Don't Blame Tony Romo for the Cowboys' Mediocrity

I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan all my life.

I grew up with Tony Dorsett, Roger Staubach, Tom Landry, and went through the growing pains of Jimmy Johnson's first Cowboy teams and the dominance of those 90's teams.

So, I've been on the roller coaster for a long time. To say I under the frustration of most Cowboys fans would be an understatement. And yesterday was just another ride on the roller coaster.

You by now are used to this. You're accustomed to the Cowboys playing well, only to see them fold like a cheap tent at the end. Naturally, our whupping boy for all of this is Tony Romo.

Romo is the poster boy for most Cowboy fans -- including me -- as a choker. When it comes to pressure, he just can't seem to handle it, and yesterday against the Denver Broncos was the perfect example of this.

Dallas had a chance to bring the great Peyton Manning to his knees, and what did he do? Threw an interception. He gave the ball back to Manning, and the Broncos remained undefeated.

Normally at this point, I would bash Romo, and I did yesterday. But I woke up this morning realizing my anger was directed at the wrong person.

The Cowboys aren't mediocre because of Romo. They are mediocre because of Jerry Jones. Romo is part of the problem, but let's be truthful here; this guy played the game of his life, and they still lost.

He led them back from a double-digit deficit to take the lead, and the Cowboys' defense couldn't do anything to hold the Broncos. Nothing. 

Our anger should be at Jerry Jones for not putting together a better defense. Besides Demarus Ware, what other Cowboys can you name on the defensive side of the ball? There is only one -- Ware -- and he can't do it by himself.

The secondary is horrible, and it's been horrible for a while. Jones fired  defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and hired Monte Kiffin, and look at what a mistake that was! Ryan has led the New Orleans defense to a rebirth while the Cowboys' defense continues to flop.

It's ridiculous for any NFL defense to give up 51 points after your quarterback did everything he could to win the game. I don't care if it's Peyton Manning & Co you're facing.

There's only so much Romo can do or should be asked to do. And maybe that's the problem. Romo is being asked to carry this team and the problem has been and will continue to be is that he isn't strong enough to do it.