Cowboys Quarterback Controversy: Have Patience, Tony Romo Is Still The Best Option

I never thought I would start out an article by giving credit to FS1's Colin Cowherd, but just maybe his conversation with former Cowboys' coaches Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells made him, and me, realize something. The story of what to do with Tony Romo and Dak Prescott is something that will have to iron itself out.

Cowherd prefaces his statement by saying in today's world, patience is hard to come by. The fact is that most people have smartphones that allow them to have what they want, when they want it, almost instantaneously. It eliminates our abilities to be patient in many cases and it correlates with what many Cowboys fans are dealing with right now. They want to move on to Dak Prescott, no delay. But patience with the normal process of letting your franchise quarterback return to his starting position, and letting his play determine the future, is what the organization should do. Allow Romo his opportunity to return, and let the situation play itself out.

Many are rightfully concerned about his health and if he'll ever be able to make it through the rigors of an NFL season again. Still, even with all that we know and what we've seen out of Dak Prescott, the keyword in this is still patience. If this is going to be Dak Prescott's team in the future, we'll certainly find that out. These questions will answer themselves eventually anyway. What is important to remember is having patience with this process. A lot of people are excited about what the new Cowboys can look like in the future. That doesn't mean we should be in a hurry to start pushing a four-time Pro Bowler to the curb after six games.

Tony Romo is on schedule to return on October 30th, a day in which the Cowboys will take on the Eagles. As much as some are ready to usher in that new era, rest assured, if healthy, Tony Romo will be your starting quarterback in that game. That's the truth, no matter if Prescott rattles off two more wins against better competition in the Bengals and Packers. It doesn't matter what Dak does, Romo will be given the keys one more time and we better plan accordingly.

As good as Dak Prescott has been, and he's been remarkable with his 67.9 completion percentage, 1,012 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and 98.5 passer rating; Romo is still better. He has won 78 of 127 starts in the National Football League. What's even more remarkable is that Romo has posted a passer rating of 100 or better in 66 of those wins and is third all-time in passer rating (97.1), better than anyone currently in the Hall of Fame. Just two seasons ago, Romo led the league in almost every statistic a quarterback can be judged by. Unfortunately, for Romo, after missing 12 games last season, and six more this season, he's fallen squarely in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately category that we often hear being characterized around the league.

Tony Romo gives this team the best chance at doing anything significant this season. That is what the organization believes right now. They like what they're seeing out of their rookie but they realize that for the "now" factor, a healthy Tony Romo is a dynamic thing to have. Prescott is still a bit of an unknown commodity and you see that he's getting better with every week. The Cowboys were able to finally win a game without Dez Bryant or Tony Romo (1-6 overall) in large part because of Prescott and his ball-control offense, but Ezekiel Elliott has a lot to do with that, too. Still, Romo isn't only the better passer at this point, he opens up the entire offensive playbook.

People are enamored with Dak Prescott, as am I, he's been outstanding. Prescott isn't turning the ball over but he's also not taking chances to make big plays. Prescott has been aided by the dominant rushing attack and abilities to control the clock. However, what happens when Dak is forced to go win the game himself? Does he have enough as a quarterback to make that happen? He's done well enough but look at the game they lost this season against the New York Giants for example.

At the end of that game, the ball was in Dak's hands to win it and he threw it to Terrance Williams, who couldn't get out of bounds. That's not Dak's fault at all but before that play with 40 seconds left, Dak missed a wide-open Cole Beasley for the game-winner on a busted New York coverage. If Romo were in there, he would have likely saw the open target and quite possibly won the game.  It's something that comes with experience and the fourth quarter is where Tony Romo makes all the difference for this team.

Through four weeks, it's been a nice ride with Dak and you love that he's improved little aspects of his game in each week. He most certainly looks like the steal of the draft and the future of the franchise. With that said, as Bill Parcells famously shouted to the local media about Romo many moons ago; "Put away the anointing oil." Let's not prematurely put the nail in Tony Romo's coffin just yet. The Cowboys have the best problem in the football world on their hands, every team in the league would like to be in their shoes. Let this all play out in front of us and we'll eventually see where this ends but there is truly no need in hasty decisions when this is a story that doesn't need our help in writing.