Last year, Romo's life—and that of his team—was an embarrassing and not very entertaining soap opera. He was dating an incredibly untalented tabloid star, fighting with his wide receivers (while secretly holding late-night trysts with his tight end) and the Cowboys missed the playoffs after he folded like a cheap suit during the stretch run. (Plus, there was Hard Knocks, Pacman Jones, Roy Williams, etc...) After a promising start to his career, it was looking like he might become the answer to a bar trivia question 10 years from now that would make people say, "Tony Romo? Whatever happened to that guy?"

Since then he dumped Jessica, Terrell Owens got run out of town and the Cowboys have returned to first place. Romo has found a new, less complain-y target and the giant video board is too distracting for anyone to notice his shaky footwork. Without all that drama in his life, Romo is a pretty solid quarterback. Solid enough to outsmart Andy Reid and the Eagles anyway. (Seriously, between the failed challenges and sissy field goal in the final minutes, I don't think there's any big game the Eagles can't find a way to screw up.)

Oh, there's still plenty of time for that late season collapse (despite two games against Washington and Oakland at home) and he still has a grumpy and terrible Roy Williams to deal with. Plus, you know ... Wade Phillips. But right now no one really cares about what Tony Romo is up to anymore and that should be just the way he likes it if he wants to keep winning.

Tony Romo, minus the flash, has pushed Cowboys atop of NFC East [USA Today]
Tony Romo delivers another complete performance in win over Eagles [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

* * * * *

Here are some other big winners, who did not win quite as big:

Marmalard: That'll show those Giants for trading you for that pretty boy. Now let's get fucking druuuuunk. [Newsday]

The Indianapolis Colts: All they do is win! (*Regular Season Only) They'll be undefeated when the Patriots come to town next week. Then we'll see what's what. [Yahoo, Toronto Star]

SEC Championship Game Ticket Brokers: Another SEC game, another poor officiating job in favor of the undefeated team. They will get their Alabama vs. Florida, but not without another bit of generosity from the referees. [Mobile Press-Register, Wetzel]

Big Ten Haters: The conference's last best hope for respectability lost their quarterback and their undefeated season and now Ohio State will get yet another chance to lose the Rose Bowl. At least all our games are out of the way before Thanksgiving! (Sigh.) [Chicago Tribune, The Lantern]

Vince Young: 2-0 since taking over the reigns of the Titans. So everything's cool now, right? [Tennessean]

Finally, the Weekend Loser?: Matt Leinart: Seriously, the guy came into a no pressure, can't lose blowout and still got pulled from the game for being worse than ineffective. (One attempt, one interception.) Have you considered a career in the exciting field of electronics repair? The brochure is free!

Florio hinted at this idea early on, that the Michael Vick signing is therapeutic for Coach Andy, who's shifted his no-nonsense coaching style and become more forgiving of people's past transgressions. He's on a personal crusade to become the NFL's Dr. Phil:

"I've seen people close to me who have had second chances and taken advantage of those It's very important that people give them opportunities to prove that they can change, so we're doing that with Michael."

Hug it out.

This is probably a healthy shift in policy for Reid, who's often been accused of being soulless when it comes to football operations and family matters, too wrapped-up in the business side and his clunky playbook binders to have normal social interaction with humans. Now, he's humbled and convinced that Tony Dungy's path to righteousness is both good for his own personal growth and his ability to run gimmicky offensive plays.

And look:

DeSean Jackson is already fist-pounding Mike Vick. Progress is imminent!

Young Reid Would Have Passed [Philly.com]

It's common knowledge what the life of a NFL coach entails during the season. The grueling 18-hour work days, suffocating pressure and lack of job security ensures that most of them are not the most fun people to be around. Their families sometimes feel the full brunt of this. For every unhealthily obsessed successful coach, there are always the accompanying battle scars of their success: sleeping in the office, hypertension and, most often, a total lack of recognition for what goes on in the outside world between August and January.

Sometimes, there's more serious collateral damage from this sacrifice - your family. Andy Reid's sons are currently atop the coaching casualty list thanks to their recent legal indiscretions and emotional troubles. Of course, it's a little quick to call them totally hopeless. Much of what the Reid kids are going through (in particular, the pill-popping, swerve-driving Britt) can be chalked up to just plain old growing pains. Granted, he's 22, a legal adult, but come on, who didn't do dumb shit when they were in their late teens/early 20s?

I know I did. In fact, I spent three separate nights in jail before my 22nd birthday. The charges:

• 1991, Ocean City, N.J.: Underage drinking
• 1992, Sea Isle City, N.J.: Underage drinking, public urination, indecent exposure
• 1995, Bethlehem, Pa: Public intoxication, assaulting police officer (dropped)

It's different, obviously, since I don't blame those little missteps on an absentee father. I'm more a product of my environment. It's definitely a gritty life in the farm animal-shaped, mailbox-lined streets of Churchville, Pa. When you spend a childhood riding Huffy bikes around well-lit cul-de-sacs, splashing around in-ground pools and playing soccer at St. Vincent De Paul's, ya grow up hard. Thank God I got out of there. I'd either be dead or in prison.

Andy Reid's troubled children may not be direct results of his profession. But Andy's all-night film sessions and meticulous coaching nature leave little time for him to be a part of his family's everyday life. Britt Reid won't be the last to get swallowed up by this cruel reality of the NFL coaching lifestyle. In fact, given his "problems," he actually might be one of the lucky ones.

So this week, I'm running around, robbing banks all wacked off of Scooby Snacks, and placing odds on the next NFL coach's family to fall apart.

Let's go check in on that cat and silver spoon, after this MORE.

Brian Billick: 1/2

This guy's been a dick since the first moment a microphone was stuck in his face. The Baltimore Ravens head coach is an unabashed self-centered tyrant, a bully, and there's not an airplane hangar big enough to store his ego. Brian Billick is convinced that's the solar system buzzing around his head each day. His approach to coaching has to spill over to family life, and it's probably his younger daughter Keegan who'll most likely suffer. How awful must it be to grow up in a house with a Dad who's written a book called " Competitive Leadership: 12 Principles for Success"? She probably related to Little Miss Sunshine on a personal level. Now, she's a college field hockey player at THE Ohio State, but who's to say she's not spending her weekends carving "Fuck You Dad" into her forearm with a screwdriver and taking her patriarchal frustrations out on top of the faces of the Buckeyes offensive line? Yeah, DAD, which chapter talks about how I can be "successful" at THAT?

Mike Holmgren:1/1

Another hot-head who has probably missed most of his family life due to football. Holmgren's temper is legendary, and he's always resorted to barking orders and having very little patience for people who don't respect them. Just ask Marty Mornhinweg about the time he played a tape of Holmgren's high school doo-wop group for Packers players. Marty shit a ghost. So far, it appears like Holmgren's dodged a bullet with his four daughters — one's a successful doctor, another's a lawyer — but resentments have a way of festering and revealing themselves later in life. Sure, Dr. Calla Holmgren sounds like she's got her act together, but there's a reason she chose gynecology as her medicinal field. She grew up hating men. Oh, and she loves a daily dose of uterine lining. YOUR FAULT, Coach.

Mike Nolan:1/3

The San Francisco 49ers coach's decision to wear a suit on the sidelines tells you a lot about his character. The man likes to keep up appearances and has no tolerance for people lacking self-respect.
He's young, but he embraces a military-sense of discipline. His poor sons have probably had a childhood of daily bed checks and inspirational sayings from Korean War vets taped to their foreheads while they sleep. Of course his two young daughters can look forward to their young adult years filled with constant demands for longer skirts, extra buttons on blouses and background checks on all their boyfriends. Nolan should be hopeful their rebellion doesn't come in the form of double-teaming Kevan Barlow one day. But his sons will probably live a life comparable to Ricky Fitts, wandering around with video cameras videotaping their neighbors reading on the toilet.

Bill Belichick: 1/8

He's just terrifying. Growing up with Bill Belichick must have been like growing up with Martin Sheen when he was filming Apocalypse Now. Just a dark, haunted man, whose connection to humanity was lost sometime during his press conference turning down the Jets job. After that, he willingly accepted the Robert Kraft anal probe and left all remnants of his past life behind. His soon to be Rutgers Lacrosse playing son, Stephen, has already been busted for smoking pot. Most likely, Belichick's already given up on the other two and left them to fend for themselves and learn their life lessons on their own; it's a cold and cruel world, but you must learn to survive in it wearing only a gray sweatshirt.

As has been chronicled in their early radio broadcasts, respective television shows and by other sources, Britt Reid (the Green Hornet) is the grand nephew of John Reid, who was the Lone Ranger. And there have been, in fact, a bunch of different Reids who have donned the Green Hornet mask ... making this latest Britt Reid a real family screwup indeed. I've put together a handy timeline so that you can keep it all straight.

• Sept. 14, 1850: John Reid is born.

• July 7, 1860: John Reid saves Tonto's life from a band of outlaw raiders. The same raiders go on to kill Reid's parents and burn their ranch.

• August 3, 1872: Dan Reid Jr., son of John's brother, is born.

• New Year's Day, 1874: Captain Dan Reid and his Ranger troop, accompanied by John, pursue the Cavendish gang. Unfortunately, they are led into an ambush at the bottom of Bryant's Gap where they are all gunned down.

• January 2, 1874: Tonto finds the rangers and nurses John, the only survivor, back to health, and tells him "...others dead, you lone ranger now."

• April 10, 1899: Dan Reid, Jr. inherits a silver mine from John and moves to Detroit, where he founds the Daily Sentinel newspaper.

• April 27, 1906: Britt Reid, son of Dan Reid, Jr., and great nephew of the Lone Ranger, is born.

• March 19, 1958: Andy Reid is born in Los Angeles.

• 1966: Britt Reid's nephew, Britt Reid II, becomes the second Green Hornet and Ikano Kato's son Hayashi becomes the new Kato.

• 1984: Garrett Reid (Andy Reid's first son) is born.

• 1986: Alan Reid, nephew of Britt Reid II, becomes the third Green Hornet and Hayashi Kato returns to work as his partner. Alan is killed on his first mission and Kato blames himself.

• 1986: Britt Reid (Andy Reid's second son) is born.

• 1989: Britt Reid, the first Green Hornet, is killed. Paul Reid, brother of Alan, becomes the fourth Green Hornet. Mishi Kato, half-sister of Hayashi and daughter of Ikano, becomes the new Kato.

• Jan, 11, 1999: Andy Reid is named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Oh, if only 2007 Britt Reid had taken the Lone Ranger Deputy Pledge when he was a youngster. Michael Vick too, for that matter.

Masked Men: A Chronology Of The Lone Ranger And The Green Hornet
The Wold Newton Universe
Andy Reid's Rugrats Are A Terror Behind The Wheel [Deadspin]
Andy Reid's Son Is Facing New Drug, DUI Charges [USA Today]

The eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid admitted using heroin on the same day he was involved in a traffic accident. The affidavit enabled police to obtain search warrants that led to the discovery of two handguns, ammunition, white powder and other items in two vehicles and the Main Line home owned by the veteran Eagles coach.

These whole incidents started because of two separate incidents on the same day involving each of Reid's son. The oldest one, Garret, is the one with the heroin; the youngest one, Britt, had a "Remington police magnum," road rage and "a pharmacy bottle bearing Britt Reid's name and having a 'green leafy' substance inside. Details are still coming out on both. Reid has five children, so rather than dwell on the negative, let's accentuate the positive: Three of his kids have not been arrested in the last few days.

Police: Reid Son Admits To Using Heroin [Philly.com]

Today's first recipient of this "honor" is Jere Longman, reporter for The New York Times and author of If Football's A Religion, Then Why Don't We Have A Prayer, a hilarious and strangely sad look at the beleaguered and perpetually angry fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. With the Eagles at their lowest point in nearly seven years, we thought this was as good a time as any to check in.

Interview with Longman after the jump. And see? We love!

Deadspin: Your book is almost entirely sourced from Eagles fans, rather than their players, a technique which is much more fun, because players rarely publicly shotgun beer. What's the mood among those fans today, now that the Eagles seem doomed?

Longman: In general, it's trepidation: Disaster is here. There s a pattern in Philadelphia sports, and we're in the "disaster" point. What you'll see now is the Eagles win a couple of games in a row; disaster never comes when they're expecting it, only when they re invested in the team again. People will start rooting again and sticking their necks out for their team, and as soon as they hope, their necks will get chopped off. That s always what happens in Philadelphia.

Deadspin: Eagles fans are always saying they'e so tortured, but, you know, we re Arizona Cardinals fans, and we look at the Eagles and say, "Jeez, at least you occasionally win. You got something."

Longman: Yeah, I have a friend of mine in Buffalo who says the same thing. Part of the pain is that the Eagles are good enough to give you hope. That always makes the pain greater. As soon as you think this will be the year, the guillotine comes down.

Deadspin: Is there a sense now that this is the end not only of this year, but the end of a run almost?

Longman: I thought at the beginning of this year that this was a crossroads season. If they don't make the playoffs this year, it really could be the end. They're getting old and they're getting vulnerable. They're certainly at one of their many lows with fans right now.

Deadspin: Terrell Owens makes our brain bleed. What's Eagles Nation think of him now?

Longman: Well, people recognized that he was not the type of player who was going to be universally beloved in Philadelphia, but if he was going to put them over the top, that would have been fine. But like another journalist said last year, if the Eagles would have won the Super Bowl last year, Owens would have been the greatest sports hero in Philadelphia sports history. In Philadelphia, we don t want just heroes; we want bloody heroes. He would have been perfect.

And honestly, I think there s a lot more support for him in the city than people realize. More and more people are realizing that professional sports is not a morality play, and instead whether or not you win.

Deadspin: Why are Philly fans so mean?

Longman: Philadelphia is not as blue-collar as it once was, or as it likes to see it is. Football is the sport that most closely relates to that feeling of being an underdog; it's the mirror in which the city sees its reflection. It's dirty and nasty and focuses only on winning. That s Philadelphians.

If Football's A Religion, Then Why Don't We Have A Prayer [Amazon]

That moment last night was not when Donovan McNabb threw that awful interception, or even when he was hurt and had to be relieved by Mike McMahon. No. It was when, against all measures of human possibility, McMahon was actually driving down the Eagles down the field late. He threw a perfect pass down the left sideline and found rookie Reggie Brown for the catch, setting up an game-winning field goal ... and he dropped it. That's life as an Eagles fan. They don't just blow the big lead; they blow it, almost come back, then blow it again.

And now their season, for all intents and purposes, is over. We're gonna keep our distance from crazed Eagles fan Oddjack today. Because not only is the season over ... you kind of get the feeling this little Eagles run of the past few years is over too. And in their place, we have the Cowboys. Again. Great.

The Morning After [For The Birds]

Then his agent Drew Rosenhaus took the mike and proceeded to obliterate any possible good will — and any chance of Owens ever returning to the Eagles. Where Owens was conciliatory, Rosenhaus was combative, blaming the Eagles for the damage and (mostly) blaming the media for not being fair to Terrell. Rosenhaus couldn't have destroyed T.O.'s chances of playing in Philadelphia any further than if he had accused Andy Reid of being a member of NAMBLA.

People have always whispered that Rosenhaus is the true villain in the T.O. circus, that Owens has constantly been pointed in the wrong direction. The press conference was the best evidence of that we've seen yet. We almost felt bad for T.O. One of Rosenhaus' last statements was "I am always behind Terrell, 110 percent." He was standing in front of Owens at the time.

(Update: The Eagles have said thanks, but no thanks, to T.O. He won't play for them again. Shocking.)

And suddenly, somewhere in Bristol, Conn., a man in a suit looks in the mirror and, trying to pretend everything's all right, he straightens his tie and attempts to smile. He has no programming for the next two months; he's looking at dead air.

He runs a comb through his hair, looks down at his ringing cellphone, sighs deeply ... and answers. He knows who it is. And it's not going to be good.

Reid: T.O. Will Not Play Again This Season [ESPN]