With July being painfully slow, the blogosphere has been non-stop chatter on two main topics: 1.) Is Jason Campbell a serviceable Quarterback and 2.) Whether Tony Romo is good enough to lead his team to the Super Bowl. It seems to be the endless debate where the answer cannot come soon enough for either.
Both Quarterbacks are certainly out of excuses. The T.O. soap opera is over, and it is Jessica's Tony's time to be the only voice heard. On the flip side, Campbell is entering year two of an offense with a RB and WR in their prime. Both Quarterbacks also have two major assets. Tony has arguably the best back-field in the league with Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. Jason Campbell has a defense that should be giving him the best field position in the league.
So, with both fan bases avidly defending their QB...who's more delusional? After all, both of these QBs had these assets last year. It's a tough call. Romo is the better Quarterback, but when it comes to December when every player's hustle and concentration goes to the next level, Tony seems to be stuck in neutral. Cowboys' bloggers don't see a problem though:
Tony Romo will be our quarterback. I think he will take us to the ultimate level we need to be, the Super Bowl. As the years have passed since he was named the starter he has improved every year. I am very confident that Tony is "our" quarterback.
Actually, this statement couldn't be more wrong. He statistically got worse last year, including the month he sat out with the boo-boo on his pinky finger.
Romo played 3 less games in 2008 than in 2007, yet he had FIVE more fumbles lost, a 6 point drop in QB rating, and a lower average yards per attempt.
Season
Team
Passing
Rushing
Fumbles
G
GS
Comp
Att
Pct
Yds
Avg
TD
Int
Sck
SckY
Rate
Att
Yds
Avg
TD
FUM
Lost
2008
Dallas
13
13
276
450
61.3
3,448
7.7
26
14
20
123
91.4
28
41
1.5
0
13
7
2007
Dallas
16
16
335
520
64.4
4,211
8.1
36
19
24
176
97.4
31
129
4.2
2
10
2
2006
Dallas
16
10
220
337
65.3
2,903
8.6
19
13
21
124
95.1
34
102
3.0
0
9
3
Tony is not the only one to blame for this. I remember the Skins victory over Dallas last season where Jason Garrett went out of his way to not run the ball. I think everyone was baffled why Marion Barber only had eight carries and Felix Jones had ZERO. Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. I mean, that is an incredible backfield. Jeff George could QB that backfield to the playoffs.
Tony has been named to 2 Pro-Bowls in his 3 years of playing for the Cowboys. In that span Tony has thrown 62 TD passes.
The number of TD passes thrown doesn't mean squat. Dan Marino, anyone? A clutch QB that can play through pain is much more valuable. Romo has done nothing the last three years to show he can do either. It's actually getting comical at this point. But enough of the bloggers, Romo himself says it'll be different this year stating:
"It's been very football heavy this offseason," Romo told the Journal Times. "We had a lot of OTA's and a lot of minicamps, the most since I've been here. The guys have worked their butts off and we've tried to put ourselves in position to be successful by doing everything we can this offseason. Since I've been playing in the NFL, this has been the best offseason to date and that excites you as a quarterback. In that regard, it's been real enjoyable."
Hmm. Heavy off-season? There was the U.S. Open qualifier and the Congressional Pro-Am, which he surely had to practice for. As I see it, the Cowboys are not built to win a Super Bowl. Their defense has too many holes, but Tony will surely get the blame for that. All it takes is one picture of him in Vegas with Jessica Simpson to appear on TMZ.
Romo added that he is excited to see who steps up in the absence of Terrell Owens. "It's going to be real interesting to see who steps up and takes over some of the things we may have lost with 81" the quarterback said.
That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for their current receivers. Either way, can training camp get here already?