Friday, December 16, 2016

To Dak or not to Dak

Everybody loves quarterback controversies, especially when they happen to someone else. And especially -- especially -- when they happen to the Dallas Cowboys, because Jerry Jones owns the Cowboys, and no one can turn nothing into something like Jerry Jones.

This is partly because he's Jerry Jones. And, yes, it's partly because he owns the Cowboys, still one of the NFL's dominant brands despite two decades of playoff silence or the next thing to it.

And so it's positively delicious (at least if you're not a Cowboys fan) to watch from afar as the debate over whether or not veteran Tony Romo should replace rookie Dak Prescott before it's too late heats up. After all, the Cowboys have lost two whole games this year with Prescott at QB. How could possibly the rook after that sort of underwhelming performance?

I am, of course, being facetious -- and not a little sarcastic, which is even more fun. To be honest, watching from afar, this does not seem like much of a debate to me. Unless the kid completely blows up in the next two weeks, you stick with him.

Yes, he's had two spotty performances in a row. And, yes, if you count the 17-15 win over Minnesota the week before, the Pokes have scored only 24 points in their last two games.

On the other hand, he was going up against what are right now two of the best defenses in the NFL. And he won 11 games in a row as the quarterback of the Cowboys between the two losses to the Giants -- a performance that has him in the running for league MVP. Do you really yank him now for a 36-year-old who's had two back surgeries and a broken collarbone in the last three years?

That is, after all, what you're getting with Romo. You're getting a busted-up guy with some mileage on him who hasn't played in a regular-season football game in a year. You're getting a fragile piece of work who, if he gets hit right again, is going to be lost to you anyway.

Here's the thing: The people arguing for Romo aren't talking about the 2016 Romo. They're talking about the 2012-13 Romo. Sure, that Romo could win you a Super Bowl with the team the Cowboys have put together. But this Romo?

This Romo's not that Romo. This Romo's got a lot of Bondo holding him together at the moment. This Romo's got a bad back and a ton of miles on him. And, again, he hasn't played in a year.

Unless Prescott completely goes to pieces, you're gonna bench him for that?

But what about last week, you say? What about the 17-of-37, 165-yard, two-interception day Prescott had against the Giants?

Well, a couple of weeks ago, another quarterback in the league had a day like that, only worse. He threw three interceptions in a loss to the Lions. Last week he threw three more in a loss to the Buccaneers. His team scored 24 points in those two games, same as Prescott his last two games.

Yet the last I heard, no one was talking about benching Drew Brees. Maybe that's because he's also thrown for 30 touchdowns and 4,170 yards so far this year.

Now, granted, Dak Prescott is not Drew Brees. But he's not 2016 Romo, either.

And so, for now, anyway, the Blob says you dance who brung ya. And Dak brung ya.

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