- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 122,987
Gosselin: Tony Romo's replacement isn't in the draft, he's in Detroit
By Rick Gosselin Follow @RickGosselinDMN rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Staff Columnist
Published: 20 October 2015 12:03 PM
Updated: 20 October 2015 02:22 PM
I'm changing my philosophy with the Cowboys.
I've long been an advocate of drafting a quarterback. Every year. If you don't draft them, you never have a chance of developing one. Always have a young, talented arm in the pipeline so you don't get caught short like the Cowboys have this season.
But my read on the Cowboys is they lack the confidence to draft the right quarterback and develop him if and when he does get here. What other explanation could there be? Since winning their last Super Bowl, the Cowboys have selected two quarterbacks in the last 20 drafts -- Quincy Carter with a second-rounder in 2001 and Stephen McGee with a fourth-rounder in 2009.
Both washed out.
So the Cowboys have gone all in on Tony Romo since he became the starter in 2006. That's why Jerry gave him a six-year, $108 million contract in 2013 even though he was already 33 years of age. Life with Romo -- even an aging Romo -- looked a whole lot better to Jones than life without Romo. And since signing the contract, Romo has had work done on his back.
So the Cowboys are committed to Romo through the 2019 season. Then what?
I'll tell you what.
Jones has always been an owner who likes to buy proven commodities. That eliminates the guesswork of the draft.
His list of talented mercenaries is long: Deion Sanders, Ray Donaldson, Raghib Ismail, Eddie George, La'Roi Glover, Kevin Hardy, Leonard Davis, Drew Bledsoe, Brandon Carr, Henry Melton and, more recently, Greg Hardy. Why develop a Pro Bowler when you can sign one?
So I don't expect the next quarterback of the Cowboys to be a draft pick. When the time comes to replace Romo, I believe Jones will go shopping for a proven commodity.
And that proven commodity might be in Detroit right now.
Matthew Stafford was the first overall selection of the 2009 draft. He played four years on his six-year rookie contract before signing a three-year extension in 2013 for an extra $53 million. That'll keep him in Detroit through the 2017 season.
Stafford turns 30 in 2018. And he's a local. He played his high-school football at Highland Park.
Stafford is also proven. Only four quarterbacks in history have had 5,000-yard passing seasons -- Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees ... and Stafford. He reached 20,000 career passing yards faster than Dan Marino, setting an NFL record in the process. He threw his 100th TD pass in his 55th game. Only Marino, Kurt Warner and Johnny Unitas got there quicker.
Locals might recall Stafford rallying the Lions from a 24-point deficit against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in 2011. The Lions scored the game's final 17 points in the fourth quarter for a 34-30 win on a Stafford touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson with 1:39 remaining. Stafford also passed for 323 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium last January in a wild-card playoff game, only to see his Lions came up short, 24-20.
Stafford has led the Lions on 18 fourth-quarter comebacks. He has thrown six TD passes to win games in the final minute and six more to win games inside the two-minute warning. He has been to the Pro Bowl and been a Pro Bowl MVP.
I took a busman's holiday to Detroit last weekend and attended the Lions-Bears game. I saw Stafford at his best. He completed 27 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-34 overtime victory over the Bears. He also had a 500-yard passing game against Green Bay in 2012.
But the fans in Detroit are losing patience with Stafford. They have expected more winning, bigger winning, than Stafford has delivered. He has taken the Lions to the playoffs twice in his six seasons. This is a franchise that has not won a championship in 58 years and failed to qualify for the playoffs in any of the nine seasons prior to Stafford's arrival. Yet talk radio in Motown barbecues Stafford on a daily basis.
So go all in on Romo now. Don't waste any draft picks on quarterbacks. Keep building a supporting cast for him. Give Romo the 2016 and 2017 seasons to win a Super Bowl. But remember, quarterbacks don't stay great forever. The Packers let Brett Favre go at 39, the 49ers discarded Joe Montana at 37 and the Jets said good-bye to Joe Namath at 34.
When Romo turns 38 in 2018, I'd look around. Especially if Stafford is a free agent and looking around himself. An heir apparent may embrace the idea of coming home.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis, and follow @RickGosselinDMN on Twitter.
----------------
Not sure I could approve of this. Stafford is just awful at times.
By Rick Gosselin Follow @RickGosselinDMN rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Staff Columnist
Published: 20 October 2015 12:03 PM
Updated: 20 October 2015 02:22 PM
I'm changing my philosophy with the Cowboys.
I've long been an advocate of drafting a quarterback. Every year. If you don't draft them, you never have a chance of developing one. Always have a young, talented arm in the pipeline so you don't get caught short like the Cowboys have this season.
But my read on the Cowboys is they lack the confidence to draft the right quarterback and develop him if and when he does get here. What other explanation could there be? Since winning their last Super Bowl, the Cowboys have selected two quarterbacks in the last 20 drafts -- Quincy Carter with a second-rounder in 2001 and Stephen McGee with a fourth-rounder in 2009.
Both washed out.
So the Cowboys have gone all in on Tony Romo since he became the starter in 2006. That's why Jerry gave him a six-year, $108 million contract in 2013 even though he was already 33 years of age. Life with Romo -- even an aging Romo -- looked a whole lot better to Jones than life without Romo. And since signing the contract, Romo has had work done on his back.
So the Cowboys are committed to Romo through the 2019 season. Then what?
I'll tell you what.
Jones has always been an owner who likes to buy proven commodities. That eliminates the guesswork of the draft.
His list of talented mercenaries is long: Deion Sanders, Ray Donaldson, Raghib Ismail, Eddie George, La'Roi Glover, Kevin Hardy, Leonard Davis, Drew Bledsoe, Brandon Carr, Henry Melton and, more recently, Greg Hardy. Why develop a Pro Bowler when you can sign one?
So I don't expect the next quarterback of the Cowboys to be a draft pick. When the time comes to replace Romo, I believe Jones will go shopping for a proven commodity.
And that proven commodity might be in Detroit right now.
Matthew Stafford was the first overall selection of the 2009 draft. He played four years on his six-year rookie contract before signing a three-year extension in 2013 for an extra $53 million. That'll keep him in Detroit through the 2017 season.
Stafford turns 30 in 2018. And he's a local. He played his high-school football at Highland Park.
Stafford is also proven. Only four quarterbacks in history have had 5,000-yard passing seasons -- Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees ... and Stafford. He reached 20,000 career passing yards faster than Dan Marino, setting an NFL record in the process. He threw his 100th TD pass in his 55th game. Only Marino, Kurt Warner and Johnny Unitas got there quicker.
Locals might recall Stafford rallying the Lions from a 24-point deficit against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in 2011. The Lions scored the game's final 17 points in the fourth quarter for a 34-30 win on a Stafford touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson with 1:39 remaining. Stafford also passed for 323 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium last January in a wild-card playoff game, only to see his Lions came up short, 24-20.
Stafford has led the Lions on 18 fourth-quarter comebacks. He has thrown six TD passes to win games in the final minute and six more to win games inside the two-minute warning. He has been to the Pro Bowl and been a Pro Bowl MVP.
I took a busman's holiday to Detroit last weekend and attended the Lions-Bears game. I saw Stafford at his best. He completed 27 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-34 overtime victory over the Bears. He also had a 500-yard passing game against Green Bay in 2012.
But the fans in Detroit are losing patience with Stafford. They have expected more winning, bigger winning, than Stafford has delivered. He has taken the Lions to the playoffs twice in his six seasons. This is a franchise that has not won a championship in 58 years and failed to qualify for the playoffs in any of the nine seasons prior to Stafford's arrival. Yet talk radio in Motown barbecues Stafford on a daily basis.
So go all in on Romo now. Don't waste any draft picks on quarterbacks. Keep building a supporting cast for him. Give Romo the 2016 and 2017 seasons to win a Super Bowl. But remember, quarterbacks don't stay great forever. The Packers let Brett Favre go at 39, the 49ers discarded Joe Montana at 37 and the Jets said good-bye to Joe Namath at 34.
When Romo turns 38 in 2018, I'd look around. Especially if Stafford is a free agent and looking around himself. An heir apparent may embrace the idea of coming home.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges and Donovan Lewis, and follow @RickGosselinDMN on Twitter.
----------------
Not sure I could approve of this. Stafford is just awful at times.
