Romo Seltzer Anyone?

Already you hear the barbs, the beefs, the bromides and the usual banter from the long term and bandwagoning Cowboys fans.

Doing what they do best when their beloved team falls short when the playoffs much less Super Bowl is not reached.

It starts with 'Damn You Tony Romo!' Then you hear the jokes and the putdowns. One of the best putdowns was told to me by my friend Kevin:

'Romo Cologne-You wear it but your best friend scores.' That actually had me laughing.

How about this one? How many Cowboys does it take to a change a tire? Only one unless it's a blowout...then Tony Romo shows up!

Ouch!

Well, if Tony Romo were Julius Caseer you are about to read a Brutus-esque attempt to praise Caeser and not bury him.

Statistically:

If you take away his two bad performances with the Bears and Redskins then you only have an INT count at 10 which matches his total for 2011.

His average for yards completed per pass surpassed 40 in 2012 for the 1st time. Thank you Dez Bryant for emerging at Tony's beck and call. Likewise for tenured Jason Witten. His 85 yard touchdown pass on Turkey day the longest of his career.

Prior to last Sunday's meltdown how about a run of success where the touchdown to interception ratio was almost equal to Robert Griffin III? 17-3 in comparison to 18-4.

Remember also that of the top three passing quarterbacks in the NFL none are in the playoffs. Note the running games that will be in effect with the Texans Foster. Cincinnati's Ellis, Green Bay's Kuhn, and the Vikings' Peterson. 

Blame a non-existent Cowboys running game? Now there's a novel concept.

There was a stat that seemed to go unnoticed amongst the fans of the Valley Ranch Veritables. When DeMarco Murray touched the ball minimum 15 times in a game the Dallas Cowboys were a perfect 9-0! When Murray ran the ball 14 times or less Dallas a paltry 3-12. 

Yet most of you just want to bury Tony Romo?

Most passes attempted and completed in 2012 in his career (648 ATT-425 COMP) and throwing over 4,900 yards for an 8-8 team. Except for 2007 his 28 Touchdowns in a season his highest total. Tony also threw 19 picks in 2007 when posting a 13-3 record.

Old time Cowboys fans take great pride in how they 'ran that bastard Don Meredith out of town' for his supposedly bad play in 1969. These were the same fans who chanted 'We Want Meredith!' in a 38-0 blowout of the Cowboys by the St. Louis Cardinals on a Monday Night one year later. 

Turn on any sports station in the USA this week and you will indeed hear 'Tony Romo chokes in elimination games. He's 1-6. He is not an elite quarterback. He is no Manning.'

Indeed Tony Romo is none of that. Go back to the week of October 14th and track how Dallas-depleted as they were with injuries-still managed to stay in every game until the very end. You can also add the near comeback on Thanksgiving Day with the same Redskins team.

Blame the lack of an offensive line for the poor passer rating (90 plus) in 2012. In 2011 the rating was his best ever (102,5). Tony's interception rate in 2012 (2.9 pct) is actually LOWER than it was in what was supposed to be a Super Bowl year 2007 (3.7 pct). Statistics show more than one face. Stats can make you look al lot of things away from the most obvious.

Quarterbacks are the most visible by virtue of salary and dictating every snap. Oh yeah that's right...Tony is 5 Super Bowl rings behind the prowess of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. Sorry but did Tony have the same supporting cast?

HELL NO!

The passions of NFL fans are some of the highest, especially in Dallas Texas for the Silver and Blue. While this off-season will be a witch hunt for the way Tony Romo kept them out of the playoffs let's hope these same fans remember that it was Tony Romo who kept this battle scarred team in a position to compete for the right to lose another elimination game in 2012.

Need a place to start playing the blame game? Start with Jerry Jones. Then try Jason Garrett followed by Rob Ryan. Jerry and Jason appear to be wearing one hat too many. That's one stat no one keeps track of.

Then again maybe Troy Aikman was right when he said that Dallas has always been a city for winners/bandwagoners. Prove him wrong, please!

Over and out in Big D.

Mr. Will