Yet Another Deal of Over Nine Figure Deal for Quarterback

Yup, that's right. Another contract for an obscene amount of money. And this, for a quarterback that many fans and experts have been less than thrilled with. He seems to many an unproven quarterback, who at times looks elite, but at times, has played poorly. So poorly, that he has cost his team at key moments in big games. So poorly, that many were calling for him to get benched.

Surely, by now, you know that I am talking about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. He has sold a lot of jerseys for fans, and perhaps this has been augmented by his good looks. He was seen as a heartthrob, and seemed to go with that, during his famous relationship with Jessica Simpson some years back. So, I think part of the motivation here for the Cowboys is that Romo will rake in money, selling jerseys. The question many have, however, is whether or not his performance on the football field will produce enough results to justify the huge contract, or the selling of jerseys. The Cowboys have not had a winning record in any of the last three seasons, and quite a few have suggested that Romo has been a significant part of the reason why.

Romo has been viewed as an unproven entity for some time now, so this move by the Dallas Cowboys has puzzled quite a few, and become the source of some debate already, though the deal just happened earlier this weekend.

Why should he get paid so much? Has he done enough to warrant that kind of money? Some were calling for him to be benched just last season, as his mistakes proved a strong contributing factor to the Cowboys not qualifying for the playoffs for the third straight season. True, they always seem on the brink of something exceptional. And also true, Romo also seems to be on the brink of shedding his old skin and reaching the level of elite quarterback.

Yet, those things have not really happened to date. At least not with any real measure of consistency.

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Romo looked great in coming off the bench to replace aging, quarterback Drew Bledsoe in 2006. Bledsoe had been brought in from Bill Parcells, who knew what he was getting. He had taken over the reins for the New England Patriots in 1993, then a struggling team that had amassed less than ten total wins in the previous three seasons (a little different than the Patriots of today, wouldn't you say?). Parcells was intent on turning the team around, and they had the first pick in the 1993 draft. Other teams were dying to get Bledsoe, who was seen as the next big thing. The San Francisco 49ers even offered all of their draft picks that year, just to obtain one man, Drew Bledsoe.

Yet, Parcells stuck with it, and got Bledsoe for New England, for a hefty contract. Together, Parcells and Bledsoe began the long process of turning the thing around in New England, and eventually, became the most recognizable faces for the franchise.

The Patriots started off 1-11 in 1993, Parcell's first with the team, before winning their last four games to close out the season in strong fashion, showing promise for the future. The next season, they were a playoff team. Two seasons after that, they were in the Super Bowl, although they lost to the Packers. Parcell's gamble with Bledsoe seemed to have paid off, although the Super Bowl was Parcell's last game as head coach in New England.

Bledsoe remained a good quarterback, but was not on the level that he had been under Parcells. He lost his starting job after an injury in 2001, when little known, young quarterback Tom Brady took over the reins. We all know what happened next.

When Tony Romo took over Bledoe's starting spot in Dallas in 2006, and then showed strong promise, there were comparisons made to Brady, and the situation that occurred in New England some years back.  Romo took his team to the playoffs, where they faced Seattle. The Cowboys were in a position to win with seconds left. All it took was a field goal, but something went wrong. Romo took the ball and tried to run it in. Famously, he was stopped short, and Seattle won the game as a result. That was the last game where Parcells was head coach in Dallas.

But Romo did not go away in 2007. In fact, he and the Cowboys enjoyed a tremendous season, finishing 13-3, easily winning the NFC East, and even enjoying being the top seed in the NFC playoffs. In their first game, Dallas faced the New York Giants, a team they had swept in the regular season. But the Giants were on a quest, and not only eliminated Dallas, they would go on to face, and defeat, Brady and the undefeated Patriots, in a contest that has since become legendary.

In the meantime, Dallas struggled. They failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2008, but they returned in 2009, and even won a playoff game against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. But they then got blown out in Minnesota.

Since then, Dallas has achieved what I jokingly have referred to against Dallas fans as a "third place three-peat". And consistently, among the biggest question marks for the team has been the quarterback position, with Romo's struggles becoming infamous. His mistakes at key moment in contests has, at times, cost Dallas dearly.

Still, the Cowboys always seem to be on the verge of achieving some great things. They have been involved in season ending, "winner takes all" games each of the last two seasons. They lost to the Giants in 2011 (who again went on to win the Super Bowl, again against New England), and they lost to the Redskins last season. Had they won either of those two games, perhaps people would not be doubting this as much.



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One of the most vocal critics of the Cowboys move to secure Romo has been Donovan McNabb, a former divisional rival. McNabb used to be the Eagles quarterback, and has faced Romo numerous times. Here is the link for an article that reveals what McNab has to say about the Romo deal:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/blogs/Former-Eagles-QB-Donovan-McNabb-not-a-fan-of-Cowboys-Tony-Romo-contract-extension.html

Ultimately, we shall see how this pans out. I don't believe that this deal would have happened without Flacco's run to the Super Bowl last season. Flacco, like Romo, had a lot of doubters for years, prior to last season. Like Romo, he had made some mistakes at key points hat cost his team some wins, and some were calling for him to be benched. But the Ravens stuck with him, and he had a tremendous, even historical, run last season, leading the Ravens to the Super Bowl, and earning not just a ring, but Super Bowl MVP honors in the process. Also, he earned a $100 million plus contract. The Super Bowl MVP, and his performance throughout the playoffs, proved a strong bargaining chip indeed.

Personally, I think the Cowboys are gambling (and taking a big gamble at that!) that Romo may have it in him to do something similar to what Flacco did. Romo, however, is 32 years old, and thus, quickly entering the age when many other quarterbacks, great quarterbacks, often enter a decline.

The question, then, is whether Romo has it in him to produce something the way that Flacco did. If it pays off for the Cowboys, then it will surely look like a smarter move for them then it seems now to many people, myself included.

Time will tell.

Here's a link to Sports Illustrated article about Romo's hefty contract:

http://nfl.si.com/2013/03/29/tony-romo-signs-108-million-extension-to-stay-with-cowboys/?section=si_latest

Otherwise, in other NFL news, the New England Patriots added wide receiver Michael Jenkins to their roster, and word has it that not only is Chris Palmer refusing to ever play for the Silver and Black again, but that the Raiders actually are on the verge of trading him to the Cardinals. There are also rumors that he could simply go across the bay, to San Francisco, where one would image he would be a backup. In the meantime, the Raiders appear to have Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Matt Flynn on the way to Oakland, which casts any doubts about Palmer perhaps staying put in Oakland aside. Here are the links to those articles:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/jason-la-canfora/21970631/raiders-deep-in-talks-to-send-qb-palmer-to-cardinals

http://www.wpxi.com/feed/sports/football/carson-palmer-rumors-raiders-qb-might-be/f7QF/