The Making of Tony Romo...

Original comments by Michael S. Winicki from a sports forum:

And why some may suggest it's not necessary to ask "how" Tony Romo turned out (so far) to be as good as he has been but just be grateful that is performing at such a high standard.

But that's not good enough for me...

I'd like to know your thoughts on how an undrafted FA from a Div 1-AA school that sat for 3+ years turned out to having this incredible skill set?

Norm (from "The Ticket") touched on this a little today and I would like to carry it out a little more and see what your thoughts were. I would guess that GM's around the league are asking themselves the same question - "How do we find a 'Tony Romo'"?

Here are the facts as we know them:

1. He won the "Walter Payton" award as the top player in Div. 1-AA.

2. He came from a "pro-style" offense in college.

3. He displayed excellent accuracy his senior year hitting 63.3% of his passes.

This is what "Ourlads" said about Tony Romo in 2003:

A Division 1-AA standout. Three year starter. Intelligent. Lanky with thin legs. Pocket type passer with average setup quickness - not real fluid. Holds the ball a bit low dropping back. Tough. Can take a hit in the pocket. Lacks good escapability. Erratic passer on the move - loses control and sails balls when not set properly. Inconsistent in his mechanics - fairly quick and over the top at times yet drops down some. Accurate in the short game. Does a nice job of hitting receivers in stride on swing passes. Doesn't have a cannon but gets zip on his intermediate throws and shows deep passing skills. Solid developmental prospect.

I highlighted what I believe were key Tony Romo "building blocks".

(As a side note, "Ourlads" had Romo going to Green Bay in the 6th round. They had the following QB's going ahead of Romo - Byron Leftwich, Carson Palmer, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, Drew Henson , Chris Simms, Dave Ragone, Seneca Wallace, Brad Banks, Kliff Kingsbury, Brian St. Pierre)

4. His combine numbers weren't anything to write home about. He run the 40 in about 5.0.

5. It was reported from his first training camp with the Cowboys that he was spraying the ball around the field and that they were working on his mechanics.

6. He's an outstanding golfer (I do think this is important)

7. He had a very good relationship with Shawn Peyton.

8. Parcells seems to have liked him from the beginning.

9. Vinny T. seems to have mentored him to some extend.

10. Training camp 2005 gave us some glimpses that Romo had some potential and was made the #2 QB.

Norm said that Romo probably tossed 100,000 passes over the past 3+ years and while they may seem an incredible number but when you do the math it seems completely realistic.

The golf has probably given him the ability to focus "in the now" and filter out distractions. I think this is reflected in Tony's ability to not let bad plays creep back into his mind.

So what we have here is a kid who was the best QB in Div. 1-AA. Not exactly Ohio State, Miami, USC or Texas BUTT it indicates that Tony Romo had some talent.

But he's smart too. That's the one thing that always seems to creep into the conversation when describing Tony Romo-- his smarts. And I think that is a big, big part of his game.

And he had accuracy in college - even with poor mechanics.

Obviously someone(s) did a terrific job with this kid that first training camp improving his mechanics WITHOUT destroying his accuracy. I mean we seen what happened to Henson when they changed his mechanics-- he ended up looking even worse. I have no doubt that Henson is a smart kid too BUT he seemed "mechanical" when he did things, sorta like his thinking process was very regimented and "step by step" in nature while Romo is considered "quick" in his thought process, which comes through in his quick wit. That "quick" thinking is very evident on the football field.

Take for example all the "trickery" Romo is doing out there. If you haven't caught it, then go back and rewatch the videos. This kid is doing an amazing job of "faking-out" the defense. Between pump-fakes, ball-fakes and staring down the parts of the secondary he's NOT going to be throwing to ball to, he's doing an incredible job of deceiving the secondary. That's the result of practice but it's also the result of having a quick mind. Just watch some Bledsoe video in comparison - you'll be amazed at the difference.

You look at the player now as compared to what "Ourlads" said about him and while he retains all the "good" points listed in the review. "Ourlads" said the kid couldn't throw on the run - guess what? He looks like Joe Montana & Steve Young at this point when he rolls out. I mean the kid is just lethal when he leaves the pocket and again we're not talking about a 4.6 guy either. He plays faster than his listed time - And again I think that's just part of having a quick mind.

So in wrapping this up what we started with was a guy that -

1. Was accurate in college.

2. Was smart.

3. Was more of a good QB than a good athlete.

4. Had problems with his mechanics.

But between the coaching, the repetition and the mentoring by other players his mechanical problems were ironed out and his ability to learn probably put him ahead of other players. And finally the whole golf thing probably helped to sharpen his focus.

I'll be curious to see how many other teams go the 'Romo' route to find their next QB. It's obviously going to take a lot of patience that some organizations won't allow.

So what in your opinion has made Tony Romo the seemingly next top-flight QB of the Dallas Cowboys?