Yes, there is an event from which you can trace the decline of Tony Romo as an effective quarterback. That event is ACORN registering Tony Romo to vote in Nevada--a state which should have the sense to reject Harry Reid in its next Senate election.

This is not hindsight on my part. Around last November, I noted that Tony Romo's skills at quarterback appeared to be in decline, and that his activities with ACORN were the most plausible explanation. Yes, Jessica Simpson had to be a distraction, but she alone does not seem to adequately explain how seriously Tony Roomo has deteriorated as a quarterback. One of my many accurate (see archives of "The Maverick Conservative"--my Google blog) predictions was my prediction last fall that the Dallas Cowboys were in grave jeopardy of not making the playoffs. This was in FORESIGHT, as the Cowboys had not then reached the final, late season swoon that would take them out of the playoffs.

Now some doubters have suggested that Tony Romo was not really part of ACORN, and that it was outrageous of me to suggest he was. Well, I thought it was even more outrageous for ACORN to register him to vote in Nevada without his permission. However, I accept the possibility that Romo was never actually connected to ACORN. I don't accept that possibility with President Obama, because President Obama actually appeared before ACORN in 2007 and said that he had worked with ACORN in the past, and expected to work with them in the future. But Tony Romo has never made such pubic statements. So maybe ACORN used his name without permission.

Still, the chronology is pretty clear. ACORN registers Tony Romo to vote in Nevada, and he goes to pieces on the football field The trauma of being associated with ACORN, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, obviously had more effect on Romo than one would expect, and that effect has carried over this season. That was obvious Sunday night, as the Cowboys lost at home to the New York Giants. This was not a mere home game, but the FIRST game at the new billion dollar (or whatever) home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.

Think of how much ACORN has to answer for. There are not only those videos about ACORN being willing to help set up brothels with illegal 13 year old girls from El Salvador. There is not only the shame of the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys, and Romo, last season. The very economic future of this extravagant new stadium (should it be taxed to help fund health care, along with "Cadillac" health plans?) may be at stake if the decline started by ACORN is not reversed--the decline of Tony Romo.

It is one thing for ACORN to be an immoral and corrupt organization receiving taxpayer money (to Obama's apparent surprise in yesterday's ABC interview--lol). But for ACORN to have done this to Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys is SERIOUS. They are likely to go to Hell for this. Here in Texas (even though El Paso is often thought of as part of either Mexico or New Mexico, down here in an isolated corner of Texas), the Cowboys are a religion.

It is not going to be easy for Romo and the Cowboys to recover fro what ACORN has done to them. For ten years, the Cowboys have not had an adequate pass defense when it counted. They still don't seem to have such a defense. In fact, their entire defense seems to break down at crucial times, as it did against the Giants, even while seeming to play well a good part of the time.

Then there is Tony Romo, who had three interceptions against the Giants, and imploded at the end of last year (really erratic most of last year, even before that final implosion). Owens is gone at wide receiver. The problem is that otherwise the Cowboys have the SAME wide receivers as they had last year, when they were unsuccessful. Sure, without Owens, the Cowboys may be better off without the disruption he brings. But without him, the Cowboys do NOT have a lot of talent at wide receiver. Yes, the receivers are adequate. They are simply not much, if any, better than average--not a single one of them. That is why I had to laugh when I heard one announcer in pre-season refer to the enormous "talent" possessed by the entire first string (first 22 players) of the Dallas Cowboys. No such exceptional tallent exists at wide receiver, and the Cowboys are still suspect against the pass pm defemse/

Where the Cowboys have enormous talent is in the running backs, and at tight end. The offensive line can be good, although its members have penalties and breakdowns at the most inopportune times. Ditto for the defensive line. The linebackers appear solid. On paper, with coverage liability Roy Williams gone, the Cowboys should be ADEQUATE in the secondary But what you have is a decent defensive team, without being an excellent defensive team (or a team with exceptional defensive talent). That leaves it up to the really skilled offensive players, supposedly including Romo, to complement a defense that will probably not shut down other teams, but will hold them usually to a reasonable number of points.

This season has not started well. The Cowboys were unimpressive against Tampa Bay--a team which could be really BAD, and at the very least had not yet learned the new coach's system. Thus, the Cowboys had several big pass plays, but were in some danger, as late as early the fourth quarter, of losing the game. The Cowboys were impressive for most of the game against the Giants (unknown how good), but were unable to stop the Giants on defense when they really needed to. And Romo had those three turnovers in the passing game on offense. 250 yards rushing merely emphasizes how to beat the Cowboys, if the passing game does not get more consistent.

It seems to me that the defensive game plan for Cowboy opponents to come is obvious. Pressure Romo, until he shows he can make good decisions under pressure. Put emphasis on stopping the talented running backs and tight ends of the Cowboys. Make Romo and the Cowboys beat you with the wide receivers (as they did in Tampa, but mainly because of defensive breakdowns). On offense, keep testing the Cowboys with your own passing game. It is early, but the Cowboys are not obviously capable of handling this approach by a decent team. And if the Cowboys really start to concentrate on defending the pass, teams may start to run on them.

But all of this is football, and possible to turn around. Maybe the Cowboy wide receivers and pass defense will turn out to be better than I think they are. But what about Romo? Clearly, it all comes down to ACORN--whether ACORN leaves him alone and whether the trauma of what ACORN did last fall will continue to haunt him. Luckily, ACORN itself has been distracted by threatened defunding (which Obama called an "unimportant" issue this weekend, as taxpayer money is unimportant to Obama). Those videos have been devastating. And there is no big election this year, meaning that ACORN will probably not register Romo to voe in some state like South Dakota (although Virginia and New Jersey are possibilities with, I think, elections for governor). Is the damage to Romo already done?

Well, if Romo does not improve, Jerry Jones' new stadium may go the way of ACORN; or the patrons may have to enjoy the stadium and pay no attention to what is happening on the field.

P.S. You might believe I have suffered a serious, silly, wordy relapse of my sarcasm disease. You are probably right. However, this linkage of ACORN and Tony Romo's performance is no worse than a lot of the "analysis" you get from NBC, Fox, and ESPN. I am serious when I say that Jessica Simpson is not enough, despite her obvious charms, to explain the troubles of Toney Romo. To defend myself, I can only plead that it has become FRUSTRATING to be a Dallas Cowboy fan. You have a coach that has not shown himself capable of winning big. Ditto a quarterback. Ditto as to the pass defense and the wide receivers. And it has now been a LONG time since the Dallas Cowboys have won a single playoff game. I know. I could be a Chicago Cub fan (which I am not). There is no Cub fan now alive who can possibly even remember the last time (I think 1908) that the Cubs were last world champions. But Cub fans are USED TO IT. We Dallas Cowboy fans were used to better.