NFL: Romo puts life into Cowboys
Karen Crouse
The New York Times
The faces of the television crew lit up like klieg lights when Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Marco Rivera casually mentioned that the team's new starting quarterback, Tony Romo, did a side-splitting impersonation of Brett Favre, the veteran Green Bay quarterback.
Like most fans, the crew did not know enough about Romo to question whether Rivera was telling the truth. Romo, a fun-loving guy and a natural entertainer, is game for pretty much anything, so when asked to imitate Favre, he obligingly gave it his best shot.
At the start of the season, Romo, who will lead the Cowboys against Tampa Bay on Thursday, was toiling in relative anonymity, as Drew Bledsoe's backup.
Bill Parcells, the Cowboys' coach, gave the 26-year-old Romo his break when he played him in the second half of a Monday night home game against the Giants. The Cowboys lost, 36-22, to fall to 3-3, but found in Romo the antidote for the mediocrity and melodrama plaguing America's Team.
In four starts, Romo has completed 70 percent of his passes while averaging 272 yards through the air. He has thrown five touchdown passes and two interceptions. The Cowboys are 3-1 since Romo took over the offense.
"You have a leader of the team and he's out there having fun, it's just contagious," said Terrell Owens, who has 25 of his 53 catches in the four games that Romo has started. "It kind of rubs off on you."
Growing up in Burlington, Wisconsin, Romo's athletic gifts were on display early. At Waller Elementary School, the football teams he assembled during recess dominated the competition like the Packers of the Vince Lombardi era.
He starred in football, basketball and golf at Burlington High and went to Eastern Illinois University, where he won the Walter Payton Award for the top player in Division I-AA. Romo drew interest from NFL scouts but was not drafted.
The way Romo handled the disappointment impressed Bill Parcells, who had taken over as Cowboys' coach early in 2003. Talking to Romo on the phone, he got a clear signal that Romo was something special. "He was clear thinking," Parcells said Tuesday. "He was understanding what you were saying and he was pretty objective in his outlook."
"I could tell under the gun he's going to be analytical. And that's a good sign, particularly when you have a coach who has a tendency to be emotional under the gun."
Romo, signed as a free agent a few days after the 2003 draft, did not attempt a pass in his first three seasons in the National Football League. He took the approach that he was serving an internship, with the possibility of promotion. "I just tried to improve to the point where the opportunity came I could go out there and do OK," Romo said. "That's all I kept thinking. Keep getting better."
By this week, Romo was starting against, and beating, the Colts and fending off rumors that he and the actress Jessica Simpson were dating. Friends of friends of Romo in Burlington and Eastern Illinois have heard that the two have talked on the telephone.
Romo deflected questions about his social life Tuesday with an aw-shucks shrug. Owens, of course, had something to say on it. "It's all rumors," he said. Laughing, he added: "It is what it is. That's how he's going to get famous."
That's the kind of thinking that makes Parcells' stomach churn. "Trust me," he said. "The warts, we haven't eradicated them." He added: "I think the jury's out on this guy. I mean, I'm certainly hopeful and have confidence in and belief that things will go well for him."
Parcells is a realist. "So far he's been dodging bullets," he said. "They're flying at him. They just haven't hit him."
Romo is impervious to pessimism.
"Bill always needles me," he said, adding: "He doesn't want a celebrity quarterback, so he tries to downplay that stuff. I just let him roll with it."
The New York Times
The faces of the television crew lit up like klieg lights when Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Marco Rivera casually mentioned that the team's new starting quarterback, Tony Romo, did a side-splitting impersonation of Brett Favre, the veteran Green Bay quarterback.
Like most fans, the crew did not know enough about Romo to question whether Rivera was telling the truth. Romo, a fun-loving guy and a natural entertainer, is game for pretty much anything, so when asked to imitate Favre, he obligingly gave it his best shot.
At the start of the season, Romo, who will lead the Cowboys against Tampa Bay on Thursday, was toiling in relative anonymity, as Drew Bledsoe's backup.
Bill Parcells, the Cowboys' coach, gave the 26-year-old Romo his break when he played him in the second half of a Monday night home game against the Giants. The Cowboys lost, 36-22, to fall to 3-3, but found in Romo the antidote for the mediocrity and melodrama plaguing America's Team.
In four starts, Romo has completed 70 percent of his passes while averaging 272 yards through the air. He has thrown five touchdown passes and two interceptions. The Cowboys are 3-1 since Romo took over the offense.
"You have a leader of the team and he's out there having fun, it's just contagious," said Terrell Owens, who has 25 of his 53 catches in the four games that Romo has started. "It kind of rubs off on you."
Growing up in Burlington, Wisconsin, Romo's athletic gifts were on display early. At Waller Elementary School, the football teams he assembled during recess dominated the competition like the Packers of the Vince Lombardi era.
He starred in football, basketball and golf at Burlington High and went to Eastern Illinois University, where he won the Walter Payton Award for the top player in Division I-AA. Romo drew interest from NFL scouts but was not drafted.
The way Romo handled the disappointment impressed Bill Parcells, who had taken over as Cowboys' coach early in 2003. Talking to Romo on the phone, he got a clear signal that Romo was something special. "He was clear thinking," Parcells said Tuesday. "He was understanding what you were saying and he was pretty objective in his outlook."
"I could tell under the gun he's going to be analytical. And that's a good sign, particularly when you have a coach who has a tendency to be emotional under the gun."
Romo, signed as a free agent a few days after the 2003 draft, did not attempt a pass in his first three seasons in the National Football League. He took the approach that he was serving an internship, with the possibility of promotion. "I just tried to improve to the point where the opportunity came I could go out there and do OK," Romo said. "That's all I kept thinking. Keep getting better."
By this week, Romo was starting against, and beating, the Colts and fending off rumors that he and the actress Jessica Simpson were dating. Friends of friends of Romo in Burlington and Eastern Illinois have heard that the two have talked on the telephone.
Romo deflected questions about his social life Tuesday with an aw-shucks shrug. Owens, of course, had something to say on it. "It's all rumors," he said. Laughing, he added: "It is what it is. That's how he's going to get famous."
That's the kind of thinking that makes Parcells' stomach churn. "Trust me," he said. "The warts, we haven't eradicated them." He added: "I think the jury's out on this guy. I mean, I'm certainly hopeful and have confidence in and belief that things will go well for him."
Parcells is a realist. "So far he's been dodging bullets," he said. "They're flying at him. They just haven't hit him."
Romo is impervious to pessimism.
"Bill always needles me," he said, adding: "He doesn't want a celebrity quarterback, so he tries to downplay that stuff. I just let him roll with it."
posted by The Gryphon at 10:09 PM
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