On Hold Again
Cowboys Looking To Romo Again To Cure Holding Issues
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 9, 2009 5:48 PM
IRVING, Texas - When the Cowboys lost the 2006 Wild Card game in Seattle, mainly because of a botched field goal snap in the final minutes, it appeared Tony Romo's days as the holder were over.
In fact, for about three seasons they were.
But with kicker Nick Folk in a funk, missing five out of his last seven field goals in the last four games, the Cowboys have been toying with the entire operation of the kicks. The first step in the changing process appears to be at holder, where punter Mat McBriar is expected to be replaced by Romo this Sunday against the Chargers.
Although head coach Wade Phillips joked that it would be a "game-time decision" to have Romo take over the duties, he all but pegged the quarterback for his new role.
"We let him hold today quite a bit to see how he did," Phillips said. "And (special teams coach Joe DeCamillis) was very impressed. We felt like he would be. Tony is a pretty good holder."
Of course, who could forget Romo's last attempt to hold, when he dropped a potential game-winning field goal against the Seahawks, Seattle holding on for a 21-20 win at Seahawk Stadium? Romo had been the regular holder since the 2004 season and although he was named the starting quarterback six games into the 2006 regular season, then-head coach Bill Parcells opted not to make the mid-season change.
But Parcells did make a holder move in the middle of a season before. In fact, this isn't the first time Romo has replaced McBriar as the holder. In the 2004 regular-season opener, McBriar dropped the first snap of the year, preventing a field-goal opportunity in Minnesota. Parcells had a quick hook and yanked McBriar, replacing him with Romo, who was the backup quarterback behind Vinny Testaverde.
But Romo didn't hold all season because he often traded that No. 2 spot with Drew Henson, before eventually regaining the position at the end of the year.
Romo continued to hold in 2005, when the Cowboys had all sorts of kicking issues. Three different kickers - Billy Cundiff, Jose Cortez and Shaun Suisham - all had a turn that season as Romo was the primary backup to Drew Bledsoe.
In 2006, Romo started the year as the holder for Mike Vanderjagt and Suisham, and then Martin Gramatica, who was the kicker in the playoff loss against Seattle.
"Guys that have the mechanics to do it, it doesn't take them long to get back to form," Phillips said. "It's not the kicker. It's how you handle the ball. It's how you spin the ball. It's where you put the laces. If he wants it up, leaning one way, leaning forward - that's what a holder does. A guy that can do it well, doesn't have a problem with that."
The Cowboys are hoping this change will help Folk, who has missed a kick in four straight games.
"I think something new at this point may do some good for him," Phillips said of Folk. "And he may have just been in a slump. But I don't know. And the whole operation hasn't been what we wanted. We're trying to change something that maybe will help us. All the kicks are important. We know that. He knows that. Virtually, it's up to the kicker. We have a snapper and holder, and he has to do his job, too. (Folk) knows it's his responsibility to do better also."
Folk has hit 16-of-24 field goal attempts this season. His eight misses already top his seven from the previous two years combined.
