DMN: The five best Dallas Cowboys QBs of all time, ranked: Where do Staubach, Aikman

[NoDak]

Different system. Give Romo that same system and you won't see the numbers that you see now. Aikman was by far the better QB of the two. He just didn't have to throw because we had a superior defense and running game.

Agreed. While Romo is very good, I'd give Aikman the nod when it comes to arm strength, accuracy, and timing. Romo is superior in mobility and improvisation.

If Aikman had been in a passing offense, he'd have lit it up.

 

[Texas Ace]

Well maybe if Romo had brought up to Jerry he needed a real HC instead of backing the fraud he'd have a ring or at least better playoff record

This is something I have always thought about.

Jerry is a stubborn bastard and it seems like the more he's challenged by the media on this issue, the more defiant he gets.

But what if the players he so preciously loves went to him and requested this? What if Romo and Witten went in to his office together and pleaded with him to hire a real HC and explained to him why it was important that the locker room understood that the coach call the shots?

I find it hard to believe that Jerry wouldn't at least give it some real thought. It's probably the most disappointing thing for me as a fan that none of these players have ever talked to him about it. Whether it's loyalty to Jerry or maybe they actually think that nothing is wrong with the Cowboys structure, it really upsets me that the players have done nothing with the power they have.

The fact that they have been so reserved about these things is a big reason why Jerry has continued on the way he has, and why we are going on 20 years plus of not having won shit.

 

[Texas Ace]

Agreed. While Romo is very good, I'd give Aikman the nod when it comes to arm strength, accuracy, and timing. Romo is superior in mobility and improvisation.

If Aikman had been in a passing offense, he'd have lit it up.

No doubt.

Aikman was the single most accurate passer I ever saw. There is no doubt in my mind that if he played today, he'd have crazy numbers.

 

[Rev]

Ummmmmmh, Not the way I see it. Aikman was very limited in mobility and cannot be considered as versatile as Romo. Romo is better at finding secondary receiver reads.

Aikman didn't need to be mobile and didn't need to find secondary receivers. Why? Arm strength and pinpoint accuracy. I will take that any day of the week over taking a chance of broken bones, boneheaded ints, and fumbles by trying to extend the play.

 

[L.T. Fan]

No doubt.

Aikman was the single most accurate passer I ever saw. There is no doubt in my mind that if he played today, he'd have crazy numbers.

Aikman's completion percentage is well below Romo s. There may be other factors for judging accuracy but percentage of completions is certainly on Romo s side by a pretty large amount. Aikman stayed in the low to mid 50's with a few exceptions. Romo was in the 60's for the most part.

 

[Genghis Khan]

This is something I have always thought about.

Jerry is a stubborn bastard and it seems like the more he's challenged by the media on this issue, the more defiant he gets.

But what if the players he so preciously loves went to him and requested this? What if Romo and Witten went in to his office together and pleaded with him to hire a real HC and explained to him why it was important that the locker room understood that the coach call the shots?

I find it hard to believe that Jerry wouldn't at least give it some real thought. It's probably the most disappointing thing for me as a fan that none of these players have ever talked to him about it. Whether it's loyalty to Jerry or maybe they actually think that nothing is wrong with the Cowboys structure, it really upsets me that the players have done nothing with the power they have.

The fact that they have been so reserved about these things is a big reason why Jerry has continued on the way he has, and why we are going on 20 years plus of not having won shit.

As I said above, my memory is that Aikman made it known behind the scenes that he didn't like Switzer and it didn't make a difference until the team bottomed out. I don't think Romo is the type to complain, but I highly doubt it would have mattered one bit to Jerry even if he had campaigned against Wade / Garrett.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Aikman's completion percentage is well below Romo s. There may be other factors for judging accuracy but percentage of completions is certainly on Romo s side by a pretty large amount. Aikman stayed in the low to mid 50's with a few exceptions. Romo was in the 60's for the most part.

The only comparisons you can reliably make in that regard is to his contemporaries. And even then it's dubious when comparing to west coast QBs like Young and Montana.

 

[Jiggyfly]

"No, Danny, no!"

Yeah he made mistakes as all QB's do but Romo has multiple instances of coming up small in the biggest games.

 

[Texas Ace]

Aikman's completion percentage is well below Romo s. There may be other factors for judging accuracy but percentage of completions is certainly on Romo s side by a pretty large amount. Aikman stayed in the low to mid 50's with a few exceptions. Romo was in the 60's for the most part.

It was more than a "few exceptions".

For 6 straight years, between 1991-1996, Troy Aikman never did worse than 63.7 for a completion percentage. His highest was a whopping 69.1 percent. Rarely did Aikman throw short.

As I'm sure you recall, this was during the Norv Turner/Ernie Zampese days when the vast majority of this throws were within the 12-20 yard range and required real arm strength. That deep out was a staple of that passing game and he was money with it.

For his career, Aikman finished with a 61.8 completion percentage. Romo's is 65.3 Aikman's average yards per pass is 7.0, Romo's is 7.9

I don't see how you get "well below" from that.

 

[L.T. Fan]

The only comparisons you can reliably make in that regard is to his contemporaries. And even then it's dubious when comparing to west coast QBs like Young and Montana.

What does other contemporaries have to do with comparing Romo with Aikman's completion percentage. Even if they were seperate systems that shouldn't make Aikman to be less effective. To me regardless of the system who was it that found the receiver and had the highest effectiveness.

 

[Cotton]

What does other contemporaries have to do with comparing Romo with Aikman's completion percentage. Even if they were seperate systems that shouldn't make Aikman to be less effective. To me regardless of the system who was it that found the receiver and had the highest effectiveness.

One reason is, WRs now are way more protected by the rules than they were back then.

 

[Texas Ace]

As I said above, my memory is that Aikman made it known behind the scenes that he didn't like Switzer and it didn't make a difference until the team bottomed out. I don't think Romo is the type to complain, but I highly doubt it would have mattered one bit to Jerry even if he had campaigned against Wade / Garrett.

I won't argue any of that, but I will say that I think being disgruntled about something and going to Jerry with an intelligent argument as to why you feel you need a real HC are two different things.

Maybe it wouldn't matter one bit, but I do think Romo and Witten making a case for why they need a real HC and how the clock is ticking would cause Jerry to at least entertain the idea.

I guess it doesn't really matter since it hasn't and will never happen.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

One reason is, WRs now are way more protected by the rules than they were back then.

Yeah back then grabbing and holding were pretty standard. Now if you tap a wr you are penalized. Well unless you're the Seahawks.

 

[Genghis Khan]

What does other contemporaries have to do with comparing Romo with Aikman's completion percentage. Even if they were seperate systems that shouldn't make Aikman to be less effective. To me regardless of the system who was it that found the receiver and had the highest effectiveness.

Obviously the game changes over time. Aikman's completion percentage might look ordinary in 2016, but stands out in 1992 because of how different the league has become.

Go all the way back to the 60s and 70s and a 65 % completion QB is practically an alien.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Here's another way to look at it.

Aikman had 6 straight years of at least 120 or greater completion %+.

What that means is that for those years Aikman was over 20% better than his average contemporaries at completion percentage. That's significant. He even led the league in 1993.

By comparison, Romo has accomplished that same 20% or greater threshold 4 times, and led the league once (2014). Still pretty good and obviously his career isn't over yet.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Would it surprise anyone that Aikman himself said Romo was better than he was.

 

[NoDak]

Aikman's completion percentage is well below Romo s. There may be other factors for judging accuracy but percentage of completions is certainly on Romo s side by a pretty large amount. Aikman stayed in the low to mid 50's with a few exceptions. Romo was in the 60's for the most part.

You might want to recheck that. He had one season below 56+%, and that was his rookie year.

Aikman's career completion percentage is 61.5% How did he do that if he "stayed in the low to mid 50's with a few exceptions"?

In fact, his two lowest seasons for comp. % were his first two. When he had absolutely no line was was nearly beaten to death. Once the team came together in his 3rd year, his percentage jumped into the mid to high 60's, with one season barely missing 70% by less than a percentage point. The last few years when he was fighting a bad back and concussions, he still never dropped below 56.4 percent. Also, his last few seasons, he was still 59+%

Romo's career comp % is 65.3 to 61.5 for Aikman. And I'd be willing to bet there is nobody in the NFL that would claim Romo is more accurate a passer than Aikman was. Different offenses and different throws. Look no further than somebody like Johnny Unitas. His career comp % is 54.6 yet somehow he's regarded as one of the best passers in NFL history. Go figure...

 

[Rev]

Would it surprise anyone that Aikman himself said Romo was better than he was.

Did you expect him to say any different?

Doesn't change anything.

 

[dallen]

Would it surprise anyone that Aikman himself said Romo was better than he was.

No, because he is a classy guy. What else is he supposed to say publicly? He's got 3 rings and is currently at the top of the field in his second chosen profession. I don't think Aikman feels all that threatened by Tony Romo.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Aikman had 6 seasons over 60%. Romo has had 9 over 60%.