Tony Romo - Diamond In The Rough
NFLPLAYERS.COM
Tony Romo - Diamond In The Rough
Tony Romo’s star is shining brightly in Dallas as he continues to excel as the Cowboys' starting QB.
Mike Donnelly
NFLPLAYERS.COM
11/09/2006
Tony Romo is playing with poise well beyond that of a quarterback of his experience.
After seeing only limited action as a placeholder and in late-game mop-up duty for the past three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Romo has suddenly become the new sheriff in Big D. In two starts this season, Romo has a 102.4 quarterback rating and completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 554 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
"I think I have improved every year that I have gone out there," said the Division I-AA Eastern Illinois product. "I have always had a little bit of raw ability. I think I have harnessed it and become a better quarterback."
Romo is the only quarterback on the Cowboys roster besides 14-year veteran Drew Bledsoe, but originally joined the team as a rookie free agent following the 2003 draft, and has waited over three years to showcase his skills at the professional level.
This year he finally began to climb into contention for a shot at the starting job after posting a strong preseason performance in which he played 10 of 16 quarters.
"He (Romo) had a pretty good preseason, but this preseason I told our personnel people and our owner that I was going to give him ample work," head coach Bill Parcells said.
"I just made up my mind I wanted to find out about him as best I could," Parcells added. "I felt overall that his (preseason) performance was good."
Romo, who actually nearly qualified for the US Open golf tournament in 2005, combines his athleticism with great arm strength and an ability to improvise well from the pocket with his feet, which has always intrigued Parcells. And when Bledsoe struggled as the starter during the Cowboys' first six games this season by throwing costly interceptions and succumbing to numerous sacks, Parcells couldn't resist on the temptation to make a quarterback switch.
Romo eventually replaced Bledsoe in the second half of a Week 7 battle against the New York Giants. Although he threw for a shaky 227 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in relief, Parcells decided to give Romo a fair shot as a starter which meant getting a full week's worth of repetitions with the first team under his belt.
"Bill (Parcells) is not a guy that is very passive for too long," Romo said of the starting quarterback change. "He is eventually going to put his hand on the team. I don't know what his thinking was. I can't begin to speculate there. He may have somehow thought that I gave us a chance to win some ballgames."
The following week against the Carolina Panthers, Romo made his first career start under center and completed 24 of 36 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown as he rallied the Cowboys to a 35-14 win.
"It was a little less than perfect but yes overall," Parcells said when asked if he was pleased with Romo's play after his first start. "I don't think I could have expected more."
Last week against the Washington Redskins while making his second career start, Romo put forth his best pro performance yet, compiling 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also displayed great poise and leadership towards the end of the game when he marched the Cowboys offense down the field into field goal range in an attempt to engineer a last-minute game-winning drive. But he saw his efforts crushed when the Redskins blocked Dallas' field goal try which ultimately led to a 'Skins victory on the next play off a successful 47-yard field goal from Nick Novak.
"This league is very hard week to week if you are going to be bouncing up and down," Romo said. "We will come back from this but it's just frustrating we didn't get this one."
Although the Cowboys lost to the Redskins, Romo showed that with little experience, he's more than capable of carving up an NFL secondary. In addition, if Terrell Owens had caught a sure 74-yard touchdown catch on a truly perfect toss from Romo during the Redskins game, his statistics at the moment would be even more impressive.
As well as he's played since being inserted into the starting lineup, Romo, like any other leader at the helm, is driven more than anything else by wins and losses. "I'm not out here to put up any kind of numbers," Romo said following the loss to Washington. "I'm here to help this team win and that's what I was trying to help accomplish today. We didn't do that so this leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
While the Cowboys continue searching for more wins to get them into postseason play, it appears safe to say for now, that their quarterback situation is currently one of the positions on stable ground. In addition, considering that Romo is the 10th quarterback to start a game for the Cowboys since 2001 when Troy Aikman departed, it's beginning to look as if this diamond in the rough is heading towards cementing himself as the long-term solution for the franchise's recent quarterback struggles.
"I have always been a guy that has tried to get better each offseason and each season," Romo said. "I always looked towards the future as far as wanting to be ready when the opportunity came… The preparation and time that I put in over the last three and a half years got me ready to go."
Tony Romo - Diamond In The Rough
Tony Romo’s star is shining brightly in Dallas as he continues to excel as the Cowboys' starting QB.
Mike Donnelly
NFLPLAYERS.COM
11/09/2006
Tony Romo is playing with poise well beyond that of a quarterback of his experience.
After seeing only limited action as a placeholder and in late-game mop-up duty for the past three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Romo has suddenly become the new sheriff in Big D. In two starts this season, Romo has a 102.4 quarterback rating and completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 554 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
"I think I have improved every year that I have gone out there," said the Division I-AA Eastern Illinois product. "I have always had a little bit of raw ability. I think I have harnessed it and become a better quarterback."
Romo is the only quarterback on the Cowboys roster besides 14-year veteran Drew Bledsoe, but originally joined the team as a rookie free agent following the 2003 draft, and has waited over three years to showcase his skills at the professional level.
This year he finally began to climb into contention for a shot at the starting job after posting a strong preseason performance in which he played 10 of 16 quarters.
"He (Romo) had a pretty good preseason, but this preseason I told our personnel people and our owner that I was going to give him ample work," head coach Bill Parcells said.
"I just made up my mind I wanted to find out about him as best I could," Parcells added. "I felt overall that his (preseason) performance was good."
Romo, who actually nearly qualified for the US Open golf tournament in 2005, combines his athleticism with great arm strength and an ability to improvise well from the pocket with his feet, which has always intrigued Parcells. And when Bledsoe struggled as the starter during the Cowboys' first six games this season by throwing costly interceptions and succumbing to numerous sacks, Parcells couldn't resist on the temptation to make a quarterback switch.
Romo eventually replaced Bledsoe in the second half of a Week 7 battle against the New York Giants. Although he threw for a shaky 227 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in relief, Parcells decided to give Romo a fair shot as a starter which meant getting a full week's worth of repetitions with the first team under his belt.
"Bill (Parcells) is not a guy that is very passive for too long," Romo said of the starting quarterback change. "He is eventually going to put his hand on the team. I don't know what his thinking was. I can't begin to speculate there. He may have somehow thought that I gave us a chance to win some ballgames."
The following week against the Carolina Panthers, Romo made his first career start under center and completed 24 of 36 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown as he rallied the Cowboys to a 35-14 win.
"It was a little less than perfect but yes overall," Parcells said when asked if he was pleased with Romo's play after his first start. "I don't think I could have expected more."
Last week against the Washington Redskins while making his second career start, Romo put forth his best pro performance yet, compiling 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also displayed great poise and leadership towards the end of the game when he marched the Cowboys offense down the field into field goal range in an attempt to engineer a last-minute game-winning drive. But he saw his efforts crushed when the Redskins blocked Dallas' field goal try which ultimately led to a 'Skins victory on the next play off a successful 47-yard field goal from Nick Novak.
"This league is very hard week to week if you are going to be bouncing up and down," Romo said. "We will come back from this but it's just frustrating we didn't get this one."
Although the Cowboys lost to the Redskins, Romo showed that with little experience, he's more than capable of carving up an NFL secondary. In addition, if Terrell Owens had caught a sure 74-yard touchdown catch on a truly perfect toss from Romo during the Redskins game, his statistics at the moment would be even more impressive.
As well as he's played since being inserted into the starting lineup, Romo, like any other leader at the helm, is driven more than anything else by wins and losses. "I'm not out here to put up any kind of numbers," Romo said following the loss to Washington. "I'm here to help this team win and that's what I was trying to help accomplish today. We didn't do that so this leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
While the Cowboys continue searching for more wins to get them into postseason play, it appears safe to say for now, that their quarterback situation is currently one of the positions on stable ground. In addition, considering that Romo is the 10th quarterback to start a game for the Cowboys since 2001 when Troy Aikman departed, it's beginning to look as if this diamond in the rough is heading towards cementing himself as the long-term solution for the franchise's recent quarterback struggles.
"I have always been a guy that has tried to get better each offseason and each season," Romo said. "I always looked towards the future as far as wanting to be ready when the opportunity came… The preparation and time that I put in over the last three and a half years got me ready to go."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:46 PM
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