Tony Romo

[MikeVic]

What better Tony Romo or Drew Bledsoe?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

What better Tony Romo or Drew Bledsoe?

I wish this was still being updated: TonyHomo.com: Drew Bledsoe's Blog

[RainMaker]

Is Alex Rodriguez clutch now after last night?

[TroyF]

No. Jeter hit the HR. By the time ARod drove in his runs the game was decided. He still sucks.

[RomaGoth]

It was a nice game for both of them.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

It was a nice game for both of them.

It must be hard for you to watch two of your favorite teams play each other.

[Autumn]

lol

[Logan]

I thought of this thread when I saw this posted on another board:

Cowboys: Tony Romo knew it was 4th down during Denver loss - USATODAY.com

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Lathum

It must be hard for you to watch two of your favorite teams play each other.

It can't be that hard for him, since it happens every day. He should be used to it by now.

[DaddyTorgo]

lol

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

It can't be that hard for him, since it happens every day. He should be used to it by now.

good point.

I hear the WNBA finals have been exceptionally difficult on him.

[RainMaker]

Now is A-Rod "clutch"?

[larrymcg421]

He won't be clutch until he wins a World Series. He could hit a grand slam in the top of the 9th of game 7 to put the Yankees up 7-6, then the reliever blows it in the bottom of the 9th and he still wouldn't be considered clutch.

[RainMaker]

So if A-Rod goes 30 for 30 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs but his pitchers give up 10 runs a game, does that mean he's not clutch still?

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

So if A-Rod goes 30 for 30 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs but his pitchers give up 10 runs a game, does that mean he's not clutch still?

Exactly. Jeter is clutch because he would know to go 1 for 30, but that one hit coming in the ninth inning of a scoreless tie. Everyone would say he's a "gamer" and "keeps battling" and "say what you want, but he comes through in the biggest situation".

[gstelmack]

My opinion on A-Rod has certainly changed over this season. He's definitely had some big hits that he did not seem to have before.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

My opinion on A-Rod has certainly changed over this season. He's definitely had some big hits that he did not seem to have before.

This is pretty much where I am at. He has looked incredible so far, coming up with hits when they are needed the most.

[ISiddiqui]

LOLz. Yankee fans are amusing.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Watching a player actually play. This is true regardless of what sport or position you are talking about. Saying that A-Rod is on the same level as Jeter in big situations is just silly.

Agree.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

LOLz. Yankee fans are amusing.

You could say this about any fan of any team in any sport. I think having Texiera in the lineup has really helped A-Rod this time around. He looks more relaxed, less like he feels the need to do everything himself. Thus, he is doing more now than he has in the past.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

You could say this about any fan of any team in any sport.

No you can't.

Yankee fans have by far the most obnoxious sense of entitlement than fans of any other team.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Yankee fans have by far the most obnoxious sense of entitlement than fans of any other team.

Here we go again...

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

You could say this about any fan of any team in any sport.

No you can't.

There are no Jacksonville Jaguar fans.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Here we go again...

It's been like what, 2 weeks?

[Tasan]

Clutch! ;- )

[TroyF]

Been awhile since I visited the thread I started. Reading the comments is kind of funny. So now ARod has "changed"

It isn't that he's just returning to his statistical mean, something has actually changed to make him be more "clutch".

He was "clutch" when he was with Seattle and faced the Yankees in the ALCS. His "clutch" mysteriously went away after he faced Minnesota in his first playoff series as a Yankee and went to "unclutch". Now, he's got it back. He's getting hits he's never gotten before.(actually that's wrong, he'd gotten them plenty before, but just not the last couple of years in the postseason)

What caused this great "clutch" play? His divorce? Kate Hudson? (she'd help I suppose)

I don't suppose Mark Teixiera is going to hear anything about not being "clutch" if the Yankees win behind ARod. He's hit .170 in the postseason. In 2007 ARod got the blame, but Jeter, Posada, Matsui all hit worse than he did. What caused them to get their "clutch" back.

I started the thread hoping someone could give me an explanation. (seriously) Now that I see the things being said about ARod above I'm even more convinced clutch doesn't exist in the least. ARod had a huge hit tonight. That hit doesn't happen if Johnny Damon doesn't get on and steal second. That "clutch" hit doesn't happen if the Phillies don't hit two HR late in the game to tie up the score. Now due to circumstance more than anything, ARod is suddenly clutch.

Go figure.

[Tasan]

A case could be made for the QB bearing the thread name today as well. He's been on for the last few games.

[JS19]

I fall in that boat of having no explanation. I always said ARod is not clutch and he needs to step it up in the postseason to prove otherwise. Take it for what it's worth, but when you mention how Jeter, Posada and Matsui hit worse than him in '07, IMO, they had already proven themselves, AROD was brought in to get them another WS title, he needed to carry them. That brings me to my Teixeria rebuttal. He may only be hitting .170, but he has 7 RBI, ARod had 6 total (in 24 games i think) from '04-'08. Again, this is just this "clutch believers" two cents, so take it for what it's worth. I should add, ARod has now proven himself, to me anyway, so I'm sure he can sleep well at night, but he's now off my "unclutch" list.

As for Romo, I don't think wins over the Chiefs, Falcons and Seahawks really improve his case, not many people are debating whether or not he's a good QB, just whether or not he can get it done when it really counts. Only time will tell.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

So what changed that turned A-Rod from "unclutch" to "clutch"?

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Kate Hudson? (she'd help I suppose)

She'd help me.

[JS19]

Not sure if you're asking me what changed in my mind that I now consider him clutch, or what changed for ARod to all of a sudden make him perform in the postseason. Why I think he is now considered a clutch player? Well, his .348 avg, 6 HR and 15 RBI during this postseason have convinced me. And it's not just his nice stat line, it's the timing and importance of some of those hits/RBI. I don't have the stats in front of me, but I know that a few of those hits were game tying/go-ahead hits, like last night, he may only be hitting .100 for the WS, but his RBI last night is what I consider a clutch RBI, putting his team in the lead in the 9th inning to give his team a 3 games to 1 lead.

As for what changed for ARod? Who knows. I believe clutch is a mental thing, not that these guys don't have the physical ability to perform under pressure, just don't have the right mindset. For whatever reason, something seems to have just clicked for him and he's not yielding to the pressure. I can't speak for all NY'ers, and I know ARod is covered nationally, but he's under the microscope even more so here in NY, but you kinda had the feeling he was gonna change this yr. After the steroid/injury gig, you never heard a peep from this guy (TV/paper), he just went about his business, kept his mouth shut, and got the job done.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Tasan

A case could be made for the QB bearing the thread name today as well. He's been on for the last few games.

Romo is known for playing decent in the first half of the season. Let's see how he does in the later half and all the more so in the post season. I don't think people will be impressed until they go on the road in the playoffs and knock off somebody like Minn. or NO. Austin(near 500 yards and 5 TDs) has as much to do with Dallas winning in the last three games as Romo does.

[lungs]

Clutch certainly does exist. Certain situations are clutch situations and if a player does well in that situation at that particular time, he came through in a clutch situation.

But the question that begs to be asked is whether players have an actual ability or inability to perform in the clutch? As sports fans we love to have explanations for why certain things happen but in the case of A-Rod I think it's as simple as the law of averages evening out to his actual ability. I don't believe for one minute that there is some mental explanation to A-Rod's performance. Performance is never all that even in baseball. This is simply a matter of A-Rod's performance beginning to match his actual ability as he accumulates a greater sample of at-bats.

But, sportswriters need to stay in business so they'll come up with all these explanations that can't be disproven. If you ask me, there simply is no explanation. It just happens.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by lungs

Clutch certainly does exist. Certain situations are clutch situations and if a player does well in that situation at that particular time, he came through in a clutch situation.

But the question that begs to be asked is whether players have an actual ability or inability to perform in the clutch? As sports fans we love to have explanations for why certain things happen but in the case of A-Rod I think it's as simple as the law of averages evening out to his actual ability. I don't believe for one minute that there is some mental explanation to A-Rod's performance. Performance is never all that even in baseball. This is simply a matter of A-Rod's performance beginning to match his actual ability as he accumulates a greater sample of at-bats.

But, sportswriters need to stay in business so they'll come up with all these explanations that can't be disproven. If you ask me, there simply is no explanation. It just happens.

This is exactly right IMO. All ARod is doing now is having his statistical averages even out. We all know he's an incredible hitter. His clutch was just fine when he played his first series with the Yankees and just fine when he was a Mariner in the playoffs. Go look at his regular season stats and compare him to the playoffs now. . . what a shock, they are nearly identical. (just like Jeter's are right where he is in the regular season)

If the Yankees were to somehow lose, the dagger will be off of ARod and on Texeira. His last three postseason series have seen him hit .167, .222, .100

Like I said earlier, he'll get a pass and everyone will forget those numbers if the Yankees win.

Great players make great plays in the clutch because they are GREAT. Would there be anything to it if you flipped a coin up in the air 12 times and it landed on heads 11 of those times? No. The law of averages is 50% every single time. Flip the damned thing 500 times and the statistical likelihood is that it'll come close to evening out.

In ARod's first four postseason series, he hit over .300 every time. (over .400 twice) Over the next four he hit .258, .071, .133 and .267.

The two leading up to this series were .455 and .429.

His clutch didn't dissapear. The law of averages caught up to him. (in a good way)

[larrymcg421]

bump?

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by lungs

Clutch certainly does exist. Certain situations are clutch situations and if a player does well in that situation at that particular time, he came through in a clutch situation.

But the question that begs to be asked is whether players have an actual ability or inability to perform in the clutch? As sports fans we love to have explanations for why certain things happen but in the case of A-Rod I think it's as simple as the law of averages evening out to his actual ability. I don't believe for one minute that there is some mental explanation to A-Rod's performance. Performance is never all that even in baseball. This is simply a matter of A-Rod's performance beginning to match his actual ability as he accumulates a greater sample of at-bats.

But, sportswriters need to stay in business so they'll come up with all these explanations that can't be disproven. If you ask me, there simply is no explanation. It just happens.

This may be 99% true however we cant overlook that certain players may not be able to adapt to the pressures of a clutch situation. ARod was such a talented hitter it was hard to imagine that he would keep coming up empty in clutch situations.

For instance in basketball how much better teams shoot free throws when it is not within the last 2 minutes of the game. Players sweat more and tighten up and they overthink the importance of the shot where as the rest of the game they are relaxed and thinking Ive done this a million times.

The biggest reason ARod played so great this post season IMO is that he gained some confidence after coming up huge in the clutch throughout this past season. Right now I have no doubt Romo would play a great game in the postseason if it was played next week as he is playing smart and with confidence. If he was going into the playoffs after one of his 3 int games he would likely stuggle as he would be going into a more difficult situation with low confidence.

Confidence=Great pressure performances. Who was more confident than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Reggie Jackson all great clutch performers?

[lungs]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Confidence=Great pressure performances. Who was more confident than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Reggie Jackson all great clutch performers?

I dunno, that looks like an awfully talented list there.

Like I said, my opinion is that most of what you said is something that sportswriters need in order to stay in business and people like you eat it up. Not that it bothers me, you can believe what you want. Plenty of so-called confident athletes have stunk it up. Talent trumps confidence any day of the week.

We just like to have explanations for why things happen the way they do when a lot of times there just isn't any. But that doesn't mean we can't make up explanations

[TroyF]

Michael Jordan - One of the top 5 basketball players ever to play the game.
Kobe Bryant - One of the basketball players ever to play the game.
Reggie Jackson - 563 career HR.

Of course, even there, it's kind of funny. Mr. October? His October stats are influenced by three huge postseason series.

In 1977, he actually struggled in the ALDS. He hit .125 without an extra base hi against the Royals. He then exploded in the WS. .450 with 5 HR. He then crushed the ball in the '78 post season. 4HR and 14 RBI in 10 games.

Here is what's funny about that though. Reggie played in 17 post season series in his career. He didn't hit a single HR in 7 of those 17 series. He hit under .200 in 6 of them. In the prime of his career, after an MVP season, Mr. October went 3-21 in the ALCS against Baltimore. Three singles. His teammates bailed him out and they won the series. He played better in the WS.

And Kobe? 14-56 in final shot, game winning attempts. Lebron, who everyone shreds is 17-50.

Fact is, even when you throw out names, it just backs up that a "clutch" player doesn't exist. Superstars exist and they end up being clutch players.

[Lathum]

Tony Romo looks fantastic lately, maybe he and Arod are having a little three way action with Kate.

He still needs to get it done in the playoffs, but he really does look great right now.

[ISiddiqui]

I read an interesting speculation in Peter King's Monday Morning QB, that without having to worry about T.O. getting his "touches", Romo can just think about getting the ball to the open man (this was in response to a quote by Miles Austin saying that he didn't mind not getting a pass until late in the game because Romo was getting pressured, etc).

[Matthean]

111+ QB rating, but 0-2 in December. Saints and Philly still to be played and they are maybe one game behind for a wild card/division title.

[RendeR]

Dallas == Done.

[RedKingGold]

Done ==D -- Dallas

[Senator]

At least you guys are happy.