Why Tony Romo Deserves One Last Chance to Lead Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo has been the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback since the first start of his career in 2006, a Week 8 victory over the Carolina Panthers.  For five straight years, the Cowboys have entered their season knowing who would take the first snap behind center. For most teams, that is a luxury.

Romo started all 16 games in only three of those seasons.  In those three seasons he has two division titles (2007, 2009), and this past season was the first time in his career he started 16 games and the Cowboys did not win the division.  That shows Romo under center is very important for the Cowboys success.

Romo has not brought the quick Super Bowl titles that Troy Aikman did, and Romo did not lead the Cowboys to the success fans believed they were destined for after a 13-3 record in his first season, but to place the blame completely on the shoulders of Romo and ask for a different signal-caller in 2012 would be the biggest mistake the Cowboys could make in the offseason.

Romo deserves at least one more chance to lead the Dallas Cowboys. 

In 2011, Romo actually had the best season of his career.  At 31 years old, he showed the toughness that had been questioned in prior seasons by playing through broken ribs and a punctured lung, an injury that sidelined Michael Vick for three weeks this season. He also showed the leadership that was missing during the Terrell Owens era by constantly giving his teammates an earful when required. Romo essentially became a complete quarterback in 2011.

Romo also had his best season throwing the football. He finished with 30-plus touchdowns, more than 4,000 yards and only 10 interceptions.  In a normal NFL season, Romo was a Pro-Bowl quarterback, maybe even garnering MVP consideration with those numbers. 2011, however, was not a normal NFL season.  Passing and receiving records were shattered on a weekly basis, leaving Romo’s terrific season lost in the shuffle.

The most impressive part of Romo’s season was the fact the 2011 Dallas Cowboys had the least talented Cowboys roster in Romo’s tenure. The Cowboys cut ties with three-fifths of Romo’s starting line from the previous season and replaced them with two rookies and an undrafted free agent in his second season. Tryon Smith was an upgrade but Phil Costa was a disaster ,and the rotation at left guard left a lot to be desired.

Even Romo’s skill position players were not as talented as previous rosters, nor as great as advertised. Dez Bryant looks like he needs Romo to tell him his route every play, even though he does not know how to run more than four routes. Jason Witten looks less agile every game. Romo’s best weapon, Miles Austin, missed six games, leaving Laurent Robinson, a player cut in the preseason by the San Diego Chargers, as Romo’s most reliable target. Robinson is not quite Terrell Owens.

With all the injuries to himself and his teammates, the rebuilding offensive line, the unreliable play of Dez Bryant, Romo still managed to throw for more touchdowns, fewer interceptions and a higher completion percentage than Eli Manning.  That begs the question that if Manning proved he was elite, what did Romo prove?

The easy answer is Manning won more games, beat the Cowboys twice, won his division and is now playing in his second Super Bowl, proving he is elite. Romo, on the other hands, has been watching the playoffs on his couch.

Football is still a team sport and all of the blame should not be placed on the quarterback. One player cannot fix a lack of personnel. Romo cannot snap the ball to himself, Romo cannot rush the quarterback and Romo cannot cover Hakeem Nicks. Fixing those problems should be the Cowboys' offseason concern.  At the very least, what last season proved was Romo has earned the right for another season as the Cowboys quarterback.     

There is no better option than Romo. Romo is a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. The Packers aren’t trading Aaron Rodgers for Romo straight up, and the Cowboys have too many holes in their personnel to trade any draft picks or key players for a replacement. There are only a handful of quarterbacks who would be an upgrade anyway.

At 31, Romo has at least six good seasons left in his tank, and with Romo finally showing the leadership and toughness to go with his talent as a quarterback, there is no reason to believe those seasons will not be phenomenal.