There’s a lot to unpack from yesterday’s awesome pair of NFL conference title games, but let’s fast forward past the referee blunders and continued dominance of Tom Brady/Bill Belichick to consider another guy who shined on the big stage on Sunday — Tony Romo.
Even with dramatic storylines swirling around these two games, Romo made headlines with his performance in the broadcast booth. The second-year CBS color man basically predicted the Patriots plays down the stretch, analyzing the Chiefs defense and articulating Brady’s decisions in realtime. He was amazingly in-tune with the Patriots offense — you could almost imagine Romo in his prime out there hoisting trophies alongside Belichick, if only he been the underrated QB who fell into the Patriots’ lap so many years ago.
Both of these guys were doubted early — Brady was a sixth-round pick in 2000 while Romo went undrafted out of Eastern Illinois three years later. But each earned a starting job and kept it — Romo for nine straight years, Brady a ridiculous 18 and counting.
It’s not a knock on Brady to accept that The Hoodie, like the GOAT, towers above his NFL contemporaries. But, unlike Brady, Belichick once won 10 games with Matt Cassel under center. He revolutionized draft pick valuation and continues to find production out of underutilized cast-offs from other clubs. He has guided an unprecedented run of success, with Brady’s help.
Still, Romo’s body of work over a decade or so in Dallas suggests that he was capable of guiding a championship-caliber offense, especially under someone as meticulous and savvy as Belichick. Here’s how Brady and Romo compared from 2006-14 — Romo’s nine seasons as a starter. (*Brady only threw 11 passes in 2008 before tearing his ACL in Week 1, so his total TD/INT numbers in these comparisons would have risen accordingly.)
Brady: 64.4 Comp% | 7.6 Y/A | 8.04 AY/A | 100.0 rating | 269 TD/77 INT*
Romo: 65.2 Comp% | 7.9 Y/A | 7.88 AY/A | 97.6 rating | 242 TD/110 INT
Per-game averages 2006-14:
Brady: 23.1/35.8 273 yards 2.1 TD/0.6 INT
Romo: 21.3/32.6 257.9 yards 1.9 TD/0.9 INT
Here’s how their first nine full seasons compare (Brady 2001-11 and Romo 2006-14).
Brady: Cmp%: 63.9 | 7.5 Y/A | 7.67 AY/A | 96.4 rating | 300 TD/115 INT*
Romo: Cmp%: 65.2 | 7.9 Y/A | 7.88 AY/A | 97.6 rating | 242 TD/110 INTP
Brady: 21.2/33.2 249.8 yards 1.9 TD/0.7 INT
Romo: 21.3/32.6 257.9 yards 1.9 TD/0.9 INT
We can also move the comparison a little closer by looking at Brady’s age 26-34 seasons compared to Romo’s nine seasons at those ages.
Brady 2003-11 vs. Romo 2006-14:
Brady: 64.1 Comp% | 7.8 Y/A | 8.00 AY/A | 98.9 rating | 254 TD/89 INT*
Romo: 65.2 Comp% | 7.9 Y/A | 7.88 AY/A | 97.6 rating | 242 TD/110 INTP
Brady: 21.4/33.4 258.7 yards 2.0 TD/0.7 INT
Romo: 21.3/32.6 257.9 yards 1.9 TD/0.9 INT
Brady out-paced Romo in TD% and INT% throughout their careers, and the gap has actually widened since Romo left the league. Thanks in part to the NFL’s cranked-up offenses the past few years, Brady has actually increased his numbers across the board since Romo last played a full season, at least compared to these larger sample sizes. From 2015-18 Brady has posted a passer rating of 103.1, completing 65.8% of his passes for 287.6 yards per game with 2.1 TDs and only 0.5 INTs per game. Crazy stuff for someone heading to his ninth Super Bowl at age 41. And, of course, the GOAT is 207-60 all time; Romo went 78-49
Interestingly enough, Pro Football Reference lists Romo among Brady’s “similar players” through his ninth, 10th and 11th seasons. (If you scroll to Brady’s full-career line you’ll find such recognizable surnames as Manning, Brees, Favre, Tarkenton, Marino and Elway.)
Obviously, Tony Romo would have won a hell of a lot more games playing for Bill Belichick than he did in Dallas — but that’s safe to say about almost anyone.
Still, Romo was an accomplished signal-caller in his day. It’s a truth that is becoming more evident with every broadcast.
Follow Danny @_dannycross_.
I was thinking the same thing watching Sunday’s game and Romo’s analysis. Like the author suggests, almost any decent quarter back could excel in NE under BB. But I believe the thinking QBs who have the ability to adjust their calling pre-snap on the fly like Romo and Manning, would see more success than the athletic QBs who get results because of their ability improvise with their physical gifts.