DAN ROGERS
ALBANY, OR
Of all the concerns Cowboys' fans have voiced going into the 2013 season, which one of them are you least worried about?
Rowan: Good question. I would say the defensive ends. I don't think the transition will make DeMarcus Ware or Anthony Spencer play any worse. In fact, I think it could help both of them. I'm a proponent of anything to make sure Ware is rushing the passer and not dropping back in coverage. If either of them struggle or get hurt, Tyrone Crawford should be able to step in, and if Crawford can play at a high level, it should make the Cowboys more comfortable if they can't afford to keep Spencer another season.
David: Anything that is in any way related to Tony Romo. I just don't get the fuss. He's a 10-year veteran, so missing some offseason work shouldn't be a big deal. His surgery was minor, so it shouldn't hamper him during training camp or the preseason. The offensive line really can't get much worse than it was last year, so there's nowhere to go but up in terms of protection. On top of all that, despite several shortcomings, he's still one of the league's 10 best quarterbacks. Non-issue, in my opinion.
JARED MARSHALL
INDEPENDENCE, OR
I was wondering how you guys feel about Tony Romo not being in the top 100 players on NFL.com? How is that possible when Matt Ryan is in the top 20?
Rowan: There's no rationale that would make sense to explain it. I can't understand it. If NFL players actually voted on this, it'd be interesting to know which ones they were and just how many of them did vote. When Romo was asked about it earlier in the offseason when the list first came out, he hadn't heard of any of the Cowboys veterans voting on it. This was before the list was completely revealed. Ryan, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton are all in the top 51 and somehow Romo doesn't even make it. It's rather unfathomable.
David:Yeah, I don't really get this one, either. My only rationale is that the producers know the list would get boring and stale if it stayed the same from year to year. Ryan wasn't on the list in 2012, and he jumped up to No. 17 this summer; Romo eked onto the list last year and failed to appear in 2013. Their resumes are creepily identical: in Romo's seven years as a starter he's averaging 25 touchdowns and 13 [embedded_ad] interceptions per season. In Ryan's five years as a starter, he's averaging 25 touchdowns and 11 picks. Romo is 1-3 in playoff games, while Ryan is 1-4. Romo has three Pro Bowl selections to Ryan's two. So honestly, they're on just about equal footing -- but people tend to remember what you've done most recently. Romo threw a boneheaded pick that helped end Dallas' season, and Ryan guided Atlanta to a No. 1 seed, a playoff win and a narrow NFC Championship Game loss. There's no doubt Romo will reappear next summer if he gets the Cowboys into the postseason.
