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Cowboys' Romo seeks career moment
By Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY
The quixotic story line of Tony Romo, the small-school draft reject who defied odds to quarterback "America's Team," lost its romance some time ago. Even Dallas Cowboys fans are on edge regarding the regularly skewered quarterback.
Suddenly, the kid with the disarming smile and fun-loving style is 31. The only ring he wears is a new wedding band.
Entering his ninth NFL season, Romo no longer is the intriguing protégé of Bill Parcells. At compensation of nearly $13 million for 2011, he remains a richly endowed, gifted player in search of a defining moment.
"A polarizing figure — people either love him or … well, it's funny, but a lot of them are Cowboy fans," says CBS analyst Rich Gannon, league MVP in 2002 as Super Bowl XXXVII quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. "I have met him, and I sense he is highly competitive and motivated. The one constructive criticism I would give Tony is that he has to be more demanding of his teammates."
Romo's laid-back demeanor, celebrity status and omnipresent backward cap continue to suggest he might be too loosey-goosey to elevate his game to elite standing. When Babe Laufenberg, a former Cowboy, says Romo is "a different cat," he is not embellishing. Before his marriage in May to Candice Crawford, a former Miss Missouri, the quarterback's bachelor party in West Virginia included a Romo-inspired game of hide-and-seek, he told news reporters.
The real issue for Cowboys fans: Romo has one crummy playoff win.
"If you are not getting criticized (as quarterback), you probably just won the Super Bowl," he tells a locker room visitor. "Then, a year or two later, that guy will be criticized."
For years, critics harped on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his failure to find postseason success — until last season when the team won the Super Bowl.
Long fodder for tabloids, Romo and his off-field exploits — from seriously pursuing golf to dating starlets to jumping on stage and singing rock 'n' roll covers such as Sweet Child O' Mine— have been scrutinized.
Critics of his scratch golf game make Jerry Jones laugh. The Cowboys owner admires the quarterback's streak of competitiveness.
"I applaud that. What would you rather have him doing?" Jones asks. "He is not what I would call a late-night jet fighter looking for barroom action."
Romo did not play the final 10 games of last season after breaking his collarbone against the New York Giants. He returns with a new head coach (Jason Garrett), a rekindled vigor and the familiar bull's-eye of grand expectations as he prepares for the season opener Sept. 11 against the blitz-crazed New York Jets.
"I missed playing — I guess you could say my passion was reaffirmed," Romo says. "When you ask me if it is my time (to step up), I think I have always had a sense of urgency. I do know that I feel as well as I ever have going into a season.
"There are two phases to a career. This is my second phase. I relate it to high school. As a junior or a senior, you have (better) command. Now you tell (teammates), 'Hey, I need you to do this.' I am a senior now."
Romo realizes he is considered aloof by some teammates, adding, "At lunchtime, I can't necessarily play dominoes" because of responsibilities. Last season, several Cowboys extolled the leadership qualities of Jon Kitna. In April, tight end Martellus Bennett suggested on radio that Kitna had earned the right to challenge Romo for his job.
"Things of that nature are not in the best interests of the Dallas Cowboys. So I talked to him and told him so," Romo says.
Stellar during season
With his knack for producing big plays rarely in doubt but his leadership skills in question, Romo took an active role in players-only workouts during the lockout. The too-much-credit-too-much-blame conundrum confronting all quarterbacks was something he learned how to deal with from Parcells, who signed Romo as a free agent out of Eastern Illinois in 2003.
"It's the feeding frenzy of the media," he says. "Coach Parcells always stressed, 'You have to have a turtle shell.' All the outside influences need to bounce off. You have to move on."
Romo is a bona fide hare during the regular season, finding plenty of success.
What he and the Cowboys need is the staying power of the tortoise come January, when they have struggled. Dallas has not won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season nor a road playoff game since the 1992 season.
A major part of the disparagement reserved for Romo emanates from standards set by predecessors.
Further derision derives from the misperception that winning isn't important to him — "that he is just living the dream," says tight end Jason Witten, his best friend on the team.
"The way that it comes across is that he is just happy to be quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys — it is the furthest thing from the truth," Witten says. "I think people would be surprised at how competitive that guy is."
The Cowboys signal-caller has produced a saddlebag full of impressive stats, including a career 64.1% completion mark with a nearly 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (118-62). Romo ranks as the league's fourth all-time leading passer with a 95.5 rating — ahead of contemporaries Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger.
That elite group has won a combined seven Super Bowls. Romo can't get past the wild-card round.
Meanwhile, Romo's Cowboys are 1-3 in the playoffs since he replaced Drew Bledsoe during the 2006 season.
For fans accustomed to quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, both Hall of Famers, Romo's postseason performance has been lackluster.
Staubach won a championship in his first season as the starter. In Aikman's first five seasons, he won two Super Bowls. Danny White produced five playoff victories and three NFC Championship Game appearances in his first three years.
"Tony doesn't have the body language — he is not Troy Aikman or Roger Staubach," says Laufenberg, a quarterback-turned-broadcaster. "There are many things he does that, quite honestly, if I were his agent, I would say, 'Tony, put your hat on straight.' People mistake that for being non-competitive."
Judged by titles
Garrett, a former Cowboys quarterback and offensive coordinator, became Romo's third head coach after Wade Phillips was dismissed as part of last season's 6-10 flameout.
"He has grown every day, every year," Garrett says of Romo. "But we have to get better as a team."
At his worst, Romo is a sandlot-reckless, turnover-prone quarterback. At his best, he is a nimble, clever and improvisational playmaker.
In recent seasons, Romo has improved many facets of his game, quietly grinding away on his footwork, accuracy and ball security. For many, including Romo and his detractors, it is not enough.
It might never be enough — unless Romo is fitted for that other ring.
"There is a chip (on his shoulder) — absolutely," Witten says. "He wants to play at a high level, not just (be remembered) for a hot streak for a couple of years. He does not welcome criticism. But he accepts it. At the end of the day, it is all about whether he can win a championship. Until that happens, he will be criticized across the board."
By Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY
The quixotic story line of Tony Romo, the small-school draft reject who defied odds to quarterback "America's Team," lost its romance some time ago. Even Dallas Cowboys fans are on edge regarding the regularly skewered quarterback.
Suddenly, the kid with the disarming smile and fun-loving style is 31. The only ring he wears is a new wedding band.
Entering his ninth NFL season, Romo no longer is the intriguing protégé of Bill Parcells. At compensation of nearly $13 million for 2011, he remains a richly endowed, gifted player in search of a defining moment.
"A polarizing figure — people either love him or … well, it's funny, but a lot of them are Cowboy fans," says CBS analyst Rich Gannon, league MVP in 2002 as Super Bowl XXXVII quarterback of the Oakland Raiders. "I have met him, and I sense he is highly competitive and motivated. The one constructive criticism I would give Tony is that he has to be more demanding of his teammates."
Romo's laid-back demeanor, celebrity status and omnipresent backward cap continue to suggest he might be too loosey-goosey to elevate his game to elite standing. When Babe Laufenberg, a former Cowboy, says Romo is "a different cat," he is not embellishing. Before his marriage in May to Candice Crawford, a former Miss Missouri, the quarterback's bachelor party in West Virginia included a Romo-inspired game of hide-and-seek, he told news reporters.
The real issue for Cowboys fans: Romo has one crummy playoff win.
"If you are not getting criticized (as quarterback), you probably just won the Super Bowl," he tells a locker room visitor. "Then, a year or two later, that guy will be criticized."
For years, critics harped on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his failure to find postseason success — until last season when the team won the Super Bowl.
Long fodder for tabloids, Romo and his off-field exploits — from seriously pursuing golf to dating starlets to jumping on stage and singing rock 'n' roll covers such as Sweet Child O' Mine— have been scrutinized.
Critics of his scratch golf game make Jerry Jones laugh. The Cowboys owner admires the quarterback's streak of competitiveness.
"I applaud that. What would you rather have him doing?" Jones asks. "He is not what I would call a late-night jet fighter looking for barroom action."
Romo did not play the final 10 games of last season after breaking his collarbone against the New York Giants. He returns with a new head coach (Jason Garrett), a rekindled vigor and the familiar bull's-eye of grand expectations as he prepares for the season opener Sept. 11 against the blitz-crazed New York Jets.
"I missed playing — I guess you could say my passion was reaffirmed," Romo says. "When you ask me if it is my time (to step up), I think I have always had a sense of urgency. I do know that I feel as well as I ever have going into a season.
"There are two phases to a career. This is my second phase. I relate it to high school. As a junior or a senior, you have (better) command. Now you tell (teammates), 'Hey, I need you to do this.' I am a senior now."
Romo realizes he is considered aloof by some teammates, adding, "At lunchtime, I can't necessarily play dominoes" because of responsibilities. Last season, several Cowboys extolled the leadership qualities of Jon Kitna. In April, tight end Martellus Bennett suggested on radio that Kitna had earned the right to challenge Romo for his job.
"Things of that nature are not in the best interests of the Dallas Cowboys. So I talked to him and told him so," Romo says.
Stellar during season
With his knack for producing big plays rarely in doubt but his leadership skills in question, Romo took an active role in players-only workouts during the lockout. The too-much-credit-too-much-blame conundrum confronting all quarterbacks was something he learned how to deal with from Parcells, who signed Romo as a free agent out of Eastern Illinois in 2003.
"It's the feeding frenzy of the media," he says. "Coach Parcells always stressed, 'You have to have a turtle shell.' All the outside influences need to bounce off. You have to move on."
Romo is a bona fide hare during the regular season, finding plenty of success.
What he and the Cowboys need is the staying power of the tortoise come January, when they have struggled. Dallas has not won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season nor a road playoff game since the 1992 season.
A major part of the disparagement reserved for Romo emanates from standards set by predecessors.
Further derision derives from the misperception that winning isn't important to him — "that he is just living the dream," says tight end Jason Witten, his best friend on the team.
"The way that it comes across is that he is just happy to be quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys — it is the furthest thing from the truth," Witten says. "I think people would be surprised at how competitive that guy is."
The Cowboys signal-caller has produced a saddlebag full of impressive stats, including a career 64.1% completion mark with a nearly 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (118-62). Romo ranks as the league's fourth all-time leading passer with a 95.5 rating — ahead of contemporaries Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger.
That elite group has won a combined seven Super Bowls. Romo can't get past the wild-card round.
Meanwhile, Romo's Cowboys are 1-3 in the playoffs since he replaced Drew Bledsoe during the 2006 season.
For fans accustomed to quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, both Hall of Famers, Romo's postseason performance has been lackluster.
Staubach won a championship in his first season as the starter. In Aikman's first five seasons, he won two Super Bowls. Danny White produced five playoff victories and three NFC Championship Game appearances in his first three years.
"Tony doesn't have the body language — he is not Troy Aikman or Roger Staubach," says Laufenberg, a quarterback-turned-broadcaster. "There are many things he does that, quite honestly, if I were his agent, I would say, 'Tony, put your hat on straight.' People mistake that for being non-competitive."
Judged by titles
Garrett, a former Cowboys quarterback and offensive coordinator, became Romo's third head coach after Wade Phillips was dismissed as part of last season's 6-10 flameout.
"He has grown every day, every year," Garrett says of Romo. "But we have to get better as a team."
At his worst, Romo is a sandlot-reckless, turnover-prone quarterback. At his best, he is a nimble, clever and improvisational playmaker.
In recent seasons, Romo has improved many facets of his game, quietly grinding away on his footwork, accuracy and ball security. For many, including Romo and his detractors, it is not enough.
It might never be enough — unless Romo is fitted for that other ring.
"There is a chip (on his shoulder) — absolutely," Witten says. "He wants to play at a high level, not just (be remembered) for a hot streak for a couple of years. He does not welcome criticism. But he accepts it. At the end of the day, it is all about whether he can win a championship. Until that happens, he will be criticized across the board."