Cowboys have no options outside of Tony Romo

Jan 02, 2013 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Three days have gone by since the Dallas Cowboys' devastating loss to the Washington Redskins in the season finale, making it three consecutive years out of the playoffs and 17 years since their last Super Bowl title.

The feeding frenzy for quarterback Tony Romo has yet to subside.

The mob on Twitter has gone vitriolic. They want Romo gone. Now.

It's not unexpected, considering not only Romo's inability to come up big in big games but his penchant for tragic failure.

It's one thing to lose for the sixth time in seven win-or-go-home games to end the regular season or the playoffs.

It's another to do it while being intercepted three times.

For the record, Romo is not going anywhere.

He has one more year left on his contract and the Cowboys will work to sign him to an extension before next season to give them cap flexibility to sign other players.

The Cowboys need to take some pressure off Romo by improving the offensive line and the abysmal running game, which was the worst in team history. They also need to find a way to keep linebacker Anthony Spencer, who replaced DeMarcus Ware as the team's best defender.

The other fact that is being overlooked by the get-rid-of-Romo movement is that the Cowboys also have no legitimate options to replace him.

While it is definitely time to look at a quarterback of the future in the upcoming NFL Draft, there is no Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck in this year's class.

And certainly no one wants to go back to the days of Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Clint Stoerner, Drew Henson, Chad Hutchinson, Ryan Leaf, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe.

But it certainly was telling immediately after the game Sunday when coach Jason Garrett was asked about Romo's turnover-prone ways and the first thing out of his mouth was "It's hard to explain." If Romo mystifies Garrett, how do you think Cowboys fans feel That's the reason why the get-rid-of-Romo mob gained an interesting member this week in former Cowboys scouting director Gil Brandt, who now writes for www.nfl.com.

It's Brandt's opinion that the Cowboys should trade Romo now.

He wrote a column explaining his reasoning but his take was worth a phone call for further explanation Tuesday.

"I don't know if he can ever win big here," Brandt said. "It's not a dislike for him or question of his ability. He is a good athlete. He has ability. He can spin the ball. He is smart. But it's always something. He just doesn't win." Brandt doesn't think Romo has "it." He thinks the hate-filled environment among Cowboys fans is no longer conducive for him to be successful here.

"When you have everybody in the city against you, I don't know if you can change that culture," Brandt said.

The easy answer is you change the culture by winning.

Of course if you can't win then that's another story. And Brandt doesn't believe Romo can win big.

His take is interesting considering he was a part of the Cowboys when a similar culture festered around Danny White, the man Romo is most compared to because of how he also put up big numbers, but ultimately failed to win big.

White also had the audacity to replace a legend in Roger Staubach and the nerve to take the Cowboys to three consecutive NFC title games in his first three years as the starter.

That he lost all three planted the seed that he would never win big.

When the Cowboys lost in the wild-card game in his fourth season, the furor over White was too much to ignore.

Coach Tom Landry infamously made the move of naming Gary Hogeboom the starting quarterback the next season.

The similarities are not lost on Brandt.

He said the undercurrent of disdain for White played a huge role in Landry making the change.

That was 1984 and White was 32.

Romo is 32 now.

Brandt has no answers for who the Cowboys trade him to and for what and who the Cowboys replace him with.

He just thinks it's time to move on from Romo -- like so many others have said loudly, clearly and oh so profanely since Sunday.

Clarence E. Hill, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @clarencehilljr ___ (c)2013 the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at www.star-telegram.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]