Who would want Romo? Certainly there are a variety of teams who do not have a legitimate quarterback in place: Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Oakland, Carolina, or Arizona.  Some of the teams have competent players manning the quarterback position, but Romo has play making ability that many of the others do not.

What would we receive in return? Donovan McNabb was traded for a 2nd round pick as well as a conditional pick which could be as high as a 3rd round pick.  McNabb was 33 when he was traded; Romo just turned 30.  While you could argue that McNabb is the more accomplished quarterback, Romo is younger and has outplayed his counterpart in recent years.  At the very least, the Cowboys should be able to get a 2nd round pick.  If there is a bidding war between the aforementioned teams, the Cowboys could possibly receive a first round pick along with another high conditional pick.

Why trade Romo? Because the Cowboys organization has failed him.  The Cowboys have placed around Romo a power back who runs out of bounds, hasn’t moved a pile since 2008, and no longer dishes out punishment.  The Cowboys speed back has gained upper body muscle mass and has lost the explosiveness necessary to be considered a speed back.  The offensive line is made of mostly older underachieving veterans.  The left tackle has played well for most of the season, but didn’t bother to block an all-pro defensive end (Jared Allen) leaving Romo wholly unprotected from his left side.  A quarterback is a dependent position.  The offensive line must give the QB time to throw, the WR’s must be in the right place at the right time, and the running backs have to gain positive yardage in early downs so the offensive isn’t constantly facing 3rd down and long.

Romo is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise.  It is unfair to his potential that he play along side the overrated and underachieving.  Look at each of his seven interceptions: one was tipped by the defensive line because the tackle missed the block; one was a pass made while an unblocked defensive lineman was bearing down, one was a desperation throw at the end of the game, two were off the hands of the tight end, and one was a pass to the WR which is jarred loose after a hit and the ball lands in the arms of a defender.  There is only one interception that he is fully responsible for, and it was an incredibly well disguised defensive call that was sold to perfection.  When Romo’s arm started to move forward, the defender was entirely obscured by the offensive line.

Romo won’t be traded.  The Cowboys will rebuild their offensive line via the draft and free agency.  Romo will be a good soldier and will carry on without a complaint.  It is ironic, however.  In the 90′s the argument was, “What would Barry Sanders have done if he had Emmitt Smith‘s offensive line?”  We can only imagine how much greater Romo could have been if he had a good offensive line.

Now for the picks (there’s no system, no computer model, no clairvoyance, just good old fashioned guessing):

I like Carolina receiving 6.5 points against the Giants.  Carolina is my pick to win the NFC South.  I love their attitude, I love their personnel, and while I think the Giants will rebound this season, I can easily see Carolina winning in NY.

Loser pick:  There were 9 turnovers in the game, which practically makes it unpredicatable.  This is why you don’t bet on the NFL.

The second game I like are the Jets giving up 2.5 to the Ravens.  It’s not a secret that I do not like the Jets for the 2010 season as a Super Bowl contender.  So this won’t come as a surprise that I have them outright losing to the Ravens.  Take the money line, don’t take the money line.  Put a lock on it, don’t put a lock on it.  Either way.

Winner pick:  The big question is whether the Jets offense will be more productive against a weaker defense. Probably, because they couldn’t be much worse than they were against the Ravens.

This seems too good to be true.  Cincinnati getting 5.5 points against New England.  New England who has a variety of young players filling in due to injury.  A team that notoriously hides injuries has a list of 11 players either probable or questionable.  I like New England over the course of the season to win, but logic says to play Cincy.  That’s why I say avoid the game.  If it’s too good to be true, it is.  Other games that sound too good to be true are Dallas giving up only 3.5 to Washington, and San Diego giving up only 4.5 to the Chiefs.

I’ll keep tabs of my picks throughout the season and if I can be 10% better than a buffalo nickel, I’d be pretty satisfied.

This is a break even week, though I will be happy to mention that I told people not to throw good money after bad picks.  I’m 3-0 in my keep your money in your wallet picks!  Whoo!  Nothing ventured, nothing lost.

While with the Dallas Cowboys, he was highly productive as a wide receiver and as a headliner. The problem with that is he was too willing to speak when “no comment” would suffice. Recently Owens has blamed the media and ESPN for his difficulties in finding a new team. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Cowboys fans. Dislike Roy Williams with all your heart, but he accepts personal responsibility for his difficulties on the field. Owens is either oblivious to his short comings or he simply refuses to acknowledge that he is a veteran wide receiver who has lost a step. I believe he is oblivious. He cannot connect the erosion of his physical skills to a lack of production. In 2009 with Buffalo, he had 55 receptions for 829 yards. The statistics on their own are not overly impressive; however, in the context of the dearth of talent at quarterback, it is nearly astonishing.

How many Buffalo games were worth watching in 2009? The Bills won six games, but they wins were against bottom feeder teams like Carolina and Tampa Bay (with two wins against solid divisional opponents and one against the Colts while they were resting their players). The games I did watch, Owens was a non-factor. I’d like to definitively say that Owens isn’t signed because his receptions in 2009 could have been made by any wide receiver on the Bills team, but the fact of the matter is I do not know because I did not care to watch.

Those who do care enough to watch are NFL personnel guys. These talent evaluators have every decision analyzed by the media and the public. Their livelihood is at stake every year. If they are fired, they may find a new home, but most professional people will tell you that relocating your family and saying goodbye to friends, schools, churches, and even grocery stores is a situation they wish to involve themselves. They don’t listen to ESPN or TMZ. They don’t listen to gossip or rumors. They look at film. If Owens appears to be competent on film, they continue their due diligence and contact the former teams.

As previously indicated, I’m ignorant about 2009, but I am fully aware of what I saw in 2008. Owens was a wide receiver who was no longer able to separate from mid-level corners, he no longer commanded double teams, he had difficulty getting off press-coverage, he had difficulty focusing on catching the ball which translated into drops, he demanded the ball despite not having the commensurate production, and he simply did not know how to say no comment.

I agreed with Owens that the wide receivers were not being utilized in the Cowboys 2008 offense. Reports suggest that Roy Williams ran the same 15 yard comeback every play, Crayton had limited plays of consequence, and the balls being forced to Owens generally sailed over his head as he was well covered. According to Bill Parcells, you do not want your best offensive threat to be a tight end as it allows for the defense to congest running lanes while still allowing a defense to focus on tight end coverage. It’s not that Owens was wrong, but he certainly did not accept that the difficulties were not with play calling, but rather his own doing.

Will Owens find a home in 2010. Certainly. Some team will make a desperate effort to fill a team with names in an effort to fill seats with fans. Owens may be more productive in 2010 than he was in 2009, but it does not mean that Sam Hurd (or any other mid-level WR in the league) in that same role would not have been equally productive.