Dallas, TX

What If… Tony Romo had stayed healthy in 2016?

Published

3 days ago

July 4, 2024

What If… Tony Romo had stayed healthy in 2016?

It’s possible that 2024 will be Dak Prescott’s last season as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. If so, he’ll have had a nine-year run that only a few in franchise history have bettered or even matched. Given that, it’s amazing to think about how improbable Prescott’s career has been. What if his predecessor, Tony Romo, hadn’t been injured during that 2016 preseason?

Prescott was famously taken with a fourth-round pick in that year’s NFL Draft. He didn’t arrive with fanfare; more focus was put on Dallas getting leapfrogged for Paxton Lynch in the first round or their reported interest in Connor Cook before the Raiders snatched him ahead of Dallas in the fourth round. Coming out of the draft, Prescott felt more like a runner-up and a career backup at best; another Stephen McGee to help fill the QB depth chart for a while.

Indeed, Prescott wasn’t even the primary backup upon arrival. Dallas had added Kellen Moore, a favorite of then-offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, the year before and he was the presumptive QB2. On top of that, Prescott did not have a great summer in practice and there was talk of undrafted rookie Jameill Showers outshining him. Even after Moore broke his leg early in training camp, the Cowboys tried to swing a trade for veteran Josh McCown rather than entrust backup duty to one of their rookies.

But then, once preseason action started, Prescott got the hype train rolling. In three games he went 39/50 for 454 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions with a 137.8 passer rating. Prescott also showed off his running ability with 53 yards and two more scores on just seven carries.

Prescott didn’t play in the final preseason game because, the week before, Tony Romo was injured against the Seahawks and ruled out for at least two months. Thanks to his hot August, Prescott was named the starter and helped lead the team to a remarkable 13-3 season. Even when Romo was medically cleared to return, the team stuck with their rookie sensation and embraced a new era for the franchise.

So again, what if Romo doesn’t suffer that back injury? What if he waltzes into 2016 still the starting quarterback? How might Cowboys history have changed?

The biggest question of all is if Romo would’ve made the 2016 Cowboys a better team, and that’s a tough one given what they accomplished without him. 13 regular season wins, a division title, and a competitive showing in their playoff loss to the Packers; there were all about the peak of what Romo did in his best seasons with Dallas.

Even in the playoffs, the rookie Prescott had a strong game going head-to-head with Aaron Rodgers and helped Dallas take it down the final ticks. The Cowboys rallied from a 28-13 deficit going into the fourth quarter to tie it up late, and only a final drive and a 51-yard field goal from Mason Crosby lifted Green Bay to the win that day. Prescott looked the part of a championship-level quarterback that day.

Still, there’s no denying Romo’s experience would have served the team well in moments. He was also a more fearless type of QB, and perhaps some of that moxie would have led to big plays when the more conservative Prescott played it safe. But on the other hand, with only four total picks thrown that year, Prescott’s style might have helped the Cowboys avoid some of the pitfalls that Romo’s risk-taking occasionally led to. Their differences probably balanced out over the season as a whole.

Now this is where it really gets interesting. If Romo had remained the starter, how long would that have continued beyond 2016? And would that have affected Prescott’s career?

One reason that Dallas chose Prescott over Romo was that the veteran was already 36 and decidedly injury-prone. If he’d had a healthy and productive 2016 season, would Romo have moved into broadcasting the following year or given it another go? That’s hard to say without seeing how he would’ve performed the season before, nor can we assume that avoiding that preseason injury means he wouldn’t have been hurt at some other point in 2016. One thing that we do know about Romo, even before that final injury, was that his body was breaking down.

Still, let’s pretend that Romo stays healthy in 2016 and decides to give it one more go in 2017. Maybe he makes it through that year, maybe he doesn’t. Maybe the scenario we saw play out the year before then comes to fruition; Prescott gets his shot and shows he’s a gamer. But if Romo hangs on another two years and then retires, Dallas would’ve gone into the 2018 offseason with a big question mark at quarterback.

True, Prescott would’ve had his big preseason performances to entice the team. But that 2018 QB class of Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Lamar Jackson would’ve been tough for the Cowboys to ignore. Depending on how Dallas performed the year before and where their first-round pick might have fallen, could they have chosen their next starting QB here and left Prescott resigned to backup duty?

Or what if Romo makes it through 2016 but then either retires or gets hurt early? Remember, the 2017 season wasn’t a fun one for Dallas. That was the year of Elliott’s suspension, Dez Bryant’s declining play as WR1, the infamous Chaz Green debacle in Atlanta, and a suspect defense incapable of causing turnovers. If this had been Prescott’s entry to the NFL, without that year of experience under his belt, how badly might it have hurt his stock going forward?

One thing is clear; 2016 was the best point possible for Prescott to get his opportunity to start. Elliott was the freshest and most dynamic version of himself, the offensive line was humming behind Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and Travis Frederick, and other veteran pieces like Bryant and Jason Witten were still viable for a contending team. Even with a relatively poor defense that year, Prescott was able to help lead the other side of the ball to overcome that and post one of the team’s most impressive seasons of the modern era.

If that shot hadn’t come when it did, Prescott may have never been given the reins. He could have stayed on the bench behind Romo for a few years, then been leapfrogged by a high pick in the 2018 draft. Or if he’d had to play in 2017 in less ideal circumstances, it could’ve prompted the team to start looking elsewhere. After all, he was only a former fourth-rounder anyway. It’s not like they saw him as their QB of the future when they took him.

So if 2024 does prove to be Dak Prescott’s finale with the Dallas Cowboys, it will cap nearly a decade of quarterback play that could’ve easily never happened. Prescott wasn’t brought in as the heir apparent to Tony Romo, but circumstances opened the door and his performance forced that transition to occur. It’s amazing how a franchise’s fate can alter on such a narrow margin, but that’s what makes Prescott’s run one of the great “What Ifs” in Cowboys history.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas should be the leader in supporting DART

Published

7 hours ago

July 7, 2024

Press Room

Dallas should be the leader in supporting DART

As North Texas grows, Dallas should take the lead in mobility and public transportation. That means staying committed to Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

Instead, Dallas is leading in the wrong direction. The city has talked about using DART funds to cover massive pension obligations. Similar talks continued at a Government Performance and Financial Management Committee meeting last month, when council members approved a legislative priority to “seek restructuring of DART sales tax contribution.”

The full City Council will discuss the proposal and vote on it this fall. Council members didn’t commit to much, and deliberately left the language open-ended so it can be fleshed out in later discussions.

Still, we don’t like where this conversation is going. Plano’s and Rowlett’s city councils have already passed resolutions in support of cutting sales tax funding to DART.

Dallas-Fort Worth’s population is projected to keep growing by huge margins for the next couple of decades, adding millions of jobs in the process, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

Not only can DART continue to help drive economic development as it has for decades, it can also help move a growing workforce while reducing congestion on already crowded roads, making the region more competitive. And for those without access to cars, DART’s services are critical.

Dallas residents depend on DART far more than those from neighboring suburbs, with over 70% of riders hailing from the city, according to a May memo. How DART is treated around the horseshoe should reflect that.

Make no mistake, DART has work to do. During the pandemic, between fiscal years 2019 and 2021, DART’s ridership nearly halved, down from just over 70 million to about 36 million, according to a DART spokesperson. Since then, ridership has crept back upward, with DART providing around 50 million rides across all modes of transportation last fiscal year.

Total ridership at the end of this fiscal year is projected to be about 58 million, a DART spokesperson said. Reaching that number would represent good progress, but would still leave room for improvement.

From the 26-mile Silver Line that will stretch from Plano to DFW International Airport to added security, cleaning crews and a system modernization program that will see 95 light rail vehicles and 522 buses replaced, among other upgrades, DART has invested millions over the last few years to boost ridership and improve service. Those efforts appear to be working and deserve time to play out.

The answer to DART’s troubles should not be disinvestment but instead to work with the agency on long-term solutions. Billions have been invested in DART over the years. Treating that as a sunk cost would be incredibly shortsighted.

DART and its member cities can still help each other grow, and Dallas can set an example. In a city committed to an equality of opportunity DART can help provide, that should be a no-brainer.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Mavericks Acquire Warriors’ Klay Thompson In Complicated Six Team Sign-and-Trade

Published

14 hours ago

July 6, 2024

Press Room

Dallas Mavericks Acquire Warriors’ Klay Thompson In Complicated Six Team Sign-and-Trade

In what should be the final official announcement of the day for the Dallas Mavericks, they’ve officially completed the sign-and-trade to acquire Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. And it is a doozy.

Thompson to the Mavericks completes a sign-and-trade involving six teams, 20% of the NBA, in what becomes the trade with the most teams ever involved in NBA history, including the Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Most of the teams included in this had to make the trade this way for new cap constraints and to acquire trade exceptions.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired 5-time All-Star Klay Thompson and a future 2nd-round pick as part of a six-team sign-and-trade deal in exchange for Josh Green and a future 2nd-round pick.
It marks the first six-team trade in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/BKHszomMay
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) July 7, 2024
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READ MORE: Luka Doncic’s Path to Olympics with Slovenia Ends with Loss Against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece

The Mavericks acquire Thompson and a 2025 second-round pick, which will help make up for the one sent to Detroit in the Tim Hardaway trade while sending Josh Green to the Charlotte Hornets. On top of acquiring Green, the Hornets get Reggie Jackson from the Denver Nuggets along with two second-round picks. They initially acquired three but one was re-routed to Golden State as part of this trade. Denver received cash and salary relief by trading Jackson. The Warriors re-routed that re-routed pick from Charlotte to acquire Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield. The 76ers and Timberwolves received future second-round picks.

Thompson agreed to join the Mavericks on a 3-year, $50 million deal and chose Dallas over the LA Lakers, as he believes the Mavs are closer to winning a championship. He’s not entirely wrong as the Mavs are coming off a run to the NBA Finals. He’s one of the greatest shooters in NBA history and sits sixth all-time in made three-pointers. Should he still shoot the ball at a high level, he’ll provide spacing to Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic that they haven’t had in Dallas.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Announce Summer League Roster Highlighted by 2023 First Round Pick

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Offseason

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

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Dallas, TX

Dak Prescott has multiple Cowboys all-time passing record in his sights

Published

21 hours ago

July 6, 2024

Press Room

Dak Prescott has multiple Cowboys all-time passing record in his sights

Dak Prescott enters 2024 without any security beyond this year. The Dallas Cowboys are again playing hardball in contract negotiations despite continued production from their star quarterback.

Prescott has led them to a record of 73-41 in the regular season, and while his lack of playoff success is a constant talking point, he typically has his team in contention.

With eight seasons under his belt, he also has some impressive numbers. He has 29,459 yards for his career with 202 touchdowns and 74 interceptions. That’s enough for him to be third in passing yardage behind Troy Aikman (32,942) and Tony Romo (34,183). He’s second in touchdowns behind Romo, who has 248.

Needing 46 touchdowns to catch Romo makes catching him a long shot for 2024. Prescott’s career-high in touchdowns came in 2021 when he had 37. He put up 36 this past season, so he’s likely to come close to Romo, but he needs to be on the roster in 2025 to threaten his mark realistically.

MORE: Mike McCarthy poised to pass Cowboys coaching legend in wins in 2024

Passing yardage is a different story. He’s currently just 3,483 yards behind Aikman. With a career average of 258.4 yards per game, he could pass that in 14 starts. If he plays to the top of his potential, he could also threaten Romo, who has a lead of 4,724 yards.

While such yardage isn’t typical, Prescott can hit that number. He proved that with his career-high for a single season in 2019 when he had 4,902 yards — one yard shy of Romo’s single-season record.

Dallas is predicted to eventually re-sign Prescott, and if they do, he will put himself at No. 1 overall in every major passing category in franchise history. As impressive as that is, he will never get the respect he deserves unless the Cowboys win it all.

That’s how this position is ultimately judged.

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