Dak Prescott vs Tony Romo Creates a No Win Situation in Dallas

There’s a line where Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s age and experience is worth more than Dak Prescott’s youth and potential.

Aug 19, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and quarterback Tony Romo (9) talk during the pregame warmups against the Miami Dolphins at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

It’s tough but I’m still living on Tony Romo island. If you interact on Facebook groups, that term is used for the suddenly “fake” group of Cowboy Nation that would like to see quarterback Tony Romo return to action.

We are quickly labeled as against quarterback Dak Prescott instead of pro-Cowboys. Having to chose a quarterback is a lose / lose situation that owner and general manager Jerry Jones created. Everyone loves winning, going with the hot hand and it’s almost impossible to mention – “The Streak”. Visit a casino in Los Vegas to learn how most streaks end.

The eleven game winning streak by the Dallas Cowboys this season is the first thing that Prescott fans mention. The last streak that got this much attention was established by shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive baseball games. Ripken’s streak didn’t result in a World Series title.

This season in the NBA, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder had a triple double streak. That streak hasn’t resulted in an NBA championship. There’s one other infamous streak that people don’t talk about. The 18 game winning streak by the 2007 New England Patriots.

The 2007 Patriots won 18 straight games with an offense ranked 1st in scoring and 4th in scoring defense. Unscathed, they traveled through the NFL’s regular season – even defeating our Cowboys 48 – 27. In the end, they lost to the New York Giants that had a regular season record of 10 – 6 in the Super Bowl. The Giants brag about being the 1 in 18 – 1 while fans of the Patriots hate that season with a passion.

I wish Cowboy Nation could learn from Patriots fans and realize that they don’t talk about streaks and nobody brags about reaching the playoffs. Why? Because that’s never the ultimate goal in Cowboy Nation.

As delusional as it seems to others, we always expect to make the playoffs and be in the Super Bowl. If that goal isn’t reached, then we will quickly state that next year is our year. This year could definitely be our year because this is a Super Bowl quality team – maybe not defensively, but they have had their moments.

Nov 24, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and quarterback Tony Romo (9) throw warm up passes before the game against the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

If winning that sixth Lombardi trophy is the goal, you should understand our cries that Romo return as the starting quarterback. Personally, I would’ve benched Prescott once Romo was healthy. Call me another Monday Morning General Manager, but I still have no problem benching Prescott at 11 – 2. I hear Prescott referred to all the time as a future franchise quarterback. That sounds great, but Romo is currently a franchise quarterback.

Prescott is under contract, so he can’t jump ship like the quarterback Brock Osweiler did the Denver Broncos. I believe it’s similar to releasing seasonal employees at Fed Ex or Walmart so my conversation would be simple – “Son, you were drafted as a back-up. You started the season as a back-up.

You got a chance to start and that’s great – we appreciate your hard work. Our $100 million dollar quarterback is healthy and you’re returning to the back-up position. Maybe next season, you can start for us full time.”

While many focus on Prescott’s performance of the last three games, I believe teams have figured us out since the bye-week. Our weaker competition was simply unable to leave the battle with victories. Against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, running back Ezekiel Elliott was held to less than 100 yards rushing after four straight games of more than 130 yards rushing.

The Eagles challenged Prescott to win the game with his arm. Despite leading by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, they lost in overtime. To win, the Cowboys used the entire kitchen sink with fake punts and fourth down conversions.

The next group of opponents: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants have all copied the Eagles defensive blueprint. As a result, Prescott’s average yards per attempt has decreased since the Steelers game. Defenses are allowing Elliott to get his yards but focused on not allowing him to break big runs like he did against the Bengals and Steelers.

Who would’ve guessed that 10 points by the New York Giants would have been enough to beat the Cowboys on a night when the defense recovered 3 turnovers? That’s December football and NFL football in December isn’t easy, so I looked at Romo’s career stats. In December and January, he’s completed 757 of 1176 for a completion percentage of 64.37%. He has 8,924 passing yards with 64 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.

This is Prescott’s rookie year, there’s no way he can compare with those numbers – truth is, few quarterbacks can compare with Romo’s numbers. I’m an advocate for YSF, my short term for saying Younger, Stronger and Faster, at every position except quarterback.

My argument wouldn’t be strong if Romo was last seen stinking it up like Matt Cassell in 2014. Romo’s departure was due to injury not lack of on-field performance. Romo lost his job due to a meaningless winning streak.

Nov 20, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) on the sidelines as Dak Prescott (4) talks to coaches during a timeout from the game against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots’ quarterback, Tom Brady is 39 years old and they aren’t screaming for him to retire. Drew Brees and Tony Romo are both 37 and Brees is leading the league with 313.9 passing yards per game.

There’s a delicate line where age and experience is still more valuable than youth and potential. Those of us that want to see Romo are valuing his age and experience. We all clearly want what’s best for the Cowboys. Common ground agrees that Prescott is definitely the future, but contrary to that expression – the future isn’t now.

If we fail to hoist that Lombardi trophy at the end of the season, Jerry Jones will be at fault. It’s a lose / lose situation that he created. It might be the biggest mistake he’s made since firing head coach Jimmy Johnson.

For the next decade, Cowboy Nation will reflect on this season and debate if Romo could’ve won it all or if Prescott could’ve have won it all.

Hopefully, we won’t have to have that discussion. One thing is for certain, we can always brag about that awesome eleven game winning streak and making the playoffs, right?

#GoCowboys

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