The lack of a reliable backup quarterback deep-sixed the Dallas Cowboys a year ago.
Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel and Kellen Moore stumbled and bumbled their way to an ugly 1-11 record in Tony Romo's absence. Time for a change, right?
Wrong.
Asked Thursday if Moore -- the last surviving member of last year's hideous carousel of arms -- would serve as Romo's backup in 2016, team owner Jerry Jones told KRLD-FM: "Yes."
The Cowboys also used a fourth-round pick on Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott, but he's widely seen as a prospect needing time to grow. As the only other quarterback on the roster beyond the untested Jameill Showers, Moore has Jerrah's confidence.
"Kellen Moore has shown the 'it.' He's got the instincts, he's got the anticipation, he knows what's going on, he gives me and us a great feeling about basically improving," Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. "Obviously those interceptions are not something you can live with, but some of the stuff he was doing was just pretty obvious that the team was responding and he was able to move the team.
"That's the problem," Jones said. "You don't get to see much a lot of times on these quarterbacks. You say, 'That's why a veteran coming in off the street who has played in 50 games, he usually has some wins in the NFL, and that's the case but how did he get the wins?' They had to go in there sometime and play before they got the wins."
The son of a coach, Moore is widely seen as a smart player, but he's a smallish passer -- at 6-foot, 200 pounds -- with an average arm. That didn't stop Jones from touting the entire group, saying: "I'm not trying to be trite, but if you take Kellen and Dak Prescott and Jameill Showers, I really like what we've got to work with out there."
Jones has sugarcoated the position before, infamously gushing over Weeden last September to say: "His passing motion and his arm, frankly, you won't see a more gifted passer, power, accuracy, the entire aspect of it."
The Cowboys ultimately failed to find a rock-solid backup this season, but let's get real: If Romo, at 36, can't stay healthy, it doesn't matter who sits behind him. Doom will follow.
