Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo on the road to recovery

When Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was crushed underneath Philadelphia Eagles rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks in Week 2 of the season, he felt his collarbone go pop.

"“I felt it. It had a little bit of a pop to it. Obviously, I’ve felt it before.” – Tony Romo via ESPN"

As Romo’s left clavicle popped so did the hopes of Cowboys fans, dreaming for a return to Super Bowl glory.

Any team would suffer without their starting quarterback, who in most instances is the most revered player of the franchise. Yet the importance of Romo to this Cowboys team wasn’t realized by some until this absence.

More from The Landry Hat

With back-up quarterback Brandon Weeden at the helm in place of Romo, the Cowboys have slumped to three consecutive losses. I feel that many have been unjustifiably unfair to Weeden. Clearly the plan by the coaching staff was to have him play short slants, pinning their hopes on turnovers. Which, unfortunately, didn’t come.

The Cowboys didn’t lose because of Weeden. But I absolutely understand the need for a change at quarterback. If having Matt Cassel behind center sees the playbook opened up then that can only be a positive. But it begs the question why the Cowboys have stuck with Weeden for so long if they never had total belief in his ability.

While I don’t share the excitement of some for Matt Cassel, it’s safe to stay that the return of Dez Bryant over the coming weeks as well as the chance to see Greg Hardy and Randy Gregory put Eli face down in the dirt does offer some light relief!

As it stands, Romo is penciled in to return Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins. Although putting him in against the Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh then the Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly in the space of five days may not be the ideal plan. It may be a case of boom or bust for the Cowboys.

Head coach Jason Garrett spoke optimistically today about Romo’s recovery, and there doesn’t seem to be any concern that the veteran quarterback will suffer any long term issues after suffering his second successive break on the same side of his collarbone.

"“I think he’s made progress, he’s moving around better. I think there is some things that are uncomfortable for him, but I think as you look at how he’s healed, everything has been positive up to this point.” – Jason Garrett via the Dallas Morning News"

After leading the Cowboys to victory in the opening two games against NFC East rivals the Giants and Eagles Romo will miss the return games. The fact he will be back for the two games against the Redskins though could be pivotal. With the division as tight as it is right now, divisional games are likely to define who makes it to the playoffs. The Cowboys don’t want to be heading into the final game of the regular season at home to the Redskins. But if Matt Cassel can’t guide the Cowboys to a win against either the Giants or the Eagles in the upcoming weeks it will be all eyes on Romo once again.

Next: Dallas Cowboys: Will Scott Linehan make most of bye-week changes?

Home/Cowboys News