by Patriot News

On Tuesday, Romo was on a junket for Starter and made an appearance at New York Yankees batting practice where he was seen talking to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

One day later, he was in Bethesda, Md., playing with Tiger Woods in the pro-am before the AT & T National at Congressional Country Club.

Let's hope some of Woods and Jeter rubbed off on Romo. Let's hope they taught him how to perform in the clutch and how to be a closer.

I thought the chatter about Romo failing down the stretch in the regular season was overblown. I let it slide that he fumbled away a postseason win in Seattle to close out the 2006 campaign.

But that opinion started to sway in the second game last season at home against the Eagles .

With the Cowboys clinging to a small lead late in the game, Romo could have iced it by completing a simple 4-yard out to a wide open Marion Barber in the flat. But the ball sailed way over the stud running back's head and the Eagles took possession.

OK, there was a heavy rush. And yes, the Eagles failed to score and Dallas won the game. But it became apparent that night that Romo isn't the type of player that can put a team away.

And after thinking about it, he doesn't have one signature moment or win on his resume.

Sure, he is a good fantasy quarterback that anyone would love to have on their team. He posts big numbers in the first three quarters of the season and can get you, as he does with the Cowboys, plenty of wins.

But once the December crunch rolls around, all bets are off. In the last three years, the Cowboys are 4-8 with Romo at the helm. The disturbing part is that five of those losses have come at home.

The Romo faithful like to deflect the damage to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's play calling or Terrell Owens or some other receiver dropping a crucial pass. But why don't these same people give Garrett and the receiving core the credit early in the season?

It's Romo all the time.

So we are giving him the blame now. His 58.8 completion percentage in the last four games the last three seasons is less than impressive. His 14 touchdowns to 17 interceptions in that time frame is dismal. His 16 fumbles are just downright pathetic.

Things didn't get any better in his two postseason appearances -- both losses -- as the completion percentage dipped to 53.8 percent, and he only had two touchdowns.

So if you are a Cowboys fan, the biggest off season move wasn't getting rid of T.O. or trying to negotiate a new deal for linebacker DeMarcus Ware. It is all about Romo.

And the only thing you can hope is that Woods and Jeter gave him some good advice.

JEREMY ELLIOTT: jelliott@patriot-news.com

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