#360view: Tony Romo gives reason to reconsider his stereotype as perennial choker

Jay Asser 05:33 06/01/2015
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  • Tony Romo celebrates after leading Dallas Cowboys to an extraordinary come-from-behind 24-17 win over Detroit Lions.

    Tony Romo is maybe the most unfairly stigmatised quarterbacks of all time. It’s well overdue, but the ‘choker’ label he’s had to carry around for what seems like his entire career should finally be put to rest.

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    With the Dallas Cowboys playing in their first playoff game since 2009, it felt like everyone outside of the team’s fan base was rooting for the Detroit Lions to extinguish ‘America’s Team’. Indeed, people are annoyed with how much attention the Cowboys receive, many loathe owner Jerry Jones and love to laugh at Romo’s failures.

    While two of those reasons to dislike Dallas are justifiable, the idea that Romo is a real life Charlie Brown who always falls flat on his face is outdated and simply untrue.

    If you asked a casual NFL fan to name their top-five MVP candidates this season, the chances that Romo would show up on many of those lists is slim, even though he led the league in passer rating at 113.2.

    Though he already won a playoff game back in 2009, the narrative that dominates the conversation centres on Romo not having a signature moment on the biggest stage. Now he does after leading a 24-20 comeback victory against Detroit in the wild-card round.

    It looked like he would provide his detractors with plenty of ammunition at half-time when the Cowboys trailed 17-7 and Romo couldn’t get much going, but the 34-year-old did what many believed he wasn’t capable of: he came up clutch.

    While Dallas’ defence held Detroit to just a field goal in the second half, Romo engineered back-to-back scoring drive to close the deficit to 20-17 early in the fourth quarter.

    That set up a moment which couldn’t have been scripted better, for both Romo and his haters.

    The Cowboys got the ball with their chances running out and needing a score. This is the type of situation where people expect Romo to throw a game-ending interception.

    Instead, he marched the offence methodically down the field, but not before making two of the biggest plays of his career.

    Facing a fourth-and-6, Romo confidently stood in the pocket and delivered a strike to his most reliable target and best friend, tight end Jason Witten, for 21 yards and the first down.

    Then, on third-and-goal from Detroit’s 8-yard line, Romo was given enough time by his line to extend the play and find wide receiver Terrance Williams for the go-ahead and game-winning touchdown.

    Romo could have played it overly-safe and settled for a field goal to tie. He would have done his job and if the Lions scored to win, it wouldn’t be his fault. He’d escape most of the criticism.

    But the same quality that makes him frustrating – his gunslinger confidence – is also his best trait. He’s a competitor and constantly plays through injuries, which he doesn’t get enough credit for.

    Sure, the picked-up pass interference flag that gave Dallas a break is the hot topic of conversation and somewhat overshadows Romo’s play. But at this point, if people still refuse to bury the choker mindset they associate with him, then maybe he’ll never get the respect he deserves.

    One game won’t change everything overnight, but it’s time to reconsider how we collectively feel about Tony Romo.

    He’s done enough to earn that.

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