Not so Elite Royalty

The NFL continues in their Lock Out struggle that is strangely reminiscent of a 5^th grade election battle, with both sides unwilling to accommodate the demands of the other, and with little movement in comparison to the television coverage and whining that is taking place.  Although a lengthy discussion, bashing, or roasting could be had on the Lock Out its self, I feel that this discussion already receives too much time, and frankly I don’t think I want to spend any additional time thinking on the topic.

Even in the NFL’s current Lock Out state the NFL draft will still take place, which means that ESPN will continue with their traditional “On the Clock” teams drafting needs evaluation.  Last night prior to the Friday night chick flick with my wife, I watched the “Dallas Cowboys: On the Clock “ discussion (http://search.espn.go.com/on-the-clock:-cowboys/videos/6). 

In the evaluation of the Cowboys team needs Trent Dilfer shares with the television viewers his “man-crush” of Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo.  Trent Dilfer states that he feels like Romo is one of the best Quarterbacks in the league, and that he was off to a good start last year prior to his season ending clavicle fracture.  Of course Trent Dilfer’s praise of Romo comes directly after the opening comments and report on the Cowboys 2010 season, which includes their 1 win in the first 5 games which Romo started at the Quarterback position.  Granted I can’t blame Romo solely for the loses, but can you really make the statement that Romo was off to a good start when he only had one win in the five games that he started and finished? 

No disrespect to Tony Romo, but I believe he is one of the most overhyped and credited Quarterbacks, maybe even player altogether in the league.  To often I hear Romo grouped in the category of Elite Quarterbacks, along with the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and even Ben Roethlisberger (Not my favorite, but the young man does have two Super Bowl rings, and thus qualifies).  On paper Romo appears to be a legitimate regular season Quarterback, posting a career QB rating of 95.5 with a career pass completion percentage of 64.1.  Although Romo has impressive career statistics rivaling those of Peyton Manning’s non-MVP years, he does not have the history of being a champion or the track record of even being a winner.  Case in point, since taking over as the Cowboys starting Quarterback Romo only has a 57% regular season winning record in games that he starts, and has only won one playoff game in four tries.  Meanwhile the Cowboys as a team have not made it further then the Division Championship game (2009), while only making brief wild card visits two seasons (2006, 2007) and failing to make the playoffs in 2008.
 

Tony Romo busted onto the scene in 2006 when he showed up from seemingly nowhere (Eastern Illinois University, pretty close to nowhere) and took over the reigns of “America’s Team” (an issue in and of its self) and led them to a playoff appearance.  Since that time I feel as though his fame and glory have ridden on the wings of a fumbled extra point snap that turned into an awkward and futile 2-point conversion run and a romantic escapade with a pop culture celebrity.

I believe that Tony Romo is a talented Quarterback and athlete (he has an impressive golf game); however, I don’t believe that he is one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, yet he is given the royalty and attention that accompanies Quarterbacks with championships and credibility.

Just a thought about something actually related to the game of football

Jake