By JIM REEVES
revo@star-telegram.com
DENVER — Never mind Roy Williams figuring out what his role is with the Dallas Cowboys. If they’re going anywhere this season, the guy who must solve that mystery about himself is Tony Romo.
Somewhere between Conservative Tony and Gunslinger Tony hides the quarterback the Dallas Cowboys must uncover to win.
Without him, they’re dead.
By late in the second half Sunday at Invesco Field, I’d already planned the caveat that would have to come with this column. You know, the one that said, "but for all that, the Cowboys did manage to pull out a win."
All afternoon I thought the Cowboys would win, that Romo somehow would make the play that would, in the end, make the difference in the game.
So much for those happy thoughts.
Almost just doesn’t quite do it.
Like Romo, and Jerry Jones, and Wade Phillips and everyone else in Colorado who slobbered all over the Broncos after the game, I give them all the credit in the world for their 17-10 victory Sunday.
But is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that the Cowboys should have won this game?
They didn’t because, yes, the Broncos have a very nice defense, but mostly because the Cowboys’ offense had nothing, especially once Denver shut down Dallas’ running game in the second half.
That comes down to Romo and his receivers, especially his wide receivers, and until the Cowboys admit that to themselves and address the problem, this team is in trouble.
Romo simply doesn’t look right. Some of that had to do with the Broncos and their excellent defensive backs. Some of it had to do with the pressure he was under. He was sacked five times and rarely had time to set his feet before the pass rush was on him.
Yes, Romo had two turnovers, a fumble when he was blindsided, setting up Denver’s first touchdown, and an interception by Champ Bailey on what Romo said later was a "miscommunication." That one, inside the Broncos’ 20, cost the Cowboys points. But neither was what you’d call a gamble that backfired.
Romo is struggling to work within the conservative system that Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have stressed. Heck, we’ve all stressed it, and rightfully so. I’m just not sure he can do it and still be the Tony Romo the Cowboys need to win football games.
Believe it or not, owner Jerry Jones seems to be thinking along the same lines (which I suppose should worry me).
"You’d like him to be a threat, in other words, not be so conservative that he doesn’t give himself a chance to be a threat any more," Jones said. "We all know the threat he can be and how that can complement and make some good things happen, too.
"When we got desperate at the end, and we were behind, there he goes, then he turned it on and said, 'I’ve got to go out here and make the plays.’
"Well, do you balance that up a little more early? Probably not if you’re running the ball as good as we’re running the ball, you don’t have to pay that price, but if all of a sudden you’re not running the ball ..."
The "play" that Romo made, of course, was one he’s practically patented. Trailing 17-10 and facing a make-it-or-else fourth-and-3 at Dallas’ 27 with 1:16 to play, Romo somehow pulled his Houdini act, escaping from a collapsing pocket, rolling left and, on the dead run, lobbing a perfect pass into Sam Hurd’s hands as he cut across the middle. Hurd turned it into a 53-yard play all the way to the Denver 20, and if he had any speed at all, he probably would have scored.
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