What Goes On Inside Tony Romo's Head? Can He Be Trusted?

I really thought I was on to something with Tony Romo this season.  After looking at his stats over his first five years starting, I realized that his performance on the field had been very similar to Drew Brees at the same point in his career.  I postulated that his rough past was mostly due to a terrible defense and a bad head coach, and perhaps lack of confidence in tight situations.

I initially defended him after a fourth quarter collapse in Week One after he had two turnovers that helped the Cowboys lose in dramatic fashion.  I felt that he simply needed one game in which he brought the team back that would push him over the hump of bringing the team back in the fourth quarter.

So when he actually DID do that against the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins in Weeks Two and Three, I felt that we were seeing Tony Romo 2.0: the guy that would finally lead the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl.

However, there's just as much original version Romo as there is the new version, and the Cowboys clearly follow whatever version Romo happens to be playing that day to success or failure.

Against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, the Cowboys had a monumental collapse.  Up 27-3 in the third quarter, Romo then proceeded to throw THREE second half interceptions that resulted in Detroit being able to make a comeback.  Two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns.

To put into perspective how bad these fourth quarter collapses have been this year when the Cowboys are actually leading, here's a crazy stat:


In the entire history of the Cowboys (prior to the 2011 season), when they were up 14 or more points in the fourth quarter, here is their record:


246-0-1

They had NEVER lost a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter, and now in the span of four games, they lose it twice.

Does anyone know what is going on in Romo's head?? There is absolutely no justification for the boneheaded decisions he made today with such a big lead.

Let's face it: Romo may play amazing the rest of the season, but he will never be fully trusted.  Nor should he.  These inexplicable mistakes when his team is ahead will ensure that.

Can he play well enough to get the Cowboys to the playoffs? The answer, I believe, is yes.  However, I don't think it's possible for him to lead them to a Super Bowl. He's just too mistake-prone.