Tony Romo: Not A Complete Idiot

As someone who has his competence challenged on a regular basis, I sympathize with Tony Romo. Luckily, unlike Romo, I've been spared the indignity of having to issue a press release to confirm that I know how to count.

The Cowboys issued a statement last night in order to clarify this video that seemed to show Romo not realizing what down it was at the end of the Broncos game on Sunday. According to Romo, he was perfectly aware that it was fourth down and even told his teammates in the huddle before the fateful snap. But as he turned to walk off the field when the play was over, he noticed the down and distance marker said "3." So he merely double-checked with the refs who confirmed for him that he would not get to throw another incomplete pass. (WR Patrick Crayton also backs up that version of events.)

So why did the referee's marker say three? Because you need to dial it back from four to one and they were in the process of resetting it. Why are we still relying on this primitive number wheel technology? In this day age, can't we have 3-D holograms that display our downs for us? Or singing robots? Or special microwaves that beam all yardage information directly into our brains? The future is so disappointing.

Dallas Cowboys' Romo knew the last down against Denver [Dallas Morning News]