CALLING THE SHOTS: Tony Romo is good but not great yet. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
It was a fitting question considering Romo is entering his fourth year as the Cowboys’ No. 1 QB and has yet to win a playoff game.
Romo had a Sunday night to forget, going 13–29 for 127 yards with one TD and three INTs. It was a complete 180 from his Week 1 performance where he went 16–27 for 353 yards with three TDs and no INTs.
His Week 2 performance was a big reason why the much-hyped inaugural regular season game at Dallas’s new billion dollar stadium ended as a 33–31 loss to the New York Giants, much to the disappointment of the record-setting crowd of 105,000-plus people.
“Our team played some really good football and I think that obviously my mistakes put us in a hole,” Romo said in the post-game press conference.
Of course, this is professional football and the Cowboys’ signal-caller has little time to feel sorry for himself, as the team prepares for another prime time game this coming Monday night when it hosts the Carolina Panthers.
Romo was angry at himself for his performance against the Giants and he vowed to learn from his mistakes.
“We can’t win games if I [throw three interceptions],” he said.
“I’m going to work very hard and diligently from here on out, to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Number 9 has put up some good numbers during his time as the main man for “America’s team,” with his best season coming in 2007—he completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 4,211 yards and 36 TDs. But he also threw 19 INTs.
He is 0–2 in the playoffs, and entering Week 13 last season with a record of 8–4, Romo and Dallas proceeded to close out the season going 1–3. That cost them a playoff spot, although Terrell Owens’s disruptive behavior was also to blame for Dallas’s downfall.
In the one win, ironically against the Giants, Romo was not picked off. And in the three losses—to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Philadelphia—he threw a total of six.
Throwing interceptions is the Achilles’ heel of the Eastern Illinois University product. He is a gunslinger, as he has thrown a total of 49 interceptions during his time in Dallas.
But he is not against doing what it takes to correct his flaws.
“Tony’s very good at evaluating himself and what he does during a game both when we have success and when things don’t go well,” said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
“He’s someone who learns and he’ll learn from this night and he’s a heck of a good competitor, and for him to battle back and come through some of the adversity he had and give us a chance, those are the kind of traits you want in your players and particularly your quarterback.”
No one will doubt that Tony Romo is a talented QB with the skills necessary to succeed in the NFL—he has been named to the Pro Bowl twice in the last three seasons, after all—but he needs to show whether he is an “Aikman” or a “White.”
The greats can get it done in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Romo can show his mettle by correcting his mistakes and putting on a good performance when the Cowboys play the Panthers on Monday night.
Cowboys fans were disappointed by the first regular season game at Cowboys Stadium, but a convincing win in the second game will have everyone in good spirits again.
