http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...win-super-bowl-until-qb-quits-jekyll-hyde-act
Tony Romo: Dallas Cowboys Won't Win Super Bowl Until QB Quits Jekyll-Hyde Act
By Josh Martin
on October 3, 2011
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
There's an old saying in football that perfectly describes why the
Dallas Cowboys won't be a playoff team, much less a Super Bowl contender, until either
Tony Romo gets his act together or the organization finds a new quarterback:
If you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one.
Which works perfectly for Romo, since he essentially plays like two dueling quarterbacks inhabiting the same body. At times, he looks every bit the part of an elite signal-caller, like a Joe Montana or a John Elway or a
Brett Favre (the good version).
He'll put up big numbers, the sort that leave fantasy football owners drooling, and lead the Cowboys through difficult situations, pulling out victories with as much cunning as Peter Rabbit has when yanking carrots from Mr. McGregor's garden. Tough, resilient, dazzling and inspiring—we'll call this one "Romo."
Then there are those other times, those times when he just can't seem to do anything right. From
botched snaps on field goals to crippling fumbles and interceptions with the game on the line, it's as if he has a special talent—a knack, if you will—for snatching defeat from the clenched jaws of victory.
Part Rick Mirer, part Ryan Leaf, with a detectable dash of Brett Favre (the bad version). Clumsy, cowardly and clueless—we'll call this one "Tony."
It's as if the guy has an identity crisis not just week-to-week or game-to-game, but also half-to-half, even play-to-play on some occasions.
Look no further than Sunday's 34-30 loss to Detroit for a clear illustration.
For the first 33 minutes or so, Romo could do no wrong. Romo completed 23-of-27 for 234 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Cowboys out to a commanding 27-3 lead against the seemingly indomitable
Lions.
The fans in Dallas were cheering, they were chanting. Heck, they probably thought they were witnessing the genesis of a Super Bowl champion.
Then, like clockwork, Romo retreated to the locker room and, in a twist that would make even David Lynch blush, Tony emerged. Tony (or Anthony, if you're not into the whole "brevity" thing) hit on just 11-of-20 for 97 yards and three picks, two of which were returned for touchdowns on back-to-back drives.
With those, the lead was whittled down to 10, though a field goal on the ensuing drive stretched the advantage back to 13 at 30-17.
Feeling sheepish about, you know, moving the ball and picking up touchdowns and what not—you know, the sorts of things quarterbacks usually like to do in the fourth quarter, the sorts of things Romo would do in the fourth quarter—Tony went 1-for-3 for one yard on two straight three-and-outs before getting picked off by Stephen Tulloch with less than five minutes left in the game.
In the meantime, Romo seemed to have switched jerseys and changed his names, preferring No. 9 in the Lions' silver and blue with "Stafford" stitched on the back. Stafford turned that turnover into the last seven points of the game to give the Lions their first lead of the afternoon.
Tony came back but couldn't quite get the Cowboys going again, succumbing to his first and only sack of the game before Dallas' day ended with a whimper.
Or, more accurately, an incomplete pass and a catch by Felix Jones that fell far short of the marker on fourth down.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
In all, it was vintage Romo followed swiftly by vintage Tony. Ecstasy and agony, all wrapped up into one neat, little package that left legions of Cowboys fans across the country wondering where, when and why it all went wrong.
This wasn't the first time Tony and Romo showed up in the same game. This wasn't even the first time the two had tangoed intermittently this season.
In all, it was vintage Romo followed swiftly by vintage Tony. Ecstasy and agony, all wrapped up into one neat, little package that left legions of Cowboys fans across the country wondering where, when and why it all went wrong.
This wasn't the first time Tony and Romo showed up in the same game. This wasn't even the first time the two had tangoed intermittently this season.
Romo had the Cowboys rolling at MetLife Stadium against the
New York Jets in Week 1 before Tony fumbled, mishandled and threw away a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
And, if history is at all reliable, it won't be the last time Jason Garrett has a psychological quarterback controversy on his hands. If it isn't, the Cowboys may be doomed once again to fall woefully short of hoisting that Vince Lombardi Trophy that Jerry Jones has thirsted for ever since the glory days of the 1990s.
No team can afford to give up such big leads with the regularity with which Tony and the Cowboys have this season and even dream of making the playoffs.
My advice to the Cowboys? Seek out Ron Artest's psychiatrist. She seems to know how to meld two minds into one, at least enough to suit a champion.