Past and Present

There were some critics that were comparing Danny White to Tony Romo after the Cowboys lost to the Steelers, but the comparison is not an accurate one.  Romo's woes in December and the lack of a playoff win have been well documented and mentioned by various experts.  However, the comparison is not even close and not by a long shot.  If anything, White should be compared to Greg Norman or maybe Jim Kelly.

First, Danny White had the misfortune to become the Cowboys' quarterback after Roger Staubach, a legend.  This is already a no-win situation for him if White didn't win the Super Bowl.  White guided the Cowboys to three straight NFC championships that the Cowboys lost.  The Cowboys lost to the Eagles, 49ers, and the Redskins, and all of these losses were not blowouts or that White committed turnover after turnover that caused the Cowboys to lose these games.  None of these happened.  The Eagles had been climbing up the ladder to become a NFC east rival, the 49ers had just made a turnaround from 4-12 to 12-4 with Bill Walsh, and the Redskins took advantage of strike-shorten season.  Second, Danny White led the Cowboys to back to back 12-4 seasons and White even guided the Cowboys to a come-from-behind victory against the Falcons when the 49ers won the NFC and the Super Bowl.  Third, White had a great running game with Tony Dorsett and a great defense with Randy White, but he didn't have the same receivers that Romo currently has.  White had Drew Pearson, Tony Hill, Butch Johnson, and Doug Crosbie as his receivers.  While Romo has T.O., Roy Williams, Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, Marcelus Bennett, and Miles Austin and two of his receivers are possible future Hall of Famers.  One can argue that Drew Pearson should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Finally, White's Cowboys must have won at least two playoff games in order to get to the NFC championship.

In brief, White can be compared to Greg Norman because both of them had to follow a legend and losing three NFC championships in a row can be compared to Jim Kelly losing four Super Bowls in a row.  However, Romo cannot be compared to White because White at least won in the playoffs and Romo should instead be compared to Steve Peuller and Gary Hogeboom.