It's December, Time For Tony Romo To Lead The Cowboys

As a Cowboys fan, I have sat by and watched Tony Romo dominate games.  He has completely changed the fortunes of the Cowboys since he has been the starting quarterback.  They are winning a lot of games, he is throwing a lot of touchdowns, and the Cowboys have been fairly successful.

The one thing we Cowboys fans have not seen in recent years is a playoff win.  So, after all that happens, how are the Cowboys not winning playoff games?  The month of December has been brutal for this team in recent years, and much of the blame has fell on Romo.  Let's take a look back at the recent late-season antics of the Cowboys

While some of it is merited, the only game he "blew" in my mind was the Wild Card game against Seattle in the 2006 playoffs.  He fumbled the snap.  That was his fault.  He madde a mistake, and he learned from it.

Then you take a look at the 2007 season.  They went 13-3, won the NFC East, and got a Divisional round matchup against the hated Giants.  Romo played well for much of the game, but threw the interception with the game on the line.  This in my eyes was not his fault.  If you watched the game, you could see the offensive line cave against the relentless pass rush of the Giants.  The O-Line had been so good all year, but couldn't give Romo the time he needed on that pass.  The interception was not the result of him going on Vacation the week before, it was because he didn't have time to throw the ball.

Then there was last year's debacle against the Eagles.  It was a situation where they had to win to get in.  Not only did they lose, they got walloped.  Romo had a miserable day, but in essence, the whole team folded.  They weren't ready for the pressure of that game. 

So far in the 2009 season, the Cowboys are 8-3, atop the NFC East again, and in prime position for a playofff berth.  While I have defended Romo a lot in this article, now I will take my shots.  Let's be honest, he hasn't been a very good leader.  While his mistakes have been very well publicized, it is his leadership that needs the most work. 

When you see Romo on the sidelines, generally he doesn't say much.  You don't see him charging up and down the sidelines yelling at teammates to get going.  He hasn't been the vocal leader that a guy like Philip Rivers is.  This needs to change.  If the offensive line needs to step up, Romo has to get on them to play better.  They cannot afford to have shoddy line play if they want to make a playoff run.

If this doesn't happen, and the Cowboys either lose in the first round or miss the playoffs, it may be time to reconsider the QB position. 

I'll be honest.  I am a huge Tony Romo fan.  This is not another article ripping him apart and begging Jerry Jones to draft Tim Tebow.  Romo is the starting QB.  He has been very good as a starter, but for some reason, Decembers have been trouble.

It doesn't get any easier this year, with the Giants, Chargers, Saints and Eagles all on the slate.  Romo needs to play well this year, and take the Cowboys to the playoffs.  When they get there, they can worry about the losing streak or whatever. 

If Tony Romo grabs a hold of this team, the Cowboys are a very dangerous team.