Jerry Jones may have fallen into it backwards, but the Dallas Cowboys have had quarterback stability for the better part of two decades. Going from Tony Romo, an undrafted free agent, to Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, is the kind of quarterback fortune a lot of teams spend decades chasing.
Prescott and Romo have a lot in common, including the respect of their peers. Current players widely view Prescott as a top quarterback, and Romo, nine years removed from the league, still commands it, including from former New York Giants star defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora (h/t RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys).
"This is gonna come as a surprise to you, and a surprise to many people: Tony Romo was the most difficult quarterback we (the Giants) ever faced ... and we played against some incredible ones. We played against the GOAT, Tom Brady, the greatest of all-time. Played against Peyton Manning.
But for me personally, my level of respect for Tony Romo, having faced him year in and year out, such an underrated football player. People don't understand the type of headache he was as a player ... Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks."
How's that for a quote? My word.
Osi Umenyiora thinks Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo is an all-time great
We're not sure we can go as far as to say that Romo is an all-time great. But Umenyiora hit the nail on the head about the former Cowboys QB being grossly underrated and one of the better signal-callers of his time. He simply didn’t have the playoff success to elevate his reputation, and he was competing in a golden generation at the position.
Alongside Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, a loaded group that included Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, and Andrew Luck was in its prime during Romo’s peak.
That makes his four Pro Bowls and third-place MVP finish in 2014 all the more impressive. It’s fair to debate where he ranks historically, but his place among the better quarterbacks of his era isn’t up for debate.
From Romo's first year as QB1 for America's Team in 2006 to his last in 2015, he ranked sixth with a 0.190 EPA per play (minimum 3,000 plays), per RBSM, putting him above Ryan, Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Brett Favre, Luck, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, and Stafford. Only Manning, Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Rivers ranked higher, respectively.
Romo also ranked fifth in success rate (50.2 percent) and completion percentage over expected (3.8) over that span. Only Manning, Brady, Brees, and Rodgers had a higher success rate throwing the pigskin. That is all-time great company.
Romo’s playoff resume is what it is, but the numbers leave little doubt that Umenyiora was right in calling him one of the best quarterbacks of his era.
Much to the dismay of Cowboys fans, Prescott's career is unfolding a lot like Romo's to this point: plenty of regular-season success overshadowed by a lack of deep playoff runs, which ultimately led to Romo not being fully appreciated until his career was over.
Hopefully, Prescott gets over that hump. Umenyiora's opinion on Romo might be the consensus if the former Cowboys star had a Super Bowl ring to show for an otherwise outstanding career.
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