Should Tony Romo Tell Jerry Jones To Go Jump In A Glory Hole?

In a preseason interview, former Dallas Cowboy QB Troy Aikman said,

February 4, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; NFL former quarterback Troy Aikman on the red carpet at the inaugural NFL honors red carpet and awards show at the Old National Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

"“I think Tony already is a better quarterback than I was. I know how quarterbacks are judged, but as far as his play making ability and the things that he is capable of doing, he is a far more athletic quarterback, capable of making more plays than I ever was able to.” “He has a good team around him,” Aikman added, “and, hopefully, and I believe this will happen, I believe that he will win a Super Bowl before he is done playing.”"

Now this must have made Tony feel pretty good right? I mean hey, If a Hall of Fame quarterback with 3 Super Bowl rings said that about me, I would be elated. So,what does Jerry Jones do? In a press conference in front of most of the major sports writers in the country, he comes right out and insults his starting quarterback:

"“We all know Troy does his homework and is very contentious and doesn’t deal in lilies, but to me he’s being gratuitous and he’s being modest,” Jones said. “I’ve gotten three Super Bowl rings because of what he’s about. I would say one thing. We have many things I think that we agree on, his assessment that Romo is a Super Bowl caliber quarterback is one that we really agree on. But I have a little hard time making the same comparison that he did. I know what Troy was and how much we wouldn’t be today without Troy Aikman, he’s being pretty modest.”"

Really Mr. Jones? Really? Hmm, what about Emmitt Smith? Where would Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys be without Emmitt, or that mammoth offensive line? Anyone with a brain knows that Aikman would be in a wheelchair trying to play behind the OL that Romo has! Does he think Tony isn’t smart enough to know this? Does he think Tony doesn’t hear about him saying these things? I guess he is feeling pretty damn unappreciated about now.

Rather than do a year-by-year breakdown, I am going to post an interesting tidbit of information. In a 12-yr-career and 165 starts, Troy Aikman had 2,898 completions on 4,715 attempts (61.5 completion %), for 32,942 yards, 165 TDs and 141 INTs. This gave Troy a career passer rating of 81.6, currently 40th all-time. Tony Romo, in only 77 starts, has completed 1,672 of 2,592 passes (64.5 completion %), for 20,834 yards, 149 TDs and only 72 INTs, giving Tony a career passer rating of 96.9, which is currently 2nd all time (this does not include Romos’ 2012 stats).

If I were Tony Romo, here are some of the questions I would have for Mr. Jones:

• Have I ever had an OL that is equal to Larry Allen, Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski, Eric Williams, Mark Tuinei etc?
• Did Troy ever get sacked 6 times and hurried almost every play in a play off game while his defense gave up over 30 points?
• Have you showed that you care one bit about my safety or my career? Gosh, last year I got sacked a career high 36 times and took 81 hits from 300 lb pass rushers. In fact, I ended up with broken ribs and a punctured lung.
• Did you realize that meant I took an average of over 7 hits a game? Thank God I am so mobile or those numbers would be double.
• Would you want to stand back there Mr Jones? Don’t forget, in 2010 I ended up with a broken collar bone! Only to have my veteran linemen cut and some inexperienced rookies put in front of me! I guess you expect me to put the last few years of my career into the hands of a couple guards no one else wanted in free agency AGAIN?

Look, Tony Romo is on his way to beating Troy Aikman’s all-time record for touchdown passes in Dallas. On Sunday, he tied the great Roger Staubach. What’s crazy about it is, he hasn’t started anywhere close to as many games. In fact, Aikman has over 70 more starts and currently leads Romo by less than 20 TD passes. Tony Romo is currently second all time in career passer rating compared to Troy Aikman being 40th. The bottom line is, Tony Romo can write his own ticket. The NFL is a quarterback starved league right now. When you consider what the Arizona Cardinals gave up for Kevin Kolb (who isn’t even in the same zip code as Tony Romo), or what Washington gave up to get an unproven rookie, Tony will be the most sought after free agent in the NFL. If a team like Denver will pay the 36-year-old Peyton Manning $90 million in spite of the injury risks, or a DE like Mario Williams can get $100 million, what makes Jerry think Tony Romo is in any hurry to sign an extension with the Dallas Cowboys? Especially when Jerry Jones has already thrown him under the bus. His value will only go up if he waits until next year when he hits the open market.

The only thing that Tony Romo should say to Jerry Jones is,

Sept 16, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) rests on the bench during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

"Mr Jones, if you don’t appreciate me enough to protect me properly, and put me in a position to win, Go Jump In A Glory Hole! I want to go to a team who will. I am not going to continue being the fall guy for this team’s short comings and your inability to put the right players around me. I am not going to jeopardize my career for your incompetence!"

As much as I love the Dallas Cowboys, I really don’t want Tony Romo to go down in history as the next Dan Marino. To be remembered as the greatest quarterback who could never win a Super Bowl. Taking that in to consideration, along with the fact that Jerry Jones has only proven that he is more worried about selling jerseys than protecting probably the best quarterback in Dallas Cowboys history, I honestly believe that it would be in his best interest to go to a team who will put him in a position to do that. It is painful having to see the frustration on his face week after week.