the urbane league

“I would rather have Tony Romo quaterbacking the Dallas Cowboys than any other quarterback in the league right now.” – Me circa two seasons ago.

That quote got me looked at like I had just said the road to the Super Bowl goes through Oakland. But I’m serious, like botched field goal hold to end your post-season serious. I got the usual suspects thrown at me; Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, and yes, even Brett Favre. Responses like this let me know two things; a) casual fans pay far too much attention to talking heads and b) they LOVE to hear what they want to hear.

Yes, Brady has the rings, Manning has the pedigree, Palmer is next in that line of great signal callers and Favre just gets lauded relentlessly for being an alcoholic, addicted to Codeine, being wildly inconsistent (but the media calls that a “gunslinger” mentality) oh that’s right, and winning a Super Bowl over a decade ago. Yes, I understand Favre was great back in the day, but I’ll dismiss the idea of him over Romo right away as completely and utterly risible. Why? Favre has thrown 62 interceptions in the last three seasons. Yes. 62. And I don’t want to hear that it’s not his fault. 62 interceptions in three seasons is ALWAYS your fault as a quarterback. Every other quarterback seems to get held to a higher standard than Brett Favre, because we all know NOBODY else would get away with throwing 62 picks in three seasons. Just to give you an idea, the illustrious triumvirate of Greise, Grossman and Orton has thrown 65 over the last 3 seasons. Yeah, he’s been that great.

But Favre is the worst (right now) on the aforementioned list. So how do I defend Romo? That is really quite simple, the Dallas offensive line, is truly just that; offensive. I know we added big Leonard Davis, but don’t forget he’s playing guard, not tackle. Don’t forget, this is the Dallas offensive line that was so bad that Witten, one of the best TE in the league HAD to be kept in to block when Drew Bledsoe was back there. That is because Drew Bledsoe is what Manning, Palmer, and his successor Brady all are; a pure pocket passer. Guys who would get absolutely punished playing behind Dallas’ offensive line.

Enter “Pretty” Ton’. What most people don’t get about Romo, is that he is one of the most athletic, instinctive quarterbacks in the game. I mean don’t forget he shat on Michael “The Playmaker” Irvin in a game of one on one. The more ignorant of you would say, that doesn’t mean a thing, but those of you who know; a) the kind of athlete Irvin is/was and b) the size of his ego, know that fact that he would admit this on national television means it was really something. Nobody will stop talking about Romo muffing the snap, but what people don’t talk about, is his presence of mind to get up, run and almost gain the first down. Most other quarterbacks would have never even made it up off their knees. Then the talk was “can he overcome that disastrous let down and not let that affect his play?” Well, we saw what he did last season, and what he could have done in the post season, had Patrick “I run my mouth, even though I’m awful” Crayton not let him down.

Lastly, Romo is a cavalier son-of-a-bitch, yet he never makes throws those awful interceptions that make you scratch your head. Behind a sub par offensive line, Romo still manages to make it look like he rarely gets pressured, but that is far from the case. Romo sees more pressure than Brady, Manning and Palmer ever do, but his athleticism, instincts, and three and a half years marinating on the bench before his first start have turned him into the most important player on Dallas’ offense.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Owens, he’s probably my favorite player in the league. However, there is a handful (maybe two) of receivers you could put in his place and Dallas’ offense would still be lethal. I think you could plug in; Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson, Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson, Marques Colston and Greg Jennings (really, don’t laugh the kid is big play) and still have what amounts to a top 5 offensive unit in the league. UNDERSTAND, I AM NOT SAYING THESE GUYS ARE AS GOOD AS OWENS (well Moss is), I’m saying Dallas could still be a top 5 offense with these guys, very different statements.Contrast that to the fact that Romo is the only quarterback (maybe a healthy McNabb, a-k-a the mythical unicorn; oft described, yet never seen) that can hide the lacunas that exist in Dallas’ pass protection. So you can keep hating him, because the media is all on his member, or because he vacations with Jessica Simpson, or because he’s a Cowboy, but one thing you cannot say is that Romo has not earned the on-field accolades he has received. Without Romo, the Cowboys are in the cellar of the NFC East, which for those of you who rep teams in other (weaker) divisions and don’t know, that’s 8-8. So just sit back and bask in the radiance of the rise of the Romo Empire, and don’t be like those haters on the other side hating him because he’s beautiful.