TONY ROMO: GOODBYE COWBOYS; HELLO RING OF HONOR

 

   Tony Romo leaves the Cowboys and the NFL today.
   But even in retirement, we'll see him soon as a TV analyst. And see him - eternally - in the Ring of Honor.
   No, this isn't even up for debate. No. 9, who announced his intentions to officially retire this morning, is statistically the greatest Cowboys' quarterback of all-time. And despite only two playoff wins and never a sniff of a Super Bowl over 10+ seaons, he'll deservedly reside forever inside AT&T Stadium alongside Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Don Meredith.
   As confounding and frustrating and polarizing as his career was, Romo's path to immortality is likewise peculiar. As in, there are 21 members of the Ring of Honor. Romo will be only the third - joining Meredith and Don Perkins - with no ties to a championship.
   But since Meredith got in, Romo's a slam dunk.
   Dandy Don won exactly one playoff game as Dallas' quarterback in the '60s. He completed only 50% of his career passes, threw for half as many yards as Romo, won merely 47 games and lost consecutive NFL Championship Games to the Packers, including the Ice Bowl.
   Romo leaves town holding the franchise passing records for yards, touchdowns and career 300-yard games. He has a Top 5 all-time passer rating. A 78-49 record. 4 Pro Bowls.
   And a legacy as one of the best all-time NFL quarterbacks to never reach a conference championship game, much less a Super Bowl. Romo has his stubborn, irrational critics, but he messed around and had a career that parallels a guy named Y.A. Tittle.
   In six fewer seasons, in fact, Romo won the same number of games, threw for 1,100 more yards, six more touchdowns and 131 fewer interceptions than the legendary 49ers' and Giants' quarterback. Tittle made three more Pro Bowls than Romo, but never won a single playoff game, going 0-4.
   Tittle's bust resides in Canton. Romo's helmet is likely headed for Denver, before retiring in glory in Arlington.
   I didn't exactly have high hopes that night in October 2006 when Bill Parcells yanked Drew Bledsoe in favor of an undrafted, untested Romo. But there's a special place in my heart for him now.
   Just as there is reserved a spot for him in the Ring of Honor, and on the list of greatest NFL quarterbacks to never achieve great team success.

   10 BEST NFL QUARTERBACKS TO NEVER REACH THE SUPER BOWL

   10. Dave Krieg - 19 seasons, lost only AFC Championship Game in '83.
     9. Sonny Jurgensen - Hall-of-Famer never even started a playoff game.

     8. Tony Romo - 4 Pro Bowls. Top 5 passer rating. 78 wins. 0 NFC Championship Games.

     7. Randall Cunningham - 4 Pro Bowls, lost only NFC Championship Game in '98.
     6. Philip Rivers - 5 Pro Bowls, lost only AFC Championship Game in '08.
     5. Bernie Kosar - 3 straight AFC Championship Game losses with Browns.
     4. John Brodie - '70 NFL MVP went 0-2 in NFC Championship Games.
     3. Y.A. Tittle - 32,000 yards. 242 TDs. 7 Pro Bowls. HOF. 0-4 in playoffs.
     2. Warren Moon - 9 Pro Bowls. 5 Grey Cups. HOF. 0 AFC Championship Games.
     1. Dan Fouts - Hall-of-Famer went 0-2 in AFC Championship Games in '80-81.

Sean Lee and My Top 10 Linebackers in the History of Your Dallas Cowboys

   Last week Dick Butkus called him an "old-school ... real deal."
   This week Jerry Jones didn't stroke his ego, but instead padded his bank account.
   No offense to the Bears' Hall-of-Fame linebacker, but Sean Lee likely cherishes - CLUE #7: "DFWSportatorium" - cash as much as compliments. And the Cowboys owner made sure Lee remained a Dallas defensive pillar through 2019 yesterday with a six-year contract extension that - if he meets playing-time and performance incentives - could top $51 million and make him one of the NFL's highest-paid inside linebackers alongside the 49ers' Patrick Willis, Jets' David Harris and Eagles' DeMeco Ryans.
   The fourth-year linebacker's job now - stay healthy.
   Lee has been splendid, but only in spurts. Because of injuries that have sidelined him during his career, from a pulled hamstring in 2010 to a dislocated wrist in 2011 to last year's torn ligaments in his toe. (Somehow he survived that vicious, illegal cheap-shot from the Seahawks' punk Golden Tate.)
   In Monte Kiffin's Tampa 2 defense, Lee will play middle linebacker and be asked to make plays 15 yards down the field in the passing game and also plays in the opponent's backfield in the running game.
   He hasn't made a Pro Bowl. Hasn't sniffed a playoff game. Has yet to make his first tackle as middle linebacker. But with his unique combination of speed, strength and savvy, someday he'll crack my list of the Cowboys' 10 best all-time linebackers.
   Just not yet ...

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   10. Robert Jones - Can't remember a single highlight play, but to start at middle linebacker on all three Super Bowl-winning teams in the 1990s he must've been doing something right.

   9. Eugene Lockart - The "Hittin' Machine" was good on some bad teams, earning All-Pro honors in Jimmy Johnson's first two seasons in Dallas.

   8. Ken Norton - The inspirational, gritty leader of an underrated, mostly anonymous group that was the NFL's No. 1-ranked defense twice in the early 1990s.

   7. D.D. Lewis - Feisty, consistent leader started for eight seasons and played in five Super Bowls, nine NFC Championship Games and a franchise-record 27 playoff games.

   6. Dexter Coakley - Instinctive and athletic, he is the franchise's No. 3-leading tackler behind Darren Woodson and Randy White, made three Pro Bowls and was Dallas' best defensive player on some horrible teams early in the 2000s.

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   5. Bob Breunig - Undersized overachiever led the Cowboys in tackles six times during the late 1970s/early 1980s.

   4. Thomas Henderson - I know this seems crazy based on his short career (1975-79), lone Pro Bowl and numerous run-ins with Tom Landry, but "Hollywood" possessed as much raw talent as an Cowboys' linebacker ever evidenced by his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

   3. DeMarcus Ware - Though he'll put his hand on the ground as a defensive end this season, as outside linebacker he was one of the most fierce and productive pass-rushers in franchise history and will become the all-time leader with his fourth sack in 2013.

   2. Lee Roy Jordan - Patrolled the middle of Landry's Flex defense for 14 years, winning two Super Bowls and earning induction into the Ring of Honor.

   1. Chuck Howley - Ring-of-Honor member was six-time All-Pro and the MVP of Super Bowl V despite playing for the losing team.

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