August 18, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) after the preseason game at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers won 28-20. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE

There are a number of teams that are in need of a franchise quarterback like Romo. The Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars,  Cleveland Browns, New York Jets,  Kansas City Chiefs, and the St. Louis Rams come to mind. The trouble is,  if Dallas trades Romo they are left with Kyle Orton as their starter. And even though Orton has proven himself in this league as a decent player,  most wouldn’t consider him a franchise quarterback.

The problem is you need a franchise quarterback for a franchise quarterback, or at least equal value. That’s why you never see them traded, only signed in free agency.  But with Phillip Rivers and Romo, a case could be made for trading each other’s problem child to benefit each other’s team in the future.

We all know that changing environments can do wonders for players. A bench player on one team can be a star on another. Both Rivers and Romo have had extended stays on their teams respectively. Both have had enough time to get the job done and simply haven’t. A new team, a new scheme and a new scene would benefit them both.

It also helps that both Romo and Rivers are similar in age.  Tony is 32 while Phillip turns 31 in December. Their salaries are similar as well. Romo is signed through 2013 and is scheduled to make $11.5 million next year. Rivers is signed through 2015 and is scheduled to make $12 million next season.

And the similarities don’t end there. Rivers is a four time Pro Bowler (2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) . Romo has been there three times. (2006, 2007, 2009) Both have had prolific and future Hall of  Fame tight ends to throw to in Antonio Gates and Jason Witten. And both quarterbacks have had their fair share of criticism.  Romo has the moniker of being a choker in clutch time. While Rivers has dealt with questions surrounding his attitude and, recently, his decreasing arm strength.

Both Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett and Chargers’ head coach Norv Turner are on the proverbial hot seat this season. Both coaches need to make changes in order to keep their jobs. And both teams have a great relationship with each other in the off-season.  The success of wideout Laurent Robinson in Dallas last year had a lot to do with that relationship.

On the negative side, there  is always a transition period needed to learn each other’s playbooks. Mix into that time to get proper chemistry with new teammates, and you can kiss the playoffs good-bye this year. But for two teams looking to change their “culture”, nothing does that better then cutting off the head of the problem. The question is whose head will roll first:  the quarterback’s or the coach’s? 99% of the time, it’s the latter.

Chances are both teams will keep what they have now. Pulling the trigger on a trade like this would  be historic. Therefore, Romo and Rivers will likely play out their contracts for their respective teams. And because of that, both teams will have a hard time making the playoffs this season and beyond.

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August 13, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones (28) is unable to hold onto the ball after dropping a pass attempt against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.Co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Sucked – Felix Jones, running back – Maybe it’s the James Harden-esque beard. Maybe it’s that I can not get over him failing his conditioning test in the final year of his contract. Maybe it’s just me. But Felix Jones looks lazy. Not tired, lazy. I’m tired of dropped passes and little effort to break tackles. Maybe he’s mentally already done in Dallas. Maybe the injuries have taken their toll and sapped his quickness, hence his abilities. Whatever it is, something is definitely amiss about Felix Jones. And after the play of rookie Jamize Olawale on Saturday, maybe a trade is in order.

Sucked – Doug Free, offensive tackle – Here we go again. What is the deal with Doug Free? He looked like a rookie out there and he’s supposed to be our main veteran lineman. Combine that with the fact he’s switched to a less intense role on the line at right tackle this season, and it really is a head scratcher. Hopefully, he and new offensive line coach Bill Callahan are still “working out the kinks” during his readjustment period. There is still one positive thing to gleam out of this: At least Tony Romo will see the pressure coming right at him instead of behind him.

Sucked -  Raymond Radway, wide receiver -  I understand this may be too critical of a guy who can not control whether he gets the ball or not, but Raymond Radway just disappeared. After a stellar training camp last year and nothing but raves this year, I expected more from Radway. The media seems to tout this guys as Superman, but all we’ve seen is a timid Clark Kent. Everyone agrees Ray has the physical tools, but he just got outplayed by an undrafted 5’8 rookie who quit the team a couple weeks ago. Radway did not record a single reception Saturday but did have one kick return for 26 yards. We needed to see a lot more from Radway, and for that…he sucked.

Sucked -  Stephen McGee, quarterback -  It was yet another in a long line of unspectacular performances by the former Aggie quarterback. And most experts agree, the “McGee project” is almost over. If Dallas decides to keep three quarterbacks, it will most likely be Rudy Carpenter over McGee for the simply fact that Carpenter can be placed on the practice squad and McGee can not. I don’t like kicking a guy when he’s already down, but the Cowboys poured four years of time, training, and money into McGee. Let the kick-fest begin.

Sucked – Shaun Chapas, fullback – A practice squad veteran, Chapas made a pretty big splash last year. Not one big enough to win the starting job, but at least large enough to justify keeping him around. Chapas even made it to the active roster last December when fullback Tony Fiammetta got injured. On Saturday, he made a big splash in the opposite direction. Chapas couldn’t even block a snail last night. It was really kind of hard to watch a kid flush his career down the drain like that. I realize it’s just one game, but when you only play four in a season, it’s really hard to recover from a suckfest like that. Especially after your team signs arguably the best fullback in the NFL during the offseason.

Dishonorable Mention – Morris Claiborne, cornerback – First round pick Claiborne needed a strong  showing last night to turn the tide of doubters starting to rise up against him. He did little towards swaying those opinions Saturday. Claiborne had two tackles but was virtually invisible for the most part. Not exactly what  you want to see in your first round pick. And compared to the play of Brandon Carr, Claiborne looked even worse. But the kid deserves a break with injuries slowing his progress in OTAs and training camp. Still, Cowboy fans want to see that number six pick live up to it’s potential. And they have never been know for their patience. Then again, we kept McGee around for four years, so who knows…