Written on SportsDay Dallas News
If all goes as planned, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo should be able to return to the team against the Philadelphia Eagles. That means there’s a little over two weeks to decide if he or rookie Dak Prescott should be the team’s starter.
But why wait?
Plenty has been said about the upcoming decision that Jason Garrett (or maybe even owner Jerry Jones) will have to make. Below is some local and national reaction on the debate:
THOSE FOR/WHO THINK DAK
FOX’s Terry Bradshaw: While on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd, Bradshaw said he’d go with the rookie over Romo as the starting quarterback.
“I would not put Dak Prescott on the bench,” Bradshaw said. “I would leave him [as] the starter. I wouldn’t have a problem with that at all. At all. Now Tony’ll have a problem with it and I don’t blame him. Especially [with] the way this kid is playing, I would not bench him.”
SportsDay contributor Matt Mosley: “Jones is mesmerized by what the next five or six years could look like with Ezekiel Elliott and Prescott. He feels a great deal of loyalty to Romo, but I don’t think he has the stomach to remove Prescott from the starting lineup. He knows what other folks in the organization are already whispering: This is Prescott’s team. If Jason Garrett attempts to reinsert Romo against the Eagles later this month, he might have a mutiny on his hands. One prominent member of the organization has already told me this will be a ‘big dilemma,’ as I reported in Texas Monthly last week.”
NBC’s Rodney Harrison: “That’s a situation where you have to be very gentle. If you continue to win, if Dak is continually having success, there’s a chance that Jason Garrett could lose his locker room if he makes a change. He has to understand that it’s not about one individual player. You have accountability to an entire locker room.”
CBS’ Phil Simms: “If they keep rolling like this, they’re not going to make a change. You don’t have to make that decision now. You wait until that time comes.” He also offered that being forced to make a decision would mean continued excellence from Prescott.
FOX Sports’ Dieter Kurtenbach: “…Sunday’s win over the Bengals cemented it. Romo should be the backup — Prescott is the present and the future of the Cowboys. It seems ridiculous to not put No. 9 back in once he’s healthy — Romo was an MVP candidate the last time he played a full season. But Prescott is an MVP candidate right now. He might even be the leader for the award through five weeks of the season.”
Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy: “Behind Prescott, the Cowboys (4-1) entered Sunday with the No. 2 offense in the league and then topped their average of 395 yards against the Bengals’ top-10 defense. They’ve been reliable in the red zone, including three touchdowns in four trips Sunday. In five games, Prescott has not thrown an interception and the team has lost just three fumbles, one of the league’s tiniest turnover totals. The coach who messes with that degree of success is not very smart. And they love to remind us Jason Garrett is an Ivy Leaguer. So … do the math, as they say.”
FOX Sports’ Cameron DaSilva (did reasons for both Romo and Prescott. His Romo explanation is below): “Prescott and Romo aren’t similar quarterbacks. Dak is a mobile guy who is significantly better outside the pocket when he is a threat to take off and run. Romo, on the other hand, is one of the best escape artists in the NFL, but he succeeds more from the pocket. This is noteworthy because the Cowboys have tailored the offense for Prescott’s style. They often move the pocket for him, give him a handful of zone-reads each week, and run more plays with underneath routes.
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