Cardinals Game Will be True Test of Tony Romo, Cowboys’ New Identity

By Jeric Griffin @JericGriffin on November 1, 2014

Minutes after the Dallas Cowboys first topped an NFL power rankings list, the reaction immediately was, ‘Sure, they’re rolling now, but their collapse could be historical.’ That was following Dallas’ stunning upset of the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 6. Now, three weeks later following another Tony Romo injury scare, that collapse seems imminent, at least to some.

When asked about such a possibility, Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick jerked his head toward the direction of the question as if the asker had just suggested recently arrested Dallas running back Joseph Randle has an IQ over 50: “Hell no!”

So while the rest of the football world watches America’s Team from afar with understood skepticism, the upstart Cowboys are trying hard to stay under the radar (as weird as that sounds) while maintaining a confidence necessary to contend in the tough NFC.

But confidence doesn’t equal health — or even success. Linebacker Justin Durant, the unsung hero and captain of the NFL’s 14-best defense, is now lost for the season, as is Morris Claiborne, albeit his injury was definitely a blessing in disguise. Of course, that disguise is about as good as the “monsters” in the old Scooby-Doo cartoons, but you get the point.

Now Romo, who has admirably battled through injury before, must prove he is still capable of not only doing that again, but also playing well enough to beat the team tied for the league’s best record. The Washington Redskins’ overmatched defense put on a clinic of how to blitz and disguise the blitz in a 3-4 scheme during their 20-17 overtime win over Dallas on Monday Night Football. After seeing how Romo responded then before the big hit that almost ended his night, one simply has to expect the Arizona Cardinals’ defense to frustrate the Cowboys’ signal-caller even more on Sunday.

Although better than it looks on paper, Washington’s defense simply overachieved in a trap game for the Cowboys, a division opponent who the Redskins always play tough. However, they exploited Romo’s apparent inability to read blitzes at the line, at least when he’s ailing, which resulted in five sacks and then created the injury craze.

Arizona’s defense is a much stouter unit that will undoubtedly do an even better job of harassing Romo, assuming Jerry Jones’ prized possession suits up for the contest. Sure, Romo returned to the overtime loss against Washington, but he was nowhere near as comfortable as he was before the big hit, although that’s not saying much.

If Romo plays, he will have to embody the mental toughness that he displayed in Week 2 of the 2011 season when he returned to the game after suffering a broken rib and punctured lung to lead Dallas to an epic 27-24 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers. If he does that and is able to lead the Cowboys to a win over a now slightly favored Cardinals team, he and his team will prove they were not an early-season fluke.

But if he plays and folds under the pressure like he did against Washington due to the pain in his back, that collapse all the Cowboys skeptics already predicted will drive Dallas fans to drink…even more than Jones already does.

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