jerry isn't truthful about things. Did you hear what Jerry said about why he went to the sidelines in the Philly game? Apparently even after they had discussed it a lot during the week Garrett was still going to allow Romo and Felix Jones back in the game after they found out the Giants had won. He said he had to go to the sidelines to make sure Garrett understood that Romo and Jones were not going to play.................. He also said the Phil Costa has played this season far better than they could have expected. Seriously, I think the Cowboy problems start and end right there!!!!!!

I agree on Costa. Worst Center in the NFL.

The rest is strange. I would like to know who these folks are that had the Cowboys competing for a SB? I think you tend to want to prop this team up so that when the come short, you can say, "see, I told you Romo can't win". "He's got a SB team and can't win."

Let's be very clear about this - This team is not very good, escpecially in the most important areas OL & DL. Their secondary couldn't cover me.

And you comment about the Broncos is off base too. I guarantee you that if Romo had that Broncos defense, the Cowboys would be somewhere around 11 wins and have the division wrapped up.

[Macarthur]

And to be fair, Romo was labeled a loser a long time before his 141.3 rating in a loss to the Giants. Even A perfect QB rating in a couple of games isn't going to change a career long trend that has created these impressions. It isn't like a lot of people watched Romo in that single game and decided he was a loser because of that game......................



And

And I think these people are looking at the game on a superficial level. You do realize that most of these talking heads have to watch a dozen games each week so they really don't have much time to look deeper beyond the surface. Since Romo has taken over this team, they have always had fatal flaws and Romo has won more game than he has lost inspite of those flaws.

[Farmersfan]

And I think these people are looking at the game on a superficial level. You do realize that most of these talking heads have to watch a dozen games each week so they really don't have much time to look deeper beyond the surface. Since Romo has taken over this team, they have always had fatal flaws and Romo has won more game than he has lost inspite of those flaws.



Of course Mac! You don't agree with them so of course their view is superficial. The quality of the Cowboy's talent during Romo's career has been debated endlessly on here. I don't want to debate it again.

[pirate4state]

My brother & I always have them winning a Super Bowl before the season starts, but then again we aren't experts and neither are yall. LOL. But to be fair - I don't think any of the so called "experts" had the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl.

I have zero confidence in their ability to beat the Giants on Sunday. In order for them to beat the Giants they would need to play a perfect game and that just isn't gonna happen. Nothing in their previous games indicates that they are capable of playing a perfect game. That is MY opinion and you don't have to like it.

[Farmersfan]

And you comment about the Broncos is off base too. I guarantee you that if Romo had that Broncos defense, the Cowboys would be somewhere around 11 wins and have the division wrapped up.


2011 defensive ranks through 15 games:


Yards per game: Dallas #14 Denver #23
Points per game: Dallas #10 Denver #25
rushig YPG: Dallas #7 Denver #25
Passing YPG: Dallas #23 Denver #20 (only a 12 yard per game differnece)


The Cowboys defense is better than the Broncos defense and Romo will be lucky to win 8 games...........

[Ernest T Bass]

It's the NFL. These are the best football players in the world. EVERYONE has talent and everyone runs the same damned offense and one of the same 3 defenses. It's all about who gels as a team, who catches the lucky breaks, who gets hot at the right time, and the small handfull of exceptionally gifted players.

[Txbroadcaster]

My brother & I always have them winning a Super Bowl before the season starts, but then again we aren't experts and neither are yall. LOL. But to be fair - I don't think any of the so called "experts" had the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl.

I have zero confidence in their ability to beat the Giants on Sunday. In order for them to beat the Giants they would need to play a perfect game and that just isn't gonna happen. Nothing in their previous games indicates that they are capable of playing a perfect game. That is MY opinion and you don't have to like it.

I dont think they have to be perfect sunday..the Giants have shown to be the exact same team Dallas is..has explosive offense at times and a D that can get killed..this game will be about who makes less mistakes, not who is perfect, because neither will be anywhere close to perfect

[Txbroadcaster]

Dallas D is good at times...but again their lack of being able to get that close out drive is what kills them

[Macarthur]

2011 defensive ranks through 15 games:


Yards per game: Dallas #14 Denver #23
Points per game: Dallas #10 Denver #25
rushig YPG: Dallas #7 Denver #25
Passing YPG: Dallas #23 Denver #20 (only a 12 yard per game differnece)


The Cowboys defense is better than the Broncos defense and Romo will be lucky to win 8 games...........

I will admit those stats are surprising, but let me point out a couple of things:

1. The Cowboys defense has had to defend almost 100 less plays on the season than Denver. If you look at how much yards per play each team gives up, Dallas is 5.6 and Denver is 5.4

2. Dallas' offense is 10 in the league in TOP. Denver's is 31st, so Denver's defense is on the field much more than Dallas'.

3. Denver is 5th in the league at 3rd down conversion at 34% and Dallas is in the bottom 1/3 of the league. In other words, Dallas' defense isn't very good at getting off the field on 3rd down, Denver is.

4. Also Denver's offense is last in the league with a 28 turnovers (13 INTs & 15 Fumbles). YOu don't think that's put them in some difficult situations.

So, see, you can manipulate stats. And Yardage given up is always a bad stat to hang your hat on. GB's defense is giving up a ton of yardage. So I don't buy your argument that Dallas defense is 'better'. I think after a deeper look into the numbers, the best you might say is that they're about the same - 5.6 yards per play versus 5.4. But I would argue that Denver's anemic offense has put them in much tougher situations than Dallas' defense.

[Farmersfan]

Just so we can put this thing to rest:

The ESPN Preseason Power rankings for the past two seasons has been:

2011: Dallas Cowboys ranked #16 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/week/0
2010: Dallas Cowboys ranked #4 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2010/week/0
2009: Dallas Cowboys ranked #14 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2009/week/0
2008: Dallas Cowboys Ranked #4 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2008/week/0
2007: Dallas cowboys Ranked #9 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2007/week/0
2006: Dallas Cowboys Ranked#7 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2006/week/0


4 out of the 6 years that Romo has been the starter the Cowboys were picked in the top 10 by ESPN and twice in the top 5. ESPN is a known East coast biased ranking system and most other national ranking systems had the Cowboys even higher than this..................................

[Macarthur]

Dallas D is good at times...but again their lack of being able to get that close out drive is what kills them

This is a good point. The Dallas D doesn't suck. They are just inconsistent at the worst times. Didn't the EAgles go 85 yards in something like 53 seconds?! Wow.

[Macarthur]

Just so we can put this thing to rest:

The ESPN Preseason Power rankings for the past two seasons has been:

2011: Dallas Cowboys ranked #16 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/week/0
2010: Dallas Cowboys ranked #4 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2010/week/0
2009: Dallas Cowboys ranked #14 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2009/week/0
2008: Dallas Cowboys Ranked #4 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2008/week/0
2007: Dallas cowboys Ranked #9 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2007/week/0
2006: Dallas Cowboys Ranked#7 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2006/week/0


4 out of the 6 years that Romo has been the starter the Cowboys were picked in the top 10 by ESPN and twice in the top 5. ESPN is a known East coast biased ranking system and most other national ranking systems had the Cowboys even higher than this..................................

And last week or so, I went through each year and had an indepth analysis of what went wrong each year.

[Farmersfan]

Dallas D is good at times...but again their lack of being able to get that close out drive is what kills them



I think we can all agree with this TXB. If they don't get outright beat they commit stupid penalties that keep the other team alive...............

[buff4ever]

This is a good point. The Dallas D doesn't suck. They are just inconsistent at the worst times. Didn't the EAgles go 85 yards in something like 53 seconds?! Wow.

So we have the same problem with our defense we do romo, I will agree with that. The problem is that we are constantly trying to make ourselves better on defense, successfully or not, and we have proven to be content with our qb. It isn't a one day fix, but I am tired of thinking he is our franchise qb at this point instead of thinking that we are doing something about the future of this problem.

[Macarthur]

So we have the same problem with our defense we do romo, I will agree with that. The problem is that we are constantly trying to make ourselves better on defense, successfully or not, and we have proven to be content with our qb. It isn't a one day fix, but I am tired of thinking he is our franchise qb at this point instead of thinking that we are doing something about the future of this problem.

Just can't take a shot at the defense without finding a way to put one more bullet hole in Romo, huh? :)

[Farmersfan]

I will admit those stats are surprising, but let me point out a couple of things:

1. The Cowboys defense has had to defend almost 100 less plays on the season than Denver. If you look at how much yards per play each team gives up, Dallas is 5.6 and Denver is 5.4

2. Dallas' offense is 10 in the league in TOP. Denver's is 31st, so Denver's defense is on the field much more than Dallas'.

3. Denver is 5th in the league at 3rd down conversion at 34% and Dallas is in the bottom 1/3 of the league. In other words, Dallas' defense isn't very good at getting off the field on 3rd down, Denver is.

4. Also Denver's offense is last in the league with a 28 turnovers (13 INTs & 15 Fumbles). YOu don't think that's put them in some difficult situations.

So, see, you can manipulate stats. And Yardage given up is always a bad stat to hang your hat on. GB's defense is giving up a ton of yardage. So I don't buy your argument that Dallas defense is 'better'. I think after a deeper look into the numbers, the best you might say is that they're about the same - 5.6 yards per play versus 5.4. But I would argue that Denver's anemic offense has put them in much tougher situations than Dallas' defense.




It is amazing how quickly things evolve back to the offensive side of the ball isn't it? If the offense doesn't compete it is almost impossible for the defense to perform consistently. But your original point was that Romo would win 11 games with the Broncos defense and yet I show (and you agree) that Romo has the same quality of defense and will be lucky to win 8 games. I guess my question is what would Tebow do with the offensive talent that Romo has around him??????

[Farmersfan]

This is a good point. The Dallas D doesn't suck. They are just inconsistent at the worst times. Didn't the EAgles go 85 yards in something like 53 seconds?! Wow.



The Pitt Steelers have the #1 ranked defense in the NFL. How much do you want to bet they have given up at least 1 85 yard drive in 53 seconds this season?

[Macarthur]

It is amazing how quickly things evolve back to the offensive side of the ball isn't it? If the offense doesn't compete it is almost impossible for the defense to perform consistently. But your original point was that Romo would win 11 games with the Broncos defense and yet I show (and you agree) that Romo has the same quality of defense and will be lucky to win 8 games. I guess my question is what would Tebow do with the offensive talent that Romo has around him??????

Let me be clear, I'm not sure the two defenses are the same. I think the bind Denver's O puts them in wears on them. Dallas' O rarely puts the defense in BAD situations. While I do agree you can look at some stats that may even show Dallas to be better, I think yardage is usually always a meaningless stat.

As to your question, I don't think Tebow would do much. I think Tebow is a terrible QB. His accuracy is atrocious and that is the quality that I value the most in an NFL QB. I think we've seen the last couple of weeks what a quality defense has done to Timmy.

He's facinating to watch, but he's not a good NFL QB.

[Macarthur]

The Pitt Steelers have the #1 ranked defense in the NFL. How much do you want to bet they have given up at least 1 85 yard drive in 53 seconds this season?

I wish we could talk about Dallas & Pitt defense in the same sense.

[Farmersfan]

1. The Cowboys defense has had to defend almost 100 less plays on the season than Denver. If you look at how much yards per play each team gives up, Dallas is 5.6 and Denver is 5.4

Total number of offensive plays from scrimmage: Dallas 958 Denver 946. (that's a difference of 12 plays. If the Dallas defense had to defend 100 fewer plays then doesn't mean they forced the other team off the field more than Denver?)


2. Dallas' offense is 10 in the league in TOP. Denver's is 31st, so Denver's defense is on the field much more than Dallas'.


The Denver offense averages just 3 points a game less than Dallas so apparently they are scoring a lot faster.


3. Denver is 5th in the league at 3rd down conversion at 34% and Dallas is in the bottom 1/3 of the league. In other words, Dallas' defense isn't very good at getting off the field on 3rd down, Denver is.

The Dallas defense is #9 in TOP allowed at 29.13 minutes a game and the Denver defense is #31 at 32.25 minutes per game. Apparently Denver is NOT SO GOOD at getting off the field.

[Txbroadcaster]

I dont know if Denver D is better than Dallas d or not..I know I trust the Denver D late in game..I almost would prefer Dallas be behind with the ball at two minute mark, than be ahead and other team have the ball

[pirate4state]

lol i like this article: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/dallas-cowboys-look-to-avoid-shameful-ending-122711