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Tony Romo's back has been a talking point in Dallas this season.
At 34 years of age, an injured back has the potential to be a career-killer at this stage. That is part of the reason why the Cowboys were reportedly very tempted to take Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel in the first round of the draft. Ultimately, Romo wasn't replaced as the team's starter and Manziel landed with the Cleveland Browns, but the back injury remained a talking point as the Cowboys entered training camp. Romo missed some time on the practice field and was completely sidelined for the team's first preseason game of the year.
Sidelining a 34 year old veteran and long-time starter isn't a major concern, but when that player is coming off a serious injury it can be worrisome to not have his health highlighted on the field. Therefore, Romo's preseason debut was important to watch in Week 2.
On his very first pass attempt, Romo reassured Cowboys fans that his back was in good shape.
A holding penalty on a running play sent the Cowboys backwards at the start of their first drive. Another short run set up a 2nd-and-18. The Cowboys didn't look to mask their intentions with Romo and they didn't look to hide him with a safe play call. They spread the field with four wide receivers and one tight end to the right of the offensive line.
The Ravens rush four defensive linemen, but add a delayed pass rusher from the second level to the right side of the center. The Cowboys line is initially in a good position to pick up the extra rusher and account for all of the defensive linemen. Romo appears to initially look at Jason Witten who is running what appears to be a slant route in front of the Ravens linebackers. Meanwhile, on a level behind Witten, Dez Bryant is running into space from the slot.
Romo stands tall in a clean pocket and surveys the field for a moment at the top of his drop. He wanted to throw the ball to Bryant over the middle of the field, but one of the Ravens linebackers is in the perfect position to pick off any pass that he could attempt. It's important to note that at this point of the play Elvis Dumervil is beating the Cowboys right tackle to penetrate the pocket.
As the pocket closes in around him, Romo quickly moves his feet to climb the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. He keeps his shoulders and feet square to Bryant as he goes and is able to throw the ball while on the move. Bryant has continued his route across the field, moving the underneath linebacker out of Romo's throwing lane.
Despite throwing on the move, Romo puts the ball high and ahead of his intended receiver. This is the perfect spot for Bryant to catch the ball away from the defensive back, who can't touch the ball because of its height, before he turns upfield to convert for a first down.
Not only did Romo show no real rust on this play, he threw the ball while on the move, something that is more likely to be affected by anything else when it comes to dealing with a back injury. A few plays later, that rust appeared to make itself known. It may simply have been a coincidence, but Romo and DeMarco Murray fluffed a handoff to end this drive for the Cowboys. Not only did the Ravens recover the fumble, they ran it back for a touchdown.
It would be very easy to say that this is a sign of Romo's lack of playing time with his teammates, and it probably is, but missed handoffs aren't so irregular that this is definitive.
Romo immediately shook off any potential rust with a patented play from the pocket as he reset multiple times and avoided an incoming rusher before throwing an accurate pass to the flat. His tight end dropped the ball, but that doesn't take away from the play that Romo made. Notably, Romo also made an elongated handoff to sell the play action at the start of this play.
Finally, Romo ticked the deep ball box on his big touchdown throw to Bryant.
While he didn't need to perfectly place the ball, Romo still needed his strength to flight the ball to the right spot for Bryant to go up and attack. Furthermore, he threw the ball from a collapsing pocket after initially holding the safety to the middle of the field with his eyes.
The quarterback who averaged the eighth most fantasy points per game last season appears to be fully healthy.
Ryan Tannehill
The Miami Dolphins offense is a unit that I have written a lot about this offseason. In fact, I wrote about it for Lamar Miller on Pushing the Pocket last week. My fascination with the offense spans from the appointment of new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Lazor is mimicking the offensive system that Chip Kelly installed for the Philadelphia Eagles last season. However, unlike in Philadelphia, Miami is lacking offensive line talent and appears to have a more talented quarterback.
Ryan Tannehill has played in two dysfunctional offenses during his first two seasons in the NFL to this point. He produced in spite of his supporting cast last year, enough to become the 16th highest scorer amongst quarterbacks.
Last year, Tannehill played behind the worst offensive line in the NFL, an inconsistent running game with a subpar group of receivers. Furthermore, his offensive coordinator didn't understand how to play to his strengths. Mike Sherman didn't understand how to create yardage with route combinations or account for his broken offensive line. Furthermore, the team's big free agent signing and number one receiver Mike Wallace proved to be very unreliable during his first season.
This year, the offensive line appears to be a concern and his receivers are still limited, so understanding just how big of an impact Lazor can have on Tannehill's outlook is something to explore during the preseason.
One area where the offensive system failed Tannehill often last year was in situational football. Situational football seems like it would be irrelevant for fantasy football, but situational football is crucial for sustaining drives and in turn stockpiling yardage. On this play against the Buccaneers, Lazor uses route combinations over the middle of the field to help his receiver come free. The underneath crossing route from Brian Hartline is against man coverage, but the defender covering Hartline has to trail him from behind instead of getting tight to his shoulder because of the other receiver coming across the field.
This is the kind of route that the Broncos used on a regular basis last year to help Peyton Manning sustain long drives.
The use of play action from the shotgun is prevalent in Lazor's offense. Using play action in this way allows Tannehill to keep his eyes downfield while executing the fake to read the reaction of the defense. On this play, Tannehill is able to quickly get rid of the football to take advantage of the space in behind the underneath coverage. It's a simple throw that turns into a big gain because of the design of the play.
Passing attacks in the NFL are all about space. Creating space, manipulating space and attacking space. Kelly's(and Lazor's) does this very well.
A huge percentage of the plays in this offense begin with play action from the shotgun. The reason for this is that this alignment opens up different options and allows the play caller to consistently pull the defense in different directions. On this play, a drop from wide receiver Mike Wallace causes the play to fail, but the effect of the design can still be seen.
Even though Tannehill doesn't execute the play fake, Lamar Miller does next to him and that is enough to draw the attention of the two linebackers behind the defensive line. On the edge, the defender is moving forward and towards Miller even as Tannehill looks to release the ball into the flat. Tannehill has a quick release, so the numbers advantage in space outside should work in the offense's favor.
Wallace drops the ball on this occasion, but had he caught it, he would have had a simple straight forward run into a huge amount of space. With his speed, Wallace could easily beat the arriving deep safety and run for a touchdown from this position. At worst, he should gain a first down and keep the offense on the field.
Drops have been a big issue for Wallace since he moved to Miami and they will hurt Tannehill's production, but with Branden Albert protecting the quarterback's blindside now, Tannehill should be able to connect with Wallace for more big plays down the field this year.
In Lazor's offense, Tannehill should be able to threaten the top 10 at his position in fantasy scoring. His individual talent has always been apparent but he needs help to find his consistency as he reaches the peak of his development. There isn't a quarterback in the NFL who can produce big numbers without a viable supporting cast.
Jay Cutler
It's hard to argue that this is a pivotal season for Jay Cutler, the Chicago Bears quarterback.
That is because Cutler signed a long-term deal in the offseason to become the team's starter for the foreseeable future. However, for his reputation, Cutler needs to stay healthy and put up big numbers this year. That is because all of the pieces around him are in place for him to be a top five fantasy performer. For a very long time in Chicago, Cutler not only lacked explosive weapons, but any kind of adequate pas protection also. Now, he has both and a reputable offensive mind as his head coach.
Matt Forte and Brandon Marshall are key components of the offense who are firmly within the primes of their careers. Tight end Martellus Bennett is also at that stage of his career, after finding his home in Chicago last year. Alshon Jeffery broke out with huge production last season, but his development as an all-around receiver should be coming to an end as he enters his third season in the league. The offensive line is mostly young, with center Roberto Garza the elder statesman who doesn't appear to be slowing down.
If Santonio Holmes is healthy and focused, Cutler's supporting cast will be able to overwhelm the opposition even if he plays like an average quarterback.
Cutler doesn't have the talent of an average quarterback and he hasn't played like an average quarterback for a long time. Mistakes have always been a part of his play, but his accuracy, pocket presence and arm talent is amongst the best in the NFL. The optimistic outlook for Cutler expects him to be more efficient after a year in Marc Trestman's offense. That isn't over-stretching rational thinking to force a predetermined judgment.
One of the things that stood out during the Bears' Week 2 preseason matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars was where Cutler stood in the pocket. He consistently looked to stay directly in line of where his center was and got rid of the ball quickly. This is a minor thing, but it's the kind of thing that suggests discipline and consistency in action.
All the pieces are there for Cutler to be a huge performer in fantasy. His physical talent is unquestionable, his supporting cast is unquestionably good. The only two questions that need to be answered are questions that we won't be able to answer until the season finishes: Can he stay healthy and can he be consistent with his discipline to get the most out of the offense around him.
Cutler's reputation for having poor durability isn't really fair when you look at his track record and not a single report has suggested that he and Trestman had ever had a problem working with each other. For that reason, it's a very simple leap of faith to make if you choose Cutler as your starting quarterback this season.