We don’t agree with much that Joe Theismann has to say, primarily since after involuntarily listening to him for years and years (and years), we’ve grown numb to pretty much anything he says. But Theismann has caught our attention with a candid take down of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
“Soon or later we have to come to the realization that Tony isn’t a very good quarterback,” Theismann said Tuesday, via the Dallas Morning News. “He throws interceptions that [make] you shake your head. If it’s all the wide receivers’ fault then maybe he should get some new wide receivers, or they need to come up with some new route combinations that guys can understand. . . .
“What hit me last night is, Tony isn’t really that good,” Theismann added. “Just because he wears a star on his helmet -- we all think that people who are Dallas Cowboys, ‘Oh they’re wonderful and ooh they’re terrific, ooh they’re the next Roger Staubach’ or whatever the heck they want to say. They’re full of bologna.”
Theismann is right. Folks spent plenty of time on Tuesday making excuses for Romo. But the quarterback has to find a way, and great quarterbacks do.
If the receiver can’t catch or run the right route, don’t throw it to him. And tell the coaches to get him off the field.
If the lineman can’t block, deal with it -- like Ben Roethlisberger has done for the last however many years that the Steelers haven’t have a good offensive line. Move out of the pocket. Throw on the run.
Find a way.
Great quarterbacks find a way. Apart from Archie Manning, who literally had nothing around him in New Orleans, every great quarterback over the years has found a way to be great, regardless of the flaws on offense.
We thought that Romo and the Cowboys had turned the corner by beating the Giants on opening night of the season. But it appears that Big D may have had too much of a Daytona 500-style approach to the season, putting too much focus on beating the Giants and not enough on the next 15 games that follow.
Regardless of the reason, the Cowboys have looked in the last three games nothing like how they looked in the opener. Unless and until owner Jerry Jones decides to surrender G.M. duties, Romo has to make do with what he has.
And if he can’t find a way, it’s on him.