Why is everyone blaming Romo alone for losing the game for the Cowboys?

Question

The way I see it, there were plenty of other things that Dallas did to lose the game. The poor play calling, turnovers, the poor running game, etc. If the whole team would have played a good game, it wouldn't have even come down to a last second botched ball placement by Romo.

Answer 1

You're absolutely right; if the team had played better, it would not have been so close that a simple mistake would lose the game. To answer why "casual fans" think the way they do, they want an easy, simple answer that they can underatand. It's easier to blame Romo for one obvious mistake than it is to think about the complexities of an entire 60-minute football game. Furthermore, anything that happened at the very end is fresher in people's minds, and those missed opprotunities in the first quarter have faded away by then. People believe it for the same reasons that they believe a player can be "clutch," or "David Garrard just wins!" or some teams "know how to win the close ones."

Essentially, in close games like this one, both teams played to a tie. Close games are usually determined on one or two big plays, bad calls, or other non-repeatable flukes. The only way to be certain of victory is to dominate the game, and in fact a study done by Aaron Schatz of footballoutsiders.com determined that close wins are not a sign of a good team because eventually the ball will bounce a different way, but blowout victories are a measure of good teams. Sounds like you're ready to start reading www.footballoutsiders.com, where people who understand these kinds of things share information.

Try browsing through the game-related comments posted here:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2007/01/08/ramblings/audibles/4800/
and here:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2007/01/03/open-discussion/4776/

Answer 2

You're right, but because it was during the last seconds of the game that Dallas had a chance to win, Romo blew it. All the other stuff wouldn't have mattered if Romo had kept the ball still and the 3 pointer was made. It doesn't help that Romo is taking "full responsibility" for the loss either.

Answer 3

Romo's looking at a great career ahead of him, no doubt.

You're right, the Cowboys had 'other' missed opportunities but the vision of Romo hanging his head on the bench after the botched field goal attempt will forever be burnt into the memories of football fans.

Had he put that ball down, they'd be playing next week and.....Romo knows it.

It's ok though, it's all just part of a process of being a pro athlete in today's world. He'll be fine.

Answer 4

Yo, i'm a hardcore Dallas fan, and that i in simple terms elect to assert that I thoroughly and fully blame Tony Romo for final evening's pathetic reveal. The protection performed fairly properly - better than the overhyped Pittsburgh protection - and for that i'm very proud. whether, on the offensive section, it may not have killed Romo to certainly seem to whom he replaced into passing. i'd desire to have regarded like a fool screaming on the television... additionally, huge apple replaced into not the better team. 4 turnovers, and easily one ended in a TD. And their protection sucked. Dallas gained the main yardage with the aid of working on account that 'ninety six or something loopy like that. steelernation, such as you, I in simple terms hear what i elect to hearken to.

Answer 5

Because he did lose the game. Sure, they could have played better earlier on. The Seahawks could have played better earlier on so they never would have gone for 3 on that play, though, too, so you cant use that argument.

Romo alone lost the game because he's the only one that botched a perfectly fieldable snap and ruined their chances. He pulls it down, it goes in, they go on. He didnt, and they dont. Its rarely that cut and dry, but it is here.

Answer 6

This is true but if Romo didn't bobble the snap there would be no need for blaming any of these other things. hat's why I think it was just a bad team effort

Answer 7

Everyone is blaming him because all they see is how much time there was left in the game. He messed up but everyone is just focusing on that play and not looking to see how they messed up through out the game.

Answer 8

The fact is, he was the one left holding the ball (literally and figuratively) and he dropped it. Yes the whole team made mistakes, but they are expected to perform.

Answer 9

First of all if it wasnt for romo they would not have made the playoffs and so what if he blew it, they werent going to beat the other teams ahead of them

Answer 10

Plain and simple, he just couldn't put down a ball for a chip-shot field goal. He played decent all game, but failed miserably on such a routine play.