Romo's Jekyll and Hyde Routine Continues

By - Kris Fletcher

Having Tony Romo at quarterback is the Dallas Cowboys best chance to win games. He also happens to be the best chance for whoever they're playing to win as well.

Week to week, it's anybody's guess as to which Romo will show up. He gift-wrapped a win for the New York Jets in Week 1 with stupid mistakes. He followed that up by leading a rally against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 with injured ribs and a punctured lung. Then yesterday, he literally tossed the Detroit Lions a 34-30 victory at Cowboy Stadium.

Photo by: Tony Gutierrez

As good as Romo was in Week 2 against the 49ers, he was equally as bad Sunday against the Lions. With Dallas cruising in the second half, he threw a pick-six to Bobby Carpenter that got Detroit back in the game. Five minutes later, he threw another pick-six. Finally, he capped off the day by throwing a third interception that set up the Lions game-winning score.

"The game obviously turned on turnovers," Romo said afterwards. "It's the most important stat there is in a game. That's why you protect the ball. I didn't do a good enough job of that today. I shouldn't have allowed them to have that chance."

You would think by now that Romo would understand the importance of what he preaches. After all, he's been saying the same type of thing for years. Yet, days like Sunday keep on happening.

Don't get me wrong, Tony Romo's not why the Cowboys had twelve men on the field yet still only had single coverage on Calvin Johnson in the end zone on the game-winning touchdown. He's not Mike Jenkins trash-talking Johnson early in the fourth quarter, just in time to watch Megatron snag a ball in triple coverage for a score. Nor is he defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who inexplicably said that his defense goes up against two receivers in practice every day that are better than Johnson. No, Romo was not responsible for any of that. However, all of it was possible because of him.

Photo by: Tom Fox

In reality, the Cowboys know this is who Tony Romo is. The things that at times make him great are also the exact same things that tend to make him awful. The crazy things that get Dallas beat are also the things that help them win. It's almost as if there's a belief in the locker room that you can't mess with one without losing the other.

Therein lies the problem.

In the Cowboys current state, Romo is untouchable. If you think back to the Troy Aikman days, there were guys on the team who could deliver hard truths. Guys like Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith or Daryl Johnston. They could always pull their quarterback aside and put him in his place if need be. Dallas no longer has that. They have nobody willing to say what needs to be said. Nobody to say, "Tony, we love you and all, but you HAVE to stop screwing up!"

Until someone actually puts him in his place, the Cowboys will continue to be nothing more than an average team wallowing in mediocrity.