What do you fear? May it be spiders? May it be losing a loved one? May it be heights?
No matter what your fears are, we all have them, but the greatest fear of all, might just be the Fear of the Unknown.
Hall of Fame and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Troy Aikman had back problems, and it contributed to his career ending before he turned 35. We don’t hold people to have the longevity that Brett Favre had, but it’s safe to say it was a tragic end to an incredible career.
Why do I bring up Troy Aikman? You might have guessed it. Tony Romo had another surgery on his back after injuring it in Week 16 in Washington, a game where he continued to play after suffering the injury. Tony provided more proof that he is willing to play through any pain imaginable, but there’s a time where enough will be enough. Just like Troy Aikman, and just like Brett Favre.
The injury had many people speculating if the Dallas Cowboys would take a quarterback this draft, due to Romo’s age and his medical history of back problems. It ranged to a quarterback in a later round, such as Garrett Gilbert. Speculation ranged to a quarterback in the third or fourth rounds, like Aaron Murray or Dallas grabbing another Eastern Illinois quarterback, which would be Jimmy Garoppolo. And yes… The quarterback covered most and what a lot of people hoped to see, is Johnny Manziel to land in Big D.
Despite this speculation, Johnny Football did not end up in a Cowboys uniform after falling to them at 16, and not only that, but they didn’t draft a quarterback at all in the seven rounds. With the depth of quarterbacks with development potential, and with mentors such as Kyle Orton and Tony Romo, and even under Jason Garrett’s tutelage, they chose not to go in that direction. Instead, the Dallas Cowboys drafted an offensive lineman, Zack Martin.
They stated they didn’t want to develop a quarterback for someone else. Yes, Dallas ended up signing a couple of undrafted free agents to fill up the depth charts at the quarterback position (Tony Romo was in fact an UDFA). But with Romo’s back problems, instead of developing a quarterback that the Cardinals would be using one day, they decided to prolong the career of Tony Romo, or at least try to make their investment last as long as they could, as long as the ability was within their power.
Drafting Zack Martin was the smartest first round choice Dallas has made since, well, drafting Travis Frederick last year. Three of the last four 1st-round selections were offensive linemen, Martin, Frederick, and Tyron Smith back in 2011.
Our defense has many woes, and that might come back to bite us in the near future. Our quarterback may end up going down Week 1 and forbid that be the case, his last game. Johnny Manziel may go on to become a Hall of Fame quarterback, and fans would never live down Jerry passing on him. Outside linebacker Marcus Smith, draft pick for the Eagles, might turn out to be a Pro Bowl player while our defense happens to be the worst in NFL history, but one thing’s for certain…
There is no greater fear, than the Fear of the Unknown.
