NFL: Detroit can go to 4-0 Against Cowboys

Normally Al Dannity doesn’t take things personally but enough is enough. He wants the Lions to save the entire NFL season and end the deification of Tony Romo quickly.

Time to stop the fawning
Tony Romo is a quarterback and an average one at that. Actually, statistically speaking he is well below average. Pro Football Focus ranks Romo #27 out of 33 quarterbacks in the NFL based on his accumulated numbers in 2011. You wouldn’t know it if you listened to Ron Jaworski last Monday night. The praise on a quarterback who played, heaven forbid, with a rib injury was ridiculous. Much as I loved to watch Peyton Manning play, the one upside of him being out of action was the reduction in fawning over him by commentators. At least Manning has a ring for his troubles. What has Romo ever done? One playoff win and a string of clunkers.

All this misplaced adulation isn’t the fault of the Dallas quarterback but that doesn’t matter. So long as he keeps looking just good enough to keep Jaws and his buddies salivating, NFL betting fans are going to suffer. We the people need Romo to deliver fumbles and picks this Sunday, the kind you can’t blame on a bad snap or a badly run route. I’m sorry Tony but the very sanity of all of us watching rests on you stinking so much there can be no doubt left.

Bring the pressure
I played a little offensive line in my day but thankfully I was woeful so never played at a level where I had to worry about Ndamukong Suh inhabiting my nightmares. Suh has 14 combined sacks, hits, and, pressures, 3 more than another other defensive tackle in the NFL. That defensive line, which should get after the Cowboys’ awful o-line, should be a huge factor in this game.

There’s not questioning the skill the Lions possess on offense this year. Matt Stafford is off to a great start, although it’s hard for him not to be when he’s got Calvin Johnson as an option. Megatron has been an absolute beast for the Lions in 2011, and with Jahvid Best on the ground this is a unit that will cause plenty of issues for any team in the NFC.

The verdict
When my heart and head agree, I think I’m on to a good thing. I was tentative about the Lions getting to 3-0. That was a much bigger psychological hurdle that 4-0, where you almost expect a team to build on the momentum of winning their first 3 games. I like the Lions to get it done.