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Only a day removed from our first Sunday without football for a while, you are probably already starving for your next dose of pigskin. Well, you won’t have to wait that long as the NFL offseason is starting to pick up.

All the rage this past week has surrounded a New England Patriots QB and surprisingly enough, it isn’t Tom Brady. While many have estimated that Brady will in fact play 3–5 more seasons, the fact remains that the Patriots have 3 capable quarterbacks on their roster, and one that is highly coveted by other teams. Jimmy Garoppolo is somewhat of a mystery man, something we will get into later, but is already being courted by numerous teams as if he were a seasoned vet primed for free agency. Speaking of a seasoned vet and someone who is more anomaly than mystery, Tony Romo also faces a very uncertain future as well. As Rayne Dakota, or Dak, Prescott took hold of the Dallas Cowboys starting job and then took off with the Cowboys offense, Romo suddenly finds himself at a crossroads in his career. In no certain terms, on one side would be to stay in Dallas as a backup while collecting the total sum of his money, 20 plus some odd million dollars. This is pretty feasible to most, as the love affair between he and Jerry would surely facilitate such a move, or lack thereof. The other side of that equation would be to move on and continue the pursuit of a championship, that he leads a team to, with the downside of that more than likely being a deal for less money.

Although the both of the Eastern Illinois products will likely end up in new places, which one would your franchise rather have? That is a good question, and one surely racking the brains of at least a few NFL GM’s at this very moment. Good thing our job’s aren’t on the line here, but after a bit of thought, we can probably make a best guess.

Past Performance/Track Record

Over the past few seasons Tom Brady hasn’t missed that many games, however when we did get to see “Jimmy G”, he played pretty well. He has started two games throughout his 3 year career, going 63 for 94 with a completion percentage of 67 percent. Throwing for 690 yards exact, that comes out to a little over 10 yards per completion. These are actually pretty good numbers, except for they aren’t enough. Other factors that don’t necessarily help Garoppolo here are the facts that they were early season games, where some would see those as a bit easier, and the fact that he plays for the Patriots and we all remember Matt Cassel. The only other record you can point to is the success he had in college, but that’s college, a totally different level of football.

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When looking at Tony Romo, the immediate first thought has to be his lack of success in the postseason, and it very well should. The next thing that should come to mind is the fact that someone had to get the Cowboys there. Romo is 2829/4335 with a 65.3 completion percentage. Throwing for over 34,000 yards, he has never had less than a 91.0 quarterback rating when playing 6 games or more in any given season. Atop all the stats to boot, he has shown a knack for making the big play(which could also be his achilles heel), and an ability to do so in the big moments. Overall, when looking at their track records and considering Garoppolo’s obvious youth, I would still have to go with the old guy here and take Romo.

Flexibility

Flexibility here is a twofold term, and although they may work in sync, it speaks towards team building and financials. Although the financials help guide the team building aspect, the talent’s of the quarterback and/or their limitations do as well. When speaking towards financial flexibility in this scenario, it may initially seem as though Garoppolo is the best option, but in fact he is not. Although he will be on the last year of his deal, he will more than likely be looking for an extension or a new deal at some point next season. A few things could happen here, as he may be looking for that extension before the team that signs him may be ready to offer it, due to a lack of proof in Garoppolo’s play or in order to ensure other things can be done with the team. Now, the team could opt not to offer that extension or new contract, but that puts them back into this situation the following year, thus rendering initially acquiring Garoppolo a moot point. When thinking about Tony Romo, this point in his career is and should be all about winning, and he has a ton of money already. Although it will probably cost a team somewhere in the neighborhood of 10–15 million on a re-structure if Romo is moved, it isn’t the type of money that Garoppolo is sure to command, especially in the current NFL “open market”. When thinking about the team building aspect, you already know what Romo brings. That is playmaking, a rocket arm, and a certain knack for mobility when needed, something that makes it easy to build around. We can’t necessarily say what skills Garoppolo bring for certain as we haven’t seen enough, and the Patriots do such a great job at hiding your weaknesses while simultaneously maximizing your strengths. This clouds any assumption that can be made about Garoppolo and what to put around him.

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Eye Test

In a world of saber metrics and analytics, sometimes the best test is the “eye test”. When thinking about it in this situation, it probably is one of the better tools of assessment. After using it, it is clear to see that Tony Romo is just better. Proven or unproven, heavy cap hit or no cap hit, who cares? When thinking about the way they have performed when on the field, Tony Romo hands down is the better option right now and for at least the next two years, providing he can stay on the field. As we bring up his injury woes, he has to stay on the field in order for any of the prior to apply, but if he is then it absolutely does. Incorporating everything from running the offense, making the calls, recognizing defenses, and making the throws, Romo is definitely the better option, and thus has a higher score on the eye test.

“Jimmy G” may have that Eastern Illinois “swag”, but he’s no Tony Romo at this point, and it’s no certainty he ever will be. Some will point to the interceptions in big moments or even the injuries, but he would probably have not thrown so many had he had any bit of help and his back would probably still be fine had he not been carrying “Jerruh’s Boy’s” for the last 10 years or so. If you feel that you are three or more years away, Jimmy is probably your guy, but only because Tony is probably only 4 at most from hanging up the cleats. If you feel that you are a quarterback away from winning big in the very near future, then Romo is your obvious choice, which makes him the best option right now.

Stats and reference via NFL.COM