Funny story – I saw an article the other day basically hinting that although Wade Phillips aready considers his QB to be among the NFL elites, Tony Romo feels like he needs to win a championship before he can be considered an elite QB. The article was given it’s due attention by yours truly, and although my initial feeling was to post something about Eli Manning never getting the acknowledgment that he is among the elite QB’s in the league by comparison of his winning record and 2007 Superbowl MVP title, I decided to sit on that notion.
Michael Lombardi did rank Romo up there at the blue chip level, after all.
But today, NFC East blogger Matt Mosley has the Tony Romo segment again in one of his posts:
"Cowboys coach Wade Phillips believes Romo’s already at (the elite) level, but the quarterback disagrees.“You’re judged at the quarterback position by wins and Super Bowls and things of that nature,” said Romo, now 38-17 as a starter. “I love the tradition and the history of the game. You set out to accomplish certain goals, and right at the top, the only way to be included in any talk of anything is to go out and win championships.”"
Then Mosley goes on to ask the inevitable question:
"So I’m curious where you guys would rank Romo right now among NFL quarterbacks. Is he knocking on the door of the top 5 or does he need to win more playoff games first?Is Romo the best quarterback in the Beast or does Eli Manning’s ring trump him?"
Regardless of total rankings, the correct answer of course is Eli trumps him. Take a look at their playoff records:
Eli Manning: (4*-3)
Tony Romo: (1-3)
*includes Superbowl
That to me says it all. But instead of solely focusing on my own personal view, I’d like to have a bit of fun and ask sort of a rhetorical question, and it’s only rhetorical in the sense that he’s not going to answer me directly so the question has to speak for itself on some level. But thinking about what the quarterback himself said about what makes you an elite player:
Tony Romo… do you think Eli Manning is an elite quarterback?
Think about it. Given his comments above, how could he not answer in the affirmative? Would he dare say Eli Manning is the exception to the rule? Would he say the victory over the Patriots in Superbowl 42 doesn’t count because Frank Caliendo was the only ‘analyst’ to pick the Giants to win? Strahan and the defense did it all? What could he say other than yes?