Despite the Meltdown of Week 4, the Cowboys Are Fortunate to Have Tony Romo

The oddest part of the whirlwind of controversy that surrounds Tony Romo heading into Sunday's matchup against Tom Brady and the Patriots?

It isn't the onslaught of criticism that Romo faced for his decision-making after the loss to the now surprising 5-0 Detroit Lions. As fluky as throwing consecutive pick-sixes are in the NFL, anyone would be remiss if they didn't acknowledge the fact that Romo sometimes takes unwarranted chances with the football in his hands. 

It also isn't the fact that many of Romo's biggest critics have come from former Hall of Fame Cowboys players (many of whom had the luxury of playing together) who were largely responsible for the procession of dominance and Superbowl victories that ran through Dallas during the early '90s.

The oddest part is that many have allowed the collective successes of those critics as well as the lack of playoff wins for the Cowboys to overshadow the common-sense fact that Romo has no business playing as well as he has in this league.

It's easy to lose sight of all that Romo has accomplished because the seemingly informed continue to dismiss his career passing skills (even though his passer rating—at 95.3—ranks fourth-best all time) as well as his ability to perform in the clutch (despite having the best fourth-quarter passer rating than any other quarterback, and throwing the third-most fourth-quarter touchdown since 2006).   

Perception can cloud out a lot of things.

But it can't, or rather more to the point, it shouldn't cloud the fact of how unlikely it is that so much weight, responsibility, hopes and future relevance of an organization would be tied to an undrafted free agent who didn't even play Division I football.

The very concept seems almost too ludicrous to write down. And yet Romo (the face of the Cowboys) goes out each week seeking to prove that he belongs not just in the league, but equipped to man the most important position in all of sports. 

The concept gets a little more murky when you dig a little further and see that Romo has accomplished all of these impressive stats despite the very public failings of his employer (Not that it takes that much digging to see what is or should be clearly obvious).

Consider these thoughts:

Two of the starters from last year's offensive line are  unemployed (the count should be three given how poor Marc Colombo has played so far for the Dolphins).

Other than the alternate selection of Mike Jenkins in 2009 the Cowboys haven't selected a Pro Bowl in the draft player since 2006.

The only leftovers from the trade that brought Roy Williams to the team (which amounted to a lost draft year) includes David Buehler, Victor Butler, John Phillips, and Stephen McGee.

Add a cancerous malcontent like Terrell Owens to your team along with the notion that the architectural designs of returning this team to the Superbowl should be spearheaded by Wade Phillips and you have a recipe for disaster.

And still, with an overhauled, young, inexperienced offensive line underscoring the lack of protection that Romo has had on and off the field, he still stands on the precipice of greatness which is just what people within and around the Dallas Cowboys organization have come to expect on a weekly basis. 

Much has and will continue to be made of the transformation that Tom Brady had from sixth round draft pick to league MVP and Superbowl champion.  It is a story we embrace at an awe like level.

But it seems like Romo's story of transformation should be embraced too given just how unlikely it is.