by JM Van Horn

Created on: March 21, 2009

At the end of the 2007 regular season, things were looking up for Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. The team finished with a 13 3 record and had earned a trip to the playoffs and were poised to make a run at a Super Bowl appearance. The hopes of Cowboys fans were soon dashed when the eventual Super Bowl champions, New York Giants knocked them out of the playoffs. Then the whispers started from the fans and the media, saying that Romo was a quarterback, who not win the big game.

The early success of the 2008 season quickly turned to failure for Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. After a 4 2 start, Romo missed 3 games with a broken pinkie finger and the Terrell Owens saga distractions began. Romo and the Cowboys found themselves on the outside looking in when the playoffs started. The question for America's team, is Tony Romo the quarterback who will lead them to the Promised Land or a stop gap until they find a true franchise quarterback?

In 2007 Tony Romo did not disappoint his fans during his first full season as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys. He led the Cowboys to the top record in the NFC while completing 64.4% of his passes for 4,211 yards with 36 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. During the 3 losses, Romo only threw 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. When it came to their conference games, Romo came away with a 4 2 record. In those 6 games, he completed 60.2% of his passes for 1,509 yards with 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

During the 2008 season, Romo completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,448 yards with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while helping the Cowboys compile a 8 5 record when he was in the game. Remember those 3 games Romo missed with the hand injury? Based on his production rate, if he had played in all 16 games he would have ended up with roughly 4,240 yards, 32 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

When it came to the conference schedule, Romo led the Cowboys to a 3 2 record in the NFC East while completing 63% of his passes for 1,239 yards, along with 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Though his touchdown passes were down, overall Romo appears to have improved against conference rivals.

The one area where most Romo detractors focus on involves the playoffs. During his short career, Romo has participated in 2 playoff games and he owns a 0 2 record. In those games he has completed 55% of his passes for 390 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Aside from the lower completion percent, the biggest problem Romo had in the playoffs was the inability of the offense to the passes completed to the wide receivers. In both games, the leading receiver was the tight end, Jason Witten. This is not just the problem of the quarterback but the offensive coordinator as well.

Will we see Tony Romo continue to grow as a quarterback in 2009? The biggest area of concern has to do with the departure of Terrell Owens. Despite his ability to cause problems off the field, he still proved to be an asset during the game. With Owens in Buffalo, wide receiver Roy Williams will need to step up his game to make sure Romo has another viable outlet, aside from tight end Witten. Romo has shown improvement in the league since taking over the starting role but will need help from the Cowboys coaching staff to help take his game to the next level.

Learn more about this author, JM Van Horn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.