The Fan Hub

"Unbelievable!" That's probably the first word that ran through the minds of the Dallas Cowboys and their fans as they watched Graham Gano's 52-yard field goal attempt barely sail wide right in overtime against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. With how the season has gone so far, why wouldn't it be? When it comes to lucky breaks (don't say that around Tony Romo's ribs), the Cowboys haven't gotten any.

Part of the problem has been the Cowboys' own doing. Romo's early head-scratchers, turnovers to kill game-tying/winning drives, a secondary that is still confused with defensive assignments before the snap, and poor special teams coverage hasn't always put the Cowboys in the best position to win games.

Other problems have not been under the Cowboys' control. Injuries to Romo, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Sean Lee, Felix Jones, Mat McBriar, and Phil Costa have all kept the team from playing at 100% for the majority of the season. The NFL lockout also limited the time necessary for the young offensive line to jell, and the defense to learn the terms and schemes of new coordinator Rob Ryan's system.

But there has been some luck, you might say. Sure, the Cowboys' schedule has been pretty weak so far. Wins over Washington, St. Louis, Seattle, Buffalo, and Washington again yesterday (combined 14-26 records) are not convincing. On the other hand, the Cowboys did hand the 49ers (9-1) their only loss of the season, and probably should could have beaten the Jets and Patriots with only a thumping at the hands of the Eagles as a blemish on their record. At the end of the day, a win is a win, and the Cowboys have enough to sit atop the NFC East after Week 11 in a tie with the New York Giants.

Anyone can argue that their favorite team "could have beat the other team" in a close game. Hell, that's probably how Jets fans go to sleep every night. But the fact remains that the Cowboys earned this relatively soft schedule by finishing 6-10 last year, a win total that they have already matched this year, with much of the same team. Those players who are no longer on the team have been replaced by rookies or free agent findings—DeMarco Murray and Laurent Robinson, equally deserving of mention. As a result, this year's early success has to be encouraging, and frankly, surprising for many Dallas fans.

Yet there's still a familiar uneasiness for those who have followed this team closely over the past decade or so. No matter how well everything seems to be going, or setup for success, Dallas fans have been trained recently to expect things like this, to do this to the Cowboys' postseason dreams. With two games left in December against the Giants, the Cowboys can play themselves right into or out of the playoffs.

So who are the naysayers expecting to screw it all up? The easy target is always Tony Romo. These pessimists, drunk on their gallons of Haterade and Whine-e-kins, pile the blame on Romo for all of the team's woes, from a lack of hustle to dropping a pass. There's always this gem, off of the comments section of a Cowboys news article online: "It doesnt matter because romo sucks and he always will suck because hes not clutch."

The margin for error is so slim, and the opportunities to win are both infrequent and incredibly important. Simply put, very little separates the good from the greats at the highest level.

Ah, yes, oh great poet of the land of athletic analysis. Well said. Perhaps it's because the quarterback can so dramatically and so instantaneously affect the outcome of a game that they receive such heaps of criticism, ignoring the other 21 players on the field. Often times, it can be a single play that decides the delicate balance between a win or loss. Romo, as the Terminator blasted into my head almost five years ago, has had such moments in the negative sense before. He may have more yet to come.

And yet it's undeniable that the Cowboys have had success, not in spite of Tony Romo, but because of him. Kurt Warner said during one of yesterday's telecasts that as long as the quarterback could limit his mistakes and make the big play when he had to, that his team would come out on top. Marv Albert and his hairpiece quickly replied, "Well, Kurt, you could say that about any quarterback and be right. What insight is that?"

Warner then said that it's often just that—a sharp pass here, a turnover there—that decides a game for the quarterback, sometimes not even a play or two. It's these few plays that can make a Tom Brady, if executed well, or a JaMarcus Russell if not. The margin for error is so slim, and the opportunities to win are both infrequent and incredibly important. Simply put, very little separates the good from the greats at the highest level.

Warner's argument was spot on. Unfortunately to this point, Romo's JaMarcus moments tend to stand out more than his Brady moments because he hasn't yet had that signature performance at the highest level. The record-setting number of 300+ yard passing games, leading the league in November statistics, or 4th quarter ratings, franchise records…really none of it is valued until Romo delivers on a Super Bowl victory. It's altogether unfair yet brutally honest.

The argument about clutch is a non-factor. By his own calculations, Michael Jordan missed 26 game-winning shots, but no one considers him a loser or "un-clutch." Until Romo wins a Super Bowl ring, he may be called that, a master of regular season statistics. Nevertheless, Romo has the Cowboys right where they need to be: in first place, with their destiny in their own hands.