The Cowboys should draft Andrew Luck as Tony Romo’s replacement
I know it sounds absurd to some of you. And it might even sound like an over-reaction to Tony Romo’s poor play in the 4th quarter of Sunday night’s loss to the Jets. But I truly believe it is a valid topic worth exploring. Do you really want to relive all those harsh years post Troy Aikman’s retirement? This is about more than just one bad game. This is about securing the future of our beloved franchise, The Dallas Cowboys.
Tony Romo fans mainly fall into two categories. The majority of fans believe that Romo is our future. The minority want his head on a platter for making dumb mistakes (especially today). But they all agree he’s the best quarterback we’ve had since Aikman left. And maybe, that’s part of the problem. We were SO deprived for SO long, that we just don’t know any better.
Romo appears to have all the tools to win a Superbowl. Most fans anointed him as our team’s savior the moment he replaced Drew Bledsoe as the starter. That was five long seasons ago. And we have just one, single playoff win to show for it. (sobbing in the background)
Learn the reasons why Andrew Luck should be a Cowboy in 2012, after the break:
A look at Romo’s numbers don’t disappoint. His career stats include 16,992 passing yards, 120 touchdowns with 63 interceptions. His current career quarterback rating is 95.6. And we all know he is capable of making some amazing plays.
But Tony is not a young quarterback. Most fans forget he sat on the bench for his first three years.
Romo, now 31, has recently restructured his contract with the Dallas Cowboys that extends until 2016. Those new terms are voided if he remains on the team past 2013. It’s a weird set up, I know. But that’s restructuring contracts in the NFL for you.
By 2013, when he’s contract ends, he’ll 33. If he still hasn’t won a Superbowl by then, is it still absurd to think he will not be replaced? Or do we wait until he’s turned 35 to start looking for another franchise quarterback? Maybe when he’s 38? No, fans. The time is next year’s draft.
Most experts agree Andrew Luck is the next great franchise quarterback. These are the same experts who said this about Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, and Sam Bradford. He might even be more prepared to play coming out of college then these guys were.
Luck appears to be the real deal. And his services will be greatly sought after in next year’s draft. The Cowboys should be in that hunt.
Luck has all the intangibles. He’s 6’4, 235 lbs. He was the Valedictorian of his high school class and could have gone to a number of universities on an academic scholarship alone. Along with intelligence, Luck has a rocket arm, great accuracy, superb footwork and an NFL bloodline. He’s everything you could ever want in a franchise quarterback. And he’s the closest thing to a sure bet we’ve seen in a while.
Last year, he recorded 3,338 yards passing, 32 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. Luck was a finalist or runner-up for every award possible for a college quarterback last year, including the Heisman Trophy. He was also the projected number one pick in this year’s NFL Draft until he decided to return to Stanford for his redshirt junior season.
Luck would be a perfect fit for the Cowboys (or any other team for that matter). He could sit under Romo for a year or two, learn the system inside and out, then become our Peyton Manning for the next 15 years. It’s a perfect plan. Although Luck may come at a high price, just look at what Manning did for the Colts. The kicker is Luck played his high school ball in Houston…so, he’s already a Texas native.
And let’s not be so quick to forget our about our long search for a franchise quarterback after Aikman’s retirement. Don’t you remember his list of replacements: Randall Cunningham, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson, Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson, and Drew Bledsoe.
Do you really want to go on that long, tiresome, exhausting seven year journey again? Or would you rather have our future in place now? And if you think our future is Stephen McGee, you might want to start following another sport like hockey or golf. Nothing against McGee, but he’s not Andrew Luck.
Luck appears to be a “once in a generation” type player. Owner and GM Jerry Jones should do everything he can to obtain his services. I’d even agree to name the new stadium after him. More than that, could we rename the city of Dallas to Luck, TX? It has a nice ring to it.
Speaking of rings, Romo doesn’t have one. And the truth is: if he can’t provide one soon, he’s out anyway. I want to be on record saying I like Romo. I think he’s a great person and a good role model. He honors the history of that position. But it’s time to start considering our future without him.
Let’s hope Jerry Jones has learned his lesson about sacrificing the future in an effort to cling to the successes of the past. He did it with The Triplets and it cost us dearly. Let’s hope Jones doesn’t do the same thing with Romo. Honestly, Romo’s successes so far aren’t even worth clinging too.
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