Bob Sturm's most memorable Tony Romo moments, and why the QB was a miracle in the end

[kidd]

This was it, really. Giants and Vikings were the two teams we matched up weakest against and of course we played both.

That drive in the 2007 playoffs where it looked like we were getting on a roll and going to pull ahead only to have that sequence of two penalties, Crayton's huge drop, and a shanked punt change the momentum 180 degrees was heartbreaking

I think we had as good a chance as anyone else beating the Vikings but injuries finally caught up with the o-line. Columbo was down and Flozell was gimpy at best while Doug Free was just a rookie IIRC. It was so bad that Witten was one on one against Jared Allen at one point in the game.

Romo couldn't even get out of his 3 step drop before getting tackled.

 

[DLK150]

If Romo had a decent supporting cast his entire career on offense, defense and special teams, he would probably be a first ballot hall of famer and maybe have a ring or two. The team as a whole would have seen more success. Good skill players, no OL. Good OL, next to no consistent skill players outside of Witten. Special teams? Decent kickers and punters but meh units overall.

 

[data]

If Romo had a decent supporting cast his entire career on offense, defense and special teams, he would probably be a first ballot hall of famer and maybe have a ring or two. The team as a whole would have seen more success. Good skill players, no OL. Good OL, next to no consistent skill players outside of Witten. Special teams? Decent kickers and punters but meh units overall.

100% Jerruh's fault. Yet, he made more money than ever.

The he devil doesn't negotiate that well.

 

[townsend]

If Romo had a decent supporting cast his entire career on offense, defense and special teams, he would probably be a first ballot hall of famer and maybe have a ring or two. The team as a whole would have seen more success. Good skill players, no OL. Good OL, next to no consistent skill players outside of Witten. Special teams? Decent kickers and punters but meh units overall.

It's hard to say what Romo could have been, in a best case scenario. He was playing at an elite level through most of 2011-2014, but his durability was a big problem. He went from collar bone injury, to rib injury, to hand injury, to back injury that affected him the rest of his career. He was playing hurt or on IR by the last game of the season in 2010,2011,2012,2013, and 2015.

But I don't think Drew Brees would have done any better on this team.

 

[ravidubey]

I think we had as good a chance as anyone else beating the Vikings but injuries finally caught up with the o-line. Columbo was down and Flozell was gimpy at best while Doug Free was just a rookie IIRC. It was so bad that Witten was one on one against Jared Allen at one point in the game.

Romo couldn't even get out of his 3 step drop before getting tackled.

That setting with the noise the way it was and then losing your two best OTs to injury on top of it spelled disaster. We were faking our running game that whole year as it was with the draw, so if you couldn't pass first that offense couldn't work.

On the other side of the ball Favre had this rebirth kind of a season where he could do nothing wrong. We didn't get consistent pressure and they wore us down with ridiculous big plays. We made Sydney Rice look like a Hall of Famer.

We had already beaten the Saints, so I was not afraid of them, but I remember dreading that Vikings matchup.

I doubt New Orleans would have won up there either.

 

[DLK150]

It's hard to say what Romo could have been, in a best case scenario. He was playing at an elite level through most of 2011-2014, but his durability was a big problem. He went from collar bone injury, to rib injury, to hand injury, to back injury that affected him the rest of his career. He was playing hurt or on IR by the last game of the season in 2010,2011,2012,2013, and 2015.

But I don't think Drew Brees would have done any better on this team.

Yeah, it's all conjecture but he had to have elite protection and by the time it arrived, he was past his prime. He also lost some of his gunslinging ability due to being under pressure almost constantly in those days and he didn't have the build to withstand it all. He would hang in the pocket too long at times as well and suffer the consequences. Lots and lots of blind side hits over the years. He got to the point where he would drop to the ground in the fetal position anytime there was a defender within ten feet of him.

 

[Simpleton]

Early in his career Romo was still a very good QB but way too mistake prone and flippant in his decision making. Once he matured in that regard he became injury prone and there were too many seasons that went down the shitter because he couldn't stay on the field.

The 2007 roster was good enough to make a Super Bowl but his immaturity was one of the reasons they didn't, although there were many. Put 2014 Romo on that team and they probably at least make the SB. You could perhaps say the same about 2009.

I think there were points in Romo's career where he was a Super Bowl caliber QB but it just didn't come together at the right time for him.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Early in his career Romo was still a very good QB but way too mistake prone and flippant in his decision making. Once he matured in that regard he became injury prone and there were too many seasons that went down the shitter because he couldn't stay on the field.

The 2007 roster was good enough to make a Super Bowl but his immaturity was one of the reasons they didn't, although there were many. Put 2014 Romo on that team and they probably at least make the SB. You could perhaps say the same about 2009.

I think there were points in Romo's career where he was a Super Bowl caliber QB but it just didn't come together at the right time for him.

I agree. Romo was as talented as most Super Bowl Quarterbacks. He just didn't have all facets of a SB team and Coaching staff to make the difference in the outcomes.

 

[ravidubey]

Early in his career Romo was still a very good QB but way too mistake prone and flippant in his decision making. Once he matured in that regard he became injury prone and there were too many seasons that went down the shitter because he couldn't stay on the field.

The 2007 roster was good enough to make a Super Bowl but his immaturity was one of the reasons they didn't, although there were many. Put 2014 Romo on that team and they probably at least make the SB. You could perhaps say the same about 2009.

I think there were points in Romo's career where he was a Super Bowl caliber QB but it just didn't come together at the right time for him.

As I've said before Romo took too long to mature. But even Romo at his career best wasn't going far with the OL and running game we fielded in Minnesota. 2009 team looked good on paper, but they lost too often vs the NFL's better teams to be considered a serious contender.

 

[Smitty]

Romo had bad timing and bad luck. When we had good teams, someone in the division or conference had a much better team or at least one that matched up really well against us. I don't think any team would have beaten the Vikings at home in 2009, for example.

Most importantly, it takes toughness in the organization to make the Super Bowl. We never had that, and still don't have that now. Dak is no cure for that. This organization will wear away at any great player. If we win the Super Bowl with Dak, it will have been by great fortune, kind of like 1995 when we avoided the 49ers in the playoffs.

What I would have given for Romo's Cowboy teams to have had a Tom Coughlin in his prime. Or even Andy Reid.

Romo had the unfortunate luck of having his career span the downward spiral of the Parcells-built team (hurried along by a horrific follow up coaching hire in Wade Phillips), followed up with the "rebuild without calling it a rebuild" 8-8 years where Garrett was essentially learning on the job to an extent and the team had serious talent deficiencies, particularly on the in-shambles OL, which made running the offense efficiently nearly impossible and the defense was never any kind of juggernaut itself since at least 2009.

I love Parcells to death; but his leaving after 1 season of Romo as a starter kinda doomed both of them. Parcells deserved having a 2-3 year run with Romo, the QB he and his staff had hand picked, groomed, and installed as an elite level QB (quite possibly the best QB Parcells ever would have had in his entire coaching career); and Romo deserved having a great coach like Parcells there for him. If Parcells hadn't burned out again, I bet Romo would have had a completely different career trajectory.

 

[Smitty]

If Romo had a decent supporting cast his entire career on offense, defense and special teams, he would probably be a first ballot hall of famer and maybe have a ring or two. The team as a whole would have seen more success. Good skill players, no OL. Good OL, next to no consistent skill players outside of Witten. Special teams? Decent kickers and punters but meh units overall.

And never much of a defense. Ever.

With the exception of that one year in 2009 where they were "pretty good" especially at the end of the year (and surprise, that was a year they won one of Romo's two playoff wins, only to be let down by the fast declining OL the next week in Minnesota). They finished 8th that year I think, and they finished 9th overall the years before and after in 2008 and 2010. At the edge of the top ten... sufficient as a compliment to a high powered offense to go deep into the playoffs, but hardly enough to carry a struggling offense though.

And never better than 14th after that. Ever.