Now Frank… Er, Mr. Luska, Don’t Say That!
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Dallas Cowboys News in Brief |
Ninety-nine percent of the time, I agree with Frank Luska, given that the man has covered the Cowboys for 11 years longer than I have been alive and given the fact that I wouldn’t want some punk blogger disagreeing with me if I had covered the team for 47 years. But here is one instance of mild disagreement.
Will Tony Romo’s dropped field goal haunt him for his career? Luska suggests so, but I would be surprised. Here are his comments:
Tony Romo’s public approval rating has come full circle. He’s gone from toast to roast of the town.
Romo’s brief, erratic career as the Cowboys quarterback reached its nadir on Sunday night in Seattle. He mishandled a smooth center snap on a field goal attempt, an act that required no more dexterity than combing his hair. The distance was 19 yards, which was close enough for a drop kick, and the result of playoff altering consequence.
Had Martin Gramatica made that kick with 1:19 left to play, the Cowboys would have led their wild-card duel against Seattle, 23-21. And maybe held on to win their first playoff game since 1996. I would have liked their odds better than Seattle’s.
However, Romo’s fumble locked the final at 21-20 for the Seahawks and branded the outcome with an unforgettable finish. That is the enduring problem for Romo. His mistake has the shelf life of forever. It is non-perishable. That play has joined the ranks of Great Playoff Blunders in franchise history.
Three others leap to mind from various Super Bowls. Jackie Smith dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. Duane Thomas fumbled at the goal line. Leon Lett celebrated too soon with a fumble return. Add Romo, who holds for field goal and extra points for reasons laden with irony at the Qwest Field climax.
Just a few thoughts:
(1) Romo gets to play in the Pro Bowl, which is a great opportunity for him to put the drop behind him. He ought to feel terrible about that drop, but he also ought to remember that he made one hell of a pass to Jason Witten on third down on the previous play that nearly got the Cowboys a first down at the 1. No, Romo did not have a good game, but when the game was on the line and he was playing the position of quarterback, he did his job. I’m sure we can find a new kick holder anywhere.
Hint dropped. And forgotten.
(2) Duane Thomas is remembered for some other negative things, but it takes a good memory to recall that he made a crucial fumble in Super Bowl V. I know about that, though I wasn’t alive at the time, but the first thing I ever heard about Thomas was his performance in Super Bowl VI, which was quite outstanding (and I have seen the broadcast of that game, though i was but 11 months old…).
(3) It is true that Jackie Smith and Leon Lett are remembered for their blunders, but Smith retired after the 1978 season, so it almost stands to reason that we would remember him for that one last big mistake. Lett was just foolish and immature, and not only because of his on-the-field blunders. His suspension towards the end of the 1996 season for drug use hurt the Cowboys chances that season greatly, given how dominant he was becoming. Much better to remember him for fumbling in SB XXVII or the Snow Bowl on Thanksgiving the next season.
I fortunately agree with everything else Luska wrote today. Here is a bit more:
Romo’s fate was to make the last, glaring error to overturn a likely Cowboys victory. The magic was missing again. His offense produced a lone touchdown in the second quarter via a 13-yard pass to Patrick Crayton and only three points in the second half. Miles Austin accounted for the other Cowboys touchdown with a 93-yard runback, the first in Dallas postseason history.
Julius Jones averted earlier disaster by covering Romo’s fumble at the Dallas 6. Others fared less well. Witten fumbled a completion. Terry Glenn dropped two passes, and the last one boomeranged into the end zone for a Seattle safety that loomed large at the finish. Terrell Owens only dropped one, his 17th of the season, but it didn’t matter since the Cowboys scored on that possession.
What did matter was Owens closing out with two catches for 26 yards. Drew Pearson could do that on his 56th birthday later this week. Two-for-26 is one possession worth of work for Michael Irvin.
Tony Hill would have quit on the spot with that short haul.
Either this guy’s ability is being wasted, or Owens isn’t that good. Which is it?
The enduring mystery was why the Cowboys rarely challenged a Seattle secondary reduced earlier in the week to hiring citizens from a Dallas loan office (Pete Hunter) and a hunting-and-touring business in Nebraska (John Powell). Seattle also started rookie nickel back Kelly Jennings at cornerback. Yet only one Romo completion, a 32-yard shot to Jason Witten, exceeded a nibbling 18 yards.
How could this happen with the swift Glenn and Owens Himself as deep receiving threats? They couldn’t get open against a makeshift secondary? They were open, but Romo couldn’t find them? Those plays weren’t called? Good grief, whatever the reason, it made no sense.
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Now if I start agreeing with one Jennifer Floyd Engel, whether I like her use of the term “dog-butt” or not, then I have been blogging for too long. Four and a half months, to be exact.
In a blink of an eye, that small window of time needed to catch, spin and hold a snap, Romo-mania has free-fallen into Romo-blamia.
A botched snap seems to have sapped every bit of goodwill that Tony Romo built this season, leaving a few idiots wondering if he deserves to be the Cowboys’ QB next season.
Are you kidding?
Are we really supposed to believe that a single — albeit monumental — screwup by a player who single-handedly dragged his underachieving Cowboys teammates into the playoffs disqualifies him to be the QB of the future?
Count me out on that stupidity.
Me, too. Just please write something with which I don’t agree. Please.
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I also tend to agree with Tim Cowlishaw that Mr. Owens can take a hike:
Ultimately, there was no need for popcorn. Ultimately, there was no show.
In his biggest game and what surely has to stand as his last game as a Cowboy, Terrell Owens caught two passes for 26 yards.
He was a nonfactor.
For the few T.O. defenders out there, don’t give me any lip about Tony Romo not getting him the ball, about Tony Sparano not calling his number.
I watched Owens run his routes (if you can call it that) play after play.
He wasn’t open. He couldn’t shake Pete Hunter, for Pete’s sake. A loan officer plucked off the scrap heap by the desperate Seahawks had no trouble jamming Owens, bumping him off his routes and rendering him useless.
When the Cowboys needed a big catch to set up a score, they went to Jason Witten.
When they needed a receiver to almost will his way across the goal line, they turned to Patrick Crayton.
Those players will be around to make more big plays for Dallas. Owens won’t be.
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Needing something that is generally less serious. These Cowboys give me a headache.
Wednesday, January 10th 2007 at 12:44 pm
Romo is the starter NO question, I blame the refs on that bs call, that was by no way a “coclusive” evidence to overturn, I believe they made the decision to in Seahawks favor to make the game more intersting because otherwise it was over.
Anyways T.O. needs to leave I actually believe Crayton is better, just get a decent back up for him cause he gets hurt.
Swijen from Dallas