Viewpoint by Kenney Kost/editor-in-chief
He is terrible, can’t win a big game and chokes under pressure. He is Tony Romo and the wrong person to blame for the Dallas Cowboys woes.
Many arguments can be made for and against Romo. Some claim his stats are great while others say stats don’t bring the Lombardi Trophy to town. Some claim he has all the weapons he needs to win, and others say skill players are only one part of a successful team.
Romo statistically holds his own with the elite quarterbacks in the league such as Denver’s Peyton Manning and New Orleans’ Drew Brees. The league’s top five quarterbacks have an average career rating of 96.7. Romo’s career quarterback rating is 95.6.
Romo has the same career completion percentage as Manning, Brees and Rogers all with 65 percent. Completion percentage is one of the best measurements of accuracy, and Romo sits right at the top of the heap.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem to know anything about building a team. He may have an eye for talent at skill positions, but he does not know how to truly build a football team. This works to Romo’s detriment.
A good offense lives and dies with its offensive line and balance. Jones refuses to draft offensive linemen. Other than rookie center Travis Fredericks, the offensive line has been a carousel of terrible. Tackle Doug Free basically high-fives defensive tackles on their way to crushing Romo. If every play is a two-step drop because Romo has no time in the pocket, the offense will be unsuccessful.
One way to keep the defense from teeing off on Romo is to run the football. But the linemen must run block, and if the first two weeks of the season are any indication — they cannot run block. In fact, head coach Jason Garrett completely abandoned the run in Game Two, giving running back DeMarco Murray 12 carries alongside Romo’s 42 passing attempts.
From front office issues, stupid mistakes and bad drafting, several areas can share the blame. Romo isn’t one of them.
