The Who & Why Of Cowboys Playing Romo In Philly
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FRISCO (105.3 THE FAN) - Very quickly, the Dallas Cowboys QB question for Week 17 will go from being a "who" to being a "why." Sources tell 105.3 The Fan that Tony Romo is petitioning Cowboys management to get him some snaps in the otherwise meaningless Sunday visit to Philadelphia, which fits ESPN's story that the erstwhile star may be one of three quarterbacks who plays against the Eagles.
With the team having clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, there is reason to not expose rookie starter Dak Prescott to many snaps. And Dallas' plan all week -- what we've called "The Rainy-Day Romo Plan" -- has been in place in regard to how the team practiced Wednesday at Thursday: Romo got his work, but not necessarily ahead of Mark Sanchez, the ideal "mop-up" guy here.
But if Romo thinks he needs to play? If he's persuaded owner Jerry Jones of it? If offensive coordinator Scott Linehan is noting that there are some benefits to it, in theory, as he did Thursday? The idea becomes a "viable" one -- but not necessarily, a "good" one, because in addition to the "who" and the "why," there is a "what."
Left tackle Tyron Smith and left guard Ron Leary are ailing. Having them healthy for the playoffs two weeks from now is infinitely more important than forcing players in their physical states to endure the Philly game. If they sit (Tyron will, Leary probably won't), the starting tackle is Emmett Cleary and a helper at guard might be Ryan Seymour, a practice-squadder who isn't even on the roster yet, but likely will be by Sunday.
There is no right or wrong answer here, because the circumstances are unprecedented. But there are questions about the "who" and about the "why."