-
-
-
2008-2009 Regular Season: Postgame -
Is It Unfair To Compare Romo To Aikman?
-
- September 29, 2008 At
5:21 PM EST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
"People" like to say it is unfair to compare Tony Romo to Troy
Aikman when Tony is only a few years into his career, but the
comparison is less about raw talent and more about how Romo has
shown no leadership skills, nor a desire to lead (at least when he
is front of national TV cameras).
-
- Fans used to be irate at how well
Aikman kept his composure during the post-game locker room
interviews. He was totally cool. Nothing could rattle him while in
the face of the word-bending media. Everyone’s perception of Aikman
changed, however, once everyone began to see tidbits of video
footage, here and there, of him chewing out his teammates before,
during, and after plays, and especially on the sideline for screwing
up, even a little bit.
-
- We all knew, under no uncertain terms and to
my perfectionist delight, that Troy Aikman meant business, and he
had no problem telling his teammates when they screwed the pooch,
even on the smallest details. And, as a direct result of his pursuit
of perfection in everything he did on the field, we had been spoiled
by an accurate, neat-freak of an all-star quarterback, even on his
bad days.
-
- You always knew he was going to deliver as perfectly as he
could, and, if he could not, he was going to kill himself to correct
the mistakes if at all possible (Watch a replay of the 1994 NFC
Championship Game against the 49ers, that we should have won but
where he gift-wrapped 3 straight interceptions on our first 3
possessions).
Now, Romo, he, at least on national TV, does not appear to be the
details guy Aikman was, and, to be clear, still is. Romo, on the
other hand, whether on the field, on the sideline, before the play,
or after the play, does not seem the least bit interested in
constructively calling out any of his teammates (even in a "we did /
did not" fashion) for a lousy effort on a particular play or series.
-
- Could it be that he feels he has no place to do so, because of his
own mistakes? Maybe this is the case. That never stopped Aikman,
however, from demanding the most of his teammates, even during his
first few painful years in the NFL. Romo needs to acknowledge, to
himself, that questions about his desire to win at all costs will
continue to arise until he either becomes invincible to the taunts
or publicly goes after his teammates.
-
- No one will dispute that Romo
has the talent to be a star quarterback in the NFL, but, due to the
nature of the position he plays, he needs the commanding presence to
go with it. I have determined, however, that Romo believes he has a
choice.
-
- Neither Romo, nor any other starting QB in the NFL has such
a choice (unless it involves quitting on his big contract, the owner
who signed him to it, the coaches who have invested so much time in
his maturation, and the teammates who rely on him to play the
ultimate star position in a way that only Romo can). The position
has bare minimum requirements that must be achieved, on a regular
basis.
If Romo thinks he does not owe his leaderless team, his
too-cool-for-TV coaching staff, his check-writing team owner, or his
massive fan base a personality makeover (which is unfair to him,
but, at the very least, an effort towards leadership), then, that is his organization-dooming decision.
-
- This team is
begging for someone to stand up and take charge, and Romo should be
one of at least three people to do so (one for each of the core
groups that make up an NFL football team: offense, defense, and
special teams). These otherwise-unnecessary questions will continue
to irritate his leaderless team, his too-cool-for-TV coaching staff,
his check-writing team owner, and his massive fan base. Everyone in
the world knows better, Aikman certainly knows better, and Romo
does, too.
Romo, from all accounts, is an incredibly selfless person but,
leadership inaction, from a position associated with leadership,
lends itself to selfishness in the eyes of someone (a fan or
teammate) looking in from the outside, whether intended or not.
-
- No
matter how wonderful a person Romo may be, his fans simply will not
let go of the leadership question, unfortunately, even if a great
leader is found elsewhere on the team. If not Romo, who else,
indeed?
-
- We shall see. We always do.
|
