Jones sees Romo crystallizing Cowboys' future at quarterback
Tom Orsborn
Express-News
IRVING — Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones had a blast Saturday, wheelin' and dealin' in a frenzied manner that left him pumped with adrenaline.
"What makes it so much fun is the chill and the anxiety," said Jones, who made three trades on Day 1 of the 2007 NFL draft. "The feeling you get to expose yourself, take some risks, then it comes back and turns out good for you."
But will it turn out good for the Cowboys? Or will they lose Jones' huge bet that the future is Tony Romo, a quarterback who has started only 10 regular-season games?
Jones put all his chips on Romo's No. 9 when he passed on drafting Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, choosing instead to send the 22nd overall pick to Cleveland in a deal that shipped the Browns' first-round draft pick in 2008 to the Cowboys.
Quinn, once projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick, saw his chance to be in the top 10 slip away after quarterback-thin Miami chose Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth pick. But rather than select Quinn at No. 22, Dallas sent its first-round pick to the Browns, who wanted to grab the Ohio native.
"We looked the alternative right in the eye," Jones said, "and we liked where we are with Tony Romo."
"There's no denying it," Jones added. "We had the chance to lock it up right there with a recognized franchise-type quarterback (Quinn), and we stayed with our franchise quarterback situation."
"That says a lot about Tony. We never know what's right around the corner, but I feel like we've seen enough to make that kind of decision. I think Tony is the way for us to go to get to the Super Bowl."
Jones said the franchise's decision to stick with its young, developing passer didn't take much thought.
"It wasn't tough at all," Jones said. "All we did was say, 'Hey, we've got an instinctive player. We've got a player with a skill level and accuracy. He's competed at this level. He deserves an opportunity. He's earned it.'"
The Cowboys weren't thinking Super Bowl when they signed Romo in 2003 as an undrafted free agent. It wasn't until last season when he replaced Drew Bledsoe in the starting lineup that Jones started thinking of Romo as a franchise quarterback.
Romo passed for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 95.1 rating en route to a Pro Bowl berth last season. He guided the Cowboys to a 6-4 record in his 10 starts, but they lost to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs in a game that saw Romo botch a hold on a potential game-winning, chip-shot field-goal attempt.
Jones said he's confident Romo will bounce back from that defeat and a December slump because of his strong work ethic and commitment to excellence, a trait scouts say Quinn shares.
"I feel confident and good about that, or I might have made a different decision," Jones said. "I know what Tony's pluses are. I know what his instincts are."
Now that Jones has linked his fortunes to Romo, could a new contract be far behind? Romo is entering the final year of the deal Jones gave him before last season.
Romo earned a base salary of $900,000 last season. He's scheduled to earn $1.5million in 2007.
"I feel good enough about what Tony is going to be that we very likely will make a contract before we get to the draft next year," Jones said. "That's a scenario you need to think about. We aren't necessarily going to look at the tea leaves at the end of next year relative to a commitment to Tony. That doesn't figure into this equation."
Express-News
IRVING — Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones had a blast Saturday, wheelin' and dealin' in a frenzied manner that left him pumped with adrenaline.
"What makes it so much fun is the chill and the anxiety," said Jones, who made three trades on Day 1 of the 2007 NFL draft. "The feeling you get to expose yourself, take some risks, then it comes back and turns out good for you."
But will it turn out good for the Cowboys? Or will they lose Jones' huge bet that the future is Tony Romo, a quarterback who has started only 10 regular-season games?
Jones put all his chips on Romo's No. 9 when he passed on drafting Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, choosing instead to send the 22nd overall pick to Cleveland in a deal that shipped the Browns' first-round draft pick in 2008 to the Cowboys.
Quinn, once projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick, saw his chance to be in the top 10 slip away after quarterback-thin Miami chose Ohio State receiver Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth pick. But rather than select Quinn at No. 22, Dallas sent its first-round pick to the Browns, who wanted to grab the Ohio native.
"We looked the alternative right in the eye," Jones said, "and we liked where we are with Tony Romo."
"There's no denying it," Jones added. "We had the chance to lock it up right there with a recognized franchise-type quarterback (Quinn), and we stayed with our franchise quarterback situation."
"That says a lot about Tony. We never know what's right around the corner, but I feel like we've seen enough to make that kind of decision. I think Tony is the way for us to go to get to the Super Bowl."
Jones said the franchise's decision to stick with its young, developing passer didn't take much thought.
"It wasn't tough at all," Jones said. "All we did was say, 'Hey, we've got an instinctive player. We've got a player with a skill level and accuracy. He's competed at this level. He deserves an opportunity. He's earned it.'"
The Cowboys weren't thinking Super Bowl when they signed Romo in 2003 as an undrafted free agent. It wasn't until last season when he replaced Drew Bledsoe in the starting lineup that Jones started thinking of Romo as a franchise quarterback.
Romo passed for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 95.1 rating en route to a Pro Bowl berth last season. He guided the Cowboys to a 6-4 record in his 10 starts, but they lost to Seattle in the first round of the playoffs in a game that saw Romo botch a hold on a potential game-winning, chip-shot field-goal attempt.
Jones said he's confident Romo will bounce back from that defeat and a December slump because of his strong work ethic and commitment to excellence, a trait scouts say Quinn shares.
"I feel confident and good about that, or I might have made a different decision," Jones said. "I know what Tony's pluses are. I know what his instincts are."
Now that Jones has linked his fortunes to Romo, could a new contract be far behind? Romo is entering the final year of the deal Jones gave him before last season.
Romo earned a base salary of $900,000 last season. He's scheduled to earn $1.5million in 2007.
"I feel good enough about what Tony is going to be that we very likely will make a contract before we get to the draft next year," Jones said. "That's a scenario you need to think about. We aren't necessarily going to look at the tea leaves at the end of next year relative to a commitment to Tony. That doesn't figure into this equation."
posted by The Gryphon at 11:40 AM
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