News: BTB: NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys Get Robbed By Ridiculous Reasoning

[NewsBot]

Ugh, is the Cowboys backup QB situation really going to be the only topic all year?

Sure, the Dallas Cowboys have an issue at backup quarterback. As evidenced by last year, they were not prepared to deal with a season without Tony Romo under center. To make matters worse, this year they are, as of this moment, going to depend on a rookie drafted in the fourth round unless they make another move. No matter how well Dak Prescott played in his first preseason game, or if he plays as well the rest of the preseason, it is still risky to depend on a rookie quarterback for anything in the NFL.

But guess what? Every team in the NFL has a backup quarterback issue. If you think anybody is sitting around and saying our backup quarterback is Super Bowl material, you’re kidding yourself. Granted, some backups are better than others, so there are levels of concern at the position, but no one thinks if their starting quarterback goes down, everything will be just dandy.

So why am I going off on this rant? Because at least once a week this offseason some NFL pundit talking about the Cowboys season is making the backup quarterback situation central to their analysis of Dallas, and they usually downgrade the Cowboys because of it. Obviously, in the end, none of that matters since what a pundit says now means nothing for the how the actual season will play out. Still, making a projection on a season on the basis of guessing that Romo will get hurt is kind of silly. Before last season, Romo had started in 62 of the Cowboys last 64 games. Yes, he’s getting older and he has missed large chunks of a season twice (2010, 2015), but he seems to be singled out as particularly injury prone, so much so that it becomes the single basis for thought on the Cowboys.

Here’s ESPN’s latest Power Rankings, where you might agree with the their placement of the Cowboys, but then the reasoning comes and you wonder why even bother.

13. Dallas Cowboys

2015 record: 4-12

Post-draft ranking: No. 11

Dak Prescott wowed fans in his NFL debut, and though it was just preseason, the Cowboys need a capable backup quarterback. Tony Romo has missed at least one game in each of the past three seasons, and he missed 12 in 2015. In those three seasons, the Cowboys are 1-13 when Romo doesn't start and 23-11 when he does.
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If you read all of the rankings, you never see reasoning around Aaron Rodgers having to stay healthy, or Carson Palmer having to stay healthy, or Andrew Luck having to stay healthy, even though those teams need them to stay healthy as much as any team. Carson Palmer is the same age as Romo and only made it through six games in 2014, but guess what? He played every game the following year (2015).

Instead of talking about the Cowboys stellar offensive line, the firepower at the skill positions, the addition of Ezekiel Elliott, they talk about the possibility that Romo could get hurt (while ignoring the possibility that every QB in the league could get hurt.) If they wanted to go negative they could talk about the lack of a pass rush or the suspensions on defense. Instead, it’s Romo possibly getting injured.

I totally get that this is kind of a silly thing to get worked up about. Admittedly it’s the kind of thing about which I usually say "who cares, it’s meaningless." But for some reason, after the 178th time reading it this offseason, I just had to vent. Thanks for listening BTB!

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