IRVING, Texas - It took three full games, 59 minutes and a couple of seconds, but I finally recognized Tony Romo this season.
Thought I had seen him a few times this year, but just not sure. Seemed like I spotted him in Tampa Bay for a while, when he was chunking the ball around in the second half.
It also looked like him against the Giants in the third quarter when he forced a deep ball that was picked off.
Never really saw him against Carolina and for the most part, didn't recognize him in Denver, not until the very last drive of the game.
When it was fourth-and-three, game on the line, a Broncos crowd that would've made the old Mile High Stadium proud, and here's Romo turning his back to the field of play as he tries to make something happen. Running for his life, he stops before he crosses the line of scrimmage and floats a pass to Sam Hurd, who had probably already run about three routes at that point. Hurd catches it on the run and goes 53 yards to keep the game alive.
OK, so we all saw the play. We all know what happened afterward. Honestly, not as concerned with all of that. Sure, it was the ultimate difference in the Cowboys being 2-2 instead of 3-1. But my point is, that guy making that fourth down play is the guy this Cowboys team needs.
That, is Tony Romo.
And for some reason, the Cowboys haven't gotten that player for every snap of every game this season.
Not sure if he's being instructed to play more conservative. Not sure if all the talk of him being careless with the ball has gotten to his head. Not sure if he's just incapable of being that guy consistently - which I strongly doubt.
But whatever the reason is, the Cowboys don't have a gunslinger anymore. They've got a guy who used to be a gunslinger and now is trying to be this other kind of quarterback - a quarterback who is thinking about protecting the ball in the pocket. A quarterback who is so overly conscious about not trying to force the ball anywhere, that he's not forcing it anywhere.
He's a quarterback that used to be pretty shifty and elusive and could scramble for first downs or at least avoid sacks long enough to find that open receiver. Now, it seems like he's so fearful of not trying to make a mistake, that he's quick to take a sack or get rid of the ball.
For some guys, that's what you want out of your quarterback. But that's not Tony Romo. That's not the guy the Cowboys gave $67.5 million to back in 2007 and told him to go be their franchise quarterback for the next decade or so.
Pick your analogy if you want, but this goes right alongside the "teaching old dogs new tricks" or "taking the lion out of the jungle."
Either way, the Cowboys need Tony Romo to be Tony Romo.
He needs to be able to take chances. He needs to be able to believe in himself, and his arm that he can fire this football into Roy Williams, even though it looks like he's covered.
With this group of receivers - Williams, Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, Martellus Bennett - there's not a lot of speedsters there. We know this. Other than Austin, who might be the most unpolished route runner of the group, there won't ever be much separation.
Romo has to be able to throw the ball to these guys even though they're covered, with the hope they're going to make the play. Otherwise, he'll turn into the check-down guy that replaced him for three games last season.
Managing the game, thinking about turnovers, thinking about all the negative plays that could happen - that's not his game. He's better than that.
I'm sorry. You do that with Trent Dilfer or Kerry Collins, or yes, Brad Johnson. And yes, I realized I handpicked three quarterbacks who have been to a Super Bowl, two of them have won it.
And those types of quarterbacks could work the game. They knew how to play to their strengths, when to take some chances and when to pull it back. They knew they weren't playmakers and made sure they didn't mess up anything that would prevent the real playmakers from doing their thing.
Well, that worked for them.
It doesn't work for Tony Romo, because the Cowboys simply need more than that. And he's given it to them before.
Since he took over this team, he was a playmaker. He made things happen, with his arm, his eyes, his feet, and yes his leadership.
Tony Romo took the baton from Drew Bledsoe back in 2006 and never looked back. This team, this city and this world-wide fan base embraced him, too.
In some ways, Romo was like a savior for this team desperately needing a spark. And there's no doubt, Romo was that guy. And it wasn't because the Cowboys just needed a change. Romo was making plays - most of them for the Cowboys, but there were some others that didn't go his way.
That's what he does. That's what a player like Tony Romo is. There's good, there's bad, but you just hope the good outweighs the bad. And regardless what you think, it certainly has.
This guy is 29-14 as a starting quarterback and has finished his first three seasons as a starter with a quarterback rating in the 90s.
Everyone wants him to be great. We all thought he was destined for it, and maybe he is. Maybe we're just all so hungry to find the next Troy Aikman that we put all of these expectations on him too soon.
Not sure about all of that, but I do know that no other player should be leading this team than Tony Romo.
See, everyone has their opinions on why he isn't playing his best, or simply the Cowboys aren't winning enough games. Most of them point towards Romo.
He's not being a leader.
He doesn't care about winning.
He'd rather play golf.
He's more focused on being a celebrity.
He doesn't make smart decisions.
He's too careless with the football.
He can't win the big game, or any game in December.
He can't win without T.O.
It goes on and on and I'm sure there're plenty more, too. Yeah, it's easy to pinpoint a few things and call them problem areas. Everyone can detect problems but few people really have the answers.
Personally, I don't know if there's just one problem. I don't know if some of those complaints don't have some merit.
But the only obvious thing to me is that Romo isn't being allowed to be Romo.
Put the ball in his hands and tell him to go play.
You remember the classic movie "Bull Durham." Kevin Costner, the old veteran catcher is trying to groom his young, hotrod of a pitcher. Many times in the movie he tells him, "Don't think, just throw."
In a way, that's what needs to happen with Romo. Sure, he needs to be conscious of making mistakes in critical situations, when to throw the ball away and when he can't take a sack. These aren't things he doesn't know.
I just believe this entire summer of him making an obvious effort to change some of his mechanics and his thought-process has changed his aggressiveness, too.
One fan from the Houston area emailed me on Monday with what I believe to be a perfect analogy.
"I feel the gunslinger is packing a pocket knife to a gun fight."
OK, so maybe taking this thing to the weapons level was a bit too far but you get the point.
It just seems like Romo isn't being Romo. It's time to go let the kid play. And yes, I always feel a little awkward calling someone a "kid" when he's only about four years younger than me.
But it fits in this situation. Romo is a kid. He's a fun-loving, big-smiling, backward-hat-wearing, joke-telling kid who loves to play this game.
So he makes mistakes. He's making mistakes either way. Might as well let Romo play his game - the game that got him to this point in the first place.
He doesn't need go out and play not to lose. He doesn't need to try to manage the game.
Go out and win the game. That's what Romo is and that's what this team needs.
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Nick Eatman - 
