Offseason spotlight: Should Romo's commitment be questioned?
As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, airing daily on Total Access, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each NFL team.
NFL Network analysts Solomon Wilcots and Jamie Dukes discuss Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Should Romo's commitment be questioned, and can he lead the Cowboys to a playoff win?
Read their takes and then enter the discussion below.
Wilcots: Romo needs to step up
The truth about Tony Romo is that he has to step up this season. The 2009 season is everything for Romo.
Just think about what Jerry Jones must be thinking. He went out and got T.O., gave T.O. a new deal and then everyone ran him out of town for one reason: so Romo could step his game up. At the end of last year, it was a big problem. Now Jones is moving into a new stadium, he's trying to win and this is his quarterback.
Either Romo is going to win for you now or he's never going to win for you quite the way you thought he would when you gave him the keys to the kingdom.
It's not like Romo was a rookie when the Cowboys decided to go with him. You can't sit around all these years and then decide that you're going to be a winning quarterback. In the Dallas market, the honeymoon is over pretty early. His is up. I'm telling you that right now.
I'm not sure if Romo is committed to mastering the QB position. I want to. But that's not a question I'm sure of. I think a certain amount of who and what Romo is isn't about how much harder he's going to work. He kind of plays like his idol, Brett Favre -- from the seat of his pants. He doesn't always have a plan and just thinks it's going to work out right. You get the feeling he's just going to go out and give it his best. He doesn't have any other plan than that. He's one of those types of players, but that's why you just love him and root for him.
Dukes: Can Romo handle pressure?
I don't think Romo's commitment should be questioned. I think he's a brilliant QB.
The only thing that you can question with Romo is his backbone come playoff time. His issues come during crunch time. Can he handle pressure? Real pressure?
Romo understands the passing game and the game itself. I think he's a heck of a leader. But at the same time, you have to win in December and January. You have to play at the same level that time of year. Romo, at that time, is not the same guy. The only thing you can attribute his poor performance to, the way I see it, is pressure. There are some late games that maybe he didn't stink it up, but it's not the same electrifying Romo that we see all the time. That's the problem. Be the same guy week in and week out. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Donovan McNabb ... these guys are generally the same guy, even when they're not playing as well.
I'm not talking about big games against the Giants or Eagles in September, either. I'm talking about the big games that mean you get into the playoffs or win playoff games.
The off-the-field stuff to me is irrelevant. You know what? He shows up every day and he knows the offense and he knows what he's doing. I can tangibly see that Romo understands the entire offense. If it was a situation where he didn't look like he knows what he's doing, it would be a different story.
