Reuters

Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones knows there are some people who criticize quarterback Tony Romo. But Jones thinks Romo is going to make those people eat their words.

Asked on Sirius XM NFL Radio about people who question Romo, Jones said, “You just wonder if they really know what they’re talking about.”

Jones then added that he realizes why some people are upset that the Cowboys haven’t reached a Super Bowl with Romo as their quarterback, but he said that doesn’t mean Romo can’t win the big one. Jones compared Romo to LeBron James, who took a lot of criticism before leading the Miami Heat to the NBA title.

“I completely understand here in Dallas there is a high bar when you look at some of the quarterbacks that we’ve had here and the championships that they’ve won,” Jones said. “I think Tony would be the first to tell you that he’s disappointed that his success in the postseason and winning a Super Bowl hasn’t been better. But if you look at how he’s performed year in and year and year out, I saw some very interesting statistics on him after the first 100 games and I think he ranks with just about anybody in terms of his first 100 NFL football games. But I think in due time he’ll get his justice, his day in court and when he does lead us to a Super Bowl, which I do think will happen, then I think all the doubters will go by the wayside. You look at just the history of athletes in general, whether it’s a LeBron James or anybody, there’s a lot of criticism until you put those championship rings on their fingers. I think Tony will get his and when he does I think history is going to look upon him, look at his career, and say that, hey, he was one hell of a quarterback.”

Judging Romo by whether or not he wins a ring isn’t entirely fair, as winning a ring is a team accomplishment, not an individual one. But Jones is probably right that that’s the way Romo will be remembered. So if Romo wants to be mentioned alongside Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, he’s going to need to deliver in the postseason. And hope his teammates do, too.