Some things are personal opinions. These are just plain facts.
FACT ONE: Tony Romo does NOT suck.
It is a favorite pastime of Cowboys’ haters everywhere to play fast and loose with Romo’s name. The usual choice is “Tony Homo,” and the old, tired, standard assertion is simply, “Tony Homo sucks.”
That is just not true, people.
Consider his record. He has now started a total of 44 regular season games in the NFL. His record? 30-14. That is a 69% winning percentage. It is also better than all but four quarterbacks in the history of the league. Does that suck?
Consider that he already has nineteen 300-yard passing games and has become, in less than four full seasons as the starter, the all-time team leader in that category. (Remember, this is a team with eight Super Bowl appearances, five Lombardi trophies, and former QBs named Meredith, Staubach, White, and Aikman.)
We could go on spouting facts, but all it really takes is the eye ball test. Watch the man play the position. Sure, he makes mistakes. The position he is playing is the most challenging, difficult position in all of team sports. Every man who has ever played it made mistakes. That five yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton last Sunday, however, was a play not two or three other quarterbacks in the league could have made.
The biggest argument against Romo is that he has not won a playoff game. But when people say that, they tend to leave off the most important word in the sentence, the qualifier:
“Yet.”
FACT TWO: DeMarcus Ware is still a steal, even with his new deal.
Jerry Jones opened the coffers and lavished his riches on his best defensive player – and it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Paying Ware is not the same thing as Danny Snyder handing Albert Haynesworth the reins to a Wells Fargo stagecoach full of cash. Overpaying high priced free agents often comes back to bite teams. The player was great, sure…for someone else. Now, he is on a new team with new coaches and new teammates. He has to learn a new scheme. He is sleeping in a different bed and waking up in a different town. And, he has just hit the lottery, so motivation may become an issue.
Some can handle such challenges. Many cannot.
DeMarcus Ware is a proven commodity for the Dallas Cowboys. He has made his mark with that star on his helmet. He has done the right things the right way…and done the things he does on the field better than just about anyone else in the league.
The return on Jerry’s money will be more immediate and appreciable where Ware is concerned than the money spent on that shiny new stadium.
FACT THREE: Miles Austin is more than a speedster.
When Terrell “The Mouth” Owens was kicked to the curb and then banished to the football wasteland known as Buffalo, there was wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth in Big D.
Who will replace all those yards and touchdowns? Who will stretch the field?
Most, including Jerry and Co., pointed to Miles Austin. The rationale was simply that he was the only receiver left on the team with the speed to present a deep threat.
But Miles Austin is more than a speed receiver. He is big – 6’3”. He is strong. He is intelligent. He is a precise route runner. He has excellent hands. And, perhaps most importantly, he is a team player, not a prima donna.
Get used to seeing those bright eyes and big smile on camera. Tony has a new toy, and there will likely be miles and miles of passes to Miles in the Cowboys’ future.
FACT FOUR: Felix Jones is more than a speed back.
Here is a dude that averaged nearly nine yards per carry in a Division One, Southeast Conference football program. That was a bit of a disappointment, really. In high school, his yards per carry was eleven plus.
So, what has he done so far in the NFL? A measly 8.5 yards per rush.
I know. He has been hurt and hasn’t carried the ball an inordinate amount. BUT…he has run far enough, fast enough, and well enough to put the NFL on notice.
This guy can get it.
It isn’t just his speed either. It is his burst. It is his vision. It is his surprising power. He is a threat to go all the way from anywhere, anytime.
He isn’t Adrian Peterson, but he will do until one comes along.
FACT FIVE: Bobby Carpenter still sucks.
I noticed Carpenter three times in the game against the Falcons. Each time, he either made the tackle, or assisted…after the runner or ball catcher had made a first down.
Jerry Jones once called Carpenter a finesse player. That is as close as he could come to calling the linebacker a sissy without just out and out doing so.
A finesse linebacker?
Carpenter appears to detest contact. This is tantamount to a pilot that fears heights, or a surgeon that faints at the sight of blood, or a hydrophobic Navy Seal.
The New Jersey Football Genius Bill Parcells picked Carpenter in the first round in 2006. Why??? Because his daddy was a former Parcells lackey? Because he played at Ohio State? Or was it something more sinister. Was the Carpenter pick part of an elaborate scheme to sabotage his former nemesis and saddle them with the kind of salary cap hell a first round bust puts on a team?
Or was he thinking that the blonde bombshell could make the cheerleading squad if he didn’t work out on the field?
Never trust a Tuna with bigger breasts than your wife.
These are the facts, and they are indisputable. But…dispute if you must.
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A leaderless locker room is a rudderless ship.
