If you would have told me that an undrafted quarterback from Eastern Illinois would be the highest-rated passer in the NFL in Week 12, I would have laughed in your face.
Tony Romo, ladies and gentlemen, is the highest rated passer in the NFL (110.8). It is not Peyton Manning. It is not Tom Brady. It is not Carson Palmer. It is Tony Romo!
We all saw what he did on the national spotlight on Thanksgiving when he threw five toucdowns and I admit I am worried, damn worried. Romo looks unbelievable when he's on the field.
But let's not be totally surprised he is doing so outrageously well. Romo won the Walter Payton Award as the nation's best Division 1-AA player in 2002. He "passed for 2,950 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2002, completing 237 of 363 passes (65.3 percent) in leading Eastern Illinois to an 8-3 record, the Ohio Valley Conference co-title, and a I-AA playoff berth" (Sports Network). He also led Eastern Illinois to an average of nearly 38 points per game.
He is 4-1 as a starting NFL quarterback, but he should be 5-0 (remember the bizarre finish in Washington). In the Monday nighter against the New York Giants where he replaced Drew Bledsoe in the second half (Dallas fans can thank Sam Madison for making the interception inside the five at the end of the first half for that transition), he looked awful. He threw three interceptions in that half. Since then, he has only thrown two.
What people tend to forget about Romo's second half against the Giants is that he threw two touchdowns. He never got down on himself and fought until the final whistle, which is very respectable. Granted, the Giants were leading by a vast margin for some point in that game, but he never let it bother him.
He is playing the game with confidence and, more importantly, he is having fun. He is always smiling and that means he knows he is good and knows he can get it done. As a Giants' fan, I have to say I am nervous for next week's game.
During the past few weeks, Giants quarterback Eli Manning has struggled and seems to have lost some of his confidence. My advice to Eli (even though I am doubtful he is reading this) is to watch Romo's body language on the field. He has a tremendous amound of confidence in himself. Eli needs to regain that confidence and shake off all the woes from the past few weeks. Every quarterback has slumped and will slump; it happens to everyone.
Romo is playing the quarterback position better than anyone who has sported the star on the helmet since Troy Aikman retired. I am not comparing Romo to Aikman at the moment, but Dallas has had some tumultuous quarterbacks since the departure of Aikman (Randall Cunninngham in his twilight days, Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, and Tony Banks to name a few).
Romo has the world in the palm of his hand right now. He is the starting quarterback of one of the most prestigious teams in the NFL (and is doing extremely well) and he is dating Jessica Simpson. Nobody has it better than him right now, nobody.
Romo is playing tremendously at the moment. The biggest start of his life comes next week at Giants Stadium, which is a very tough place to play (especially late in the season when the Giants are in the hunt). We will seriously see what Romo is made of.
We finally had a full course of football to go along with our full course of food this Thanksgiving with three NFL games. Here's how I interpreted it:
The Appetizer - Dolphins 27, Lions 10
The sound you hear coming from the bathroom is that of a Lion fan throwing up its Thanksgiving feast after seeing Joey Harrington light up his ex-mates. The former Lion disaster had Detroit fans taking a double dose of alka-seltzer after throwing for three scores and over 200 yards to rally Miami to its fourth consecutive win.
The Lions jumped out to an early 10-0 lead but could not do a thing after. The Dolphins reeled off 27 unanswered to stun the Lions and their fans. This was the best I have ever seen Harrington play in an NFL game and had Lions fans asking themselves, "Where the hell was this guy all those years?"
The Lions have not been good for years. I understand the Lions playing on Thanksgiving is a tradition, but it is time to break it. The Lions are tough to watch. I am starting to believe it's them who make me tired on Thanksgiving and not the tryptophan from the turkey.
The Entree - Cowboys 38, Buccaneers 10
How 'bout dem Cowboys? It really pains me to say it, but the Dallas Cowboys are a force to be wreckoned with. Did anyone in their right mind really think an undrafted quarterback from Eastern Illinois would turn this team completely around? I mean, seriously?
After a tumultuous start to his regular season in the second half of a Monday night contest against the New York Giants, Tony Romo has looked as cool as a cucumber. He is 4-1 as a starter, but should be 5-0 (remember Dallas lost in that bizarre ending to Washington a few weeks ago).
Romo threw an unprecedented five touchdown passes en route to thrashing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the national stage. He looks unbelievable. And another thing to watch is that he is having fun while playing. Division counterpart Eli Manning should look at what Romo's doing and start enjoying himself on the field as well.
He does not even need Terrell Owens (who has dropped numerous easy passes). Terry Glenn has been his go-to guy. Dallas is well on its way to having a very successful postseason.
The Dessert - Chiefs 19, Broncos 10
The most exciting game on paper coming into the day turned out to be not exciting at all.
Jake Plummer's time as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos looks all but finished. Even though his line was not bad (25-39, 216 yds, TD, INT), he does not look confident nor looks like a leader. Denver looks enormously flat on offense and Mike Shanahan has a big decision to make.
The Chiefs have tied the Broncos for second place in the AFC West with this win, improving their record to 7-4, behind the legs of Larry Johnson. Johnson rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs are looking more of a playoff contender than the Broncos are at the moment.
The Side Dish - Gumble and Collinsworth have to go
As if the nightcap wasn't boring enough, what made it even more boring was the commentary of Bryant Gumble and Cris Collinsworth.
From the first day I heard that this duo would be calling the Thursday night games on the NFL Network, I knew it would be a disaster. Well, they're 0-1. Gumble, who could be one of the most boring personalities to ever hit television, for some reason was chosen to be their play-by-play man, cannot call a football game.
There is no excitement in his delivery and he #### up a few times with what was going on. The most memorable had to be early in the game where Denver had converted on a second-and-short situation. On the next play, where the score bug indicated first and ten and the chains had been moved, Mike Bell got the carry and gained short yardage. Gumble then chimed in, "looks like he got enough for the first." Makes me wonder if he's even watching the game.
Sports are my life. I'm a diehard New York Yankees, Giants, and Rangers fan as well as Tennessee Volunteers football and North Carolina basketball. I can't stand watching the NBA regular season.
I work at ESPN as a Production Assistant, which means I cut some pretty sick highlights.
I enjoy writing mostly about my favorite teams because they are what I am most passionate about.
My aspiration is to be a play-by-play broadcaster for Major League Baseball and the National Football League. I was a broadcaster for the New England Collegiate Baseball League's Torrington Twisters in 2004. The games streamed worldwide via internet.
Giants' fan, I have to say I am nervous for next week's game.
