Hostile
The Duke
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Years ago when I first found fan forums (2002 when Emmitt broke the record) I was consistently in heated debates about why you need a great QB. The problem at that time was that our QBs were not great (Hutchinson had just replaced Carter), but they had some of the most ardent fans I have ever seen.
Ardent hell, in retrospect they were downright blind. I introduced to the forums my belief in Quarterback pedigree and the idea that you need a great Quarterback to go anywhere. The argument in response usually centered around Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson having won Super Bowls and were mediocre Quarterbacks. I continue to maintain they have rings because their Defenses carried their teams.
Pedigree has faults of course. Drew Henson is proof of that. You simply cannot gauge what a player will do with the chances they receive. He didn't do enough. Period. There will always be a faction who believe Parcells sabotaged him, but I will always maintain if you are good enough, no one can truly keep you down.
Which brings me to Tony Romo. He has a very quiet pedigree that none of us knew about. He broke all of the passing records at Eastern Illinois that were previously held by Sean Payton. Mike Shanahan is also an alum of Eastern Illinois and like Payton is considered an Offensive guru.
I don't think Romo has the biggest arm. I never have. He doesn't need it. He has guile, guts, and as quick a release as anyone in the NFL today. Maybe only Kurt Warner is as fast. Is it Dan Marino fast? No. But it is fast enough. He also has the one thing I truly love in a Quarterback, accuracy.
I still cannot believe there were people in 2002 and 2003 who were telling people that accuracy in a Quarterback is over rated. One guy was so insistent upon this theory that he actually said Troy Aikman was over rated and only great because of the pieces around him. I remain perplexed at this mouth breather theory.
Finally the final intangible needed for a Quarterback to be great seems to be present in ours. He is a leader. There were questions about this right up until a few weeks ago. Allegations he allowed a prima donna WR to overpower him, folds under pressure, and lacked focus. If anyone says that these things did not enter their minds they are either lying or completely unaware.
It can be said without raising eyebrows, Tony Romo is a great leader. Is he a rah rah guy like Drew Brees? No. Is he a fiery in your face guy like Phillip Rivers? No. Is he a machine like Peyton Manning? No. He's often compared to Brett Favre for his gunslinger tendencies. I think he's a lot more like Kurt Warner than he is Favre.
Humble guy, quick release, highly intelligent, and from a small school. They both went undrafted and then found their way to stardom simply by refusing to give up. I consider this comparison to be a high compliment to Tony Romo because I hold Kurt Warner in very high regard.
I think it is increasingly more impossible to win in the NFL without a top Quarterback at the helm. We saw the irrefutable evidence of this last year when Romo went down and came back too soon because the ship was sinking. Without him, we were as pedestrian as a jaywalker in heavy traffic.
This year, with him, we've been in every game except maybe one. He is playing at such a high level it is impossible not to recognize it if you have your eyes open at all. I have never understood the incredible level of scrutiny he has been under. I think part of it is that we were so bad for a while that we are afraid of how great someone really can be again.
I often hear people who are long time fans of this team say that in 1989 they could see the greatness in Aikman even as the team was losing. I agree with them, because I said the same things then. A lot of Cowboys fans did. It was not a unique phenomenon by any means. Some guys simply have it. Whatever it is.
Tony Romo has it. It needed to be cajoled and groomed out of him. Once he took the field in 2006 anyone who had their eyes open could see it. I think the doubts about him have been more frustrating to me than any other aspect of the doubts about this team. I think they have been outright unfair far more than they have been even handed.
If you look at the Quarterbacks still alive in these final 8 teams you will see one thing very much in common with all of them. They are either in the upper echelon of Quarterbacks in the NFL or they have the potential to be there very soon. If you look at the 12 Quarterbacks whose teams made the playoffs I think you can safely say that they are closer to being the top 12 starting Quarterbacks in the NFL than the bottom 12 starting Quarterbacks in the NFL.
That is a fact that I notice every year. A top Quarterback gives you a better chance to be in the running for Post Season glory than any other aspect of the game. You hear that Defense wins Championships, and to a degree that is pure fact. Not without a Quarterback who the team believes in, and not year after year. To be a consistent contender in the NFL you need a great Quarterback.
We are so blessed to have one.
Ardent hell, in retrospect they were downright blind. I introduced to the forums my belief in Quarterback pedigree and the idea that you need a great Quarterback to go anywhere. The argument in response usually centered around Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson having won Super Bowls and were mediocre Quarterbacks. I continue to maintain they have rings because their Defenses carried their teams.
Pedigree has faults of course. Drew Henson is proof of that. You simply cannot gauge what a player will do with the chances they receive. He didn't do enough. Period. There will always be a faction who believe Parcells sabotaged him, but I will always maintain if you are good enough, no one can truly keep you down.
Which brings me to Tony Romo. He has a very quiet pedigree that none of us knew about. He broke all of the passing records at Eastern Illinois that were previously held by Sean Payton. Mike Shanahan is also an alum of Eastern Illinois and like Payton is considered an Offensive guru.
I don't think Romo has the biggest arm. I never have. He doesn't need it. He has guile, guts, and as quick a release as anyone in the NFL today. Maybe only Kurt Warner is as fast. Is it Dan Marino fast? No. But it is fast enough. He also has the one thing I truly love in a Quarterback, accuracy.
I still cannot believe there were people in 2002 and 2003 who were telling people that accuracy in a Quarterback is over rated. One guy was so insistent upon this theory that he actually said Troy Aikman was over rated and only great because of the pieces around him. I remain perplexed at this mouth breather theory.
Finally the final intangible needed for a Quarterback to be great seems to be present in ours. He is a leader. There were questions about this right up until a few weeks ago. Allegations he allowed a prima donna WR to overpower him, folds under pressure, and lacked focus. If anyone says that these things did not enter their minds they are either lying or completely unaware.
It can be said without raising eyebrows, Tony Romo is a great leader. Is he a rah rah guy like Drew Brees? No. Is he a fiery in your face guy like Phillip Rivers? No. Is he a machine like Peyton Manning? No. He's often compared to Brett Favre for his gunslinger tendencies. I think he's a lot more like Kurt Warner than he is Favre.
Humble guy, quick release, highly intelligent, and from a small school. They both went undrafted and then found their way to stardom simply by refusing to give up. I consider this comparison to be a high compliment to Tony Romo because I hold Kurt Warner in very high regard.
I think it is increasingly more impossible to win in the NFL without a top Quarterback at the helm. We saw the irrefutable evidence of this last year when Romo went down and came back too soon because the ship was sinking. Without him, we were as pedestrian as a jaywalker in heavy traffic.
This year, with him, we've been in every game except maybe one. He is playing at such a high level it is impossible not to recognize it if you have your eyes open at all. I have never understood the incredible level of scrutiny he has been under. I think part of it is that we were so bad for a while that we are afraid of how great someone really can be again.
I often hear people who are long time fans of this team say that in 1989 they could see the greatness in Aikman even as the team was losing. I agree with them, because I said the same things then. A lot of Cowboys fans did. It was not a unique phenomenon by any means. Some guys simply have it. Whatever it is.
Tony Romo has it. It needed to be cajoled and groomed out of him. Once he took the field in 2006 anyone who had their eyes open could see it. I think the doubts about him have been more frustrating to me than any other aspect of the doubts about this team. I think they have been outright unfair far more than they have been even handed.
If you look at the Quarterbacks still alive in these final 8 teams you will see one thing very much in common with all of them. They are either in the upper echelon of Quarterbacks in the NFL or they have the potential to be there very soon. If you look at the 12 Quarterbacks whose teams made the playoffs I think you can safely say that they are closer to being the top 12 starting Quarterbacks in the NFL than the bottom 12 starting Quarterbacks in the NFL.
That is a fact that I notice every year. A top Quarterback gives you a better chance to be in the running for Post Season glory than any other aspect of the game. You hear that Defense wins Championships, and to a degree that is pure fact. Not without a Quarterback who the team believes in, and not year after year. To be a consistent contender in the NFL you need a great Quarterback.
We are so blessed to have one.
