Cowboys fans should fear Jerry Jones botching the Dak Prescott and Tony Romo situation
While Dak Prescott seems like the right choice for the Dallas Cowboys, the writing on the wall shows Jerry Jones picking Tony Romo.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Dallas Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones is loyal to Tony Romo. He made it clear in the summer of 2006. For the past decade, Romo has been “Jerry’s guy.”
The backup years
As most know, Romo was undrafted in 2003. After a solid showing in the NFL Draft Combine, he signed with Dallas as the third string quarterback behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.
Slowly, he climbed his way up the ranks. He moved up to second string the following season and even served as the special teams placeholder.
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All the while, Jones kept an eye on the situation. Then one fateful October 2006 evening, in front of a national Monday Night Football audience, head coach Bill Parcels handed Romo the keys to the offense. Surprisingly, Jones still wasn’t convinced.
Following that game, he told reporters, “my thought from the start of the season was that if we made a quarterback switch in the middle of the season, that meant a wheel had come off.”
He then continued, “so I had a built-in lowering of expectations.” In other words, he refused to get too excited.
The wonder years
Romo took the world by storm. That is, after throwing two touchdowns and three picks in his first half of a game. From then on, he’s been Jerry’s golden boy. Through thick and a ridiculous amount of thin, Jerry stuck by him.
Despite the botched place-hold against the Seattle Seahawks in the 2006 playoffs, the interception in the end zone to lose to the New York Giants in the 2007 playoffs, the three turnovers in the first round against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008, the four turnovers to lose yet another first round game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, four straight ensuing 8-8 seasons, Jones still showed his faith in Tony. Come hell or high water, the Cowboys were Tony’s team.
The 2014 season and beyond
With Romo at the helm once again, the Cowboys finally got over the hump in the postseason. They beat the Detroit Lions in the first round, and were very close to taking down the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.
However, a mid-season back injury raised concerns in the following offseason about Tony’s health. Dallas fans became pretty vocal about the need for a reliable backup quarterback, perhaps even thinking about the future and grooming his protégé. But Jerry wanted none of that!
He stood by Romo and placed all his eggs in the proverbial #9 basket. But those eggs were pretty banged up in 2015, further proving the point of the fans.
An injury-riddled 2015 season was disastrous for the Cowboys. Finishing 4-12, the playoffs were an afterthought and the only saving grace was the great draft position that would reward them in April.
Despite the glaring need and the lesson learned in 2015, Jones still told the media that the Cowboys had no interest in drafting a quarterback. With all Tony’s health concerns, he was convinced that looking into the future was a waste of time. Apparently someone knocked some sense into him though and alas, as a backup plan, Jerry took a quarterback with the fourth round pick.
The Dak Attack
Rookie Dak Prescott wasn’t a very touted selection. He didn’t raise the needle too much but was at least seen as someone capable of making the team and growing into a decent backup. Then the preseason started.
As Prescott continued to look good in workouts, scrimmages and exhibition games, fans took notice. The thought was that this kid actually had something and could actually provide some hope for the future. Then, Tony went down again.
We all know the results from there. The kid is 7-1 and off to the hottest start by a Cowboys rookie QB in team history. He’s electric, he’s a leader and he’s proven he can overcome adversity. Fans love him and his team responds positively to him. Plus, he’s on pace to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Yet Jerry had to open his mouth Monday. While he talked mostly about “not speculating,” a couple of very pointed comments stood out.
The aftermath
He started his comments by saying, “The thing I’m most happy about is, I can’t believe Dak’s getting these reps.” When talking about the guy that’s now your full-time quarterback, you don’t just refer to them as “reps.”
The typical speech in this situation is usually along the lines of, “I can’t believe Dak has taken such control of this team.” But then again, Mr. Jones isn’t exactly known for his eloquent speaking ability. But he kept going.
“To see a young guy like him get eight full games, you just don’t get to do that in the NFL. Tony had to wait four years to get that kind of experience.” Perhaps this is reading into things a bit, but that sure sounds like he’s talking about a guy just getting a taste of things.
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Really, the thought of changing anything on this team right now brings trepidation. It’s time to hand over the keys once again, Jerry. Please, for the sake of everyone involved, don’t over-think this. Stick with the hot hand, let Tony completely heal, and give Dak the opportunity to finish what he started. Romo would have said the same thing in 2006, and Tom Brady certainly felt that way in 2001. It just makes sense. For once, Jerry . . . please make sense.