Is Romo damaged goods?
I posted my annual collateral damage article, looking at 16 players who have seen their fantasy value take a hit this offseason without changing places. A collateral benefits article is coming up, but not included are a few players who I am taking a wait and see approach with.
Tony Romo is atop this list. On paper, losing Terrell Owens should hurt. Fantasy owners don't get a bump from a quieter locker room.
In reality, I'm not sure it's such a big loss. Owens was productive in Dallas, but never that efficient. He required a lot of targets and took away from teammates. I remain confident in Romo's ability and believe a brutal late-season schedule was the biggest factor in their late-season slide.
My gut tells me that guys like Miles Austin can help replace Owens' production, with Romo mostly unaffected. What say you?
Comments
I think Roy Williams will come around and be a true wr1 to replace owens, and Austin will be the wr2 they've lacked since a healthy Terry Glenn.
Posted by: Adam | March 19, 2009 11:27 AM
ur describing the perfect situation with those two elevating their game. me, playing the odds, cant assume those situations will pan out. romo will take a hit.
Posted by: scott c | March 19, 2009 11:48 AM
I would have chosen the "will hurt Romo a little (-5%)" option, if available.
Posted by: malc | March 19, 2009 11:57 AM
I thought of it but id say that's covered in the making little difference answer.
Posted by: gregg | March 19, 2009 02:05 PM
I can't believe this is even a debate. How can anyone think losing the only reliable wideout on the team won't hurt the starting QB? Oh sure, all of those young players like Miles Austin are just waiting to step up and Roy Williams "should" be good enough to be a #1. To me, Dallas's wideouts look a lot like Cleveland's. I have personally see nothing from Crayton or Austin to suggest they should be starting in this league. The only saving grace for Romo is Witten. He will keep him afloat. But I see a decline in his touchdown numbers on a per game basis. McNabb averaged about 2 TDs per game with T.O. and has averaged about 1.5 since. I'd put Romo at around 24 TDs or so next season assuming he plays all 16 games.
Posted by: DJOmaha | March 19, 2009 02:10 PM
The Cowboys have weapons, but when TO wasn't in the lineup, Romo was noticeably less productive.
Since he's been a starter, he's always had that impact receiver in TO that demands constant double teams. Witten is a great weapon, and maybe Roy Williams can be that guy if he can adapt to the system better in year 2 and stay healthy, but I wouldn't feel great about drafting Romo before late round 4.
Posted by: Fredex | March 19, 2009 08:54 PM
Ironically, the other person whose numbers could really be crushed by the loss of T.O. is Jason Witten.
I despise Owens and I do think his lack of efficiency reflects poorly on his performance last year, but it's also quite obvious that it is difficult to have the same level of efficiency when coverage is constantly rolled to you.
Even before the trade and foot injury, Roy Williams was the disappearing man for Detroit. In '07 he was clearly a different and much lesser player than in '06. Last year, he couldn't do anything in Detroit despite seeing single coverage due to the presence of Megatron. Detroit's offense was obviously not receiver-friendly, but Calvin Johnson still thrived despite gimmick coverages every week. Megatron faced those coverages even before the Williams trade, as defenses were able to take Roy out of the game with one man.
It will be interesting to see if Jason Witten can have a Tony Gonzalez year where he still dominates facing double and triple teams.
Posted by: The Dude Abides | March 20, 2009 03:19 AM