Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up! Part II

Due to the over whelming response we received on the “Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up” post from last week. I felt compelled to dive a little further into that subject. I never thought for a moment when I was writing that post that it would stir the pot as much as it has. The reason I began to do that post was just to get something involving Romo on the site. The final result of that article has not yet been determined, but one thing for sure is that you all have plenty to say about it. So let’s take this debate a little further and find out what is really going on!

Leader: One that leads or guides. One who is in charge or in command of others.

Leadership: the activity of leading; “his leadership inspired the team”

So above you see what the actual definition of “Leader” and “Leadership” is, So now how do we determine if these are things that Tony has? Well judging by many of your responses and views on these two words. What we need to be looking at is a complex set of parameters. First, the majority of the people that believe Tony is not a leader, or does not have the make up to be one, say things like:

“He can’t sit on the bench and pout like a 4 yr old when things aren’t going his way. He has to get up and find solutions with his teammates.”

This statement was very intriguing to me. Why? Well it just kind of struck me funny! For about ten years of my life I worked in the NASCAR racing industry. I worked for several different race teams, all different levels. From Saturday night short tracks to NASCAR’s highest level (sprint cup series). I was very fortunate to have been able to work for some very good Crew Chiefs (the quarterback of the team), and I must say none of them operated like the others! I had some that were very coarse and led with an iron fist. I also had some that were very quiet and led by example.

Now the ones that led with their fists were no better than the ones who led by example. They both got everything out of their guys and were and are still very successful! So where did this leader perception come from? And why do most fans cling to that way being the only way? I believe that this is a direct reflection of “fans” views about athletes and how much they are paid versus what the normal Joe must endure just to be able to pay his/her bills! We as fans hold athletes at an unattainable standard!

These guys are no different than you and I other than they make more money in a year than most of us will make in a lifetime. I am sure some of you out there hold positions that leave you in charge of directing people; How do you lead your people? I try to treat everyone that works with and for me with as much respect as possible, but also I make sure that I work harder than anyone who works for me! I do this not because I like to work hard, but so they see the “Leader” setting the tone! What I am getting to is my style is probably different than yours, but does that make mine wrong? No! It does not, but my style of leading does have a key component that it depends on in order for it to work. That component is simple! My leadership abilities depends on having everyone on the same page! In order for my personnel to perform at a high level, all of them MUST work together! If one link in the chain is not holding up their end of the work, the chain will break, and the final product will suffer.

Now this rule really applies to either way of leading, but the “Iron Fist” way does not do something that my way does. The “Iron Fist” way demands that everyone do their job or else! My way can inspire others to do things that they normally could not, or would not do! In the end both ways work, and will work effectively but I prefer for my personnel to perform at the highest level because they know they can rather than performing at that level out of fear! It is my belief that success will last longer this way.

Tony Romo leads his players by the example method, He expects everyone to do their job to the best of their ability, without having to be bullied to do it. Now I realize that we all want to see him go off on someone and belittle them, but he is not going to do that very often. Tony feels that if the team does not play well that it is entirely on his shoulders, and the only way he feels comfortable repairing it is by pushing himself! It is up to the guys around him to recognize his efforts and to say to themselves “Tony is working hard to repair things, I should do the same!”.

Now I will not argue with you that Tony has made some very dumb mistakes. I will also not argue with you about the fact that Tony must cut down on the stupid plays, because he must! However mistakes, and bad throws do not correlate to a poor “Leader”. The majority of his stupid plays are made while trying to make something out of nothing! Let me ask you a question, How do you think Tony’s numbers (both in the Win column and in the personal stat sheet) would look if he threw the ball away every time everyone was covered? Or better yet every time he had two uncovered blitzers come at him he threw the ball away? You would have the same sorry ass QBs we have had here since Troy left! The making something out of nothing is what sets this guy apart from the rest. Yes he needs to do a better job of picking his spots, but cut the guy just a little slack!

I find it absolutely mind blowing that so many of you, believe EVERYTHING that you hear or read! ESPN and the National Media have done it’s very best to convince all of us that Tony and the Dallas Cowboys are a bunch of losers, and lunatics! People, us calling for Tony to be moved is exactly what everyone wants! The Dallas Cowboys are the team everyone loves to hate! In case you all do not understand this let me break it down for you. ESPN has a freakin “Cowboys watch” on their ticker, not because they want all Cowboy fans to be kept well informed, but because nothing sells “papers” like certain despair at Valley Ranch! No matter what good things take place at the ranch. The only thing ESPN is going to broadcast is the next allotment of turmoil! You will not hear or read this on ESPN, but you will damn sure hear about “A Possible rift brewing between Terrence Newman and Tony Romo”!

The point is don’t just take what someone says as the gospel without first doing your own research! If you want to argue something with me, then by all means bring it on! I strongly suggest however that you do your homework, before you just blab something that the National Media said!

Tony Romo is our Quarterback! Tony Romo is a “leader”. So all of you who think the 9-7 2008 season was caused due to the poor leadership abilities of our Quarterback. All I ask from any of you is to go back and look at the tape! The porous O-line, Injuries, poor route running, and receivers leading the league in dropped passes, have absolutely nothing to do with leadership! All of these things have to do with EVERYONE NOT PULLING THEIR WEIGHT! When ever you can say that EVERYONE is performing to the best of their ability, but Romo is letting them down. Then I will loosen my stance, but right now, this teams failures in 2008 are not because of “Poor Leadership” from Tony!

What do you think?


Written by Phillip Baggett


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