Is Tony Romo The Right Man For The Dallas Cowboys?
Dec 15, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback
Tony Romo(9) reacts after getting sacked in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at AT
I don’t want this article to be an indictment of Antonio Ramiro Romo, the undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois who made all Cowboy Nation believe in its team after years stuck in the post-Aikman limbo.
I have defended once and again the play of a quarterback so talented, that always give his team a chance to win, even against the best teams in the league.
Romo’s career passer rating of 95.8 is 6th in history, just behind Tom Brady’s 95.9, and above the likes of Drew Brees, Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
By now, the whole football world is well aware that Romo has the highest fourth-quarter passer rating among active quarterbacks. His 102.1 rating is more than five points higher than the second man on the list, a guy named Aaron Rodgers.
So, by the numbers, Tony Romo is an excellent quarterback; one of the best in the league, actually. But, after seeing him doing what he did against Green Bay, I’ve started to wonder if he is the right man for the Cowboys?
Because those two interceptions in the last 5 minutes of the game, are just so Romo. They bring memories back of last year’s win-or-else game against Washington when he threw three interceptions, the last one with three minutes left in the season.
We could also bring back that infamous game against Detroit a year ago and many other examples when Romo just failed to do what the Cowboys pay him to do.
I know you will say that Romo is not the problem, that if they gave him a Defense (any Defense) or a good running back this guy would take us to the Superbowl.
But I’ve seen great quarterbacks get to the Superbowl without great defenses or rushing attack. All Brady, Manning, and Brees have done it, and nobody make any excuses for them when they fail to deliver.
Dec 15, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) throws in the pocket against the Green Bay Packers at AT
I’ve been a huge fan of Romo since that first season when he took the NFL by assault. I wear his number 9 jersey every Sunday. But I wonder if we have already seen the best of Tony Romo. If this is it; if we have reached Romo’s ceiling.
I keep waiting for that miraculous run that will take the Cowboys to the Superbowl. But year after year it’s the same old story. And what makes it even worst is that the Cowboys always have a chance, but they never make the most of it.
Actually, when things start to get complicated, the regular Cowboys fan gets that familiar feeling that somehow they are going to screw it. We know it all too well.
Heck, even the other teams know it. There was that Detroit player a few weeks ago, who said that they knew Dallas would just blew it. Or Brandon Marshall saying that they “beat Dallas… before the game started.” Jean-Jacques Taylor, one of the best sports writers in Dallas, has found a way to describe what happens to Dallas “they just keep finding creative ways to lose.”
And then you see teams like San Francisco, Kansas City, Seattle, that a couple of years ago were plain terrible, become powerhouses in the league with quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith and Russell Wilson. You just have to wonder when (or if) this Tony Romo-led Cowboys team will get to that level?
I’m not saying that Romo is the problem or that he is to blame for the Cowboys failures of the last decade. I’m just saying that this team needs a fresh start, needs urgently to forget about all those past losses and believe they have a chance to win it all.
One of the most overused clichés of all time is the definition of insanity, but I believe this time it’s perfect for a closing.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
Maybe it’s time to start looking into the future.
Follow Luis on twitter @dominguez_luisf.