Tony Romo best Cowboy QB of all time

Reverend Conehead

Reverend Conehead

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fortdick said:
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.
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Yup, and if he hadn't done that service to his country, his NFL years would have almost certainly been on another team. He was the Heisman Trophy winner and the Cowboys would not have had the draft position to take him if he had entered the league immediately. They drafted him very late as an afterthought knowing that he owed service to the Navy and maybe this gamble with a very late pick might pay off. Did it ever.

Without these events the Cowboys likely would have been a Craig Morton-led team with Staubach playing for one of the lousy teams that had a high enough draft pick to get him. His career could have been like that of Archie Manning, who had plenty of talent, but was on a crappy team.
 
KJJ

KJJ

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MichaelValentino said:
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.
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It's very difficult to fully appreciate how great a player was just watching highlights of their career. All some have of Staubach and Aikman are their highlights. They didn't experience the games/championships and the moments that made these players special. There's always going to be more of an appreciation for players you grew up watching who led your team to championships after years of disappoinments. Prior to Staubach's arrival the Cowboys kept coming up short in the games that mattered most. They went from a cursed team to one that could perform miracles under Staubach. I don't think I've ever seen a player who could raise the level of play around them the way Staubach could. His teammates believed in him so much it brought out their best regardless how far behind the Cowboys were.

They knew if they gave Roger a chance he could pull any game out. Opponents feared Staubach you would literally see opposing coaches pacing the sidelines biting their nails when the Cowboys had the ball in the closing minutes of tight games. When Staubach retired the Cowboys were back to coming up short again it was never the same without him. As for Aikman he gets torn down by many because of his numbers but when big games were on the line he made the throws that had to be made. The slant to Harper in the closing minutes of the 92 NFC title game was the second greatest play in the history of the franchise only behind the Hail Mary.

That play to Harper felt almost like a payback for "The Catch" 11 years earlier on that same field. The plays Staubach and Aikman made in big games are why they became so near and dear to our hearts. We got to experience the ultimate with those players, championships. Romo is a very good QB who's a tremendous playmaker who puts up great numbers. He's made some outstanding plays out of nothing but unfortunately his career has been marred by some huge mistakes. Unless he wins a championship the mistakes will be what he's best remembered for. He's the greatest statistical QB in the history of the franchise but until he leads the Cowboys to a championship he'll never be looked at by the masses in the same light as Staubach and Aikman. His stats/passer rating and Houdini escapes/playmaking skills have blinded some as to what really makes a QB great.

The day Tony Romo makes the throws that lead to a championship is the day threads like this won't look so ridiculous. There's been a lot of very talented QBs who can pull off some great plays but unless they're putting up all-time numbers their careers will all be judged by how they performed in the playoffs. There's nothing fancy about Tom Brady no Houdini escapes or great athletic ability but he makes the throws to win playoff games and championships which is why he's considered one of the top 2 greatest QBs to ever play the game.
 
Arkyvarminter

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I'm not going to pick one and I watched all three of them. I'd probably pick Roger first and won't pick who's second. I do think Staubach and Aikman took the game more seriously and despised, and I mean despised, losing. I don't think Tony takes it to heart like the did.....
 
SuspectCorner

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alohawg said:
I agree and I would also add another great with the same commanding presence, Johnny Unitas.
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Johnny U may have been the best QB ever. I JUST caught the tail-end of his career... and he was still a rough-and-tumble creator of the 'something from nothing'. It really irked me when Jim McMahon dissed him back in the 80s. McMahon, the Neon Dieon of NFL quarterbacks, wasn't fit to carry Unitas' cleats.
 
foofighters

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Meh...we suck anyway so it really doesn't matter. So ready for the year to be over.
 
Bleu Star

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But Tony did tell Brady.. "I'll see you in February".

Is he planning to buy a ticket to the Super Bowl?

That's not over btw... The media will have a field day.
 
cowboyuptx

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KJJ said:
This is what separates Staubach and Aikman from Romo their careers weren't marred by the kind of inexcusable mistakes we're seeing today by Romo.
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I do have to agree with this mostly... Like Tom Brady has games where he throws 3+ picks, but I cant remember guys like Brady and Rodgers ever having two pick-sixes in the same game, and certainly not in big spotlight games like today... Very disappointing to say the least...
 
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