Is Tony Romo as good as Danny White?
March, 21, 2012
By Calvin Watkins
It was nice of Troy Aikman to say Tony Romo is better than he was.
I think Aikman was being nice.
Romo isn't as good as Aikman, a Hall of Fame quarterback with three Super Bowl rings. To me, it's not about Romo being as good as Aikman or Roger Staubach.
He's not.
The question should be: Is Romo better than Danny White?
After 77 starts, Romo is 47-30. White was 55-22.
Romo is 1-3 in the postseason.
White was 5-5.
Here's where it gets interesting and this is where quarterbacks are judged differently than in most places in the NFL. White led his team to three consecutive NFC title games. He lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1980, San Francisco in 1981 and the Washington Redskins in 1982, a strike-shortened season.
Romo?
White wasn't the best quarterback of his generation. He made one Pro Bowl, finished in the top ten in completed passes four times and was second in the NFL in touchdown passes with 29 in 1983.
Romo is a talented quarterback, one of the top 10 in the game, and he doesn't get enough respect from the fans. But it's unfair to compare Romo to Aikman and Staubach. Those men are Hall of Fame talents who brought championships to their franchises.
Romo, if anything else, should be compared to White.
And like Romo, White had a talented group of players around him for the nearly seven years he was a starter. From 1980-86, White went to the NFC title game three times, won the division twice and missed the playoffs just once. He started the 1986 season opener but Steve Pelluer took over in Week 5.
When it comes to the stats, Romo will catch or surpass many on the Cowboys list. He's going to pass White on the franchise list for touchdowns (seven from moving past), yards (1,126 yards away) and passing attempts (359) this season.
Romo is good, like we said. He's not Aikman or Staubach.
But let's make sure Romo does a little more than White before you get that anointing oil Bill Parcells talked about.
