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Vertical passing game has vanished

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IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys’ vertical passing game, which has been among the league’s best since Tony Romo took over at quarterback, has yet to click this season.

It’s a matter of time. As in, time in the pocket.

Ask Romo what’s wrong with the vertical passing game and he’ll mumble some silliness about facing a couple of defenses that played high safeties a lot. He’s too smart to tell the truth: The Cowboys’ poor pass protection – and/or Romo’s lack of trust in the offensive line -- prevents him from having a chance to get the ball to his weapons downfield.

Romo has completed only one pass that traveled more than 20 yards in the air. He’s thrown seven such passes in two games. His 20-plus-yard completion percentage (14.3) is the second-lowest in the league among quarterbacks with at least one long completion, according to ESPN Stats and Information. By comparison, Romo completed 35.7 percent of those passes last season.

The lack of the big play has resulted in Romo’s yards per attempt – one of the best barometers of passing efficiency – dropping drastically. He ranks 16th in the NFL with 6.69 yards per attempt, almost a full yard lower than his worst season average. He’s averaged higher than eight yards per attempt in three of his four seasons as a starter and has never ranked lower than seventh in the league in the category.

The Cowboys have a couple of receivers who are dynamic deep threats in Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. An offense struggling to sustain drives desperately needs a big-play punch.

This would be a great week to revive the vertical passing game. The Texans have the league’s last-ranked passing defense and are especially vulnerable on deep balls down the middle. Austin and Bryant should be able to do some damage on post and seam routes.

First, though, the Cowboys have to figure out how to keep Mario Williams and Co. from clobbering Romo as he completes his seven-step drop.
 

sbk92

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Good article.

Romo clearly has no faith in his protection. He'll never say it, but it's obvious watching his happy feet in the pocket.
 
C

Cr122

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Well, of course he won't come out and say he's not being protected.

Most of us fans know that our offensive line is aging, and not playing to their potential.

It's easy to figure it out when you can't run the football, which has been a problem for sometime now.
 
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