One of the story lines coming out of Dallas following last Sunday's demoralizing loss to the Steelers was that quarterback Tony Romo chokes in big games. Eh, I'm not buying it. Sure, Romo botched the snap during the '06 wild-card game against the Seahawks, but he wasn't the reason the Cowboys lost to the Giants last year.
Either way, it's hard to argue that Romo didn't play a humongous role in what transpired in Pittsburgh, but if we're going to scrutinize his three interceptions, Terrell Owens stopped his route on the first one, and Jason Witten admitted that he was partly responsible for the last one. (No. 2 was all on Romo, for what it's worth.)
That doesn't absolve Romo of throwing the ball, it just highlights that not every bad pass is on the quarterback.
The Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock, writing for FOXSports.com, makes the case that Romo's choke-tastic label has everything to do with Terrell Owens' divisive presence. Which, given his recent comments, probably won't go over too well with Mr. T.O. I'm guessing Whitlock is fine with that.
I like Romo and have a theory that he's just the latest talented QB to be undermined by a dysfunctional, bipolar relationship with Terrell Owens. It's just a theory. I'm not ready to swear to it.
But T.O. and his sideline histrionics wear on a quarterback. He's like the hot stripper you tried to clean up and convert into a real girlfriend. It's a lot of fun until the moment she has her second drink while out to eat with your parents. You unravel quicker than she does. Romo appears to come unglued in December when the outcomes mean the most. ...
It's probably unfair, but I blame T.O. The environment he creates with all of his ranting and raving is not one conducive to consistent QB play. Can we agree that Joe Montana was the best big-game QB in NFL history? Do you remember Jerry Rice acting like a deranged idiot on the sideline?
You can't turn a T.O. into a housewife.
That's a pretty solid theory, actually. And no, there aren't many (any?) examples of quarterbacks who were able to win the Super Bowl with someone as distracting as Owens catching passes. Plaxico Burress might come the closest, but he never called out Eli Manning, he just didn't show up for meetings. Big difference.
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Whatever the reason for Romo's late-season nosedive, the bottom line is that the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game this decade. And given owner Jerry Jones' fondness for basket cases, I don't see Owens going anywhere anytime soon.
Jason Whitlock Thinks Terrell Owens Has a Lot to Do With Tony Romo's Struggles originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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