Fire Competition Between Kitna and Romo



Bennett won't be a GM anytime soon.

Cowboys TE Martellus Bennett recently said on ESPN 103.3's Ben & Skin Show that he hopes QBs Jon Kitna and Tony Romo will compete for the starting spot next season, a ridiculous idea that should be fired.

"Kitna is one of my favorite people to play with," Bennett said. "Just being out there on the field with that guy just makes you play even harder. He made some things happen in limited time, so I think if he got a longer chance, he'd be able to do more."

Cowboys owner/GM/dictator Jerry Jones has no interest in benching Romo with three years remaining on a $67.4 million contract, so Bennett's suggestion isn't going anywhere. But what if the Cowboys did start Kitna? They'd get a player with a lifetime record as a starter of 46-69 who is 0-1 in the playoffs. His best single-season record as a starter is 8-8. His career passer rating is 77.5 and he has thrown 168 TDs against 163 INTs. Kitna is also 38 years old, didn't play a single game in 2009 and hasn't been a team's top QB since 2007. 

As for Romo, he is 38-17 as a starter with a 95.5 rating. Despite the crippling interceptions he tends to throw, he still has almost twice as many TDs as INTs in his career. Yes, his struggles in the playoffs are well documented (1-3) but he is only 30 years old and to blame him entirely for last season's terrible start (1-5) gives Wade Phillips a free pass. Sure Kitna was 4-5 as a starter (though he did lose the game he finished after Romo got hurt), but he benefited from having a new head coach after Phillips was fired.

Even Bennett himself didn't gain anything from Kitna's play, though he didn't do so great with Romo either. Bennett, who hasn't caught a TD pass since 2008, caught 14 balls in 2010 with Romo under center and 20 with Kitna. In his single-best receiving game last season with Romo he racked up 45 yards, while his best with Kitna was 32 yards.

Romo has had his share of performance issues, but the oldest QB to win a Super Bowl is John Elway at age 38 (bonus points if you knew that), and he retired afterward. Tony Romo may not bring Dallas a title, but he gives the Cowboys a better chance to win than Kitna. Maybe the Cowboys should make Bennett compete for his job next season.