Cowboys: How To Keep Tony Romo Healthy

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is weighing is options in keeping his collarbone healthy, yet there’s no medical procedure necessary to accomplish this.

The Dallas Cowboys want Tony Romo to be the franchise’s starting quarterback for years to come. The organization wants this for more reasons than just Romo’s ability and career-accomplishments to date. There’s obviously financial considerations related to his current contract, which runs through the year 2019.

For this to happen, it will obviously be necessary to avoid the kind of injuries that Romo has sustained three times since 2010. Aside from multiple back procedures over the last few seasons, the former Eastern Illinois star has suffered three broken clavicles, each causing him to miss extended playing time en route to double-digit losses in each season he was hurt.

This offseason, there appears to be a greater concern than usual for Romo’s collar bone. These worries seem to be led by Romo, himself, as he embarks on his 11th season as Dallas’ starting quarterback.

Now, I’m no doctor, even if my name suggests that I should have been, but it seems to me that either one of a few procedures being discussed that are intended to reduce Romo’s chances of yet another injury to his collarbone are quite unnecessary.

Sure, three broken clavicles in six seasons suggests that Romo might not have the strongest bones on the block.

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Or, his offensive lines simply aren’t up to the task.

I’ve heard about all I can hear about the Cowboys having the best offensive line in the NFL. That distinction probably shouldn’t be bestowed upon a unit that allowed its starting quarterback to suffer the same injury twice during the same season.

Do the Cowboys have a good offensive line?

Yes, but to say it’s the best is a bit of a stretch that’s merely a talking point that’s been mentioned too many times on television.

The real deal here is that Dallas doesn’t do the best job of picking up blitzing linebackers, period. They haven’t been for quite some time and Romo’s other injuries suffered over recent seasons offers clear proof of that.

Interestingly, each of Romo’s broken collarbones have come due to missed assignments on linebacker blitzes. Each came from a linebacker, two of those coming from those playing in a 4-3 scheme that doesn’t generally call on its outside linebackers to bring pressure against the quarterback. The one from a 3-4 scheme was an inside linebacker, again, not a linebacker that’s generally used to apply pressure like outside linebackers in the same scheme.

Most alarming is the fact that Michael Boley of the New York Giants (2010), Jordan Hicks of the Phildelphia Eagles (2015) and Thomas Davis of the NFC Champion Carolina Panthers (’15) all came on blitzes straight up the middle. Each was able to reach Romo with virtually no resistance whatsoever.

No, it doesn’t take an advanced physician to figure out what the heart of this problem really is. That would fall into the hands of the alleged offensive genius named Jason Garrett, head coach of the Dallas Cowboys at this time.

In each of the last three seasons, the Cowboys have been relying on rookies along the interior of the offensive line, two of those being first-round selections and the most recent being a player who had a first-round grade entering his NFL draft a year ago.

For as well as center Travis Frederick, right guard Zack Martin and left guard La’el Collins have played, next season needs to be the year that each of these guys can no longer be fooled. Making up the inside of a very good offensive line, there simply can’t be more mistakes – let alone the same one twice in the same year – that jeopardize an entire season because a defender like any of those mentioned above attack straight up the middle to meet Romo head on.

When you watch the way Romo fell to the ground on each of these plays, it’s hardly a shocker that a small collar bone – the same one each time – simply broke or fractured. In fact, I’d bet money I don’t have that if most other quarterbacks experienced the same fall with the weight of a 235-plus pound linebacker on top of them that several other clavicles would have been injured as well.

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As Romo continues to mull medical options that might reduce the risk of further career-threatening injuries to his well-beaten left collar bone, the best possible treatment is for his highly-touted offensive line to make it a top priority to protect its franchise quarterback that’s trying to take the Cowboys to a Super Bowl with limited time remaining on the clock.

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