Cowboys must avoid these two quarterbacks

If the 2015 NFL season was a dead body, it wouldn’t even be cold yet.

For Dallas Cowboys fans, they have not even had the appropriate mourning period of an incredibly rough season and the talk has already begun to swirl around two very high-profile future replacements for quarterback Tony Romo.

There are these type of reports coming from some extremely well connected, highly respected media members indicating that owner one of the Cleveland Browns quarterbacks will soon be out of work…

In other news, the division champion Washington Redskins just finished the regular season with their backup-turned-starting quarterback Kirk Cousins taking every snap this season while former second overall pick Robert Griffin was a healthy inactive for most of the season.

When your team beat writer tweets articles like this, it’s safe to say your future with the team is non-existent.

The frenzy has reached the point that fans actually showed up to Sunday’s AT&T Stadium finale wearing Cowboys jerseys with Griffin’s nickname and number on them.

Seemingly all signs point to a long, cold winter full of speculation circulating around the possible marriage of need (the Cowboys next QB) and availability (two former first round picks).

So, which of these two should the Cowboys choose?

Griffin has started 35 games as a professional.  His career would be best described as topsy-turvy.

After winning 60% of his first fifteen starts, Griffin has lost fifteen of his final twenty.  One minute, you’re leading your team to the playoffs, the next, you’re rumored to be a scout team safety in practice.

If you were to build a case for Griffin, I guess you would start by pointing out that he is pretty good at protecting the football, citing his near 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio.  You could also say that an entire year off probably helped his body heal from the intense beating he’s already had bestowed upon him in just four years.

Otherwise, all the obvious negatives are there as well.

That same time off that could be used as a pro, could just as easily be used as a con.  If there is any position in which constant repetition is necessary, it’s at quarterback.

Then, there is that sort of important aspect necessary to being one of the 32 best people in the world at your craft, what’s it called… oh that’s right, being good.  Back in 2014, the last time anyone saw him on a field, playing meaningful games, it was downright ugly.

Griffin was the leader of 33 full drives, excluding a kneeldown and a hail mary attempt.  The results?  Fourteen punts, six turnovers, five touchdowns, four field-goal attempts, two turnovers on downs, along with one drive that was stopped at the end of a half and another that finished at the end of a game.

That pretty much sounds like a repeat of the Brandon Weeden/Matt Cassel pu pu platter that Cowboys fans were fed for ten games this past year.  No thanks.

Lastly, there’s the other super important aspect of being a quarterback.  That of being the leader of men.

Often times during his struggles, Griffin would choose to throw his teammates or coaches under the bus.  For a while, a real power struggle seemed to be prevalent between the head coach and the owner centered around him.  Once the head coach decided to do what he thought was right and worry about the consequences later, a division title appeared.

One not provided by Griffin.

On the other hand, you have Johnny Manziel, aka Jerry Jones’ man crush Monday-Sunday.

Manziel has been given the chance to start eight games in his two year career.  Winning only two of those sounds bad, until you remember those starts were for the Cleveland Browns, who have only won ten games in two seasons.

While his numbers won’t exactly reach out and grab you, the perspective of these facts should at least give some reason for that:

1. He constantly was looking over his shoulder (the Browns have used five different starters in his two seasons).
2. He faced six teams that all made the playoffs (Cincinnati twice, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Kansas City).
3. Five of his eight starts came on the road.

Add in the complete lack of weaponry around him and it seems like he was certainly setup to fail.

There is no question that Manziel could be pretty dynamic.  He could also be, much like Griffin, too frail for the rigors of the position.

There’s a reason that GM’s are in love with size at the position.  Sprinkle in his out of the pocket flare and that further lends credence to the worry that he would be one solid hit from wearing a t-shirt and pants instead of a jersey and pads.

The biggest concern with Manziel, however, would certainly be his maturity.  Whether he is openly trying to get fired by the Browns or just doesn’t care about being a football player as much as he does about being a celebrity, neither is a good look from the guy you want running your team.

Does he have a legitimate alcohol addiction?  Would being back in his home state, as a member of one of the most scrutinized organizations in all of sports be huge distractions to a guy who doesn’t need any more of those in his life?

At this point, I think you have to pass on Manziel as well.  If he does find his way onto another team and flourishes, good for him.  Otherwise, you make the smart business decision and pass.

The Cowboys certainly need to look into an upgrade at the most important position on the field.  They just need to look at almost any other option besides these two.