Cowboys fans waited a long time for a replacement to Troy Aikman. Six seasons to be exact.
Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, Drew Henson and Drew Bledsoe all had tryouts, but were sooner or later parked by the curb. Aikman's replacement came in the form of a smiling kid from Eastern Illinois University by the name of Tony Romo.
Though Romo appears poised to lead the Cowboys for many years, doubters and scoffers still abound.
This is for all of you naysayers.
Romo seems to be a magnet for attention off the field, being linked with Jessica Simpson and participating in almost every celebrity golf tournament, which has caused some view points on Romo's desire and dedication to the game to become skewered somewhat. No. 9 hasn't been fully accepted in all Cowboy circles. I'm not sure why, because between the sidelines Romo is putting up numbers reserved for legends. Granted, Romo has only 27 regular season starts under his belt, but he is on pace to put himself at, or near the top of some major individual statistical records.
Since he took over from Bledsoe, Romo has been described as too erratic. Well, he's so erratic that his career completion percentage of 65.1 is second only to Chad Pennington's 65.6.
If he played as many seasons as Dan Marino (17), Romo would find himself as the all-time leader in 300 yard passing games, with 87. I'll admit that, by then, his surrounding talent will have likely taken a step down from what it is now, so his current rate of seven 300 yard games a season probably won't continue. But still, from 2008-2019 he could average five 300 yard passing games a year and still tie Marino's supposedly untouchable mark of 63.
What about the all important QB rating? Romo's mark of 96.7 is bettered only by Steve Young's 96.8. Peyton Manning, who some suggest is the best quarterback to ever play the game, only carries a 94.7 rating.
Romo's career average gain per attempt is 8.36 yards, which is third to hallowed stars from the past, Otto Graham and Sid Luckman. Skeptics will point out that he is benefiting in that area from a very balanced, offensive attack. Handing off to Marion Barber and throwing to Terrell Owens is easy, so they say. It must be remembered that Aikman guided maybe the most efficient offense in the history of the league in 1995 but only averaged 7.6 yards per attempt.
Romo's not merely setting individual records, though. Remember back in the Dave Campo era, when one road victory was deemed acceptable? And that one win was over a Redskins team that found it entertaining to find new ways to lose? That is a thing of the past, for sure. With Romo at the helm, the Cowboys are 11-2 away from home. In the process they tied a club record for most consecutive road wins (10), which is the third best mark in NFL history. The irony of the losses is that both have been to the Redskins. Whoever said facts aren't amusing obviously missed that one.
11-2 is pretty good. However, it could, and maybe should be better. Loss No.1 happened because a 35 yard field goal attempt was blocked, and the other defeat came while Dallas was resting most of their starters for the playoffs.
How easily he could be a lucky 13-0 on the road.
Sure, Romo makes a flash off the field, but at least he's doing a great job on it. Because twenty years from now, that's what people will remember him for.
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