jday
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Does any of this feel like familiar territory to anyone other than myself? Remember 2014. The Cowboys lost the opening day game against the 49ers as Romo struggled to get his legs back, but slowly but surely this team gelled and went on a rampage through the NFL running all over teams to the tune of 1,845 yards, led by Dallas’ own prodigal son, Demarco Murray, which beget a 12 and 4 record and a playoff spot. Four games in, though, many called the 2014 iteration of the Cowboys “Pretenders.” It wasn’t until the Cowboys worked and abused the former Super Bowl Champ Seattle Seahawks in Week 6 that people began to stand up and take notice. I suspect a win in the same week of this year (Packers @ Lambeau) will also be the game that turns the tide of doubters in the Cowboys favor…should they win.
Flash forward to today and you see a lot of new faces and read of many new enthralling back-stories (e.g. Dak / Zeke / Collins / Brown), but one story remains the same: Despite being 3 and 1, the Cowboys are still largely doubted by the world. Speaking for myself, I honestly hope it stays that way for as long as possible. I hesitate to speculate the “why”, but the “what” that typically occurs in response to doubt is a beautiful thing for Cowboys fans around the world. As for my speculation, quite simply, this is human nature. Adversity’s fire can forge a team together or tear them apart as we saw in both 2014 and 2015 respectively. Sitting at 3 and 1 and witnessing the Claiborne love following his close-to-game-sealing interception at the end of the game against the 49ers suggest to me that the former effect is occurring right before our eyes. Next up for these Cowboys are two very high risk / high reward sharpening stones (Bengals & Packers); should the Cowboys win both games, this team will race up the Power Rankings and scare the bejesus out of every team left on their schedule. After all, if they do win out through their Bi-week, they will have done that with two rookies leading the way and the #1 QB set to start following the Bi-week in week 8 against the Eagles…or will he?
“Ah, his point finally emerges!”
I AM TORN!!! And I’m fairly certain I am not alone. This is unfamiliar territory for all of us. Not that this hasn’t happened before – we have seen plenty of people get Walley Pipped throughout the annals of sports history…but this is somewhat unique for me in that there really isn’t a clear cut winner in the debate of who should start.
Conventional football wisdom…that wisdom that is not acquired in a day, week or year but through years and years of watching, studying, eating, sleeping , and drinking football…is getting slapped in the face on a daily basis by the work of one Dak Prescott. Rookie quarterbacks don’t play like this. Rookies don’t make you even consider questioning rather or not Romo should start when he is healthy. Rookies don’t look off safeties, linebackers and DB’s to create space for their receivers. Rookies don’t put that requisite touch on the football to put the ball in a place where only his receiver can make a play on it. Rookies don’t throw 131 passes with only one near-miss-interception. Rookies don’t keep their feet planted in the pocket while waiting for a receiver to show their number. Rookies don’t keep their eyes down the field looking for a target to throw to regardless of oncoming pass rush. Rookies certainly don’t feel the pass rush coming from their blindside and start running when the defender is a foot away without even seeing him come. Rookies don’t stare the media in the eye, faced with the question of rather or not his #1 receiver missing the game will have a negative impact on the upcoming contest and say “We will be fine” and then proceed to back it up despite having to climb out of a 14 point deficit to begin the game….it was as if Dak said, “Here Chip, I’ll give you a head start.”
So don’t be mad at the experts, media, and scouts for being absolutely 100% wrong about Dak. He is doing things the typical rookie never does…especially at the quarterback position.
Now, granted, Dak is not Romo at this point in his career. What Romo has in terms of football understanding can only be gained by time playing the position…lots and lots of time….season after season. Dak, in that sense, is light years away from what Romo can do in a matter of seconds looking at various defensive fronts throughout the game. In fact, I imagine Romo to an extent makes Linehan’s presence on game day unnecessary. Despite what is being called, you can bet Romo will make adjustments if not call a whole new play altogether. And to be honest, that’s really what you want – players who have a strong enough knowledge base and understanding of the game plan to make adjustments to things only he can see from his position behind center. That is ideal. And Dak is not quite there yet. Admittedly, he is getting there and has already exhibited the ability to do so. But again I stress, it is nowhere near being on Romo’s level yet. Having said that, watching how Dak has progressed up to this point, it would not surprise me in the least if he got there before Romo did in his illustrious career. Some of that may have to do with aptitude, but most of it is the fact that Dak may very well have an offense that is better than any offense Romo has ever had an opportunity to direct and Dak has Romo sitting on the sideline willing and able to assist in streamlining the improvement process (Romo has the technology to make Dak better).
It is because of that that I have penned several pieces now asking this question…does Romo or Dak give the Cowboys the best chance to win on Sunday? The frustrating aspect of this question is that we are attempting to answer it without all of the evidence. What evidence are we missing? Rather or not Romo can be end-of-2014-Romo again or if upon return we see a one-foot-stepping-out-the-door Romo…one closely resembling the Romo on opening day against the 49ers in 2014. Because if that’s the Romo we are holding the door open for following the bi-week, I truly do wonder how many games lost will it take for the coaches to slam that door back closed. Regardless of the outcome, as a long time Romo supporter, I am not looking forward to that good night.
Nothing would thrill me more than to see Romo take the field by storm and wreak havoc on the opposition and his detractors in one fell swoop. And because Romo Wednesday has evolved to Romo half-season, there is perhaps a chance that he could do that…but as I have said many, many times in this debate of all debates, I still have my doubts that he will return in football playing form. It seems a given at this point that he will struggle early on…and since early on is against the Eagles, a division opponent who is very much at the moment looking like the road Dallas must go through to get to the playoffs and beyond, I truly do wonder if that is the best game for the reveal.
At any rate, Romo has earned a chance. I have no problem there. I absolutely sign off on giving him a shot, with the added provisional caveat (in super small print) that I get to hold the towel. And I reserve the right to throw in said towel at any point in the game that I want to. That’s all I’m asking. Because honestly that is the real reason why we are still debating, isn’t it? Do you think this debate would have picked up the steam it has were it not for the fact that no one (not a single person who follows the Cowboys) trust the coaches to pull the trigger on benching Romo when the trigger needs to be pulled.
How could you? Romo has given his life to this franchise, so to be the guy (the Turk) who benches him in favor of a rookie (not any ordinary rookie, as stated above, but still) will be perhaps the hardest decision Garrett will have to make in his short life as Head Coach of the Cowboys….possibly the hardest decision in his life period. I honestly think it would lead to Romo’s retirement, as he has said before winning a Championship with a team other than the Cowboys really wouldn’t mean as much as winning one with the team he grew up in. So I seriously doubt he even entertains cashing that check somewhere else; besides, he clearly has a life after football in football…rather it be as a coach or as a TV Personality, he will still be in football in some capacity.
But that’s not the “end of the story” that people will want to read years from now. The Champion That Never Was; the Cinderella who put on weight between fittings of that glass slipper; the Aladdin without a Lamp. But that has been the reality of Romo’s story to date. So if anything, for my grandkids sake, I once again really hope Romo can put a happy ending on an otherwise very sad story to date.
Thoughts?
Flash forward to today and you see a lot of new faces and read of many new enthralling back-stories (e.g. Dak / Zeke / Collins / Brown), but one story remains the same: Despite being 3 and 1, the Cowboys are still largely doubted by the world. Speaking for myself, I honestly hope it stays that way for as long as possible. I hesitate to speculate the “why”, but the “what” that typically occurs in response to doubt is a beautiful thing for Cowboys fans around the world. As for my speculation, quite simply, this is human nature. Adversity’s fire can forge a team together or tear them apart as we saw in both 2014 and 2015 respectively. Sitting at 3 and 1 and witnessing the Claiborne love following his close-to-game-sealing interception at the end of the game against the 49ers suggest to me that the former effect is occurring right before our eyes. Next up for these Cowboys are two very high risk / high reward sharpening stones (Bengals & Packers); should the Cowboys win both games, this team will race up the Power Rankings and scare the bejesus out of every team left on their schedule. After all, if they do win out through their Bi-week, they will have done that with two rookies leading the way and the #1 QB set to start following the Bi-week in week 8 against the Eagles…or will he?
“Ah, his point finally emerges!”
I AM TORN!!! And I’m fairly certain I am not alone. This is unfamiliar territory for all of us. Not that this hasn’t happened before – we have seen plenty of people get Walley Pipped throughout the annals of sports history…but this is somewhat unique for me in that there really isn’t a clear cut winner in the debate of who should start.
Conventional football wisdom…that wisdom that is not acquired in a day, week or year but through years and years of watching, studying, eating, sleeping , and drinking football…is getting slapped in the face on a daily basis by the work of one Dak Prescott. Rookie quarterbacks don’t play like this. Rookies don’t make you even consider questioning rather or not Romo should start when he is healthy. Rookies don’t look off safeties, linebackers and DB’s to create space for their receivers. Rookies don’t put that requisite touch on the football to put the ball in a place where only his receiver can make a play on it. Rookies don’t throw 131 passes with only one near-miss-interception. Rookies don’t keep their feet planted in the pocket while waiting for a receiver to show their number. Rookies don’t keep their eyes down the field looking for a target to throw to regardless of oncoming pass rush. Rookies certainly don’t feel the pass rush coming from their blindside and start running when the defender is a foot away without even seeing him come. Rookies don’t stare the media in the eye, faced with the question of rather or not his #1 receiver missing the game will have a negative impact on the upcoming contest and say “We will be fine” and then proceed to back it up despite having to climb out of a 14 point deficit to begin the game….it was as if Dak said, “Here Chip, I’ll give you a head start.”
So don’t be mad at the experts, media, and scouts for being absolutely 100% wrong about Dak. He is doing things the typical rookie never does…especially at the quarterback position.
Now, granted, Dak is not Romo at this point in his career. What Romo has in terms of football understanding can only be gained by time playing the position…lots and lots of time….season after season. Dak, in that sense, is light years away from what Romo can do in a matter of seconds looking at various defensive fronts throughout the game. In fact, I imagine Romo to an extent makes Linehan’s presence on game day unnecessary. Despite what is being called, you can bet Romo will make adjustments if not call a whole new play altogether. And to be honest, that’s really what you want – players who have a strong enough knowledge base and understanding of the game plan to make adjustments to things only he can see from his position behind center. That is ideal. And Dak is not quite there yet. Admittedly, he is getting there and has already exhibited the ability to do so. But again I stress, it is nowhere near being on Romo’s level yet. Having said that, watching how Dak has progressed up to this point, it would not surprise me in the least if he got there before Romo did in his illustrious career. Some of that may have to do with aptitude, but most of it is the fact that Dak may very well have an offense that is better than any offense Romo has ever had an opportunity to direct and Dak has Romo sitting on the sideline willing and able to assist in streamlining the improvement process (Romo has the technology to make Dak better).
It is because of that that I have penned several pieces now asking this question…does Romo or Dak give the Cowboys the best chance to win on Sunday? The frustrating aspect of this question is that we are attempting to answer it without all of the evidence. What evidence are we missing? Rather or not Romo can be end-of-2014-Romo again or if upon return we see a one-foot-stepping-out-the-door Romo…one closely resembling the Romo on opening day against the 49ers in 2014. Because if that’s the Romo we are holding the door open for following the bi-week, I truly do wonder how many games lost will it take for the coaches to slam that door back closed. Regardless of the outcome, as a long time Romo supporter, I am not looking forward to that good night.
Nothing would thrill me more than to see Romo take the field by storm and wreak havoc on the opposition and his detractors in one fell swoop. And because Romo Wednesday has evolved to Romo half-season, there is perhaps a chance that he could do that…but as I have said many, many times in this debate of all debates, I still have my doubts that he will return in football playing form. It seems a given at this point that he will struggle early on…and since early on is against the Eagles, a division opponent who is very much at the moment looking like the road Dallas must go through to get to the playoffs and beyond, I truly do wonder if that is the best game for the reveal.
At any rate, Romo has earned a chance. I have no problem there. I absolutely sign off on giving him a shot, with the added provisional caveat (in super small print) that I get to hold the towel. And I reserve the right to throw in said towel at any point in the game that I want to. That’s all I’m asking. Because honestly that is the real reason why we are still debating, isn’t it? Do you think this debate would have picked up the steam it has were it not for the fact that no one (not a single person who follows the Cowboys) trust the coaches to pull the trigger on benching Romo when the trigger needs to be pulled.
How could you? Romo has given his life to this franchise, so to be the guy (the Turk) who benches him in favor of a rookie (not any ordinary rookie, as stated above, but still) will be perhaps the hardest decision Garrett will have to make in his short life as Head Coach of the Cowboys….possibly the hardest decision in his life period. I honestly think it would lead to Romo’s retirement, as he has said before winning a Championship with a team other than the Cowboys really wouldn’t mean as much as winning one with the team he grew up in. So I seriously doubt he even entertains cashing that check somewhere else; besides, he clearly has a life after football in football…rather it be as a coach or as a TV Personality, he will still be in football in some capacity.
But that’s not the “end of the story” that people will want to read years from now. The Champion That Never Was; the Cinderella who put on weight between fittings of that glass slipper; the Aladdin without a Lamp. But that has been the reality of Romo’s story to date. So if anything, for my grandkids sake, I once again really hope Romo can put a happy ending on an otherwise very sad story to date.
Thoughts?
