Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett already has been criticized for not calling enough runs late in his team's embarrassing loss to Green Bay on Sunday.
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But Garrett wasn't the one who decided for Tony Romo to throw on his first fateful interception. Romo made the choice.
Romo had a run-pass option on the play, which was picked off by Packers cornerback Sam Shields. It was a called run, but Romo had the option to throw depending on the looks he saw.
"We call that a 'smoke' or a 'flash,' Garrett explained. "That's something we have accompanying some runs if he gets a bad look. That's what happened on the interception. It was a run call that he threw the ball on."
As Chris Brown of Grantland explains, this was a "packaged" play. You can tell by seeing how the offensive line fires off like run blockers. Romo did not "change the play" as many have reported. He had the option to throw, and he saw something in the defense to call a pass.
It looks like Romo passed on his first read, was pressured and then made a poor decision and worse throw on the interception.
"I think he'll be the first one to tell you he probably should have run the ball in that situation," Garrett said.
Garrett didn't throw Romo under the bus. He answered a question in a fair manner. Romo has to take accountability on the play, and Romo admitted after the game it was a bad decision.
On Romo's next interception, there was a miscommunication between wide receiver Cole Beasley and Romo. Beasley took the blame for that one after the game, but there's no way to know who was at fault.
That's true of Dallas' entire loss. Everyone played a part, from Garrett to Romo to defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to any Cowboys defensive player.
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