Romo's start unprecedented?

by BigE on Jun 28, 2007 9:35 AM CDT

I was wondering what other QB's through history have put up numbers like Romo in their first year.

So I checked out guys like Kurt Warner, Manning, Brady, Bulger, Carson Palmer, Favre, and some who were not very good.

Since I tend to be conservative about evaluating Romo, I was surprised to find out that I could not find a QB who put up early numbers like Romo and turned out to be a flop - they all turned out great. Maybe early success can predict the future.

Also Romo's early numbers look as good or better than the brief list of great QB's that I looked up. Since many of the greats started earlier in their careers than Romo, I looked at the second years and he still looks good.

There must be some examples of QB's who played lights out and then fizzled. Did I miss something?

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who is the guy in Buffalo?

That they signed to a big contract after winning some games in releif then ended up going with Flutie? What were his numbers?

by Badknees on Jun 28, 2007 9:38 AM CDT reply actions

That's Rob Johnson

Here are his numbers. That's a good comparison.

I also thought about Brian Griese but his first year numbers we just OK. Then there's Big Ben, but that may be a different story.

by BigE on Jun 28, 2007 10:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Rookies

How many of the guys you compared him to were rookies? I think Romo benefited greatly by sitting on the bench for 3 years. You can't play down the effect that had on his success, where some of these other guys you mentioned were thrown in as rookies.

by mhuff13 on Jun 28, 2007 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions

stats please

Can you provide a summary of the stats? I would be quite interested.

However, what the stats don't account for is how good the supporting cast was in a qb's first year. Most of the high draft picks were saddled with really bad offenses. Other guys have been fortunate to walk into a great situation - think Brady.

The bottom line is that it takes at least two years to adequately judge a QB. One of the most exciting things about this upcoming season is seeing first hand whether Romo can turn into a franchise-caliber QB or if he will become the next in a long line of mediocrity. Barring injuries, once thing is certain: he has a very talented offense to work with and he is set-up to succeed in a big way.

Man, these are really the summer doldrums. Can’t wait for training camp to start.

by Cowboy Louie on Jun 28, 2007 12:29 PM CDT reply actions

you shouldn't look at purely numbers

when evaluating Romo. His true greatness lies within areas you cannot see or measure. Heart, leadership and determination.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jun 28, 2007 2:32 PM CDT reply actions

Arm candy

you forgot arm candy!!

by dunkman on Jun 28, 2007 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions

indeed

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by Dave Halprin on Jun 28, 2007 3:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Some stats

I pulled together some stats, but realize Romo has intangibles on his side compared to someone like Griese who couldn't get along with his team. I just wanted to know how often a QB puts up averages like Romo did and later does not do well. Or how the early careers of the great ones compare to Romo.

For completeness and a sense of fairness, I included some arm candy stats like this second consecutive world's sexiest vegetarian award from PETA per this link. I always thought it was PITA and stood for pain in the $%#, but apparently it stands for people for the ethical treatment of animals. I apologize to anyone including my wife and PETA if this comment offends anyone.

Going back to 1990 I pulled out some pro-bowl QB's who started well but did not perform as well later in their careers. All are not perfect comparisons, but interesting conversation. I think a case can be made for Romo being better than each of them. Click on name for link to stats.

Ken O'Brien
Jim Everett
Mark Rypien
Jeff Blake
Gus Frerotte
Elvis Grbac

Rypien won a super bowl so maybe that's not so bad.

by BigE on Jun 29, 2007 9:33 AM CDT reply actions

like I said earlier

you can't measure the quality of a qb by numbers alone as there are so many intangibles that are a requirement of the position. Thats why its so hard to draft qb's because the truly great ones have qualities you can't see or measure.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jun 29, 2007 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions