Jaworski hopes Romo stays true to himself
By RAY BUCK
Star-Telegram staff writer
Catching up with Jaws on his way from an ESPN production meeting to the film room...
Then again, Ron Jaworski is always on his way to the film room.
But if you want an up-to-the-second, Xs-and-Os evaluation of Tony Romo, you phone Jaws.
This week, the Monday Night Football crew shuffles off to Buffalo for Bills-Cowboys, and Jaworski admits he's champing at the bit to sit down and talk to Tony Romo.
The MNF booth analyst is curious to know Romo the person. He's already eyeballed plenty of Romo the QB, and has come to marvel his "results" side.
By Wednesday morning, Jaws had watched "all the coaching tape on Romo through four weeks."
In a nutshell, he cautions Romo to not spread himself too thin but to embrace being a gunslinger.
"My definition of gunslinger is simply throwing the football without knowing the result," said the MNF analyst. "Romo is not afraid to make tough throws. I love his awareness. I love his ability to extend plays.
"Mobility is a nice attribute for any quarterback, but mobility with an ability to make plays off it is what Romo seems to have."
Jaworski recently has watched Packers tape, then switched to Cowboys tape, and has gotten chills at the similarities between No. 4 and No. 9.
Since one particular 4-yard run in last week's Rams game, Romo has been compared not only to Brett Favre, but also Roger Staubach. That's rarefied air, squared.
Can so much, so soon, set Romo up for failure?
"I think you have to be very careful about that," Jaworski said. "This is a performance business, a what-have-you-done-lately business. It really doesn't matter what the media says; it only matter what [Romo] thinks.
"If he thinks he's a superstar, that could lead to some problems. If he remains humble and keeps working to earn his stripes, he'll be fine. I will say this: There was a time last year that I did get a little bit concerned about [Romo's head]. It takes incredible focus to play the quarterback position... you can't have distractions."
Jaws is eager to get to know Romo before judging him. Some things you can't find in the film room.
Iron Man at work
You would expect Cal Ripken Jr., even in retirement, to work an 11-hour shift.
So, it comes as no surprise that baseball's Iron Man (2,632 consecutive games as a player) has adjusted well this week to marathon duty (working back-to-back tripleheaders) as a TBS studio analyst.
The cable network owns exclusive rights to all first-round major league baseball playoff games.
Guy-next-door host Ernie Johnson -- best known for his NBA mediations between Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT -- would be sunk without Ripken.
That's because co-analyst Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas is what he is: A player who hit his 513th home run little more than a week ago. His depth of insight/presentation of opinions... well, are hurting.
But the trio works because Johnson leads Thomas with decent questions and allows Ripken to be Mr. Instructional Camp.
Ripken exudes confidence and even some personality in front of the camera. "Good makeup" is how he explained bouncing back Thursday after an 11-hour Wednesday.
All in all, they seem to have genuine fun on the TBS set.
Even when the rest of us are watching in bed.
Star-Telegram staff writer
Catching up with Jaws on his way from an ESPN production meeting to the film room...
Then again, Ron Jaworski is always on his way to the film room.
But if you want an up-to-the-second, Xs-and-Os evaluation of Tony Romo, you phone Jaws.
This week, the Monday Night Football crew shuffles off to Buffalo for Bills-Cowboys, and Jaworski admits he's champing at the bit to sit down and talk to Tony Romo.
The MNF booth analyst is curious to know Romo the person. He's already eyeballed plenty of Romo the QB, and has come to marvel his "results" side.
By Wednesday morning, Jaws had watched "all the coaching tape on Romo through four weeks."
In a nutshell, he cautions Romo to not spread himself too thin but to embrace being a gunslinger.
"My definition of gunslinger is simply throwing the football without knowing the result," said the MNF analyst. "Romo is not afraid to make tough throws. I love his awareness. I love his ability to extend plays.
"Mobility is a nice attribute for any quarterback, but mobility with an ability to make plays off it is what Romo seems to have."
Jaworski recently has watched Packers tape, then switched to Cowboys tape, and has gotten chills at the similarities between No. 4 and No. 9.
Since one particular 4-yard run in last week's Rams game, Romo has been compared not only to Brett Favre, but also Roger Staubach. That's rarefied air, squared.
Can so much, so soon, set Romo up for failure?
"I think you have to be very careful about that," Jaworski said. "This is a performance business, a what-have-you-done-lately business. It really doesn't matter what the media says; it only matter what [Romo] thinks.
"If he thinks he's a superstar, that could lead to some problems. If he remains humble and keeps working to earn his stripes, he'll be fine. I will say this: There was a time last year that I did get a little bit concerned about [Romo's head]. It takes incredible focus to play the quarterback position... you can't have distractions."
Jaws is eager to get to know Romo before judging him. Some things you can't find in the film room.
Iron Man at work
You would expect Cal Ripken Jr., even in retirement, to work an 11-hour shift.
So, it comes as no surprise that baseball's Iron Man (2,632 consecutive games as a player) has adjusted well this week to marathon duty (working back-to-back tripleheaders) as a TBS studio analyst.
The cable network owns exclusive rights to all first-round major league baseball playoff games.
Guy-next-door host Ernie Johnson -- best known for his NBA mediations between Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on TNT -- would be sunk without Ripken.
That's because co-analyst Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas is what he is: A player who hit his 513th home run little more than a week ago. His depth of insight/presentation of opinions... well, are hurting.
But the trio works because Johnson leads Thomas with decent questions and allows Ripken to be Mr. Instructional Camp.
Ripken exudes confidence and even some personality in front of the camera. "Good makeup" is how he explained bouncing back Thursday after an 11-hour Wednesday.
All in all, they seem to have genuine fun on the TBS set.
Even when the rest of us are watching in bed.
posted by The Gryphon at 3:55 PM
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