No one is doubting whether the way the Cowboys handled the closing minute of their week six loss to the Ravens was less than ideal, but the question all week has been who deserves the blame. A lot of folks (including Jason Garrett) blame Jason Garrett; others, like ESPN’s Trent Dilfer, blame Tony Romo.
Cowboys Ring of Honor member Drew Pearson, speaking on ESPN Radio 103.3-FM’s the “Ben & Skin Show” this week, falls into the camp that blames Garrett, but not for the obvious reasons--instead, Pearson believes the Cowboys’ late game clock management issues stem from Garrett’s lack of trust in Romo. "
“He won’t let the quarterback take charge,” Pearson said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The quarterback doesn’t have time to deal with him in that situation. With all the respect we had for Coach (Tom) Landry and the great coach that he was, once we got in that two-minute situation, we didn’t have time to converse with him. He coached us well enough that we could handle that situation without his input.
“When we’re between the lines in that situation, we take over because we’ve been coached to do that. You just don’t have time to communicate there. After that pass was completed (Tony) Romo should have jumped up and called a timeout or Dez (Bryant) after making that catch should have jumped up and called a timeout. You deal with the consequences of that later.”
Pearson didn't back off from this idea when asked how much of the blame belongs to Romo.
“The power of those radio helmets has a tendency to take over, and you’re getting confused," he said. "Again, that goes back on the head coach not having confidence in his quarterback to make those decisions in that situation. He should have had him prepared to take charge in that situation. You’re not talking about a rookie quarterback or a guy that’s been in the league for a couple of years. You’re talking about a 10-year veteran and a guy that is one of the oldest guys on the team that’s supposed to be the leader of the team. Let him take over in that situation and don’t confuse the situation by telling him what to do through the headphones or signals on the sideline. Trust your quarterback. Trust your players. If you don’t trust them, don’t trot them out there.”
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