Dallas Cowboys, 8-8: It Is What It Is

Warning: Hot Sports Opinions Follow

For those of you wanting to give into ESPN radio/Jim Rome-style knee-jerk reactions and mouth breathing, which would lay the short-comings of this Dallas Cowboys' season solely at the feet of QB Tony Romo, you:

1) Clearly haven't been watching every game this season

and

2) Are a bad Cowboy's fan.

I'm sure that sounds like the words of a Romo apologist to you non-believers (i.e. "haters").  However...

Yes, Romo's personal play tonight was frustrating.  Under-throwing to Austin in the opening quarter for the first interception of the night brought back images of the Chicago 5-INT game.  Thankfully, no harm, no foul, as WASH came away with zero points after taking over.  But the killer image everyone is left with until '13 Oxnard training camp is of Romo's poorest-timed interception of the entire season with just around three minutes left in regulation.  But that wasn't even the back-breaker.

No, it just overshadows Hatcher's "hands to the face" penalty on RGIII about a minute later, when the Dallas D had WASH on third-and-goal and the 'Skins decided to pass.  And that was Dallas' first penalty of the entire game.  One of the most-penalized defenses in the league...if not the most.  I don't care to look it up.  But if the D makes that stop (or Hatcher keeps his hands down): field goal, WASH up by 6, Dallas has the ball with about 2:20 left and the 2-minute warning.  F!  There's still a chance.

Still a chance at the playoffs, despite: the numerous season-ending injuries on defense (no Sean Lee), five games without DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant playing some of his best in the last three games with a broken hand, Doug Free still being started up until about two weeks ago, a Defense made up of dudes working at RadioShack days before, lip-reading Rob Ryan's always level-headed epithets, and no freaking O-Line.

Which comes back to Romo.  This guy has been running for his life the majority of every down, every game of the season.  He nearly had to pull magic out of Ryan Cook's butt on each and every snap.  If you didn't see it, you weren't watching.

Romo had next to no protection all season long.  He scrambled, dodged, and weaved his way to making something out of nothing time and time again.  And because of those very efforts:

1) Dallas played for a chance at the playoffs against WASH

and

2) Made that last INT even more painful.

Because we as fans had hope.  Which is a very dangerous thing.  Escape leads to hope.  And when you place your hope in something that can't be sustained, you're destined to suffer a broken heart.

Let's be honest.  If we were to travel back in time to first day of camp in July 2012 and ask ourselves, as nothing more than mere fans, if the Cowboys would be in Super Bowl XLVII, let alone the playoffs, how sure would we be?  So when it came down to likely needing to win seven of the last eight of the regular season to make the cut...there's utter shock and outrage with the outcome of the final game?

So, it's Romo's fault, huh?  Fine.  Who do you want instead?  Trade him and start Orton next year and pray to pick up the next Russel Wilson in the draft?  That sure sounds like a solid approach.  You tell me who the next Wilson is, oh wise one.  No Lucks nor RGIIIs to be seen so far in the next Draft.

Speaking of the Draft: Dallas addressed the Corner issue this year.  Next time around should address the O-Line and not much else until deeper in.  But who else wants to bet that Jerry Jones does something entirely bat-shit crazy?  Something like drafting Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu in the first round while giving away numerous other picks.  I'm practicing my "shocked face."

Alas, I've gotten a little off-track.  Not unlike the Cowboys of the last sixteen years.

Yes, Romo can be the Homer Simpson of the Cowboys: simultaneously the cause and savior to most of the offense's problems.  It's frustrating.

But it's equally frustrating when not put in context of the league as a whole.  Romo has the magnifying glass trained squarely on his back because he's QB of the Dallas Cowboys.  He plays instead in Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City, San Diego, etc, etc, etc and it's a non-story on the nation scale we have today  Is the scrutiny partly a result of Romo's appearingly nonchalant, once-upon-a-time in Cabo, "if this is the worst thing that happens to me" attitude?  Yeah, those things don't help.

I guess people want to see him pissed in the post-game.  Yeah, now and then I find myself asking for a little more fire.  But then I think of how he's probably dog-ass tired from running for his life on every offensive play.  In-between picking himself back up off the turf.  And I don't hear him making excuses about that.

This whole thing reminds me of my friend.  She, a Denver fan.  When Tebow was shipped off to New Jersey earlier this year, she made a Facebook promise to all of her closest-in-life that she swore off following the team.  I don't hear much (well, any) of that since they locked up the #1 overall seed in the AFC.  Insert here something about getting to look a Gift Bronco in the mouth.

That applies with the Cowboys.  Fine.  Abra-Kazam!  You're now Jerry Jones.  What do you want to do at QB, slick?

Personally, I work out Romo's contract extension to fit within the cap for the next three-to-five years, I get him some damn O-Line protection, and look for that next Russel Wilson (i.e. "Romo") in the next two-to-three drafts so he can learn a lot from the current starter.  Because whoever comes after Romo is going to have to know what to expect as long as Jerry Jones (Owner, President, & GM) is calling the shots.