Zoners: Manning and his INTs

[Stautner]

Nobody is equating Romo's career with Manning's career.

It's true that someone like Manning cannot be judged by a poor stretch, because he has accomplished enough to make up for it.

The problem, though, is that when someone like Romo or Rivers or Flacco or Rodgers has a game like that, the critics slam them and say that great quarterbacks don't do that. YES, THEY DO. Most great quarterbacks have games like that -- not just the ones named Brett Favre. Tom Brady has more four-interception games than anyone else in the past 10 seasons. Peyton is tied for second (with Kurt Warner, among others) and famously had that six-interception game in the playoffs.

The great quarterbacks have bad games, too, it's just that they're excused from it because of the good games they've had. The same goes for a lot of other things -- great players at all positions are excused from poor plays, but they still make poor plays. But when other players make the same mistakes, they get slammed for making a mistake at all. It's like ever time Wes Welker drops a pass and the commentator says "You don't see that very often." Well, if you pay attention, you do, because only three players have dropped more passes than he has this season, but they give off the impression that he never drops a pass.

But this is always the case. Once a player has proven himself to be onsistent, highly productive, AND a championship player he is naturally going to get more benefit of the doubt. Why should that be considered unusual or even unfair? Those are the players that have most earned the right for their downtimes to be considered abberrations.

 

[JakeCamp12]

Adam,

Thanks for bringing facts and common sense to these threads...I always enjoy your posts...

 

[SDCowboy]

Romo is one of the top QBs in the league and just needs this team to start performing at a similar level and there is no doubt he will bring us a SB win. Romo does everything he can but can't do it all.

 

[Stautner]

Romo is one of the top QBs in the league and just needs this team to start performing at a similar level and there is no doubt he will bring us a SB win. Romo does everything he can but can't do it all.

Considering some very bad decisions by Romo played a big part in some of our December collapses, and in the playoff game against the Giants a few years back, I don't think it's exactly fair to say there is no doubt he will win a Super Bowl if others start performing to his level. That said, I think Romo has matured some over time, and is probably less likely to make a lot of those same mistakes now, but the reality is that the proof is in the pudding. We've experienced some colossal collapse either in December or in a playoff game over the last 5 years, and we have to get over that hump before anything definitive can be said about any of them.

 

[rynochop]

Adam,

Thanks for bringing facts and common sense to these threads...I always enjoy your posts...

Definite ditto. Always look forward to his posts.

 

[AdamJT13]

But this is always the case. Once a player has proven himself to be onsistent, highly productive, AND a championship player he is naturally going to get more benefit of the doubt. Why should that be considered unusual or even unfair? Those are the players that have most earned the right for their downtimes to be considered abberrations.

I wasn't talking about those guys not deserving the benefit of the doubt. I said they do. I was talking about the criticisms of other players who make the same mistakes, as if great players never make mistakes or that those players can't be great if they make those mistakes.

For example, in Romo's three-interception game against the Giants last year, all of the criticism was about how a great quarterback would never make those throws. But as we all saw yesterday, they do make those throws.

If Romo wins a Super Bowl, do you think he will never have another bad game? Of course not. It still happens.

 

[Stautner]

I wasn't talking about those guys not deserving the benefit of the doubt. I said they do. I was talking about the criticisms of other players who make the same mistakes, as if great players never make mistakes or that those players can't be great if they make those mistakes.

For example, in Romo's three-interception game against the Giants last year, all of the criticism was about how a great quarterback would never make those throws. But as we all saw yesterday, they do make those throws.

If Romo wins a Super Bowl, do you think he will never have another bad game? Of course not. It still happens.

Well, if you agree with the notion that one player may have earned the benefit of the doubt over the other player, then doesn't it follow that the other player will naturally be judged a little more harshly until he reaches the same level?

But maybe you are only referring to the extremes. If you are talking about those fans who absolutely condemn a player and make him out to be worthless with no chance to ever accomplish anything simply because he has some lapses at times, then I'm on board with you. The extremists on any topic are frustrating and aren't worth paying any attention to.

 

[Venger]

It just shows that even the best can't win without a running game.

They have - WE can't win without a running game, nor can most teams. You get enough in the air arsenal you can make noise, it sure does HELP to have a running game.

 

[jobberone]

It just shows that even the best can't win without a running game. You cannot throw the ball every down and win big, no matter who your QB is.

Bingo. But he gave it a good go didn't he?

 

[Kevinicus]

Or, as Aikman suggests, it shows they were running too much.