Who'd You Rather: Tony Romo or Philip Rivers? - Joe Chacon's Blog

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Joe Chacon's Blog

Who'd You Rather: Tony Romo or Philip Rivers? Stuck

Posted on October 16, 2012 at 01:38 AM.

(31)

Get your mind out of the gutter.

As a San Diego Charger fan, I was doing cartwheels at the end of the first half of their game against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

The Bolts were up 24-0 and my Charger flag was blowing proudly in the wind off of my front porch. Oddly enough, I have two neighbors who are Broncos fans and they live on either side of me. I was planning my victory lap, everything was going so well.

Peyton Manning opened up the second half with a quick touchdown pass and the score was 24-7. Rivers then has the ball stripped, which is returned for a Denver touchdown and the score gets closer at 24-14.

Rivers then goes on a tear, and not the good kind. He's out there slinging footballs like the peanut guy at Dodger Stadium throws nuts. Half of his passes look like lame ducks as he shotputs them across the line of scrimmage. Four interceptions later and I'm staring at the clock ticking down in a 35-24 loss. Rivers looks dejected, Norv Turner is scratching his head (as usual) and the Chargers blow their second big lead in as many weeks.

Through the first six weeks of the season, most of the jokes in the NFL have been directed towards Tony Romo and Jay Cutler. It's time to add a new routine to the act -- Philip Rivers.

Remember when Rivers was one of the first QBs picked in the fantasy football world? It seems like a decade ago. Let's take a look at the "real world" though. Rivers simply does not give Charger fans a sense of confidence whenever the team is trailing late in the games. Even when the team has a big lead they are holding their breaths wondering how Rivers and Turner are going to blow the lead.

Should Rivers be characterized as a bigger disappointment than Romo through week 6 of the NFL season? Here's how he stacks up to the Dallas quarterback, who is criticized the most by fans and media alike:

Tony Romo - 126/187 (67%) - 1,409 yards - 7 TD - 9 INT
Philip Rivers - 139/209 (67%) - 1,493 yards - 10 TD - 9 INT

The two signal callers have nearly identical stats and both the Chargers and Cowboys have three losses. Rivers is 30-years-old and Romo is 32.

I'm usually not a fan of knee-jerk reactions and I really admire Rivers' intensity on the field, but I don't think the Bolts would be any worse off if Romo was calling the shots.

It's a completely hypothetical question that is posed because of their similar season stats and success (or lack therof) of their respective teams.

OS Voice: Who would you rather have as the quarterback of your team -- Tony Romo or Philip Rivers?

Joe Chacon is a staff writer for Operation Sports and a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.

Comments

# 1 cusefan74 @ Oct 16

I don't want either one of them, I think they are both overrated and always have, but if I had to choose I would take Rivers. Although last night he was not to good, but I still think he is better then Romo.

# 2 Beastly Wayz @ Oct 16

Romo gets beat up every year, That's the catch 22 in being the QB for the Star. He has actually been one of the better QB's in the NFL. But, people remember the fumble and his occasional mishaps on primetime. Romo's stats over the past 3 years:

2009 - 63.1% Comp. 4,483yds 26 TD 9 INT 97.6 Rating
2010 - 69.5% Comp. 1,605yds 11 TD 7 INT 94.9 Rating
2011 - 66.3% Comp. 4,184yds 31 TD 10 INT 102.5 Rating

# 3 Beastly Wayz @ Oct 16

Romo has never finished a season with a QB Rating under 91.4. So before the bashing on Romo and Phillips, tell me who your QB's are, and let's take a look at them. Remember a couple of years ago, people were bashing Eli w/ his 25 INT's, then he won a SuperBowl and now he is "elite."

# 4 The_Wise_One @ Oct 16

Rivers even though his face annoys me

# 5 scottyo60 @ Oct 16

I have both as my fantasy QBs. Frustrating to say the least

# 6 JODYE @ Oct 16

Pretty funny, because watching the meltdown last night, I was thinking, "Man, Rivers is falling into Tony Romo territory."

I feel like right now, I'd rather have Romo, but not on the Cowboys. Seems like he's always dealt with some issues with his line, or his receiving core, or playing hurt.

I feel like Rivers has certainly done less with more. Could be Norv's fault as well, but with some of those teams that he has had, there is no reason they should have 0 Super Bowl appearances.

# 7 Hooe @ Oct 16

Entering this season, Tony Romo had 25 game-winning drives in his career and a 4th quarter QB Rating of 102.1 (this season, that number is at 94.2; Rivers isn't in the Top 20 in this stat). While those numbers aren't indicative of everything, he has been great in crunch time in the past, and am not of the belief that Romo's quarterbacking skills evaporated overnight. The "Tony Oh-no" reputation is somewhat misguided.

I'll take Romo.

# 8 elgreazy1 @ Oct 16

Neither player has an excuse for lack of a SB ring or playoff success at this point. They've both had relatively good weapons throughout their career (future HOF TE's too), a decent front office, pretty consistent coaching, and so forth.

Romo gets a whole lot of extra undo criticism for a guy who came out of a small college, went undrafted, and worked himself into a starting position on one of the more premier franchises in all of sports. The guy has been great much of his career, but struggles at times when he tries to do too much. He would greatly benefit from a coaching staff that put the run game first to dictate the pass, much like he was successful in Parcell's first few seasons. My biggest knock on Romo is that he lacks the competitive fire that Phillips visibly shows on the field. I think if Romo were to wear his heart on his sleeve more, detractors and fans would be more willing to give him leeway.

# 9 ODogg @ Oct 16

Neither, can I have Drew Brees instead?

# 10 EmmittSmithx22x @ Oct 16

I'd take Romo, not because I am a homer, most Cowboy fans want to dump Romo anyway, but Romo is statistically one of the best QBs in the league. Does he take chances? sure. Has he come up short a couple times? Sure. The man has talent though. And I believe in him. The dump Romo committee is out in full force already after a 2-3 start, but he will turn it around. I'd much rather struggle early than later in the year.

# 11 ProbieByKO @ Oct 16

I'd take 56 year old Joe Montana as a clutch player over these two overated dudes.
I'm being sarcastic, of course. -but not overly, lol.

# 12 Bmore Irish @ Oct 16

romo gets a bad rap. hes a very good QB, imo. i dont need to regurgitate the stats that have already been given by others, but they speak for themselves. the guy rarely gets help from his "talented" teammates who don't seem to actually produce with their talent as much as they should, and especially in crucial situations. then romo feels the need to do more to pick up the slack, resulting in mistakes. i'd take romo

# 13 Caveman24 @ Oct 16

Ill take Rivers

# 14 Sidion @ Oct 17

Rivers hands down for me.

I don't think Romo is as bad as the majority seem too, but the guy is just more prone to injury. They're both horrible in the clutch though. I doubt ever will see a ring.