Tony Romo best Cowboy QB of all time

[percyhoward]

I agree, but passing was not a big deal back then. It is almost like a rusher now. Who cares? It was all about the runners.

No, it's always been about passing and stopping the pass, even back before the Super Bowl era. The best QB of the 70's were Staubach, Tarkenton, Stabler, Bradshaw, and Griese. All led their teams to multiple Super Bowls and/or won one, and the first three went to Super Bowls without a HOF RB

The best RB of the 70's were Simpson, Payton, Riggins, Harris, and Csonka. The last two had HOF QB and got rings in the 70's, the first three didn't, and combined to win zero playoff games in the 70's. The best runner of the 70's was O.J., who never sniffed a Super Bowl because Buffalo didn't have the QB or the pass defense. The best QB was Staubach, who made it to a Super Bowl with Robert Newhouse at RB.

No numbers.

 

[mrmojo]

To put it in perspective....Meridith and Morton..before Staubach.....and White.....after Staubach....had the same talent that Roger had in the 70s...yet he was the only one to win championships. For those of you who weren't fortunate to see it...it was like how NE fans feel now with Brady...you just knew the Cowboys would be in the playoffs and contending for the SB....and with Staubach you always had a chance to win.....especially in the playoffs. He actually made the whole team better by his presence. Greatest leader I ever saw play QB, especially on the biggest stage.

 

[Alexander]

No, it's always been about passing and stopping the pass, even back before the Super Bowl era. The best QB of the 70's were Staubach, Tarkenton, Stabler, Bradshaw, and Griese. All led their teams to multiple Super Bowls, and the first three went to Super Bowls without a HOF RB

The best RB of the 70's were Simpson, Payton, Riggins, Harris, and Csonka. The last two had HOF QB and got rings in the 70's, the first three didn't, and combined to win zero playoff games in the 70's. The best runner of the 70's was O.J., who never sniffed a Super Bowl because Buffalo didn't have the QB or the pass defense. The best QB was Staubach, who made it to a Super Bowl with Robert Newhouse at RB.

No numbers.

For fear of you showing me the wrath of the statistical gods, I will humbly disagree.

That was a different game. A game in transition.

It wasn't about having the best passer and having the best pass defense.

Luckman and the AFL brought a concept to the NFL they never dealt with.

It just took time.

Back then, if you had a very efficient passer, you were ahead of the curve.

I still think this is a cyclical game and there is no one perfect way to win.

Call me old fashioned.

 

[perrykemp]

3 QBs from yesteryear, all basically from the pre-Joe Montana era, who I feel are consistently underrated by today's fans:

1950s: Otto Graham
1960s: Bart Starr
1970s: Roger Staubach

From a statistical perspective, what makes all 3 stand out so distinctly is the volume of seasons each had with QB ratings in the 90s and 100s.

90s and 100s for QB rating is considered good in today's game.

Graham had 5 seasons where he had a 90 QB rating or higher (including 2 times above 100)
Starr had 4 seasons where he had a 90 QB rating or higher (including 2 times above 100)
Staubach had 3 seasons where he had a 90 QB rating or higher (including 1 time above 100)

Those 3 guys who have been great in any era.

I only bring it up as a consideration when comparing players like Romo and Staubach. I don't know even where to begin to determine what kind of QB rating handicap should be applied to QBs of those past eras when comparing to guys playing in today's game.

Graham (1950s)... maybe +40 ?
Starr (1960s)... maybe +30?
Staubach (1970s" maybe +20?

 

[DallasDomination]

If Romo wins a ring he'll get my vote.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

"Rodger".

Might as well call him "Starback".

Hand in your fancard.

You FAIL.

Good day.

I SAID, GOOD DAY!

Good lawd. Glad I didn't mention Irving or Whitten.

 

[john van brocklin]

I've been around long enough to have seen all the Cowboys great QB's play Meredith, Morton, Staubach, White and Aikman. I don't go by stats but by the eye test. Romo is the best of them all. Ignorant fans will say he doesn't have the rings but rings have nothing to do with how a player plays the QB position. Aikman was more accurate but he's the only QB who had anything on Romo. Romo beats him in all other aspects. Romo's got the quickest release and is a master of the game. He knows every defense out there and changes plays accordingly. The others were all great leaders some better than others but Romo has them all beat. Staubach was called Captain Comeback but that title now belongs to Romo. He's the best. He's the best Dallas Cowboy QB of all time.

I like Tony, but Roger is head and shoulders above him.

 

[fweegy]

Good lawd. Glad I didn't mention Irving or Whitten.

Spelling ***** will always resort to their craft when they have no other leg to stand on.

 

[percyhoward]

1950s: Otto Graham
1960s: Bart Starr
1970s: Roger Staubach

I'm borrowing a section of perrykemp's post to show how the importance of the passing game goes way, way back in history. The three QB listed above played a combined 34 seasons, and their teams had 14 championship seasons and a postseason record of 31-11.

Now take the same three decades and look at the best RB of each decade.
1950s: Joe Perry
1960s: Jim Brown
1970s: O.J. Simpson

These three RB played a combined 36 seasons, and their teams had one championship season and a postseason record of 2-6.

There is nothing that begins to suggest that the RB was more important or played a bigger role than the QB during this time period.

 

[Thorsson]

Roger Staubach is the best Cowboys QB of all time. I watched every one of his games. And my opinion won't change until Romo wins a Super Bowl.

 

[Thorsson]

Antonio Romo is certainly the greatest Mexican QB of all-time!

 

[perrykemp]

1950s: Otto Graham
1960s: Bart Starr
1970s: Roger Staubach

I'm borrowing a section of perrykemp's post to show how the importance of the passing game goes way, way back in history. The three QB listed above played a combined 34 seasons, and their teams had 14 championship seasons and a postseason record of 31-11.

Now take the same three decades and look at the best RB of each decade.
1950s: Joe Perry
1960s: Jim Brown
1970s: O.J. Simpson

These three RB played a combined 36 seasons, and their teams had one championship season and a postseason record of 2-6.

There is nothing that begins to suggest that the RB was more important or played a bigger role than the QB during this time period.

Great point.

Heck, keep going:

1980s: Dickerson
1990s: Sanders (Ok, arguably NOT the best RB of the 90s -- but at worst 2nd to Emmitt)
2000s: Tomlinson

None of those 3 guys got to a Superbowl.

 

[Rockport]

I like Tony, but Roger is head and shoulders above him.

How so?

 

[RS12]

 

[alohawg]

To put it in perspective....Meridith and Morton..before Staubach.....and White.....after Staubach....had the same talent that Roger had in the 70s...yet he was the only one to win championships. For those of you who weren't fortunate to see it...it was like how NE fans feel now with Brady...you just knew the Cowboys would be in the playoffs and contending for the SB....and with Staubach you always had a chance to win.....especially in the playoffs. He actually made the whole team better by his presence. Greatest leader I ever saw play QB, especially on the biggest stage.

I agree and I would also add another great with the same commanding presence, Johnny Unitas.

 

[Austin 3-16]

Best doesn't mean he's the greatest. I'm pretty sure that the thread author understands this but others in here don't.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

I'm a big fan of Tony's. I'm not going to argue about best this, best that. And IMO he's one of the elite guys in a league full of guys that aren't even very good. Tony's excellent and he's a good guy to boot.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I'm a big fan of Tony's. I'm not going to argue about best this, best that. And IMO he's one of the elite guys in a league full of guys that aren't even very good. Tony's excellent and he's a good guy to boot.

That's something all three of these guys have in common. They've all shown great talent on the field and are great guys off the field. Staubach was my hero growing up. Man, am I ever glad he never did anything sleazy like Michael Vick did.

 

[fortdick]

Adjusted for eras (as it should be), Staubach gets my vote. Romo might be #2, though.

I agree. Tony can do great things, Roger did them better. I started watching the Cowboys when they came into the league. In the past couple years, Tony has matured into a Staubach quality QB, but Roger played at that level longer. Roger also lost some good years doing his duty. Just like Willie Mays, he could have set untouchable records had he not sacrificed prime years to serve his county.

 

[MichaelValentino]

Most who are picking Romo over Staubach and Aikman never grew up watching them all they know of them are of what they've seen on highlights. Romo is the best Cowboys QB they've seen play live so naturally they're going to pick him can't fault anyone for that. It's only human nature to pick a player you grew up watching. It's hard to fully appreciate a player you didn't grow up with and live through their great games. Others who are picking Romo are doing so because he holds practically every Cowboys passing record and has the second highest career passer rating in NFL history.

There's Cowboy fans who never watched Aikman play who don't think he should be in the HOF because his numbers weren't that great. I've debated several on this board who don't think Troy Aikman was that good of a QB based on his career numbers. The game has changed a lot over the years which is why QBs numbers/passer ratings have gone up dramatically through the decades but some either don't care or don't understand the game well enough to see how the rules have perfected the play of QBs.

Some are so naive they look back at the numbers of QBs in the 70's and think none of them were that good when comparing their numbers with QBs of today. You have a lot of younger fans on these boards which creates these debates. Some will always judge QBs strictly by their regular season numbers and could care less about the era they played in or their playoff record.

Great point, KJJ.

It's like watching Alex Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos today and being floored by their talent (and they are great players), but never having seen Bobby Hull or Gordie Howe play. Or watching Shea Weber and Duncan Keith but never having seen Bobby Orr or Ray Bourque. Jake Arieta just completed an amazing year but as a kid I remember how dominating Bob Gibson was, and he is pretty much my personal measuring stick for RHPs. We tend to gravitate toward the players we know best, and the older we are the greater our reference source. So, I grew up watching Dick Butkus and I'd take him over any MLB including Ray Lewis. I barely remember Bart Starr but in a big game I'd take him over Bret Favre in a heartbeat. I might even take Starr over Aaron Rodgers but that is getting a little closer.

I've probably said all I could say on this thread but I'll say one more time: in a big game, I'd take Staubach or Aikman over Romo in a heartbeat and not even look back. I'd take Roger over Aikman but that is a closer call. Aikman was brilliant during the Cowboys 90s run, with his play rivaling that of Starr in the 60s playoffs and Montana's 80s playoff career. Troy put up pedestrian regular season stats - due largely to the Cowboys offensive philosophy - but in the playoffs he outdueled HOFers Favre, Steve Young and Jim Kelly, and he was the leader of those great Cowboys teams. I love Tony Romo but in this conversation, he is a distant 3rd to Roger and Troy.

This has been fun and nostalgic.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.