The Dallas Cowboys have insured their security at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future by giving Tony Romo a 6-year $108M deal.
Romo’s recent extension will all but guarantee that Romo will retire a Cowboy after a long, productive career wearing the star.
The recent news made me wonder though, how does Romo stack up against the other two franchise quarterbacks this team has had?
There are tons of arguments out there about Tony Romo. Can he win the big one? Did he deserve this kind of money? Do the Cowboys actually believe Romo can get another playoff win?
The debate has torn Cowboys Nation apart.
Now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fix this argument (that I try to remain neutral on) but I do believe that statistically speaking Romo is a solid quarterback in the NFL.
It seems that so many are stuck in the nostalgic memories of Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach who quarterbacked a total of five Super Bowl victories and eight overall appearances.
While it’s hard not to remember the glory days, we must also recognize that they are in the past. But if you just cant help yourself, I have something for you:
The below table shows a career comparison of the three franchise quarterbacks.
| Player | Romo | Staubach | Aikman |
| Seasons | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Passer Rating | 95.6 | 83.4 | 81.6 |
| Yards | 25,737 | 22700 | 32942 |
| Completion % | 64.7 | 57 | 61.5 |
| TD | 177 | 153 | 165 |
| INT | 91 | 109 | 141 |
| Wins | 55 | 85 | 94 |
| Losses | 38 | 29 | 71 |
| Playoff Wins | 1 | 11 | 11 |
| 4th Qrt Comebacks | 18 | 15 | 16 |
| Game Winning Drives | 19 | 23 | 21 |
Romo has thrown more touchdowns and has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than both of the Hall-Of-Fame quarterbacks he’s compared too. He is also currently rated higher than both and is completing passes as a better rate.For a second place your Super Bowl arguments to the side. Place down any ill-regarded feelings of resentment for stupid turnovers that Romo has committed in big situations. Look at this strictly from a numbers perspective.
Romo (59%) currently ranks second in win percentage behind Staubach (74%) and ahead of Aikman (57%).
In clutch situations Romo already has the most 4th quarter comebacks and is only four game-winning drives behind Staubach (23) for the lead in that category despite playing four less seasons.
I understand where the issues lie however; I see the drastic difference in playoff wins. That, currently, is the issue we all have with Romo as the franchise’s leader.
I’m not here to convince anyone otherwise.
I know that Romo has to prove that this contract was worthwhile. My only purpose here is to help expose the arguments that paint Tony Romo is an incompetent quarterback who is unable to lead his team to victory.
Statistically speaking Romo is exactly where he needs to be. His history suggests that he can continue to produce at a high level and keep this teams competitive window from closing.
Realistically speaking, Romo has a lot of work to do. He needs to prove to all of Cowboys Nation that he can win in big-time games against big-time opponents on the leagues most big-time stages.
Then and only then will he truly be considered among the ranks of legendary franchise quarterbacks.
Everything you mentioned is correct. Most Cowboys fans would agree. The prob is he cannot and will not win the big games. Not to mention he ALWAYS makes the worst possible mistakes at the worst possible times. That will define his legacy and be the biggest difference between him and the greats. You also have to understand that he is playing in a pass happy league so the numbers are inflated. Aikman and Staubach both had hall of fame running back so they didn’t have to throw as much.
Absolutely right. My argument here was simply to debunk the popular idea that Romo just isn’t talented enough to win. That isn’t the case, the issue here is getting it done in big games.
My thought is a great quarterback will manufacture the wins but ultimately just another player on the team. Romo has proven that he is talented and that’s enough to warrant the contract extension.
But this team has issues to be addressed. In a pass happy league you also have pass protection happy offensive lines, which we lack in a real way and have for some years now. I still say I won’t put it all on Romo while he has players like Doug Free sending defensive rushers after him…
Just my 2 cents
What’s frustrating in this specific situation is that fans don’t understand just how desolate our offensive line is. We’re quick to blame Romo for losses and credit others for wins.
Now I get that people are growing tired of missing the playoffs or losing in the wildcard round but you have to believe that last year was encouraging considering the injuries.
Get that OL solidified and there could be something to this team.
What’s more for these fans to understand is how the offensive line affects Murray as well when they don’t play well.
Romo makes his share of mistakes, same as any other QB – the difference is he carries his mistakes alone while the Tom Brady’s of the world get cover fire from their teammates.
And even though the fans don’t want to hear it the truth is OL woes affect play calling. Of course, Garrett shares the blame but with an OL that is broken his choices are extremely limited.