C
Cr122
Guest
B/R: Tony Romo: How Many More Seasons Does Jerry Jones Give Him at the Helm?
Tony Romo: How Many More Seasons Does Jerry Jones Give Him at the Helm?
By Jason Henry (Cowboys Featured Columnist) on June 12, 2011
The Tony Romo saga in Dallas continues. The Pro Bowl quarterback has detractors the size of Texas, and he still continues to push forward. He’s thrown for over 16,000 yards in five seasons with the ‘Boys and has 118 career touchdowns.
Yet even with his gaudy stats, Romo is still on the proverbial hot seat in Cowboy town. Before Tony, there was Ryan Leaf, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and many others who couldn’t get the job done.
One of Romo’s strongest supporters has been team owner Jerry Jones. Double J has never wavered in his support for his starting quarterback, and that won’t change. But if Dallas goes without a championship again this season, how much time will the former Eastern Illinois quarterback have in Big D?
Jerry said before the draft that drafting a quarterback was for future consideration, but one has to wonder if his patience is starting to wear thin.
So why would Jerry decide to move away from Romo in the near future? If he does, what are his options at quarterback?
I give Tony a solid three years in Dallas, and after that, Jerry will probably say good evening to Romo. I think it would be a horrible decision for the team to let Romo go unless his play starts to tank. But the pressure and scrutiny in Dallas can burst pipes son, just ask Tony.
Let’s take a look at a few team options below if he decides to allow Romo to get in the wind.
Tony fails to lead the Cowboys to a championship—this is pretty simple and to the point: Tony can’t take the ‘Boys to the championship, and he finds a pink slip in his locker.
While Romo can’t do it by himself, he will assume the brunt of the blame if Dallas fails to win a Super Bowl. The least of the Cowboys worries is at quarterback, but according to critics, the issues start and end with Romo.
The offensive line, secondary and lack of discipline haven’t plagued Dallas over the years; it’s been all on Romo.
Tony’s relationships with Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood have caused more drama in Dallas than the Cowboys problems upfront.
But with a new offensive lineman, a new running back and high expectations Romo has to figure out a way to motivate his team so that they can rise to the top. If not, Romo may soon find himself playing in another zip code.
Tony’s play drops off —Tony’s stats over the past four seasons: 2,903 passing yards in 2006, 4,211 passing yards in 2007, 3,448 passing yards in 2008, 4,483 passing yards in 2009 and 1,605 passing yards in 2010.
Now of course, that’s just taking Tony’s passing yards over the past few years and putting them down on paper, but it goes a little deeper than that.
In 2009, the Cowboys struggled mightily against the Chiefs, and Romo’s connection with wide receiver Miles Austin aided the team in that epic overtime victory. Romo passed for over 350 yards and two key touchdowns.
In 2007, Tony had an awful game against the Buffalo Bills where he threw five interceptions and continued to place Dallas in bad spots. But tossing 50 balls for 309 yards is nothing to sneeze at. He held it together, continued to attack and led the Cowboys to a huge victory.
Just two examples of what Tony means to this Cowboys team and how that type of on-the-field leadership can’t be replaced.
But Tony can’t afford too many more like that. He can’t place Dallas in bad positions, hop into a phone booth and change into Superman to save the day. That type of play won’t win championships, but again, Tony can’t do it alone.
If Tony’s play has a significant drop off, and I mean Jake Delhomme drop off, then Jerry has no choice but to pull the trigger.
Tony loses the Cowboys locker room—If the Cowboys' locker room starts to turn on Romo, then Jerry has a problem. If his offensive line starts to turn or maybe a few players start to make comments to the media on his leadership or his play on the field, then Jerry has a huge problem.
From all accounts Tony is too nice of a guy for that to happen. I don’t believe his teammates would do that to him but one never knows.
Last season, there were a couple of players to give a thumbs up for Jon Kitna, and more than a few fans were in favor of Kitna taking over for good. A lot of that was being a prisoner of the moment, but some of it was legit.
What needs to be remembered about Kitna is that Dallas played much better when Kitna’s passing attempts were kept in check. When head coach Jason Garrett called a balance offensive attack, the Cowboys played much better as compared to when Kitna would throw the ball 30 or 40 times.
Romo’s ability to take the Cowboys to a championship is the end game, but if he fails to do so, that locker room may become a bit more volatile.
If Tony’s stay in Dallas is longer than three seasons, then I believe it will be because Jerry thinks that he can’t find a better quarterback.
The Cowboys' window of opportunity is closing as players get older, and teams around the league get better.
Dallas has one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Tony Romo, but if fails to bring a Super Bowl trophy to Big D, then say so long to Tony Romo.
Tony Romo: How Many More Seasons Does Jerry Jones Give Him at the Helm?
By Jason Henry (Cowboys Featured Columnist) on June 12, 2011
The Tony Romo saga in Dallas continues. The Pro Bowl quarterback has detractors the size of Texas, and he still continues to push forward. He’s thrown for over 16,000 yards in five seasons with the ‘Boys and has 118 career touchdowns.
Yet even with his gaudy stats, Romo is still on the proverbial hot seat in Cowboy town. Before Tony, there was Ryan Leaf, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and many others who couldn’t get the job done.
One of Romo’s strongest supporters has been team owner Jerry Jones. Double J has never wavered in his support for his starting quarterback, and that won’t change. But if Dallas goes without a championship again this season, how much time will the former Eastern Illinois quarterback have in Big D?
Jerry said before the draft that drafting a quarterback was for future consideration, but one has to wonder if his patience is starting to wear thin.
So why would Jerry decide to move away from Romo in the near future? If he does, what are his options at quarterback?
I give Tony a solid three years in Dallas, and after that, Jerry will probably say good evening to Romo. I think it would be a horrible decision for the team to let Romo go unless his play starts to tank. But the pressure and scrutiny in Dallas can burst pipes son, just ask Tony.
Let’s take a look at a few team options below if he decides to allow Romo to get in the wind.
Tony fails to lead the Cowboys to a championship—this is pretty simple and to the point: Tony can’t take the ‘Boys to the championship, and he finds a pink slip in his locker.
While Romo can’t do it by himself, he will assume the brunt of the blame if Dallas fails to win a Super Bowl. The least of the Cowboys worries is at quarterback, but according to critics, the issues start and end with Romo.
The offensive line, secondary and lack of discipline haven’t plagued Dallas over the years; it’s been all on Romo.
Tony’s relationships with Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood have caused more drama in Dallas than the Cowboys problems upfront.
But with a new offensive lineman, a new running back and high expectations Romo has to figure out a way to motivate his team so that they can rise to the top. If not, Romo may soon find himself playing in another zip code.
Tony’s play drops off —Tony’s stats over the past four seasons: 2,903 passing yards in 2006, 4,211 passing yards in 2007, 3,448 passing yards in 2008, 4,483 passing yards in 2009 and 1,605 passing yards in 2010.
Now of course, that’s just taking Tony’s passing yards over the past few years and putting them down on paper, but it goes a little deeper than that.
In 2009, the Cowboys struggled mightily against the Chiefs, and Romo’s connection with wide receiver Miles Austin aided the team in that epic overtime victory. Romo passed for over 350 yards and two key touchdowns.
In 2007, Tony had an awful game against the Buffalo Bills where he threw five interceptions and continued to place Dallas in bad spots. But tossing 50 balls for 309 yards is nothing to sneeze at. He held it together, continued to attack and led the Cowboys to a huge victory.
Just two examples of what Tony means to this Cowboys team and how that type of on-the-field leadership can’t be replaced.
But Tony can’t afford too many more like that. He can’t place Dallas in bad positions, hop into a phone booth and change into Superman to save the day. That type of play won’t win championships, but again, Tony can’t do it alone.
If Tony’s play has a significant drop off, and I mean Jake Delhomme drop off, then Jerry has no choice but to pull the trigger.
Tony loses the Cowboys locker room—If the Cowboys' locker room starts to turn on Romo, then Jerry has a problem. If his offensive line starts to turn or maybe a few players start to make comments to the media on his leadership or his play on the field, then Jerry has a huge problem.
From all accounts Tony is too nice of a guy for that to happen. I don’t believe his teammates would do that to him but one never knows.
Last season, there were a couple of players to give a thumbs up for Jon Kitna, and more than a few fans were in favor of Kitna taking over for good. A lot of that was being a prisoner of the moment, but some of it was legit.
What needs to be remembered about Kitna is that Dallas played much better when Kitna’s passing attempts were kept in check. When head coach Jason Garrett called a balance offensive attack, the Cowboys played much better as compared to when Kitna would throw the ball 30 or 40 times.
Romo’s ability to take the Cowboys to a championship is the end game, but if he fails to do so, that locker room may become a bit more volatile.
If Tony’s stay in Dallas is longer than three seasons, then I believe it will be because Jerry thinks that he can’t find a better quarterback.
The Cowboys' window of opportunity is closing as players get older, and teams around the league get better.
Dallas has one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Tony Romo, but if fails to bring a Super Bowl trophy to Big D, then say so long to Tony Romo.
