We have reached the end of the first quarter of the 2012 NFL Season. In looking at the league after the first four weeks, we can say one thing without uncertainty - Tony Romo is a gagging, choking dog.
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| Meow, meow, meow, meow. Meow, meow, meow, meow. Meow, meow... |
On Monday night, Romo threw five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, in the Cowboys’ 34-18 loss to the Chicago Bears in Dallas. The Cowboys are now 2-2 and have claimed the spot they normal have at this time of the season, as they are the team national media is questioning most at this point in the season. Is it the receivers’ fault? Does Dallas need a new head coach? Is Jerry Jones meddling too much with the team? How bad is Dallas’ defense? There are so many questions asked. Yet, none of them is about the leadership abilities or talent of quarterback Tony Romo. As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I should support Tony Romo too since he is the face of the franchise. However, I have harbored a great hatred for Tony Romo since the national media christened Romo an elite QB in 2006. Tony Romo has the good looks and the charisma of a prototypical winning NFL quarterback. However, Romo lacks one thing that the media seems to ignore: TONY ROMO IS NOT CLUTCH! Tony Romo is 1-3 all-time in the postseason. Romo chokes when the lights are on bright and the stage is big. Any other quarterback struggles like this and the national media destroys him. Any other quarterback struggles like this and he is unemployed within two seasons. However, the Dallas Cowboys celebrate Romo’s failures and the national media protects Tony Romo. They protect him from criticism. It is as if Romo can do no wrong and when he does, it is because someone else messed up. I just do not understand why either.
As many great young talents as Dallas gets on offense and defense, the Dallas Cowboys will never amount to anything as long as Tony Romo is the starting quarterback. This is something that I have just grown to accept as a Cowboys fan. Tony Romo sucks and, as long as he is the Cowboys quarterback, the Cowboys will suck too.
Around the League: The Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans have emerged as the best teams in the league with their 4-0 records. While the Arizona Cardinals are also a surprising 4-0, the Falcons and Texans have achieved their records via impressive victories either through dominance or through comebacks against competitive foes. They are elite teams in 2012 while Arizona, a nice story, is simply not in the same league as their 4-0 counterparts. The San Francisco 49ers are 3-1 after a dominant 34-0 victory over the New York Sideshows, I mean Jets. The surprising Minnesota Vikings are also 3-1 along with the Bears in the NFC North while the Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFC East with a 3-1 record. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers led the AFC West with a 3-1 record while the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals have 3-1 records at the top of the AFC North.
Just as surprising as some of those successful records are, the New Orleans Saints have an equally surprising record. The Saints are 0-4 along with the Cleveland Browns. The Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions, who both started with high hopes, currently sit at 1-3 respectively and are among the biggest disappointments of the 2012 season. The New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers are both respectively at 2-2 but have shown flashes of dominating brilliance that have little worried about their postseason futures while the Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-2 with a lot of top talent set to return from injury heading into Week Five.
After the first quarter of the season, I think it is a safe bet that the Atlanta Falcons have won the NFC South. They have four games on the Saints and three games on the Buccaneers and Panthers through four games. Baring a major rash of injuries, Atlanta has the division locked up. Arizona may be leading the very competitive NFC west but I still believe the division is San Francisco’s division to lose. The 49ers are too talented and dominant to lose the division to the Cardinals while I do not believe either Seattle or St. Louis can keep up. The Philadelphia Eagles are not winning pretty but they have a one game lead over the Giants, Cowboys, and Redskins in the NFC East. As long as Vick stays upright and Philadelphia is comfortable with winning ugly, they will be hard to stop in the NFC East. The Minnesota Vikings are a pleasant surprise but I do not believe their lead, currently with Chicago, in the NFC North will last as Green Bay will be a force in that division.
Meanwhile, the New England Patriots are in a three-way tie with Buffalo and the Jets for the AFC East so it is safe to say that the Patriots have that division wrapped up too. New York fans are screaming for Tim Tebow when the reality is that 3rd string quarterback Greg McElroy is the Jets’ only hope. Meanwhile, the Patriots crushed the Bills in Buffalo to show their dominance over their divisional rival. Pittsburgh is not finished yet but Baltimore and Cincinnati are working to make the AFC North a two-team race. The AFC West has San Diego in front by a game over Denver in a division that will be a two-team battle with both Oakland and Kansas City looking horrible. Oh, and the Houston Texans have won the AFC South already as the Colts, Jaguars, and Titans simply have nothing going for them that says they will overcome their three-game deficits in the division.
Who’s Hot: The NFL Officials were welcomed back with open arms after three weeks of horrific officiating by the replacement refs… Saints quarterback Drew Brees matched Johnny Unitas’ 52-year record with a touchdown pass in his 47th consecutive game in the Saints 28-27 loss to Green Bay… Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill passed for a Dolphins-rookie record 431 yards in a 24-21 loss to Arizona… Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein hit a 58-yard and 60-yard field goal in the Rams 19-13 victory over Seattle… Patriots QB Tom Brady led a second-half comeback in New England’s impressive 52-28 win over the Bills. Plus, he gave us this awesome image.
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| I love this Tom Brady. So vulgar and funny. |
Who’s Not: The New York Jets offense is an embarrassment to the game of football after their 34-0 loss to the 49ers… Redskins kicker Billy Cundiff continues to struggle as his three missed field goals almost cost Washington in the Redskins’ 24-22 victory over Tampa Bay… The Carolina Panthers defense is healthy but horrible as shown in allowing Atlanta to march down the field from the Falcons 1-yard line and kick a game-winning field goal in the Falcons 30-28 victory… Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw five interceptions in Dallas’ 34-18 loss to Chicago.
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