Amani Toomer doesn't back down

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Former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer on Friday stood by his comments that Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys is a better quarterback than Eli Manning, his former teammate.

"I love Eli, and I respect the hell out of him as a person," Toomer said on "The Michael Kay Show" on ESPN NewYork 98.7 FM. "But I have to do my job, and I have to look at him beyond what the perception is because the perception doesn't always go hand in hand with the reality."

On Thursday, Toomer joined the "Movin' the Chains" show on SiriusXM NFL Radio and said Romo was a better QB than Manning, whom Toomer played with for five seasons.

"I was all set -- Romo's no good, he's a fourth-quarter choker -- and then I started doing my job," Toomer said Friday. "I started looking at the numbers. I started looking at the statistics. I started looking at the quarterback rating. And I was shocked. I was shocked at how good Tony Romo's statistics really were. This guy is really impressive.

"Then when I was on the show (Thursday) and we were going over the NFC East, Tim Ryan, my co-host, said (Manning) is the best quarterback in the NFC East and the Giants were going to win the division. And I was like, wait a minute. All this information I had just gathered about Tony Romo, I couldn't let him get away with it.

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"So I said, 'You know what? Tony Romo, statistically, he's the better quarterback.' "

Romo is 18-19 in his career against the NFC East and 5-7 against the Giants, including three losses at Cowboys Stadium.

Manning, fresh off his second Super Bowl title, is 26-20 versus the NFC East and 9-6 against the Cowboys. He never has lost at Cowboys Stadium.

"I'm talking about for me, if I wanted a guy that is going to throw less interceptions and be more productive, higher completion percentage, I'm going to go with Tony Romo," Toomer said on "Movin' the Chains."

Yet, the receiver backtracked slightly on the show when told of Romo's late-game struggles.

Manning has 21 fourth-quarter comebacks and 25 game-winning drives, with four of the victories coming against the Cowboys, including one this past season.

Of Romo's 13 fourth-quarter comebacks, only one has come against the Giants.

"At crunch time, he's not as good as Eli," Toomer said. "But every other time, he's pretty darn good."

Toomer did not address Manning's 2-0 edge over Romo in Super Bowls. Manning has eight playoff wins in his career, including a road victory in Dallas, compared to Romo's one.

While Manning is undefeated in NFC title games, Romo has yet to reach one. Manning also has the head-to-head edge against Romo, winning the past five starts against him.

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