Why Tony Romo May Not Be the Death of Jerry Jones' Career

To quote ESPN's Matthew Berry, "The hate has gone too far."

Tony Romo has been one of the most over-analyzed and over-criticized NFL players since, well, his former wide receiver Terrell Owens. Part of that is due to the fact he's the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, but I don't remember Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde or Quincy Carter (remember him?) get this criticized every time something happened in Dallas.

Sure, he's been hurt for a significant amount of time in the past few years, but he's also been the first quarterback since Troy Aikman to deliver a playoff win for the Cowboys. He also brought this team to the playoffs in just his first handful of starts back in 2006.

Forbes.com released a survey showing the top 10 most hated NFL players right now, and Romo made that list. Just like the team he plays for, Romo seems to be one of those figures you either love or hate in football. His supporters are passionate, and his nay-sayers are just as loud.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has publicly backed his franchise quarterback plenty of times over the years, more so recently with Romo's meltdowns against the New York Jets and Detroit Lions. Aikman was Jones' first true franchise quarterback while acting as owner of the team, and he realizes Romo is the closest he's seen to No. 8's talent.

The Arkansas-born Jones will forever be remember as the man who fired legendary coach Tom Landry, the dynasty of the 1990s and the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. However, the oil-made millionaire hasn't seen his team truly accomplish much since the turn of the millennium, and from what Jones has said he believes Dallas can change all that with Romo under center.

The Eastern Illinois alum who's a gunslinger that will win or cost you a game. Brett Favre had similar characteristics, and he found plenty of success with both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. I'm not saying Romo is on the same level as Favre right now, but he has the potential to bring a championship to Dallas and add to the legacy of Jerry Jones as the Cowboys' owner.