Romo's healing process has begun
By Peter Jackel
Source: www.journaltimes.com
The rib cartilage that has been popping out of place since Tony Romo took that shot in Philadelphia three weeks ago is on the mend.
What will will take so much longer to heal are the wounds from a season that ended all too soon and, then again, not soon enough.
There has been some reality to sift through these past three weeks and the mental cleansing is still in its first stages. The Cowboys, a strong preseason choice to play in the Super Bowl, flamed out during the stretch, sealing their demise Dec. 28 with a crushing 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
What a season it was. Romo suffered a broken pinkie on his throwing hand Oct. 12 and missed three games. Stories surfaced that controversial receiver Terrell Owens was being a divisive locker room presence. Romo was getting saddled by fans with the reputation of not being able to win the big one.
Cornerback Pacman Jones consistently made headlines for what he did off the field. Receiver Roy Williams, whom the Cowboys acquired for a large price from the Detroit Lions in a midseason trade, made a minimal impact. Coach Wade Phillips’ job security became an ongoing issue. And when a playoff berth hung in the balance during that game in Philadelphia, the Cowboys didn’t get it done.
Since Romo made his first appearance for the Cowboys Oct. 23, 2006 and skyrocketed into a national sensation, the going had been so good. And then came the other side.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed and frustrated with how the season went,” said Romo, a 1998 Burlington High School graduate. “As players and coaches, we need to ask ourselves what we need to do to get better. Every person needs to look at himself from an honest perspective.”
Romo includes himself in that group, even though his performance represented one of the Cowboys’ few bright areas. While he won’t be going to the Pro Bowl after two consecutive trips, he ranked third among NFC quarterbacks by completing 276 of 450 passes for 3,448 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Nevertheless, Romo accepts the reality that it all starts with the quarterback. And if anyone wants to paint over him with the stroke of a “can’t-win-the-big-one” brush, he can deal with it.
“No, it’s not hard,” he said when asked how he felt about the criticism. “You never win the big one until you win the big one. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin were fired before they ended up going on their playoff run last year and winning the Super Bowl. Three games before the playoffs, neither one of them were coming back.
“So, believe me, the NFL is such a reality show. Week to week, you’re the best player in the league to the worst player in the league. It all depends on what you’ve done for me lately. That’s part of the game and you understand that.
“If I’m never going to win the Super Bowl, I’ll be content in life. I’ll be disappointed because that’s what I wanted to do. At that same point, it’s not going to be something that makes me a better human being.
“I think I’m going to work very hard to try to obtain those goals. But I’m not going to pretend to say that that’s what life’s all about either.”
Those aren’t just empty words for Romo. Twice during the season, he made headlines for acts of kindness in Dallas, first for pulling over to assist a married couple with a flat tire and then for treating a homeless man to watch a movie with him in a theater.
Romo has often said that his parents, Ramiro and Joan, raised him that way. But truth be known, he would have preferred that those philanthrophic stories had not made their way to the media.
“It’s embarrassing when people find out about it,” he said. “You just see someone and you just do it. It’s not like I fed 700 kids who couldn’t eat for the last month.
“It’s almost like, “Can I ever help someone again?’ because I have to be afraid I’m going to be seen as this fake person. But then I started to think, ‘You know what? If I help a homeless guy or I help someone with a flat tire, maybe there’s somebody else who will think, ‘You know, Tony Romo would help. I’m going to pull over and help, too.’ ”
Romo has every intention of leading by example once again on the football field, as well. But first comes some physical and mental healing.
“It consumes a lot of your life, this game,” he said. “I think I’m very lucky to do what I’m doing and have the people around me that I have. It keeps everything in perspective.
“But it’s also very difficult.”
Source: www.journaltimes.com
The rib cartilage that has been popping out of place since Tony Romo took that shot in Philadelphia three weeks ago is on the mend.
What will will take so much longer to heal are the wounds from a season that ended all too soon and, then again, not soon enough.
There has been some reality to sift through these past three weeks and the mental cleansing is still in its first stages. The Cowboys, a strong preseason choice to play in the Super Bowl, flamed out during the stretch, sealing their demise Dec. 28 with a crushing 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
What a season it was. Romo suffered a broken pinkie on his throwing hand Oct. 12 and missed three games. Stories surfaced that controversial receiver Terrell Owens was being a divisive locker room presence. Romo was getting saddled by fans with the reputation of not being able to win the big one.
Cornerback Pacman Jones consistently made headlines for what he did off the field. Receiver Roy Williams, whom the Cowboys acquired for a large price from the Detroit Lions in a midseason trade, made a minimal impact. Coach Wade Phillips’ job security became an ongoing issue. And when a playoff berth hung in the balance during that game in Philadelphia, the Cowboys didn’t get it done.
Since Romo made his first appearance for the Cowboys Oct. 23, 2006 and skyrocketed into a national sensation, the going had been so good. And then came the other side.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed and frustrated with how the season went,” said Romo, a 1998 Burlington High School graduate. “As players and coaches, we need to ask ourselves what we need to do to get better. Every person needs to look at himself from an honest perspective.”
Romo includes himself in that group, even though his performance represented one of the Cowboys’ few bright areas. While he won’t be going to the Pro Bowl after two consecutive trips, he ranked third among NFC quarterbacks by completing 276 of 450 passes for 3,448 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Nevertheless, Romo accepts the reality that it all starts with the quarterback. And if anyone wants to paint over him with the stroke of a “can’t-win-the-big-one” brush, he can deal with it.
“No, it’s not hard,” he said when asked how he felt about the criticism. “You never win the big one until you win the big one. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin were fired before they ended up going on their playoff run last year and winning the Super Bowl. Three games before the playoffs, neither one of them were coming back.
“So, believe me, the NFL is such a reality show. Week to week, you’re the best player in the league to the worst player in the league. It all depends on what you’ve done for me lately. That’s part of the game and you understand that.
“If I’m never going to win the Super Bowl, I’ll be content in life. I’ll be disappointed because that’s what I wanted to do. At that same point, it’s not going to be something that makes me a better human being.
“I think I’m going to work very hard to try to obtain those goals. But I’m not going to pretend to say that that’s what life’s all about either.”
Those aren’t just empty words for Romo. Twice during the season, he made headlines for acts of kindness in Dallas, first for pulling over to assist a married couple with a flat tire and then for treating a homeless man to watch a movie with him in a theater.
Romo has often said that his parents, Ramiro and Joan, raised him that way. But truth be known, he would have preferred that those philanthrophic stories had not made their way to the media.
“It’s embarrassing when people find out about it,” he said. “You just see someone and you just do it. It’s not like I fed 700 kids who couldn’t eat for the last month.
“It’s almost like, “Can I ever help someone again?’ because I have to be afraid I’m going to be seen as this fake person. But then I started to think, ‘You know what? If I help a homeless guy or I help someone with a flat tire, maybe there’s somebody else who will think, ‘You know, Tony Romo would help. I’m going to pull over and help, too.’ ”
Romo has every intention of leading by example once again on the football field, as well. But first comes some physical and mental healing.
“It consumes a lot of your life, this game,” he said. “I think I’m very lucky to do what I’m doing and have the people around me that I have. It keeps everything in perspective.
“But it’s also very difficult.”
posted by The Gryphon at 11:13 AM
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