Was Troy Aikman Really Elite?

cowgirlcas — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:16:43 +0000

It seems one of the hottest topics in the sports world lately has been Troy Aikmans’ comments in regards to Tony Romo being a better quarterback. Every major news outlet and football analyst in the nation had some kind of a rebuttal. Most immediately came back with remarks about Troy being better late in games or in the clutch. That Troy is better because he won three Super Bowls.

Jan 28, 1996; Tempe,AZ, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman (8) prepares to hand-off to running back Emmitt Smith (22) against the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XXX at the Sun Devil Stadium. Dallas defeated Pittsburgh 27-17. Mandatory Credit:Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

There is one factor that really stuck out to me. The one not one of these people cared to mention.

Did Aikman really win those rings for the Cowboys? Or was it Emmitt? Troy Aikman had 88 more starts than Tony Romo currently has,,, but only has 17 more TD passes than Tony does.(only 17 in 88 more starts? WOW!) I guess Emmitt’s 30 carries a game and 164 rushing TD’s has something to do with that. Troy was nothing more than a bus driver, Emmitt did most of the work!

I am sure that I just hit a nerve with some Aikman fans. Well, I’m sorry for that, but welcome to my world. Tony Romo is the quarterback now. He also happens to be my favorite Cowboy! Day after day I see not only the media, but what are “supposed” to be fans, blaming him for all the shortcomings of the Dallas Cowboys. No matter what goes on in Dallas, it’s always his fault. Even his own owner is taking shots at him. Was Troy Aikman really better than Romo late in games and in the clutch? I like most people don’t come with mere opinions, or the super bowl ring argument, I come with facts! Everyone’s argument in favor Aikman or any other quarterback for that matter is, stats don’t matter. Well,,, if you are going to come at me with the he was better late in games and in the clutch they do. At least in those situations right? Putting aside things like yards, TD’s etc, the one thing that “DOES” matter is the quarterbacks “efficiency” in those situations right? Come on let’s be fair about this now! Under those situations (if you are going to use that argument) they do matter. In all fairness, I will use Aikman’s’94 season because that’s about the same point Romo is in his career right now. This is “with Emmitt”. (Trust me you don’t want to see the overall average.) All stats compliments of NFL.com.

Half	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
1st Half	260	169	65.0	2,038	7.8	94	14	11	98	37.7	22	7	89.2

2nd Half	179	113	63.1	1,325	7.4	53	3	5	65	36.3	15	11	79.5

Point Situation	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
Ahead	177	124	70.1	1,457	8.2	94	7	6	70	39.5	16	5	93.8

Behind	153	91	59.5	1,123	7.3	46	4	7	51	33.3	12	11	71.9

Tied	114	71	62.3	813	7.1	90	6	3	43	37.7	10	3	90.3

Home/Away	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
Home Games	182	116	63.7	1,351	7.4	53	8	4	71	39.0	12	9	91.6

Road Games	179	117	65.4	1,325	7.4	90	5	8	62	34.6	15	5	78.1

Ok , now lets take a look at Tony Romo in the exact same situations.

Half	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
1st Half	255	174	68.2	1,994	7.8	58	17	4	101	39.6	27	18	107.2

2nd Half	263	169	64.3	2,073	7.9	74	14	6	99	37.6	27	18	96.7

Last Two Minutes of Half	75	49	65.3	548	7.3	53	3	1	30	40.0	7	4	94.7

Home/Away	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
Home Games	231	155	67.1	1,848	8.0	74	16	6	89	38.5	27	8	103.6

Road Games	291	191	65.6	2,336	8.0	77	15	4	114	39.2	29	28	101.7

Point Situation	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Int	1st	1st%	20+	Sck	Rate
Ahead	177	118	66.7	1,332	7.5	64	11	3	73	41.2	14	13	102.6

Ahead by 1-8 Points	99	65	65.7	789	8.0	64	7	1	42	42.4	10	10	109.4

Ahead by 9-16 Points	52	33	63.5	348	6.7	58	2	0	18	34.6	2	2	95.7

Behind	217	144	66.4	1,688	7.8	74	11	2	79	36.4	22	19	102.9

Behind by 1-8 Points	131	87	66.4	1,014	7.7	74	5	0	44	33.6	15	12	102.4

Behind by 9-16 Points	37	26	70.3	339	9.2	53	4	2	18	48.6	5	4	112.3

Tied	128	84	65.6	1,164	9.1	77	9	5	51	39.8	20	4	101.8

”Gosh, like I said, I didn’t want to burst anyone’s bubble but the numbers don’t lie!”

Read the rest of my story, on the next page…..

The Landry Hat » CowgirlCas

Was Troy Aikman Really Elite?