Cowboys: Troy Aikman reignites Prescott-Romo debate with powerful quote
Do you know that friend that just wants to rile up everybody and stir the pot out of nowhere? Well, Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman briefly became that guy this weekend by taking us all back to 2016 to the Tony Romo vs. Dak Prescott debate. You might've forgotten but there was a time when […]
Do you know that friend that just wants to rile up everybody and stir the pot out of nowhere? Well, Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman briefly became that guy this weekend by taking us all back to 2016 to the Tony Romo vs. Dak Prescott debate.
You might've forgotten but there was a time when you couldn't get through one full minute of Cowboys talk before getting into a passionate argument about who should be starting for the team once Romo came back from injury while Prescott's Cowboys kept winning and winning during the veteran's absence.
Nowadays, Prescott remains the starter of America's Team while Romo gets paid millions upon millions to call NFL games. We had moved on. But that Troy, man… He pulled us back in. And he didn't even mention Romo by name!
“Dak has never cowered to the expectations of winning the Super Bowl,” Aikman told reporters at a charity event via Dallas Morning News' David Moore. “He’s the only one I’ve heard since I’ve played that is really adamant about that being the standard for a Cowboys quarterback.”
That's obviously big-time praise for Dak, which you love to hear. And one that is echoed by current and former players around the entire NFL. Aikman isn't the first one to praise Prescott's mindset and leadership skills.
While turnovers and the lack of a trip to the NFC Championship Game are the cause of endless debates about the player who has established himself as the franchise quarterback, that aspect of his game has always been recognized.
But beneath the praise of Dak is an obvious low-key jab at Tony Romo. "The only one I've heard since I played to be adamant about that being the standard for a Cowboys QB"?
Sneaky, Troy. Really sneaky.
But hey, as someone who strongly believes Super Bowl rings aren't the right way to evaluate quarterback play, I'll say this: Aikman has earned his right to speak on the leadership that it takes to go on and win the big one. There's much more to it, of course.
And there's a reason why Prescott is consistently praised for his intangibles. Anyone who doubts that aspect of his career isn't paying enough attention. Cowboys teammates will go to war for him any day of the week.
Tony Romo was a very good quarterback, of course. And we can save the debate of who was the better player of the two for another day. But even though I believe Romo to be quite underrated in Cowboys history, let's keep it real: Dak has him beat on the leadership side of things.
