NFL: Is Tony Romo Deserving Of MVP?
By Ryan Ratty
Should Tony Romo win the NFL MVP award?
After clinching the NFC East last week by virtue of a 42-7 beatdown over the Indianapolis Colts, everything is good right now for the Dallas Cowboys. Out of all the expert writers who write for NFL.com, Michael Silver was the only one who predicted the Cowboys making the playoffs. Pat Kirwin of CBSSports.com predicted that the Cowboys be a 6-10 team in 2014. With Tony Romo coming off a a second major back injury and the already-horrible defense losing key players in DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher, there was reasoning to think Dallas would be bad in 2014.
Despite all of the criticism Jerry Jones received over the offseason, the Cowboys have done more with less in 2014 and it all starts with the play of Romo. Currently in his tenth year in the NFL, Romo isn’t having his best year in terms of statistics. However, Romo is having the most efficient year of his career and it is easy to see why.
In the past, Romo has never had an offensive line or a consistent running game to work with. Dating back to his first 16-game season in the NFL, which was 2009, Romo has been sacked at least 34 times. In 2014, with one game left, Romo has been sacked just 29 times. Despite the number being a little high considering how good the Cowboys’ offensive line has been in 2014, it should be said that most of Romo’s sacks have been him just falling in the pocket so he doesn’t get injured or anything.
DeMarco Murray is having by far the best season of his career and Romo is flourishing because of that. In his career, the Cowboys have fielded just one running back who ran for over 1,000 yards in Romo’s tenure and that player was Murray in 2013. It’s safe to say that Romo has never had a reliable supporting cast around him. Without the ability to run the football, Romo has had to do it all for the Cowboys over the course of his career.
After drafting Zack Martin in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Cowboys improved their offensive line tremendously. By drafting Martin, the Cowboys drafted three offensive linemen in the first round over the past four years. Not only is Dallas’ offensive in 2014 the best in Romo’s tenure, but it is also the best in the NFL. Led by Martin, Tyron Smith, and Travis Frederick, who are all going to the Pro Bowl, Romo and the Cowboys have taken off on offense.
It’s basically pick your poison when teams play the Cowboys. If a defense stacks the box to slow down Murray, they leave their secondary exposed to Romo. If defenses drop more men in coverage, Murray has easy pickings in the running game. The Cowboys have won 11 games so far in the 2014 NFL season. In those games, they have scored 362 points. That’s an average of 33 points per game in wins, which is quite impressive to say the least.
With how well the Cowboys have run the football this year, Romo has been asked less to make plays on a consistent basis. Over the course of his career, the Cowboys have relied on Romo to play “hero ball” so often that he has had a higher chance of making mistakes. When you throw the football more and rely on your passing game more, you are prone to more turnovers. Besides 2014, Romo has thrown 101 interceptions, In 2014, Romo has thrown just 10 interceptions and if it weren’t for his three-interception performance in Week 1, Romo would have just seven interceptions.
With less interceptions and more efficient play, the greatness of Romo is starting to be seen. Because of the Cowboys relying less on Romo, he has become more dangerous than ever before. According to ESPN.com, the Total Quarterback Rating is a statistical measure that incorporates the contexts and details of those throws and what they mean for wins. With one game remaining, Romo is No. 1 in the league with a QBR of 82.3. In comparison to other MVP candidates in Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, Rodgers has a QBR of 81.2, while Brady has a QBR of just 75.4.
The QBR statistic is very important, but the one statistic that may be just as important is the passer rating statistic. Well, Romo is also No. 1 in the league in that statistic as well. A 158.3 is a perfect passer rating. Romo’s passer rating is 114.4. Rodgers’ is just 111 and Brady’s is just 98.3. It should also be said that Romo’s completion percentage is in first place in the league at 70.3, while Rodgers’ is 65.1 and Brady’s is 64.5. Romo will never be mentioned in the elite quarterback group because he has never won a Super Bowl, but the reality is that Romo is deserving of being in that upper-echelon group.
The amazing thing is Romo has had a such a special season even though he is less than a year removed from his second major back surgery. At age 34, Romo is having such a resurgent season and people are starting to see just how spectacular he can be when there is a solid supporting cast around him.
There is no question he will in the running for the MVP Award. Romo will always be maligned until he wins the big game, but despite that connotation that follows him around, Romo is a stellar quarterback and he is the right man to get the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. With guys like Murray, Dez Bryant, and Jason Witten around him, it’s not unfathomable to believe that this Cowboys team can in fact make it far in the postseason. Romo’s 2014 season will go down in the Cowboys’ record books. It will come as a surprise if he wins the award, but Romo deserves the MVP Award just as much, if not more than, as anyone else.