Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Tony Romo's "Nearly Flawless" Performance

Decoding Linehan: Why this Cowboys team is so successful on third downs | Bob Sturm, DMN
Sturm takes his usual detailed look at the offense and has "nothing but good news to report in nearly every phase."

Linehan deserves a ton of credit, but we can’t forget that Romo is the man with the ball in his hands. And if he wasn’t making these decisions and throws at the moment of truth like he is, then this train is not speeding down the tracks. The national narrative that he is not as high leveraged is part-truth, part-ridiculous. He has the ball all of the time and his 3rd down performances are not that of a bus driver. But, in the end, the national narratives (and local ones) don’t really matter. The win-loss record does.

I am sure there is a crisis ahead at some point, but for now, I can honestly say I have never seen this Cowboys offense look so strong during the course of this study. They really have become an offensive powerhouse in the first 2 months of 2014.

Helped By Running Game, Romo Playing at Elite Level | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
Richie Whitt with a simple message to the few remaining skeptics.

Despite the Cowboys’ commitment to the run, Romo’s Top 10 in every passing category. He’s 1st in completion percentage, 4th in rating, 5th in touchdowns and 10th in yards. Last time the Cowboys had a quarterback with a rating this high after seven games, the year was 1976 and the player was Roger Staubach.

Refocused: Giants @ Cowboys, Week 7 - Pro Football Focus
Tony Romo gets PFF's gameball for a "nearly flawless" performance.

Breakdown: Romo’s steady improvement since a disastrous Week 1 has coincided with the Cowboys’ run, but this performance will be tough to best next week. There were very few misses as Romo finished at 8-for-9 for 138 yards at the intermediate level and 4-for-7 for 103 yards on passes thrown at least 20 yards in the air.

Signature Plays: Romo’s two touchdown passes to TE Gavin Escobar were impressive plays, particularly the second one. The first was a nice job by Romo to use the time given him by the offensive line as he broke the pocket away from the rush and zipped one in to Escobar in the back of the end zone. The second TD, at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter, couldn’t have been placed better if Romo handed it to Escobar. A play action fake made for a nice window on the post route, but Romo put it right on Escobar’s hands 26 yards down the field to put the Cowboys up 21-14.

Tony Romo makes All-Star Team of the Week - Pro Football Focus
More recognition for Romo from PFF, who have Romo at QB on their Week 7 All-Star team along with DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant, as well as an honorable mention for Tyrone Crawford at DT.

Few expected the Dallas Cowboys to be 6-1 at this point in the season, and quarterback Tony Romo is a big reason why they’ve been able to surprise. Improving each week as the season has gone on, his best performance came in yesterday’s win over the Giants.

NFL Playoff Picture: If the season ended today ... - NFL.com
The Cowboys would be the No. 1 NFC seed with home field advantage.

TE Gavin Escobar's emergence gives Cowboys two sets of Triplets - USA Today
It's probably stretching it a bit too far, but Jim Corbett argues that the Cowboys are more akin to "The Sextuplets" given their set of six legitimate matchup headaches.

Second-receiver Terrance Williams has emerged as a playmaker. Tight end Jason Witten remains a mainstay and his apprentice, sophomore Gavin Escobar, is beginning to fulfill his potential — he was criticized after a nine-catch rookie season — after being selected in the second round of the 2013 draft.

Ken Bishop returns on Dallas Cowboys' practice squad - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
DT Ken Bishop cleared waivers and has been added to the practice squad. Linebacker Korey Toomer also cleared waivers, but wasn't re-signed by the Cowboys. Instead, Toomer signed with the Rams.

Dallas Cowboys look to be "inflexible" for network television | Barry Horn, DMN
The NFL decided not to flex the Nov. 2 Cowboys at Cardinals game to Sunday night, and Barry Horn writes that all remaining games until Week 17 will remain unchanged. There's a theoretical possibility that the season finale against the Redskins could be flexed into Sunday night, but that's quite unlikely, given where the Redskins are at this season.

Cowboys Release Michael Sam From The Practice Squad - Blogging The Boys
Usually not a news story, but in this case it is: Michael Sam was released from the Cowboys practice squad.

So, the Cowboys defense (already playing WAY above expectations) will add a fresh Amobi Okoye AND DeMarcus Lawrence in the next few weeks.

— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) October 21, 2014

Amobi Okoye expected to practice with Dallas Cowboys Thursday - ESPN Dallas
Okoye is expected to begin practicing with the team for the first time this season on Thursday.

Okoye, 27, was cleared for contact at the end of training camp but the Cowboys kept him on the NFI list so he could continue to rehab.

Okoye said two weeks ago he no longer doubts he will play again. He said he is in much better shape after the extended workouts with strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik. He signed a two-year deal with the Cowboys in May.

Amobi Okoye was 10th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He was just 19 yrs old then, the youngest NFL player EVER drafted (27 yrs old now).

— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) October 21, 2014

Jerry Jones: DeMarcus Lawrence had everybody ‘frothing at the mouth’ in practice last week | Dallas Morning News
Looks like DeMarcus Lawrence will make his NFL debut on Nov. 2 against the Cardinals. Lawrence returned to practice last week, and the team liked what they saw.

"Lawrence had everybody frothing at the mouth a little bit out there last week," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. "He has really improved his body during this time off. He’s used it to really have a lot of strength work. It’s something that he didn’t do as much [in college] as he’s doing now. He’s had quite a physical improvement."

Eager to see DE Demarcus Lawrence on the field soon for the #Cowboys. He was my No. 2 ranked DE in the 2014 class, behind only Clowney

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 21, 2014

Josh Brent eligible to return on Nov. 23 vs. New York Giants " CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
Brent has been participating in team activities and is eligible to return to game action on Nov. 23 in New York.

"He adds something we don’t have in there too," said Jones. "He’s obviously strong, but Josh has got about 20 pounds worth of size that the others don’t. There are times that we really need that in the middle."

Barry Church on Josh Brent: "He's going to be a beast in there like he's been. ...When he's able to play I'm sure he'll be in great shape."

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 20, 2014

NFC East: Cowboys Suddenly The Healthiest Team In The Division | David Helman, DC.com
And they are doing it without smoothies!

Not thinking Chip Kelly is the best coach in NFL does not mean you hate him. It means you have no idea why other people think he is. #TRUTH

— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) October 21, 2014

Jason Pierre-Paul: NY Giants Can Win Final 9 Games " CBS New York
The last time the Giants won nine games in a row was in 1990. Good luck with that, JPP.

Washington loses key defender for season ahead of Cowboys tilt | Dallas Morning News
Linebacker Brian Orakpo is out for the season with a torn right pectoral muscle. This is his third pectoral muscle injury, though the previous two were on the left side of his body.

Don't forget to submit your picks for the BTB Pick 256 Challenge

Pick 256 is a season-long contest in which BTB members and readers get to pick the straight-up winners for all games each week. If you haven't yet submitted your picks, now would be a good time, here's the link to the entry form.

If the link above doesn't work for whatever reason, use the following alternative, which does not autofill your BTB user name into the entry form.

Alternative Pick 256 Entry Form

We've logged 200 entries so far, only one of which did not pick the Cowboys over the Redskins on Monday.