Relax, Cowboys Fans: There Is No Wrong Answer at QB

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Fans of the Dallas Cowboys should take some advice from the quarterback they most recently bested:

 

Relax.

 

For weeks, media and fans across the country have been embroiled in such a heated debate that if you took the names out of articles and comments, you wouldn’t know if they were yelling about Trump v. Clinton or Romo v. Prescott. Each side is adamant that they know best, that their candidate is the only way to make America or Dallas great again (or to continued greatness, depending on who you are yelling for). Let’s just focus on the Cowboys’ part of that comparison and think about this alleged quarterback controversy.

 

The bye week has done nothing to dampen the cries and demands of one side of this argument or the other. If anything, it has only amplified it, in absence of anything real to discuss. It’s all anyone seems to talk about – and with urgency and passion enough to suggest that making the wrong choice ensures the doom of the season, if not the very franchise.

 

Relax.

 

Take a breath and think about what happens if Dak takes over from here on out and Tony is quietly shepherded to the bench and, in another year or two, the door. Think about what happens if Tony starts against the Browns and then plays until the end of the team’s season or his. Either way, Cowboys fans, the team is going to be okay. I know that isn’t a popular position and it isn’t click-bait-worthy. It certainly wouldn’t get me a show on FS1 with Shannon Sharpe. But, it’s the reality of the situation.

 

Relax.

 

If management decides that this is now Dak’s team, fine. We’ll live. The team will be fine. How great is it that we don’t have to suffer through any Quincy Carters, Drew Hensons, Anthony Wrights, Ryan Leafs, Clint Stoerners, or Chad Hutchinsons to find our next quarterback? He’s here, from all appearances. Awesome. He surely will have some growing pains, at some point. With every game, there is more film on him and defenses will adjust to his style. That’s okay. With the offensive line positioned as it is for the next several years, a young Elliott, Dez, and several other weapons, Dak should be able to progress and grow into a perennial top-10 quarterback. Some of his more fervent admirers may argue he’s already there. Okay. I’d listen to that.

 

Relax.

 

If management decides that Romo takes over when he’s healthy, fine. We’ll live. The last time we saw him for a full season, he was in contention for league MVP. The last two full seasons we’ve seen him, he’s thrown for 65 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He’s not bad. In fact, with his experience reading defenses and mastery of the complete offensive playbook, assuming his skills are anywhere near what they were the last time we saw him, he’s pretty darn good.

 

Relax.

 

Think back to last season. Brandon Weeden. Matt Cassel. Kellen Moore. The talk of all off-season was finding a backup. Remember pleading for the team to sign Nick Foles? The success of the team was dependent on having more than one decent quarterback. Check. Done. We have two. The backup has proven he can win. Awesome! Romo has had the luxury of getting completely right and not having to rush back. Great!

 

Relax.

 

Romo is not going anywhere. He’s not being cut and he’s not being traded. Calling for it or even thinking about it is a waste of your precious time and emotions. Years of restructuring his contract for cap relief have come to call. No one is trading for his salary and the same salary makes it prohibitive for the team to cut him. However, take another of those deep breaths and think about the ramifications if either of those things were possible. Why did we go 4-12 last season? Because we didn’t have a quarterback who could step up when the starter went down. If fact, since Romo took over in 2008, the Cowboys are 7-20 without their starter. If the team cut or traded Romo and Dak went down, what then? Sanchez? The last two full seasons we saw Sanchez (way back in 2011-12), he threw 39 TDs and 36 INTs. I’d take 65 and 19.

 

Relax.

 

Regardless of who starts after Romo is game-ready, this team will be fine. There are pros to both and few cons to either. We are blessed to have this supposed problem. Don’t be in a rush to re-create the problems of a QB shortage by prematurely pushing Romo out the door.

 

Relax.

 

When the Cleveland game rolls around, you either have a seasoned, knowledgeable master of the playbook who can break down defenses faster and more completely and who does not throw near the number of interceptions that his critics would have you believe – and a backup who has shown the promise of being his successor and who has 10, 12, 15 years left in this league…or you have the likely future of the franchise continuing to progress and grow with his young teammates – and a backup who is a seasoned, knowledgeable master of the playbook who can break down defenses faster and more completely and who does not throw near the number of interceptions that his critics would have you believe.

 

Relax, Cowboys fans. We may have problems, but who starts at quarterback is not one of them.