The media suggests Romo plays at Tennessee
Cowboys try to keep QB peace
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
Controversies common, but teammates deny one with Bledsoe, Romo
01:30 AM CDT on Sunday, September 17, 2006
IRVING – There's nothing like a quarterback controversy.
Talk radio telephone lines light up from morning to night. Newspaper columnists seize the moment. Little gets done at offices across town while co-workers argue their sides.
Just one game into the regular season, the Cowboys are teetering toward a quarterback controversy.
A loss tonight at Texas Stadium to Washington, whether Drew Bledsoe plays well or not, and the spotlight will glow hotter on football's most important position.
More calls will be made to radio stations. More columns will be written. Less work will be done.
The suggestion is already being made that because the Cowboys have the bye week Sept. 24, thus an extra week of preparation, the ideal scenario would be to play Tony Romo at Tennessee on Oct. 1.
That's how a quarterback controversy can be born even when one doesn't exist.
"I haven't been around any team with a quarterback controversy," 13-year cornerback Aaron Glenn said. "I still don't think I'm on one with a quarterback controversy."
The situation can be awkward for quarterbacks, but it's not with Bledsoe and Romo. On Thursday, they sat at their lockers, talking and joking.
"You're just waiting your turn when or if it comes down the road," Romo said, "and trying to just be ready at all times."
The Cowboys do not hold the patent on quarterback controversies.
"Sid Luckman in 1948 won 10 of 12 games [for Chicago] and in 1949, the third week of the season, they lost, and he was benched in favor of John Lujack," former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt said. "The Rams with Bob Waterfield played for an NFL championship, and the following year Norm Van Brocklin and Waterfield split time, with both throwing over 200 passes. Joe Namath, after winning the Super Bowl several years later, was benched the last three games of the season for first-round pick Richard Todd.
"What I'm saying is this doesn't happen just today."
But the Cowboys' controversies have surrounded some of the game's big-name quarterbacks.
From Don Meredith and Craig Morton to Morton and Roger Staubach to Danny White and Gary Hogeboom to Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh.
A year after leading the Cowboys to Super Bowl V, Morton lost his job to Staubach, who won Super Bowl VI. In 1972, Morton regained the job but lost it for good the following year and was traded to New York in 1974.
"I think it's more generated with the fans and the press," said former Cowboy Calvin Hill, now a consultant for the team. "I remember one game we lost, 38-0, to St. Louis, and they starting chanting for Don Meredith on Monday Night Football."
The Hogeboom-White controversy caused coach Tom Landry to mistakenly announce left tackle Phil Pozderac as his starter at the team's welcome home luncheon.
The Dallas Morning News polled players anonymously about who should be the starter and who they thought Landry would pick.
"The man in the hat dealt with it," Brandt said. "Much like Coach [Bill] Parcells, he was very, very analytical. There's a lot more to winning than completing 60 percent of your passes and so forth. Bill, who I think is great, and Tom, who I think is the best, their decisions are based on facts."
A coach's decision can create friction, but Brandt believes that's mostly about popularity, "who you drink a beer with or golf with," not football.
Washington's Joe Gibbs is the only coach to have won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks: Joe Theisman, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. He says he's had many quarterback controversies.
"I think my statement on that was if you've got a quarterback controversy, that's probably good," Gibbs said. "It means you've got at least two good ones.
"People say it may not be good for the football team or the quarterback, but I don't look at it that way. If a player can't handle that, he's not going to handle trying to take a team down the field in front of 90,000 screaming people trying to win the game. You've probably got the wrong person."
Akin Ayodele was in Jacksonville last year when David Garrard, the Jaguars' backup, went 4-1 as the starter after Byron Leftwich went down with an injury. As Jacksonville prepared for a playoff game against New England, some wondered if Garrard was a better fit. Ultimately Leftwich played, but his job was in question again during this summer's training camp.
"For us, it's just more whoever gets the job done," Ayodele said. "Everybody's going to have their bad games, and Drew is a proven vet. He's done a great job. He understands the offense. For him, and I think for everybody who plays this game, it's how you respond after a bad game."
In his 14th year, Bledsoe understands the business. He was involved in a quarterback controversy in 2001 in New England when Tom Brady went 5-2 after Bledsoe suffered a serious chest injury. Coach Bill Belichick stuck with Brady after Bledsoe recovered, and the Patriots won the Super Bowl.
Brady's success has made some fans and NFL observers wonder if Romo, who has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game but excelled this preseason, can have similar success.
Bledsoe, a team captain, tries to keep his teammates focused on the task at hand.
"The one thing they will continue to hear from me and I'll continue to talk to them about is doing everything I can to make sure we go forward and not allow one game to affect the next game," Bledsoe said. "Whether we win or lose, you have to go forward to the next one."
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
Controversies common, but teammates deny one with Bledsoe, Romo
01:30 AM CDT on Sunday, September 17, 2006
IRVING – There's nothing like a quarterback controversy.
Talk radio telephone lines light up from morning to night. Newspaper columnists seize the moment. Little gets done at offices across town while co-workers argue their sides.
Just one game into the regular season, the Cowboys are teetering toward a quarterback controversy.
A loss tonight at Texas Stadium to Washington, whether Drew Bledsoe plays well or not, and the spotlight will glow hotter on football's most important position.
More calls will be made to radio stations. More columns will be written. Less work will be done.
The suggestion is already being made that because the Cowboys have the bye week Sept. 24, thus an extra week of preparation, the ideal scenario would be to play Tony Romo at Tennessee on Oct. 1.
That's how a quarterback controversy can be born even when one doesn't exist.
"I haven't been around any team with a quarterback controversy," 13-year cornerback Aaron Glenn said. "I still don't think I'm on one with a quarterback controversy."
The situation can be awkward for quarterbacks, but it's not with Bledsoe and Romo. On Thursday, they sat at their lockers, talking and joking.
"You're just waiting your turn when or if it comes down the road," Romo said, "and trying to just be ready at all times."
The Cowboys do not hold the patent on quarterback controversies.
"Sid Luckman in 1948 won 10 of 12 games [for Chicago] and in 1949, the third week of the season, they lost, and he was benched in favor of John Lujack," former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt said. "The Rams with Bob Waterfield played for an NFL championship, and the following year Norm Van Brocklin and Waterfield split time, with both throwing over 200 passes. Joe Namath, after winning the Super Bowl several years later, was benched the last three games of the season for first-round pick Richard Todd.
"What I'm saying is this doesn't happen just today."
But the Cowboys' controversies have surrounded some of the game's big-name quarterbacks.
From Don Meredith and Craig Morton to Morton and Roger Staubach to Danny White and Gary Hogeboom to Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh.
A year after leading the Cowboys to Super Bowl V, Morton lost his job to Staubach, who won Super Bowl VI. In 1972, Morton regained the job but lost it for good the following year and was traded to New York in 1974.
"I think it's more generated with the fans and the press," said former Cowboy Calvin Hill, now a consultant for the team. "I remember one game we lost, 38-0, to St. Louis, and they starting chanting for Don Meredith on Monday Night Football."
The Hogeboom-White controversy caused coach Tom Landry to mistakenly announce left tackle Phil Pozderac as his starter at the team's welcome home luncheon.
The Dallas Morning News polled players anonymously about who should be the starter and who they thought Landry would pick.
"The man in the hat dealt with it," Brandt said. "Much like Coach [Bill] Parcells, he was very, very analytical. There's a lot more to winning than completing 60 percent of your passes and so forth. Bill, who I think is great, and Tom, who I think is the best, their decisions are based on facts."
A coach's decision can create friction, but Brandt believes that's mostly about popularity, "who you drink a beer with or golf with," not football.
Washington's Joe Gibbs is the only coach to have won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks: Joe Theisman, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. He says he's had many quarterback controversies.
"I think my statement on that was if you've got a quarterback controversy, that's probably good," Gibbs said. "It means you've got at least two good ones.
"People say it may not be good for the football team or the quarterback, but I don't look at it that way. If a player can't handle that, he's not going to handle trying to take a team down the field in front of 90,000 screaming people trying to win the game. You've probably got the wrong person."
Akin Ayodele was in Jacksonville last year when David Garrard, the Jaguars' backup, went 4-1 as the starter after Byron Leftwich went down with an injury. As Jacksonville prepared for a playoff game against New England, some wondered if Garrard was a better fit. Ultimately Leftwich played, but his job was in question again during this summer's training camp.
"For us, it's just more whoever gets the job done," Ayodele said. "Everybody's going to have their bad games, and Drew is a proven vet. He's done a great job. He understands the offense. For him, and I think for everybody who plays this game, it's how you respond after a bad game."
In his 14th year, Bledsoe understands the business. He was involved in a quarterback controversy in 2001 in New England when Tom Brady went 5-2 after Bledsoe suffered a serious chest injury. Coach Bill Belichick stuck with Brady after Bledsoe recovered, and the Patriots won the Super Bowl.
Brady's success has made some fans and NFL observers wonder if Romo, who has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game but excelled this preseason, can have similar success.
Bledsoe, a team captain, tries to keep his teammates focused on the task at hand.
"The one thing they will continue to hear from me and I'll continue to talk to them about is doing everything I can to make sure we go forward and not allow one game to affect the next game," Bledsoe said. "Whether we win or lose, you have to go forward to the next one."
posted by The Gryphon at 8:49 AM
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