by Ryan Bush
Tonight’s game
between the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys will be about more than just
the end of the preseason for Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee. It could be the end of a tenure with the team
that he grew up cheering for in south Texas. The silver and blue… that famous star… all of
that could come to an end for McGee in one short, three-hour span that few
people will recall past tonight.
McGee is currently
locked in a battle with Rudy Carpenter for a spot on the Cowboys opening day
roster that he doesn’t even know exists.
Injuries at multiple positions, including tight end and nose tackle,
could force head coach Jason Garrett to go long at those spots and enter the
season with only two quarterbacks (Tony Romo and Kyle Orton) on the active
roster. Without an option to land on Dallas’ practice squad,
McGee would then be cut loose to seek employment elsewhere.
McGee is no stranger
to facing a stacked deck, having beaten the odds since his collegiate career
began at Texas
A&M. The 26-year old native of Round
Rock, McGee was a three-year starter at Burnett High School
where he led his team to a 36-5 overall record.
In his junior and senior seasons, Burnett advanced to the 3A State
Finals. His 101 career touchdown passes
is also a 3A State record.
From there, he
enrolled with the Aggies of College Station
and would start 31 games for the maroon, including two victories over arch rival
Texas Longhorns. Dennis Franchione’s option-offense and an
injury during his senior season that ultimately cost him his job made for a
somewhat frustrating time down in the Brazos Valley.
His time with a star
on his helmet has been little different.
Though his college career ended up in smoke, the Cowboys thought enough
of McGee’s size and strength to give him a chance, drafting him in the fourth
round of the 2009 NFL draft. Team owner Jerry
Jones then compared McGee to two-time Pro Bowler Tony Romo, alluding to certain
“nine-ish qualities” in McGee. Jones
soon found out otherwise when the summer’s slate of games got underway.
McGee jumped for joy
when he tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Hannah in the second
preseason game against Tennessee
on national television. His landing,
though, proved to be costly, as he tore his MCL and would sit out for a
month.
A year later, only a
304 yard effort against these same Dolphins in the preseason finale was enough
to land him a spot on the roster. Four
months afterwards, he saw his first regular season action on Christmas night
against Arizona. A botched extra-point and a gutless defense
combined to wipe out a 80-yard scoring drive that put the Cowboys ahead in the
final minute, as Dallas
dropped their tenth game of the season.
With Jon Kitna still ailing,
McGee started the season finale in rainy Philadelphia and managed to beat an
Eagles team that was resting most of its starters by a single point on the
strength of another last-minute scoring march.
Here in 2012, McGee’s
progression seems to have stalled out.
He tends to flush from the pocket.
He doesn’t look downfield as much as he should. There was an interception against San Diego in the second
preseason game, and a missed blitz-read that resulted in a fumble when he was
blindsided. Last week he didn’t even
engineer a single scoring drive against a bad Rams team.
All of which leads to
tonight’s game in Arlington,
with his Cowboys career hanging in the balance.
McGee is well aware of the situation surrounding him, and is likely to
perform at his best, just like he has always done with his back to the wall.
Only time will tell
what such a performance will earn him.
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