The Tony Romo narrative is more volatile than the stock market. He's forced longtime observers to look at his career in a different light while leading the Dallas Cowboys to the divisional round of the playoffs.
Of course, he's only an ill-timed turnover or two away from waking up the doubters. Such is life for a quarterback whose career lacks substance despite having tremendous numbers.
A win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday 154 miles away from his hometown would forever alter Romo's legacy. Getting to an NFC title game for the first time in 19 years would be enormous for this organization and it would go a long way toward mitigating a lot of Romo's failures.
And don't let his comments about returning to Lambeau Field this week fool you. He grew up idolizing Brett Favre and even adopted a lot of his gun-slinging ways early in his career. I've listened to Romo try to say John Elway was actually his favorite quarterback, but that's not what he told me early in his career.
"I've played at Lambeau plenty of times in my career," Romo said. "It's a great environment and great fans. I grew up rooting for the Packers, so that part of it I understand how passionate they are.
"We have great fans here, very passionate fans here. It's a playoff game. You can play anywhere, and it's going to be a big game and important to a lot of people. You understand that. You just go out and play."
Danny White helped lead the Cowboys to three consecutive NFC title games in the 80s, but he was unfairly criticized based on having to follow Roger Staubach. I talked to White on Friday during the "Afternoon Show" show on KESN 103.3. He'll be in Green Bay on Sunday as a radio analyst. He believes Romo's on the verge of breaking through because he's not being asked to carry such a heavy load this season.
Romo predicted his best football was ahead of him before this season. It seemed like a pretty bold claim for a 34-year-old player coming off major back surgery.
He played poorly in an opening loss to the 49ers, but he found his footing over the next month. Romo no longer feels the burden of carrying this team. He and first-year playcaller Scott Linehan have formed a successful partnership.
Now, Jerry Jones is saying it would be "tragic" if Romo doesn't win a Super Bowl during his career. That's a bit strong, but at least Jones finally realized Romo needed more help.
A win Sunday would forever change Romo's reputation. Such is the nature of this league.
Especially when you play this position for the Cowboys.
