Romo has come a long way from roots
Belleville News-Democrat
September 28, 2007
Playing at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston taught Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo a humility that has enabled him to bridge the gap from Division I-AA to the NFL.
'The thing is that 45 minutes away, you have the University of Illinois, and you have other schools around you that are bigger and more predominant,' Romo said. 'We'd play 7-on-7 against Illinois, and you'd just get a feeling, 'Hey, I have a long way to go. I have to keep working.' Even though I was a decent player at my level, I knew at the end of the day, I had a long way to go before I was going to compete with the best quarterbacks in the country at the time.'
Romo ended up winning the Walter Peyton Award, given annually to the nation's top Division I-AA player, as a senior for Eastern Illinois University in 2002.
Despite his accolades and his school-record 8,215 yards and 85 touchdowns, Romo went undrafted. He signed as a rookie free agent with the Cowboys.
'I had a decent senior year, so I thought the possibility was there,' Romo said of his hopes for being drafted. 'When I look back, I definitely understand why I wasn't.'
Romo never attempted a pass in his first three seasons with the Cowboys. His biggest contribution came as a holder on field goals and extra-point kicks.
Romo began the 2006 season as the backup to Drew Bledsoe, but everything changed after he replaced Bledsoe at the start of the third quarter in the Cowboys' Monday Night game against the New York Giants on Oct. 23.
The Cowboys lost to the Giants, but then won six of their next 10 games with Romo as their starter. It all culminated with Romo becoming the first Cowboys quarterback to play in the Pro Bowl since Troy Aikman in 1996.
'Of course, it really doesn't matter where you start out,' Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said of Romo. 'I know he was a free agent, but he's worked at his craft, so to speak. He's kept working at it. He's got some intangibles and some tangibles certainly. He's got a really quick release, but he also has a great presence, and he sees the field well. We had Ken Stabler way back toward the end of this career, but what I noticed about Stabler is that he could see the field really well, and Tony Romo has that kind of a feeling.'
Romo will bring a 9-4 record as a starter into the Cowboys' game against the St. Louis Rams at noon Sunday at Texas Stadium. He has thrown for 3,501 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Romo is only the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to pass for 3,500 yards in his first 13 starts, joining Kurt Warner (3,559 yards) and Marc Bulger (3,534 yards).
Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett compared Romo's playing style to that of Green Bay's Brett Favre.
Like Favre, Romo has the improvisational skills to make a big play out of a what initially looks like a bad play.
Rams coach Scott Linehan said it's too early in Romo's career to make comparisons to Favre, but he said Romo's inventiveness presents a problem for his team's defense.
'He's just one of those guys that has a knack,' Linehan said. 'It's hard to defend him because he's kind of a reckless player it seems like at times, but it's very productive. A lot of young players can be like that, but he has that sixth sense, so to speak, to feel the rush, bail when he needs to bail and he's very productive on the run.'
Romo is the only current NFL player who played for Eastern Illinois University, according to the school's Web site. However, there are three NFL coaches who graduated from the school -- Denver's Mike Shanahan, Minnesota's Brad Childress and New Orleans' Sean Payton.
The Cowboys also have struck gold with another Division I-AA standout, defensive end Demarcus Ware.
Ware has 17.5 sacks in his last 21 games since being taken in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy State.
'If you get a chance to watch small college football or even leagues that aren't nationally televised, you're going to find great players like that,' Linehan said.
Linehan remembers meeting Romo for the first time at the NFL Combine in 2002.
'He was one of the three quarterbacks that throws the passes all week to the whole group,' Linehan said. 'They usually bring in three guys that maybe aren't quite that well known or are under the radar. I think that's where most people had their first look at him. There are great quarterbacks coming out of Division I-AA right now. I just want to remind you of that.'
In case you didn't know, Linehan played quarterback at Division I-AA Idaho.
September 28, 2007
Playing at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston taught Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo a humility that has enabled him to bridge the gap from Division I-AA to the NFL.
'The thing is that 45 minutes away, you have the University of Illinois, and you have other schools around you that are bigger and more predominant,' Romo said. 'We'd play 7-on-7 against Illinois, and you'd just get a feeling, 'Hey, I have a long way to go. I have to keep working.' Even though I was a decent player at my level, I knew at the end of the day, I had a long way to go before I was going to compete with the best quarterbacks in the country at the time.'
Romo ended up winning the Walter Peyton Award, given annually to the nation's top Division I-AA player, as a senior for Eastern Illinois University in 2002.
Despite his accolades and his school-record 8,215 yards and 85 touchdowns, Romo went undrafted. He signed as a rookie free agent with the Cowboys.
'I had a decent senior year, so I thought the possibility was there,' Romo said of his hopes for being drafted. 'When I look back, I definitely understand why I wasn't.'
Romo never attempted a pass in his first three seasons with the Cowboys. His biggest contribution came as a holder on field goals and extra-point kicks.
Romo began the 2006 season as the backup to Drew Bledsoe, but everything changed after he replaced Bledsoe at the start of the third quarter in the Cowboys' Monday Night game against the New York Giants on Oct. 23.
The Cowboys lost to the Giants, but then won six of their next 10 games with Romo as their starter. It all culminated with Romo becoming the first Cowboys quarterback to play in the Pro Bowl since Troy Aikman in 1996.
'Of course, it really doesn't matter where you start out,' Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said of Romo. 'I know he was a free agent, but he's worked at his craft, so to speak. He's kept working at it. He's got some intangibles and some tangibles certainly. He's got a really quick release, but he also has a great presence, and he sees the field well. We had Ken Stabler way back toward the end of this career, but what I noticed about Stabler is that he could see the field really well, and Tony Romo has that kind of a feeling.'
Romo will bring a 9-4 record as a starter into the Cowboys' game against the St. Louis Rams at noon Sunday at Texas Stadium. He has thrown for 3,501 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Romo is only the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to pass for 3,500 yards in his first 13 starts, joining Kurt Warner (3,559 yards) and Marc Bulger (3,534 yards).
Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett compared Romo's playing style to that of Green Bay's Brett Favre.
Like Favre, Romo has the improvisational skills to make a big play out of a what initially looks like a bad play.
Rams coach Scott Linehan said it's too early in Romo's career to make comparisons to Favre, but he said Romo's inventiveness presents a problem for his team's defense.
'He's just one of those guys that has a knack,' Linehan said. 'It's hard to defend him because he's kind of a reckless player it seems like at times, but it's very productive. A lot of young players can be like that, but he has that sixth sense, so to speak, to feel the rush, bail when he needs to bail and he's very productive on the run.'
Romo is the only current NFL player who played for Eastern Illinois University, according to the school's Web site. However, there are three NFL coaches who graduated from the school -- Denver's Mike Shanahan, Minnesota's Brad Childress and New Orleans' Sean Payton.
The Cowboys also have struck gold with another Division I-AA standout, defensive end Demarcus Ware.
Ware has 17.5 sacks in his last 21 games since being taken in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy State.
'If you get a chance to watch small college football or even leagues that aren't nationally televised, you're going to find great players like that,' Linehan said.
Linehan remembers meeting Romo for the first time at the NFL Combine in 2002.
'He was one of the three quarterbacks that throws the passes all week to the whole group,' Linehan said. 'They usually bring in three guys that maybe aren't quite that well known or are under the radar. I think that's where most people had their first look at him. There are great quarterbacks coming out of Division I-AA right now. I just want to remind you of that.'
In case you didn't know, Linehan played quarterback at Division I-AA Idaho.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:54 AM
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