The Atlantic - Latest Comments in In Defense Of Tony Romo

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

CitizenE — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:32:34 -0000

My list spans more than 3 years. As a 49er fan, I root for a team that has in its history Frankie Albert, Y. A. Tittle, Bill Kilmer, John Brodie, Joe Montana, and Steve Young. Dallas fans with a younger franchise have Don Meredith (a very good qb), Roger Staubach (one of the all time greats), and Troy Aikman (a Hall of Famer with 3 superbowls under his belt).

I didn't say Romo sucks; I said he is good, but he has also had one of the three best tight ends playing today, and one of the two best wide receivers (who will in the end only be surpassed by Jerry Rice when it comes to touchdowns) as recievers, and a very good running back to take the pressure off. In the end winning big games make the difference.

Elway was great, Marino was great, but Montana was greater. I think it is Cowboy fans who are dissatisfied with Romo. Personally, I think he's good, has serious potential, but no, not Peyton Manning, nor certainly Tom Brady, nor even Eli Manning who won a Super Bowl with a much weaker recieving corps, nor even Ben Roethlisberger at this point, say what you will.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

CrankyOtter — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:52:51 -0000

TNC, if you can deviate from your civil war obsession to read something else, try The Drunkard's Walk, mostly chapters 6-8. (Skim chapter 1 but the rest are pretty decent.)

One of the points he goes into while talking about how humans don't usually see randomness for what it is, is sports scores and good/bad streaks. It's entirely possible that some problems are just random and nothing to do with him and would have happened to anyone in his situation. But I'm saying this as someone who knows so little about football that I'm close to negative knowlege. But the concept holds.

(I don't necessarily agree with the author about how much coaches and CEOs affect a company though - a finance company CEO may be no better than random, but I've seen coaches and choir directors turn teams/choirs from bottom of the heap to a contender for the top by changing practice strategies, priorities, and discipline and that's not random. Could be that you only need a "good enough" coach, director, or CEO to have that positive effect, but not just anyone will do.)

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

keith — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:56:25 -0000

"Romo is not a great qb--why the fan disatisfaction"

I think the disatisfaction is in the team, and its failures and like presidents and the economy, the angst is personified by the qb. I'm not sure how you can read that article linked and conclude that Romo has not been a great QB. When your on a list that spans the past three years, that list is QB rating over 90, and the only other person on that list is Peyton Manning...your doing something right. Fans, and detractors point to his playoff loses, as if he was the deciding factor in those loses. He muffed a FG hold, yet people overlook the plays he made to get them down the field in that game. He lost to the Giants(SB winners), but if Crayton doesn't drop a ball in his hands, or stop running on a route that would have won the game this whole talk isn't happening. I get that people hate the Cowboys, and Romo being the QB is going to feel the brunt of the hate, what I don't get is the criticism that he somehow sucks. That what he's done in first three years is somehow a mirage. As someone that bleeds blue, I'm not sure how this year will play out, the least of my worries is Romo.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Stacy — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:31:29 -0000

Hey, I admitted to being a delusional. Just let me hold onto this until week 1. I do think it will only take a few weeks for us to realize we made a big mistake not drafting Aaron Curry...

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

dave in texas — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:25:18 -0000

I've been a big Cowboys fan ever since Don Meredith was the quarterback, and I'm Romo fan, too. Of course, he's no Roger Staubach, but then again, who is? As an aside, I think Staubach would absolutely be in the conversation as one of the best two or three quarterbacks of all time if his career hadn't started so late due to his service in the Navy.

I have to agree with the folks who've stated that Romo's problems are largely the organization around him. As long as Jerruh is the owner and continues to fancy himself as a general manager, the Cowboys are going to have trouble competing with the truly elite teams. Please, isn't there a rich person out there who would make him an offer he can't refuse for the Cowboys?

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

CitizenE — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:07:31 -0000

Dream on. Same old lambs. Are they going to be better than Seattle? Cause you can forget about the Cardinals or the 49ers.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

CK — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:07:07 -0000

Ha! I thought the same thing and simultaneously thought WTF?

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

SemiMike — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:04:48 -0000

I love that Freudian slip of "kicking Jessica to the curve." There's a lot of potential meaning in that one ...

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Eva14 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:02:35 -0000

Heh. I was expecting this to be a defense of the guy for dumping J-Simp (or whatever we're calling her these days) on her birthday. Should have known better.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Stacy — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:51:24 -0000

That's funny. Someone needs to expand on this idea and write a book.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Stacy — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:50:32 -0000

I don't think there is any 'kind of' about it. Wait until football season. TNC is just as delusional as the rest of us when it comes to our football teams. Okay, maybe not AS delusional. I'm convinced the Rams are winning 10 games this year...

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

433E83 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:49:17 -0000

All I know is I got some texts from Giant fans worried that Tony had made the turn by kicking Jessica to the curve. If his coach had thought that his starting QB maybe shouldn't have been the guy holding point afters in playoff games a lot of this would be mute.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

AMT — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:42:41 -0000

Another Giants fan here. I like Tony Romo, I mean I like watch Dallas get crushed whenever it happens and I like watch Big Blue defenders plant Romo in the turf, but that's only because of my alleigances, not anything about Romo specifically. I think the worse thing that happened to Tony Romo was not that playoff debacle against the Seahawks, it was the early hype when he was playing well. They were talking about dude like he was Montana, Young and Marino combined. Brian Urlacher actually said, and I still can't believe this, "Brett Favre is like an old[er] Tony Romo." Tony's problems started there.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Erik Siegrist — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:41:56 -0000

Romo will last a few more years in Dallas, not win a championship because of the organization around him, get sent packing because Jerry listens to the media too much and Romo has now become TMZ-fodder (so every move he makes in his personal life will get scrutinized)... and then go win a Super Bowl with someone else.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Guest — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:20:56 -0000

Dallas is truly America's Team, but that's really kind of a slam on America.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Pontchartrain Girl — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:04:47 -0000

TNC, I like that you're kind of a Cowboys fan. Another dimension to the many already revealed in your posts. Go Boys!

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

Col. Mike — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:54:22 -0000

Great argument, TNC. However, as a Giants fan, it is my solemn duty to NOT lay off him. That said, I can't express how lucky I feel that Eli Manning's has mostly the right system and coaches around him.

Re: In Defense Of Tony Romo

CitizenE — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:52:08 -0000

Dallas is used to great qbs; great qbs have won Super Bowls there. Romo is not a great qb--why the fan disatisfaction. Dallas fans both took Troy Aikman for granted during his heyday and even booed him late in his career. Kind of fans they have.

But I tend to agree with you on this; their coach is not in the top echelon either, nor ever has been, and their owner should take a good, hard look at Al Davis and his record for the past two decades and learn a little.

Dallas seemed to have the best talent in the NFC last year, but didn't have the wherewithal to pull it off. They play in a tough division with two teams that can and will compete for the playoffs for a while. We'll see if shaking TO was a good move; for all the headaches he brings, Owens scores touchdowns. I am not all that familiar with Dallas' o-line but with those running backs, that tight end, and last year's receiving corps, Dallas should have done better, and usually you can put that at the feet of the offensive line.