Much ado about nothing, or an off-handed comment that has some merit? That is the question following Martellus Bennett’s remarks regarding the need for a quarterback competition in Dallas.

The Cowboys tight end said Tuesday that there should be a fight for the starting job between QBs Tony Romo and Jon Kitna. In fact, NFL.com senior columnist Vic Carucci said that the former could learn much from the latter.

Both of these thoughts only piggyback Roy Williams‘ mid-season opining that Kitna “is just as good” as Romo.

Do many Cowboys fans think both Bennett and Williams are knuckleheads? Probably yes, considering their blown assignments and Williams’ inopportune fumble that cost the Cowboys a Thanksgiving win vs. the Saints. Maybe neither should be commenting on other players’ jobs. That said, there is merit to the idea of the 39-year old Kitna being in the same ballpark as Romo.

An investigation of three of their most important numbers from the 2010 season reveals a pretty close shave. The difference between the two may be more like Captain Kirk vs. Picard than the gulf between David Lee Roth and the Sammy Hagar experiment.

Romo had a slightly better touchdown percentage (5.20 to 5.00) and a lower interception percentage (3.00 to 3.80) last season. Kitna, however, was marginally better at creating big plays (5.70 to 5.60).

Either way, it appears it was six of one, half-dozen of the other for the Cowboys at quarterback last season.

– Elliot Harrison

Elliot Harrison is a research analyst for NFL RedZone on NFL Network.

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