Book It: Tony Romo Will Win Comeback Player of the Year

Tony Romo returns to the field coming off his most disappointing season as a pro. Here’s why he’s poised to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

The man America loves to hate, Tony Romo, is in prime position to claim a very significant award in 2016: Comeback Player of the Year. After breaking his clavicle twice and only competing in two complete games, the Dallas Cowboys’ signal caller certainly qualifies for such an award.

Also joining Tony Romo in the Comeback POY discussion is teammate Dez Bryant, Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck, and Green Bay WR Jordy Nelson. All of these candidates missed all or most of 2015 and all of these players were performing at peak levels before the lost season.

But this one just ain’t gonna be close…

The Primary Competition

Dez Bryant is seemingly at the mercy of Tony Romo. With no proven QB behind Romo, it’s safe to say “if Romo goes down, so does the Cowboys offense.” Dez is going to have a bounce-back season but the way the Cowboys’ offense is constructed, he’s never going to post those eye-popping reception totals that Mike Wallace does. Combine that with the Cowboys’ re-commitment to the running game and you have a very uphill battle for ol’ Dez.

Jordy Nelson, on the other hand, is on one of those stat posting offenses. He plays for the best QB in the NFL and is coached by one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The problem is he’ll likely need to post well over 100 receptions to beat out his competition and considering he’s never done that before, he’s returning from a major knee injury, and he’s on the wrong side of 30, that’s a pretty ambitious goal.

Andrew Luck has a major advantage over the aforementioned two because he plays QB. QBs always get the brighter spotlight, and in turn, more consideration for awards. It’s no secret that Andrew Luck is a media darling, somehow dodging criticism for suspect performances and being hailed as “elite” despite only posting a career 85 QBR.

But Luck’s suspect supporting cast won’t do him any favors. The offensive line and running game needs addressing and may be too big of an obstacle to overcome.

The Case For Romo

Tony Romo is in the most ideal situation possible. He’s a seasoned vet operating an established offense with coaching consistency. He’s as healthy as he’s been in years and is taking precautions to protect his brittle clavicle.

Tony Romo’s offense is loaded. Dez Bryant is among the best in the game and coming off his own disappointing and injury plagued season, he will be hungry to prove himself. His WR bookend, Terrance Williams, has flashed huge potential and being in a contract year, you can bet he’s going to play as motivated as he’s ever been.

The incomparable Jason Witten has always been and will likely always be Tony Romo’s safety blanket. Considering he hasn’t missed a game since his rookie season, Witten is the closest to a sure thing as there is in this league. Cole Beasley has a knack for finding space and Tony Romo has a special connection with his adlib route running.

Tony Romo plays behind the best offensive line in football and will be assisted by a loaded stable of runners at RB. Leading the charge is rookie draft selection, Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott, picked #4 overall, has been turning heads in mini camps and will likely be competing for the rushing title in 2016.

Helping Tony Romo’s numbers will be the Dallas Cowboys defense. The defense could be a train wreck in 2016. Both starting edge rushers begin the season suspended, crippling a pass-rush that was already short on talent. Star middle linebacker, Rolando McClain, will miss 10 games himself with suspension.

Little was done in free agency or at the top of the draft so the already-poor defense from 2015 looks to be much worse in 2016. This means Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys offense will need to ball all game long. There will be shootouts aplenty.

Conclusion

The offensive line has depth (Ronald Leary), the WR corps has depth (Brice Butler), the RB corps has depth (Alfred Morris, Darius Jackson, and Lance Dunbar), and even TE is stacked like never before. Tony Romo has the tools and the talent. If he can keep himself healthy (obviously a big “if”), this race for the Comeback Player of the year ain’t gonna be close.

Next: The Burden is on Romo...Again

Tony Romo’s health will always fall into question and it’s certainly not preposterous to think he’ll miss time again in 2016. But it was only two year ago Tony Romo posted the best record in the NFL and it was only two years ago he posted the highest QBR in the NFL.

The Cowboys have reconstructed their offense to be all that and more in 2016 – all pointing the way to Tony Romo winning the Comeback Player of the Year award in 2016.

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