All you remember is Seattle, the playoffs, the botched hold, the images of Tony Romo’s slippery fingers costing the Cowboys a chance to move on to the next round of the postseason -- and maybe even a Super Bowl.
You remember the injuries, the agonizing broken bones and bad back that almost made you feel sorry for him, other than that he was the quarterback of America’s Team, which, like the shortstop for the New York Yankees, is one of the glamour spots in all of sports, and a beacon for hate.
What you don’t remember is how truly good Romo was as a quarterback. Some of you do, but most of you were part of a legion of fans and media members who made ripping Tony Romo a bloodsport, something you might actually see on a gaming console.
You get two points for ripping his postseason failures.
You get three for mocking his beaten-up body.
You get four points for comparing him to Troy Aikman.
You get five points for saying if he weren’t the quarterback of the Cowboys, he would be just average.
The reality is the most points awarded in that game should come from saying this:
Romo, who is retiring to enter the broadcast booth after his release from the Dallas Cowboys, leaves as one of the most under-appreciated passers of this generation.
While most were picking him apart like vultures on a dead carcass, they missed out on what should truly be a career that is lauded.
This was a kid who was not drafted, a self-made player, who became the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys -- and a damn good one.
Romo leaves the game 29th all time in passing yards. He is 21st all time in touchdown passes with 248. And, using a favored stat of some quarterback cults -- you know who you are -- Romo is fourth all-time in passer rating at 97.1.
The guys above him are Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson (it’s his cult who loves the stat).
Romo wasn’t just a dink-and-dunk guy either. He averaged 7.9 yards per attempt, which ties him for fourth overall with Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner -- pretty good company.
Oh, but he wasn’t good in the playoffs, right?
Well, his record was 2-4 and he had the muffed field-goal hold in Seattle that burns images into many minds. The reality is he wasn’t nearly as bad as you might think. He threw eight touchdown passes in six games with two picks. His postseason rating is 93.0.
I don’t use quarterback playoff wins to grade any player. Those are team stats. Why else would Trent Dilfer have a ring, but Dan Marino does not?
Was Romo always great in the playoffs? No, but he wasn’t as bad as you would think.
The best example of all of how Romo was mistreated by the fans and media came on Oct. 6, 2013. The Cowboys lost to the Denver Broncos that day in a 51-48 shootout. Romo went toe-to-toe with Peyton Manning that day, and was better. Manning threw for 414 yards, four touchdowns and one pick. Romo threw for 506 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
Yet it was a late interception, after rallying the Cowboys from down 15 in the third quarter, that set up the Broncos’ winning score. On a second-and-16 from his own 14, he was intercepted by Danny Trevathan to set up a Broncos field goal.
That set off the madness. Romo choked. Romo can’t get it done in crunch time.
The idiots lost sight of the fact Romo threw for 506 yards and five touchdowns.
Without him, it’s a rout.
Romo isn’t a Hall of Fame player in my book. He is in the Hall of Very Good.
He’s also in the Hall of Under-appreciated.
So as he leaves the field to go to the broadcast booth -- where he will be a star by the way -- close your eyes for a second and imagine a Romo moment.
Most of you will remember Seattle.
I will see the undrafted kid, who should be revered for what he became, taking a snap, moving around in the pocket, avoiding pressure, and, contorting his body in an awkward-looking way, firing a laser for a touchdown in the back of the end zone.
That’s the Romo I remember.
That’s the Romo you should too.
