Tony Romo: Is He Capable of Leading the Dallas Cowboys to a Super Bowl?

Being a starting quarterback in the National Football League is arguably the hardest job in all of sports. No one individual is more important to the success of the team. Often times, whether it is justified or not, the credit for a hard earned victory or a heart-breaking loss is placed on the quarterback.

As if that isn't a large enough burden, try to imagine that pressure in Tony Romo's shoes.

Playing quarterback for "America's Team" is about much more than that.

Romo has had, by all statistical accounts, a fantastic career. He holds nearly every Dallas Cowboy's career and single season passing record. He has been to multiple Pro Bowl's and has one of the highest career Quarterback Rating's of all-time.

But he has zero Super Bowl rings, and only one playoff win to his name. Not to mention a stigma that he can't win in pressure situations. 

Many feel like he just doesn't have what it takes.

I tend to feel differently.

Playing for one of the most polarizing teams in all of professional sports generally tends to cause you to have a large number of detractors. But this doesn't pertain only to Cowboy haters. Many die hard fans of Dallas have been spoiled by the Roger Staubach's and Troy Aikman's of the past. 

What they fail to realize is that Tony Romo is easily the next best thing they have ever had. Don't they remember Quincy Carter? Chad Hutchinson? Drew Henson or Drew Bledsoe? They were never going to get it done. They were bad. They were not the answer.

Tony Romo CAN be that guy. He has the tools, and as of late he has showed the resilience necessary to take his game to the next level. After two costly Romo turnovers contributed to Dallas blowing a would-be victory against the New York Jets in Week 1, Romo rebounded strong with one of the most gutsy comeback victories of his career in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Playing with a broken rib and punctured lung, his leadership was apparent on camera, continuing to play while wincing in pain after every hit and giving direction and instilling confidence in young teammate Jesse Holley. The question now is if he can hold it together for an entire season and capitalize on the talent possessed by his teammates and himself. 

Coming into Week 3 against the hated rival Washington Redskins, Romo has a chance to shut down his detractors for another week, and prove the the 49ers game was not an aberration. With 10 career fourth quarter comebacks, it is obvious that he is capable. For Romo, consistency is key.

The skills are there. The supporting cast is there. For now, he is looking the part. If he can manage to sustain his highest level of play, I have no doubt that Romo is capable of leading his Cowboys all the way to the top.