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Get Dallas Cowboys news on your cellGutsy T.O. was almost gamebreaker
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February 2008
Categories
Movers and Shakers Pre-season Texas Stadium dallasnews.com
Sports Blogs |
 LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN T.O.'s tearful postgame press conference will be talked about for years. New Yorkers will fondly remember the Giants' popcorn-themed taunts. His gutsy performance after three weeks of grueling rehab will be a mere footnote. With the help of a hyperbaric chamber and a whole bunch of healing hands, T.O. managed to play at a high level a week before he should have even considered coming back from a high ankle sprain. T.O. dominated the first half, catching four passes for 49 yards and a TD. He was shut out in the second half, but that doesn't tell the whole story. He twice got wide open for would-be touchdowns, but Tony Romo's throws were off target. Why T.O. didn't get a chance to win the game – Romo's final throw was to Terry Glenn in traffic instead of T.O. in similar coverage on a double post – is a mystery. "There were opportunities there," T.O. said of the game. "Sometimes we made them, and sometimes we didn't. In the playoffs, every play counts. Every play is magnified." We put every throw to T.O. under the magnifying glass after the jump. Incomplete – Lined up wide right on first-and-10 and ran hitch. Ball went right through his hands. 13-yard gain – Lined up wide left on second-and-4 and ran stop route. Great adjustment to ball thrown to back shoulder to make twisting catch on the sideline. 5-yard TD – Lined up wide right on second-and-goal and ran fade route. Beat jam by CB Corey Webster to get good separation and caught ball cleanly while getting both feet inbounds. Incomplete – Lined up wide left on first-and-10. Miscommunication with Tony Romo, who threw the ball downfield. T.O. stopped his route at about 10 yards. 11-yard gain – Lined up wide left on third-and-7 and ran out route. Wide open on sideline after Romo rolled left to buy time. 20-yard gain – Lined up in right slot on third-and-10 and ran deep crossing route. Got great separation from R.W. McQuarters. Went down after catching pass to avoid hit from FS Gibril Wilson. Incomplete – Lined up wide right on first-and-goal from the 2 and ran fade route. Never got off jam by McQuarters to have a chance at making a play for the ball. Incomplete – Lined up wide left on third-and-12, went in motion and ran drag route. Got wide open and would have scored, but the ball slipped coming out of Romo’s hand and sailed behind T.O. Incomplete – Lined up wide left on first-and-10 and ran stop-and-go route. Webster got a fingertip on the ball to break up what would have been a 40-yard completion. Illegal use of hands – Lined up wide right on third-and-9 and ran fly route. Broken up by Webster, who was called for striking T.O.’s facemask with his right hand while jamming him. T.O. didn’t get much air after jumping off his right foot, protecting his injured left ankle. Incomplete – Lined up in left slot on third-and-20 and ran fly route down seam. Got behind the secondary, but the ball was underthrown because DT Justin Tuck hit Romo while he was throwing the ball. |
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Comments
Posted by DeaconS @ 2:09 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Well said, Tim. Gusty performance by T.O. - it is a shame the rest of the team was not up to the task playing pathetic situational football. A lost season - what a waste! Hats off to T.O. you really proved your resolve with your rehab...too bad the rest of team was taking things for granted!
Posted by MikeInUkraine @ 2:24 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Team player without a doubt since coming to Dallas. Further questions about the past would be very undeserving.
Posted by Kevin @ 5:58 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
This was amazing. He was able to do this on a lower leg that was barely able to be kept together. Ask Anthony Henry how difficult it would have been to play in his 3rd week post injury.
Of course, I am sure he could not run slants, make quick cuts, but he was impressive in his effort. Wish I could say the same for a bunch of other Cowboys.
And add me to the list who was less than impressed that with practivce team players in at CB, we couldn't move the ball.
No Rollouts to help with protection, no lining up guys for quick slants... nothing.
Posted by RP @ 7:18 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
T.O is nothing short of a Beast. No one will talk about his grueling rehab sessions prior to this game. No one will talk about how he spent Christmas and New Years Eve rehabbing his ankle. No one.
The media only mentions T.O. when he does something wrong.
Anyone heard the media talk about LT yelling at his QB on the sidelines the past few games?
Anyone?
Thought so.
T.O. is a great team player and all he wants to do is Win.
Posted by Rob @ 7:33 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
diddo to all above, it's not just the media that disrespects T.O., look at how few posts about T.O.'s performance and courage on this thread as opposed to other bs threads. T.O., you have my respect and I hope you get what you came to Dallas for, you deserve it MORE then anyone i can think of...
Posted by TG in Phila @ 7:53 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Watched the game again last night and put myself through hell knowing the final score. Dallas really should have won this game, they controlled the clock, and pretty much had their way all game. Except for some really bad penalties, some drops at unfortunate times, and the Giants scoring right before the half (to their credit), everything else points to us winning the game. 23 1st downs vs 16, 10/16 on 3rd down, 36 min TOP, 150 yds on the ground, etc.
I know shoulda, coulda, woulda..wahhh. I just still can't believe it. Hats off the Giants for hanging in there and shutting us down when it counted.
Very diasppointed...imagine how the players feel.
See you in training camp 08!
Posted by FloridaG-Man @ 8:01 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Let's not forget the dropped int by Webster that would have been 6, there was no one between him and the end zone, also Manning just overthrew Burress for a touchdown. The Cowboys did not lose this game, the Giants won it!
Posted by oldtimer @ 8:12 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Yes, Giants won, Give em 7 for Burress, 7 for Webster.
Add in 7 from Fasano or TO, or Crayton at the end and we are going to OT.
After all this was a 4 point game...... A TD instead of a FG and we are going for a game winning FG by Folk instead of shots to the end zone.
Boys will be disappointed, but Gints realize that lady luck, and their D pulled this one out for them.
Posted by CowboyUp @ 8:42 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Exactly right old timer! This game was a lot closer than some of the whiners on this blog let on.
Can't take away the NFC East title from this team. This team is still better than the last few years and the upside is promising.
You crybabies need to find another bandwagon...
Posted by Raydio941 @ 8:52 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Tony Romo = Danny White
Posted by Bill In DC @ 8:53 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
I have no issue with TO. He's a warrior. like Emmitt was. The guy gives it everything he has on every play. He seems to have grown up to a large extent as well.
I wish we had more TOs on the team.
Posted by Bill In DC @ 9:15 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Raydio941
So? Danny White was a good QB.
Posted by Cornelius N. Pugh @ 9:16 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Hail to the Cowboys!!! I'm extremely proud of them. They will return next year and I'll label it "Unfinish Business". All of us learned an important lesson Sunday evening but life goes on. We're short of a couple playmakers in the secondary. Its time for the young wide outs to step up to the plate and catch the football!! San Diego Chargers were 14-2 last year and had the same situation going for them in the playoffs. You see History does repeat itself, thats why mental preparation is so important.
Posted by Kevin @ 9:21 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Thanks T. O., the crying at the end of the game defending your "team mate" was icing on my Super Bowl Cake!!!!!! What about your other quarter backs that you threw under the bus at the end of their seasons??? Real tears...I think not.
Posted by Tom Stauss @ 9:24 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
T.O. was right. This was a team loss. Players have to catch the football when it hits their hands. You can't make penalties chronically and expect to win in the playoffs. You can't go into the playoffs without momentum. The Packers won their final game decisively. We got embarrassed in ours. This is a team loss. Much of the blame should be on Wade Phillips for his pathetic attempt at team preparation. This loss sure convinces me that this truly was Bill Parcells' team that blossomed and "gelled" this year as a team, but was woefully unprepared down the stretch. So now we fans can look forward to another hair-graying season next year.
Posted by redbeard @ 9:41 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Wade treats the players like grown men, if they don't want to practice, no problem. Cause a lot of dumb penalties, and he'll have you sign a nice letter promising you won't do it again.
This team doesn't lack for talent, it lacks for discipline. It doesn't have to be as heavy handed as Bill, but it need to exist.
T.O. gets my respect for an outstanding season, he delivered.
Posted by Lady Lynn @ 9:56 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Fellas,
from a lady point of view,You have 11 pro bowlers
and no coach! Jimmy Johnson was the best coach ever! Jerry get him back. Now!
Posted by Vaquero @ 10:06 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
You're not going to be too impressed if it turns out that TO used HGH to recover. You really think some Michael Jackson hyperbaric chamber is some miracle cure all? If that was true every hospital would have them. He used illegal drugs and some day it will be found out.
Posted by David Eick @ 10:35 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Danny White may not have ever won the big one, but he took the Cowboys to the postseason 5 out of the 8 seasons he started as QB, appearing in 10 postseason games, going 5-5 but including 3 straight NFC Championship appearances. No one would confuse him with Roger or Troy, but comparing him to Romo -- at this point in Romo's career -- is an insult to Danny White, not the other way around...
Posted by smokem @ 11:03 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
what a colossal choke job, and wade thinks they were the better team!!!!thats why he cant win a playoff game with 12 pro bowlers...he stinks never puts any pressure on the players to perform and earn their money. Romo has not been able to hit the broad side of a barn for a month now!!! throw the ball away outside the hash marks you moron and throw the ball away when the sack is coming!! QB 101 school
Posted by Richard Long @ 11:06 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
I'm from NJ, I bleed Giant's blue and I can't stand the Cowboys (America's Team, bleh). However, they are a heck of a team with a ton of talent. Statisically, they dominated the Giants and statiscally, they should have won the game. But talk to Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts about statistics.....That's why they play the game.
Still, the Giant's and especially the defense played a brilliant game and won one of these shootouts for a change.
Ain't rivalries great?
Posted by Realitycheck @ 11:16 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
The Cowboys are pathetic. They always will be as long as they have that junior Donald Trump wanna be(Jerry Jones)running the show. It is sickening listening to Cowboy fans defend T.O. Poor T.O. his leg had a booboo. That didn't stop him from running his mouth off like the immature, insecure, jerk that he is. Like a child he can talk the talk, but, unlike a man, he can't walk the walk. I don't care how good he is, I wouldn't want him on my team. Look how well he's help out all the teams he's played for. I think Cowboy fans deserve TO. I hope he has a home in Dallas for a long time.
Posted by djh @ 11:16 AM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
I will never understand why Garrett did not send T.O. on more down and in routes.
The man cannot be covered on that route.
I remember another Cowboy named Irvin that made a living on that route.
Just cannot figure Garrett out.
Posted by JD @ 12:15 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
TO was great and has been all year against double coverage. He was the wide receiver for who Jerry should have been working out an extension. Not that b*itch, Crayton.
Posted by Mitch @ 12:40 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
T.O crys for ROMO. Jones eats his tickets. Wade crys "The better team lost". Buress has been playing with a sprain and a torn ligament the entire season. Quit the T.O crap. Face the loss like men and not like cowgirls....The crying was enough.
Posted by RC @ 12:44 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Hey T.O fans, ask yourself this question. When was the last time T.O. was on the field when his team won a playoff game. Hint, he was wearing red and gold.
Posted by FedUp @ 2:33 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
You can't seem to please anyone. If Terrell had've said something to "destroy" the team everyone would've had something to say. Now he shows that he cares and you can't turn without the media or "fans" ragging on him. No one wants to acknowledge what should be acknowledged. It's so easy to overlook things when it's convenient for you and when you want to be unfair.
Face it. The season is over. Move on. Instead of complaining, start believing Cowboys fans. Trust me, none of us can feel as bad as these guys do - can't even come close. You're not the ones that have to get out on the field and fight the adversities they have to. It's real easy to talk smack when you're not in someone else's shoes.
For you Giants fans -- just accept your win with some class. The nasty commentary is not necessary.
Posted by RC @ 2:46 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Wake up!!! T.O. only cares about T.O. He started his press conference off by thanking God for allowing him to play. Immediate focus on him! Not the Team. "I have always had great relationships with my QB's" Come on.......WAKE UP!!! He is a cancer.
Posted by Realitycheck @ 3:11 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
TO had more than two options on how to respond to the game. He didn't have to wrongfully blame other team members, I still can't believe he didn't. And give me a break, crying doesn't show any type of moral chacter or reponsibility for not being able to get the job done. FedUp seems to think that these are the only two responses to a dismal performance. What about giving the Giants some credit. Maybe they took their fans into account when they came to play. I am so sick and tired of primadonnas like TO always making it about them. "Oh no one likes me, I don't know why the press doesn't like me, I wonder why I can't get any endorsements". Maybe if he would speak to the press like a normal responsible adult, and not only when he wants to use them for me,me,me publicity, maybe the press would treat him like a normal, resonsible adult. If you think TO feels worse about losing(as he's sucking up the gin in his Ferrarri on the way to the bank to get a couple million to take his crew on a booty party cruise)than most Cowboy fans do, then I have some real nice land in Florida I'd like to sell you. Do you forget when he sat on the sidelines this year sulking, like a baby, because Romo would throw the ball to someone else now and then. With TO it always has been, still is, and always will be about me-me-me-me. He's like a curse. No matter how good he is physically, his attitude shadows the Cowboys like the grim reeper at a dinner party.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Dolphins beat the Cowboys next year. The Cowboys got exactly what they deserved bringing the To plague into their midst.
Posted by FedUp @ 3:28 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Like I stated earlier, Realitycheck and RC, you can't seem to please anyone. Being viciously judgemental when you're basing your views on media reports and not personal experience is wrong. We're all guilty of it, including me. I'm just saying that we don't have the right to judge anyone -- simple as that. Unless you were there to watch Terrell's every move and every word that came out of his mouth, I don't think you or me or anyone else should judge.
Posted by Dutch @ 3:49 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Right on with that statement Fedup!
Posted by RC @ 5:19 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
The media? What a cop-out. They print what he says, correct? They dont make it up, they dont create it, they just report it. Seems we do watch T.O.'s every move, because thats what T.O. wants. Otherwise, he would shut up, stay out of the media, and then, he could just play. Think about, why other than the coach, and the QB, is the only other person that talk to press after the game T.O.? Because thats what T.O. wants.
Posted by FedUp @ 6:42 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
No RC, I don't agree that it's a cop-out. But we're entitled to our opinions right? Just a bit of advice, if you didn't do the interview or the press junket, then anything you read or hear is cause for suspect.
In addition, Terrell does play from what I see. He doesn't let an injury keep him off the field too long. And, lastly, maybe the others just don't want to talk to the media. Some like to and some don't -- no big deal. Just enjoy the ride.
Posted by BRUTUS @ 7:47 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Who wrote this? T O's Mother?
Posted by FedUp @ 9:30 PM Tue, Jan 15, 2008
No Brutus. I wrote this because it's time to see a different point of view other than the bashing. Just fed up with one-sided views. Thought it was time to say something. Thanks for reading.
Posted by Tex @ 1:22 AM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Get off TO's back. It is just his personalitiy to be the way he is. I used to dislike him, but he has changed and is now a team player and leader for this team. He has my respect after defending his team the way he did. It was a team loss from lack of preperation by the coach. That simple. Wade Philips will never be a great head coach, not with this nice guy approach. My hat's off to the Giants, you played with playoff intensity, the Cowboy's didn't. But the better team did lose. Oh well, next year we will see.
Posted by Realitycheck @ 8:39 AM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Of course I can judge TO. He invites judgement. Everytime he makes himself and the Cowboys and the Cowboy fans look like idiots by dumping popcorn on his face, he's saying please oh pretty please judge me to be great. His actions crave recognition and therefor invite judgement. I wonder how the Dallas linemen feel when TO performs his clowlike touchdown celebration as if he were the only one that had anything to do with scoring. He'd be a lot better received by the public if , when he scored, he would shake the hands of the linemen and thank them. If not for them I doubt if TO would know which way to run. What ever happened to classy players like Barry Sanders. He didn't do any touchdown celebrations because he had ben in the endzone before and he figured he would be there again. Why do you have to make a moronic clown out of yourself, team and fans. Oh yeah, because TO is an insecure, immature, baby still trying to get the recognition that he probably feels he never got from his father. If he played on my team I wouldn't even admit I was a Cowboy fan. In fact Cowboy fans should unite and have a write in petition to get him off the team and use that money on some one who will act as a bonding agent for the whole team. As long as TO is on the team, Cowboy fans should get used to losing.
Posted by FedUp @ 2:30 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Realitycheck? Wow. You are a hoot. Who do you know shakes the hands of the linemen after every touchdown that they make? Come on dude. Why does he have to bend over backwards to please folks like you who obviously wouldn't even be satisfied if he donated all his money to an impoverished country. Pereception, obviously, is reality. Simple as that. You're gonna think what you want to and say what you want to anyway.
Posted by martin cruz @ 4:25 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Great season Cowboys!!!!!
Posted by tas @ 4:29 PM Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Agree!!!!!!!!
Posted by Don Jenks Tex @ 5:25 AM Sat, Jan 19, 2008
Well, Coach its all your fault. Your recievers dropped passes because you did not practice enough during the two week off period. Timed pass patterns were off. Shoot!! Crayton stopped running thinking Romo wasn't going to throw to him Romo did Crayton blows 6. This is foundamentals and discipline. You guys make how much money? It took you dum=ss coaches 15 games before you realized that you should have been starting Barber in the back feild. The man had over 80yrds by the middle of the 2 quarter. By the 2nd half This dum=ss offensive coordinator did not call any screens and Romo acted like he was too blind are too dumb to check down to Barber in the flats. Hey Romo you've got to actually look like your are handing the ball off on a play action pass. Hey Jason Garrett you know if you were up in the box instead of on the field you would have been able to see that the deep down and in routes were open most of the game with T.O and with whomever you put in the slot with some (speed)Terry Glen. One more day of practice, Romo, would have gotten your timeing down and your confidence up and you would not have been standing there patting the ball looking like Bledsoe. Your reads would have been much faster and sharper like they were earlier in the season. Get your mine in the game and let go of the puppy love when you've got to handle your business. Yes Coach Phillips its all your fault!!!!
Posted by Realitycheck @ 2:48 AM Fri, Feb 01, 2008
Don Jenks, I do believe you are the only Cowboy fan that appreciates pro-ball. Good call.
Posted by Realitycheck @ 2:49 AM Fri, Feb 01, 2008
Don Jenks, I do believe you are the only Cowboy fan that appreciates pro-ball. Good call.