During the 2015 season, the Dallas Cowboys looked horrible in the 12 games that Tony Romo missed due to injury. With Romo on the sideline last year, the Cowboys went 1-11.
Although the team struggled without Romo last year, Bart Scott doesn't think that's going to be the case this year. The CBS analyst, who you can see every Sunday on "The NFL Today," says that the Cowboys will actually be better off this season with Romo on the bench.
According to Scott, rookie quarterback Dak Prescott actually gives Dallas a better chance to win than Romo.
"This could be the Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady passing off the guard because Dak Prescott brings a different element to the game that Tony Romo can't. His body can't. He can't be reckless with his body like that," Scott said during an interview with CBS Sports Radio's "The DA Show."
Scott expects Prescott to add an element to the Cowboys offense that's just not there with Romo.
"[Dak] has live legs, he has a live arm and he has confidence -- and he has the support of his team," Scott said. "His teammates know that he can play. Everybody wants to discredit what he did during the preseason, but I can remember them doing that to another young, athletic quarterback that was drafted after the second round in Russell Wilson, and he just continued to improve and improve."
According to Scott, Prescott has one huge advantage that Wilson didn't have during his rookie year: An offensive line that can actually block.
"With that offensive line, it's going to afford him the extra second that quarterbacks need to process and go through the route tree and find those outlets and make smart decisions with the ball," Scott said. "And also, he has two running backs. Alfred Morris, I think, is one of the best pickups in the offseason. Downhill, quick runner."
After building up Prescott for a good five minutes Scott was asked if he the Cowboys were going to lose a step by playing Dak while Romo's out.
"Nope."
Scott was also asked point blank if thought the Cowboys would be better off going with Prescott over Romo.
"Yup," Scott said.
Despite saying that the Cowboys should leave Romo on the bench, Scott does understand why they might go back to him.
"He gives them use of the entire playbook," Scott said of Romo. "He can get them in and out of bad plays. Dak is going to have to eat some plays and make some things happen with his feet, and sometimes he's going to be in a bad play."
One person who probably won't listen to Scott's opinion is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Even if the Cowboys play well with Prescott, Scott expects Romo to get his job back as soon as he's healthy enough to play.
"They'll give him his job back because Jerry Jones has invested a lot in Tony Romo," Scott said. "They're going to give him his job back and see if he can still maintain the level of play. But if the team dips and loses some games, they might say, 'Tony, your back's still hurting. He had a setback.' And they might shut him down that way."
The good news for the Cowboys is that they're likely not going to have to make a decision until November at the earliest. Romo, who was injured on Aug. 25, is expected to be out 8-10 weeks, which would put him on track for a Week 9 return if he sits out the entire 10 weeks.
Even if Prescott plays well though, there's a good chance that Scott is right and Jones will make sure Romo gets the quarterback job back. After all, the Cowboys are keeping Romo on the active roster, which means Jones wants him available as soon as he's healthy enough to play.
