AMERICA’S TEAM AGAIN
This has been a very exciting year for Cowboy Nation. The Cowboys are 5-1 on the season, the offense is humming along like a well-oiled machine, and surprisingly, the make-shift defense hasn’t been too shabby either. “America’s Team” appears to be well on their way to actually earning the nickname after decades of habitual disappointment.
But what has been the root of their success? Well, unless you’re oblivious to all social media, it’s pretty clear that the bulk of the fan base gives credit to Dak Prescott for the Cowboys’ miraculous resurrection – which is not unwarranted. Dak has emerged as the clear future of the Dallas Cowboys, touting a passer rating of 103.9 with 1,486 yards and 7 touchdowns. What’s more impressive is that he takes care of the football, with only 1 interception (albeit 4 fumbles) through 6 games. He’s clearly a guy with a knack for managing football games and piling up the W’s, which is why football pundits and arm-chair quarterbacks across the nation are screaming at the top of their lungs: “Do NOT sideline the Dak-Attack for old-man-Romo!”
FOOTBALL PUNDIT-MANIA
It didn’t take long for a majority of the football “experts” to abandon Tony at the train station and load up on the Dak-Express. Troy Aikman, Steven A. Smith, Phil Simms, Skip Bayless and even Brett Favre are all in favor of Romo donning a headset for the remainder of the year (just to name a few examples). But the sports-media giants are not the only publications chiming in on the debate… With the controversy garnishing nationwide attention, even publications like The Wall Street Journal have tried to capitalize on the hysteria by throwing their opinion into the mix.
WARNING: At this point in the article, I need to ask everyone to take a minute to relax and search for that happy, zen-like place in your mind. Why do we need to relax, you ask? Great question – thanks for asking! It’s because I’m about to step away from the Dak-mania crowd and go full Romo-sexual, which apparently is a very unpopular thing to do. According to recent polls, 78.35% of you have either 1) Renamed your dog (or son) after Dak Prescott, 2) Stopped listening to Carrie Underwood because she once dated Romo, or 3) Re-purposed your Romo jersey as floor mop – But please folks, try to remain calm. We’ve got some important facts to discuss…
Well guess what? The majority of the pundits are simply dead-wrong. Yes, that’s right – I’m talking like forecast from The Weather Channel kind-of-wrong. I mean, Skip Bayless once claimed Tim Tebow was going to take the Jets to a Super Bowl! Are you kidding me?
The problem is most sports commentators, much like stock market analysts, don’t really aim to be “right”. They only try to make the safest bet and avoid being “wrong”. For example, in early 2007, Blackberry, Ltd. was plowing through the competition in the telecommunications industry. The success of the Blackberry cell phone had led the company stock price from $2.00 in 2002 to $230 in 2007. Market analysts at the time declared the company was unstoppable and encouraged investors to continue “riding the wave”. Well, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen a Blackberry in quite some time. Of course, Apple, Inc. released the iPhone in 2007 and quickly brushed Blackberry aside as they gained the bulk share of the cell phone industry. The analysts had been short-sighted and encouraged investors into what appeared to be the safe-bet due to the recent success of the stock. Hopefully you see where I am going with this. To be clear, I’m not saying that Dak is about to fall off into oblivion as Blackberry did – We’ve certainly found the future face of the franchise with Dak. I’m just pointing out that pundits and analysts are notoriously sheepish, and that the ability of the competition should be considered whether you’re making investment decisions or deciding which quarterback to start.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’ve got some real juevos, shares of Blackberry, Ltd. can currently be swiped up at the low, low price of around $7.00 a share…
NO R.E.S.P.E.C.T
Few people realize or give any credit to Tony’s actual accomplishments. In our “what have you done for me lately” society, fans and critics alike seem to dismiss his top-tier ability because he hasn’t been able to lead the Cowboys to new championships. But the stats can’t be ignored or pushed aside. When it comes to passer rating, Tony Romo comes in at 3rd on the list (All-Time). Yup, that’s 3rd in the entire history of the NFL, not just among active QB’s. Just to list a few names who fall below Tony: Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Ben Rothlisberger, etc, etc…
I can already hear the Romo-Haters now: “Oh wow [sarcasm], he’s 3rd all-time in passer rating, but Romo can’t seem to close out games, that’s why he’s a loser!” Well, the haters are incorrect once again because our boy Tony happens to hold the 2nd highest 4th Quarter Passer Rating OF ALL TIME. Again, that’s an all-time stat (see above list for QB’s who fall below him).
To be honest, Romo has significant standing in practically every major category of the all-time stats, but he never gets credit for his entire body of work – only the memorable losses seem to come to the minds of the pundits when they form their opinions.
2014 RING A BELL?
Probably one of the most over-looked reasons for starting Romo when he is fully healthy is due to the success the Cowboys had in 2014. With DeMarco Murray in 2014, the Cowboys were able to bruise their way into leading the league in time of possession (54.69%), which kept the mediocre defense off the field as much as possible. In 2016, the Cowboys have looked very similar with Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield, coming in at 2nd in the league in TOP (55%). This not only limits the vulnerability of our defense, but it significantly opens up the down-field passing game for the quarterback. Dak Prescott has been the biggest benefactor of this, and I firmly believe it’s one of the main reasons that he’s had success this year.
But Tony Romo has more capability to push the ball down-field in the passing game than Dak Prescott does. If there has been any “flaw” in Dak’s performances this year, it’s that he has preferred to check down to the third and fourth pass options and hasn’t really challenged the defensive backs that he’s faced. Dak may have gotten away with this during the first 6 games, but we’ve played some very mediocre teams with a 17-24 combined record – he won’t get away with that kind of strategy down the stretch or in the playoffs. With Romo at QB, he’d be able to stretch the defense down field which would create gaping holes more frequently for the run game. He did it in 2014 for DeMarco and he’ll do it again for Zeke, if afforded the opportunity.
PLAYOFFS! PLAYOFFS?
Admittedly, Romo’s early playoff resume doesn’t exactly impress. As a matter of fact, one of the most common arguments I hear from Romo-haters is that “Tony is a choke-artist in the playoffs.” The “choke-artist” label for Romo first surfaced after he botched the snap on a game-winning field goal during the 2006 playoffs against the Seahawks. I can understand why this debacle would be permanently ingrained into the minds of the fan-base, and the Cowboys’ successive playoff appearances in ’07 and ’09 did little to restore his image either, but he certainly can’t shoulder all of the blame. The 2014 playoffs, however, are a much different story.
Every time I hear someone accuse Romo for the Cowboys’ quick exit from the 2014 playoffs, I have to question their knowledge of the game. After leading the ‘Boys to yet another 4th quarter comeback win against the Lions in the NFC Wildcard game, Romo was brilliant again against the Packers. He may have only thrown 19 passes, but he connected on 15 of them for 191 yards, 2 touchdowns and a Passer Rating of 143.6 (which is the 25th best PR in playoff history). Many will remember the game as the “Dez Bryant Catch/No-Catch” game, but the truth is, if DeMarco Murray had never fumbled in the 3rd quarter (leading to a Packers’ FG), or if the Dan Bailey field goal at the end of the 2nd quarter wasn’t blocked, the “Dez Bryant Catch/No-Catch” would have never even happened. Instead of going for it on that 4th and 2, the Cowboys would have just kicked a field goal for the win.
I understand that toying with the starting quarterback of a 5-1 (potentially 6-1) team is a scary proposition for any NFL fan base, but with how the league is shaping up this year, the Cowboys have a very real opportunity to make a deep run in the playoffs and contend for their sixth Super Bowl ring. Dak has been outstanding, and he’s certainly solidified his role as the future of the franchise, but let’s not lose sight of the forest through the trees. This IS and ALWAYS HAS BEEN Tony Romo’s team.
-
Jason Witten Ends Retirement to “Get Back in the Dirt”
Just one year removed from retirement, Jason Witten has decided to leave Monday Night Football to do what he was born to do, compete on the gridiron. The future Hall of Famer, second only to Tony Gonzalez in TE receptions and reception yards, will dust off his cleats for at least one more year with America’s Team.
The Dallas Cowboys have released the following statement from Witten, ” The fire inside of me to compete and play this game is just burning too strong. This team has a great group of rising young stars, and I want to help them make a run at a championship. This was completely my decision, and I am very comfortable with it. I’m looking forward to getting back in the dirt”.
Witten will be 37 when the regular season starts for his 16th season. In 2017, Witten was a Pro Bowl selection with 63 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns, starting all 16 games. His retirement after the season left the Cowboys with a question mark at the tight end position for the first time in 15 years.
The response was a tight end by committee with 4 tight ends, only one of which even had an NFL stat sheet prior to the 2018 season, in Geoff Swaim. All four tight ends (Gathers, Jarwin, Schultz, and Swaim) started at least 4 games in 2018, and combined had only 5 more receptions than Witten in 2017, and one less touchdown. With Geoff Swaim being an unrestricted free agent, and the other 3 salaries combined being less than $2 million for the 2019 season, it seems unlikely to see Swaim back in a Cowboys uniform.
The contract details for Witten have not been released yet, but he qualifies for a very cap friendly figure with veteran minimum benefits. The 2019 veteran minimum salary for players with 10 or more years of service is $1.03 million, with only about $650k of that counting against the cap. It is not known if this is the route that Witten and the Cowboys will go, or if he will be getting paid a salary closer to his $7.4 million salary for 2017. Seeing as he appears to be coming back more for a championship run rather than for money to pay off debts, the former seems much more likely.
Assuming that #82 is healthy and ready for another grueling NFL season, this will make the Cowboys offseason that much easier by being able to focus on other positions in free agency and also with the several looming contract extensions of Lawrence, Jones, Zeke, and Dak. This may also convince Sean Lee to make his 2019 salary more cap friendly for a team desperate for its first Super Bowl in 24 years.
Welcome back 82!
-
GAME RECAP: Cowboys 31, Bears 17
[ecko_wide]WINNING STREAK: A series of consecutive successes; a run of good luck. – American Heritage Dictionary[/ecko_wide]
I figured everyone could use a refresher on the definition of “winning streak” – The last time the Cowboys had one was September 20 of last year when they beat the Giants week 1 and Eagles week 2. That week 2 win was bitter sweet as Tony Romo injured his collar bone and we all know what happened next. This year is different. Yes, Tony Romo is injured again, but we have Dak Prescott under center and he is only getting better. Week by week you can see is confidence level grow. In the week 1 loss to the Giants, his passer rating was 69.4, followed by a 103.7 in his first win in Washington last week. This week? A rating of 123.6 completing 19 of 24 for 248 yards and 1 TD. Dak threw his first NFL touchdown last night in the 4th quarter when he completed a 17 yard pass over the middle to Dez Bryant. The offensive line provided a clean pocket and controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the night allowing Zeke Elliott to eat as much as he wanted as he ran for 140 yards on 30 carries. All of this while missing Pro Bowl Left Tackle Tyron Smith and losing Left Guard La’El Collins at halftime. Chaz Green filled the void at tackle and Ronald Leary stepped in at guard and the line didn’t miss a beat. Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said, “I thought we showed our depth on the offensive line tonight.”
Defensively, the boys stepped up and didn’t let the Bears’ receivers beat them. Brian Hoyer threw for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns, however, a lot of those yards seemed to come toward the end when the secondary started playing a more prevent style coverage (65 passing yards in 1st half). The defensive line had trouble yet again getting to the QB recording only 1 sack on the night which resulted in a fumble. Hoyer had plenty of time to scan the field the majority of the night, and this Cowboy secondary held its own against the physical Bears’ receivers, even without starting CB Orlando Scandrick (2 hamstring injuries).
Key to the Game Scorecard
- Continue to get Dez the ball. Expect to see at least 1 X thrown up: Nailed it!, kinda. Dez had 1 TD on 3 catches from six targets, . Perhaps the worst thrown ball of the night by Dak went about 3 feet behind Dez, and he almost caught it.
- Establish the run. 199 total rushing yards, 140 by Zeke. Zeke “ate it up”, showing patience and explosion.
- Do NOT let Alshon Jeffery beat you. AJ caught 5 passes for 70 yards and no TDs, Kevin White caught 6 for 68 with no TDs. Tight End Zach Miller was the star receiver for the Bears catching 8 for 78 with 2 TDs.
Right on! This article is truly accurate. For those Romo haters, they will always remembered the things that Romo did bad, or somehow find something to blamed Romo for. So, I am grateful to read such beautiful article written from a very intelligent and knowledgeable person!
One question about all these nice stats. How many rings does he have ? He has never been a championship caliber qb. And clearly now more than ever he never will. So keep adding oto the stats
That’s right Phia, Romo is one of the all time greats. And if the Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl Romo will have to get healthy and take them. Dak is limited in what he has been allowed to do. That is by coaching design. Play to his strength and keep it controlled. Otherwise don’t lose games. When Romo gets back they will start really turning the offense loose and people will really like the looks of this team. I take nothing from Dak he is the future but he hasn’t faced any real tests. But Romo is the guy who can do it now not Dak…
Thank you for the facts to many people are so quick to blame the QBfor everything but when you had one of the worst defenses during all of this the owner pulls a bonehead move and trades the leagues leading rusher we have a piss poor offensive line that wasn’t protecting Room. And it is all Romo’s fault. Let get really all you haters. This is a team sport and everyone shoulders the blame startering with the owner making bad decisions that lead to failure. So word of advise if you open your mouth base it on facts. Fact we have a great offensive line that is protecting Dak. How often can you say that Room had this? Not that often. Fact strong running back that is health. How often has he had this with a good offensive performing line? Not that often. And when have did we last have a defense that did their job acceptably ? Not in the recent past. Now when did we .haveall of this at the same time?
As a die hard cowboys fan I have always known that romo was an elite top tier quarter back thanks for the solidification.. It’s an honor for any player to don the star but can we please be realistic about the glass man?? Romo is injury prone and he’s also in his mid 30s.. Where does that place us as a franchise if we derail the dak express for an accident waiting to happen?? In a boat gone fishing.. The future is now and as they say if it ain’t broke don’t let the broke man play lol or something to that affect..
Absolutely this is his team have said over and over and when he finally does step in were going to fire on all cylinders! There isn’t going to be 1 team in the playoffs that isn’t going to feed what’s coming there way
Phia, glad you liked the article. Thanks for the complement.
Thanks for this article. I’m so tired of all the Romo hate. He’s a great quarterback that is going to come back and take us to the superbowl. Go Cowboys!
Thank you Carlton, and we hope you are right!
I too am thankful to finally read an article with ALL the Romo facts. He is an amazing guy on and off the field yet people hate him. I totally agree with everything you have said. Spot on!! Romo deserves the chance with thia team to get a ring.
Thanks for reading Griffin. Dak’s a great quarterback and I love the guy. But until he develops the downfield capability, I think we need Romo. Last night was a great victory, but there were way too many times where he couldn’t hit wide open receivers (mainly Dez) deep downfield. If he’d of made a few of those throws, we wouldn’t have even gone into OT. Thanks again –
Bravo, nicely done. I’ve used similar arguments. Not to mention, Romo has sacrificed his body at the expense of some very bad o-lines. If it wasn’t or him, those mediocre years of 8-8 would have looked like 2015, 4-12.
Thanks Brian, and I agree. But more and more each day I feel like it’s going to take a Loss before we see Romo again. Maybe Dak can develop the deep ball over the next few weeks, but I don’t anticipate that after seeing last nights game. Our defense won’t always bail us out…
Wow its a great article, thank you!! Romo is and will always be a great QB regardless of his haters! Not to mention, a great person, mentor, and teammate!! Teams respect Romo more than they do Dak right now, and that’s why Romo needs a chance when he’s completely healthy! You are absolutely right about those long passes where the receivers were wide open, and shouldn’t have been that close of a game!! Thank you again for all those stats!!
He was 12-4 , left the team at 3-0 and you don’t think he can do it? Dak is doing good ,but did you see how many ball he threw to the ground , when they could easily been completed, we can’t give up those passes especially with Dez, you watch Tony throw the ball to Dez, Dak can’t get it out there as good as Tony.. not to mention we can’t say the rushing game is winning games for us also, not just dak,, But until then keep doing your thing Dak.. DC4L
finally some god damn sense with someone in the media…good read
I’m a fan of Romo as well! You stated your case very well with his stats. Romo has always been a good quarterback in my eyes! I just would love for him to be 100% healthy and ready when he returns to the game. In the meantime, allow Dak to do what he’s been doing all season! Great read, thanks!
I like the article as well I think that Romo is the better choice right now downfield accuracy and keeping the defenses honest Ezekiel Elliott is going to be able to get the same type of running lines that DeMarco Murray had if you’re stretching the field and you’re giving the defense an option of picking their poison we have a potent offense we have a potent offense with Dak. But I think that it’s still Romo’s team even if they don’t make a Deep Run they should Romo Romo because the team is geared toward his skill-set.
Great read!!!! I believe in the best interest for the team. I’m a huge DALLAS fan and enjoy watching the Boys win games. The truth is we have two amazing QBS on our squad. And when Tony is 100% I don’t see a problem of rotating Romo and Dak depending on what the play calls for. Yes defenses might be able to read what the play is going to be depending on who the quarterback is but with the accuracy that we have from Tony it really won’t matter when Tony’s in the game and he links up with one of his receivers mainly Bryant or even down to Witten it doesn’t matter who is guarding or what kind of defense they’re running if Tony is there to hook up with him he’s going to make the pass is going to complete it and vice versa with Dak. I belive in giving the team the best chance at winning this year and every year and want so bad to see us go the the playoffs and win a superb owl even if that means using both QBS and what ever their strengths are put it in whoever you need to depending on what the play calls for and using the strengths of both quarterbacks. Tony is a great qb and I wpuld like to see his stay healthy and honestly like to see him back in a game just to see him step up and play like his job is on the line which looks like it may be. that being said I believe that he will step up and play his hardest and play his smartest and put those numbers on the scoreboard and allow us to win games if you can get Romo in there and put the points on the board and take him out late in the game and put it back in you know that Dak will ultimately do the same he will put more points on the board or he’ll at least move the chains and get our running game going. I’m a firm believer in using both quarterbacks rotating in and out using them for their strengths and their weaknesses to win games and ultimately bring the Lombardi trophy home at the end of the year.
Great article! I’m also tired of the Romo haters and fair weather fans. Dak is great but let’s not forget what Romo has done for our tteam.
You seem to leave out how injury prone Romo has become, don’t get me wrong I agree that statistically Romo is a great quarter back, but over for a while now he has become incredibly injury prone, out pretty much all of last year and now this year as well as years before that. Romo has become FRAGILE!! While now we have Dak, younger, healthier, quick, has a good mentality and mind for the game, and on his way to become statistically far better than Romo will be, he has his whole career ahead of him. Yes he has made some mistakes but he’s just starting.
Charles Sneed
Romo is a great QB but this article is telling half the story….yes Romo might be able to throw down field better but there’s things Dak can do to take pressure off the running game too…QB read option from time to time…he also takes care of the ball way better then Romo….I haven’t seen Romo throw a ball away in years I’m sure he has but probably only inside the 20 and how long will we be able to depend on Romo since he’s so injury prone….just too many question marks for me
Thanks for the article. I personally see Romo as the Blackberry and Dak as the iPhone in your analogy. As you described I have forgotten all Romo has done in favor of what he hasn’t. I now see Romo as injury prone and brittle. As for being his Team, he played 4 regular season games last year and no games this year. Much of this young team know Dak better than Tony at this point. Elliott hasn’t even taken a handoff from him in regular season. Regardless of who plays down the stretch, We are lucky to have strong options at the QB slot.
I’m a die hard cowboys fan, I guess people for get how it was before Romo when we didn’t have a quarter back after troy. We went years trying to find someone then he took over and we have had a good offense. Eveyone forgets there are 3 phased of the game. Romo only plays one but it takes all 3 to will the game. He’s one of the greats and people need to understand that it’s a team sport. It’s his team. Here is another thing did everyone forget about what happened to the redskins? His name was RG3 oh wow he is so great he’s the best. How that work out for him and them not very good the next year after his rookie season now did it. Dak is good but not like Romo more like RG3 plays the same way dump off passes and running out of the pocket. Just a thought while everyone his ready to trade Romo away for Dak a rookie that hasn’t really played a good team yet.
Just saying!!!
Sounds like some fans and credicts r having a problem letting something go? The future has no time to wait for something of the past. Romo was very good ! But it would be foolish to change something special that came out of the dark. Embrace the new franchise QB and prepare for a road to victory.