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Jerry Jones: 'I think Romo can take another step up the ladder of recognition as a top quarterback'
10:15 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 17, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was interviewed on KESN-FM on Monday to discuss the Cowboys and the injuries that have been plaguing the team. Here are some highlights:
What does it tell you about Tony Romo when he has a stomach virus but is still out there in practice gutting it out?
It reminds me Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith wouldn’t come out, during the season, of course, but he would go out there with the flu. And you ask yourself here…there’s two things happening: if he’s off a little bit, it is Romo and it is the Cowboys, he misses a few throws…perception-wise, is that worse than sitting it out? And I know that Wade [Phillips] got with him and they talked about it before practice but there is no question and we’ve all had it, he is down with the bug but he’s trying to fight through it. They’re giving him one of those E-Packs and I just saw him right before he walked out and he said, “Man, when is this ‘Z’ stuff supposed to kick in?” So, he’s trying to work though it and I think that’s a good thing.
What’s the next step for Romo, aside from winning more playoff games?
Well, I think that when we say the ‘next step,’ that’s a fair way to say it. But the next step for Tony is the Washington Redskins and I’m not trying to be trite. We really need to play these teams as they appear. We have a rough schedule and we would love to get started off really in good shape, win-wise. And that’s going to be a big challenge; each of these games are milestones within themselves, but I think a great star, a top first game, all of those things build on themselves and I think that’s where we are with him. He has done some things in the offseason that I think will help him…if anything, give us what we didn’t show against Minnesota. And that is a way to combat pressure when we aren’t blocking it or can’t block it. You’ve got to get the ball out quick and you got to have some people in the flats or the shorts to get it to.
We know they’re going to have their ears pinned back as we start this season. That’s the way I would play Romo: I’d pin him back and put pressure up a storm. Well, the more places he’s got to go with the ball, whether they be one yard or two yarders with a chance to run and hopefully whoever is on the other end of that ball can make play like Felix Jones. I think that’s there, they’ve worked on that. Jason Garrett and the whole crew has worked on it. Tony has really been concentrating on it a lot but the next step for us, frankly, is we have a team that has the makings of a great defense and we got a chance, with some big playmakers. And I said yesterday, the offensive line, people do want the luxury of a veteran offensive line. The problem is the injury issue; they get hurt more. And so you need some depth behind it but we have that. An experienced with talent veteran offensive line and with the skill players that we got, I think Romo can take another step up the ladder of recognition as a top quarterback.
When do the Cowboys expect Dez Bryant to return and how is his progress?
The problem is asking me if I’m pleased with his prospect. Here’s the issue and it always is with these ankle sprains; we let Martellus [Bennett] get out there and didn’t let him, we wanted him, he’s ready to go. But yet he tweaks it a little last week so he’s out a few more days. You really do hear with a guy like Martellus to get it totally behind them and so you’re never going to know when you want him to step out there over the next week or ten days. He’ll run like he never even had the injury and then when he makes a cut to the side of his foot or something, then you’re running the risk that he could tweak it. So is it worth the risk for Dez Bryant to get in the game against Houston and tweak it? Well, one of the problem is getting a player like Dez Bryant to stay off of it. He was out here returning punts yesterday and I ask our trainer, “Now, do you want him moving around?” He said yes and then I said, “Wade said, ‘How about returning punts?’” And he said, “Oh my god, no. We don’t want him returning punts. He’s not on sure ground there.” So boy, they went out there and snatched him and got him back off the sideline to make that go. You’d say, ‘Is anybody minding the damn store around here to see if he’s out returning punts?’ Well they are but these guys have a mind of their own a little bit. So, we got to keep him down. I read that the toughest part of an ankle sprain is keeping the athlete off of it. We’ll have Bret Brown, who is the best in the business and specializes in rehab, he’ll give us a little read on him and say that it looks like it’s coming along good.
10:15 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 17, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was interviewed on KESN-FM on Monday to discuss the Cowboys and the injuries that have been plaguing the team. Here are some highlights:
What does it tell you about Tony Romo when he has a stomach virus but is still out there in practice gutting it out?
It reminds me Emmitt Smith. Emmitt Smith wouldn’t come out, during the season, of course, but he would go out there with the flu. And you ask yourself here…there’s two things happening: if he’s off a little bit, it is Romo and it is the Cowboys, he misses a few throws…perception-wise, is that worse than sitting it out? And I know that Wade [Phillips] got with him and they talked about it before practice but there is no question and we’ve all had it, he is down with the bug but he’s trying to fight through it. They’re giving him one of those E-Packs and I just saw him right before he walked out and he said, “Man, when is this ‘Z’ stuff supposed to kick in?” So, he’s trying to work though it and I think that’s a good thing.
What’s the next step for Romo, aside from winning more playoff games?
Well, I think that when we say the ‘next step,’ that’s a fair way to say it. But the next step for Tony is the Washington Redskins and I’m not trying to be trite. We really need to play these teams as they appear. We have a rough schedule and we would love to get started off really in good shape, win-wise. And that’s going to be a big challenge; each of these games are milestones within themselves, but I think a great star, a top first game, all of those things build on themselves and I think that’s where we are with him. He has done some things in the offseason that I think will help him…if anything, give us what we didn’t show against Minnesota. And that is a way to combat pressure when we aren’t blocking it or can’t block it. You’ve got to get the ball out quick and you got to have some people in the flats or the shorts to get it to.
We know they’re going to have their ears pinned back as we start this season. That’s the way I would play Romo: I’d pin him back and put pressure up a storm. Well, the more places he’s got to go with the ball, whether they be one yard or two yarders with a chance to run and hopefully whoever is on the other end of that ball can make play like Felix Jones. I think that’s there, they’ve worked on that. Jason Garrett and the whole crew has worked on it. Tony has really been concentrating on it a lot but the next step for us, frankly, is we have a team that has the makings of a great defense and we got a chance, with some big playmakers. And I said yesterday, the offensive line, people do want the luxury of a veteran offensive line. The problem is the injury issue; they get hurt more. And so you need some depth behind it but we have that. An experienced with talent veteran offensive line and with the skill players that we got, I think Romo can take another step up the ladder of recognition as a top quarterback.
When do the Cowboys expect Dez Bryant to return and how is his progress?
The problem is asking me if I’m pleased with his prospect. Here’s the issue and it always is with these ankle sprains; we let Martellus [Bennett] get out there and didn’t let him, we wanted him, he’s ready to go. But yet he tweaks it a little last week so he’s out a few more days. You really do hear with a guy like Martellus to get it totally behind them and so you’re never going to know when you want him to step out there over the next week or ten days. He’ll run like he never even had the injury and then when he makes a cut to the side of his foot or something, then you’re running the risk that he could tweak it. So is it worth the risk for Dez Bryant to get in the game against Houston and tweak it? Well, one of the problem is getting a player like Dez Bryant to stay off of it. He was out here returning punts yesterday and I ask our trainer, “Now, do you want him moving around?” He said yes and then I said, “Wade said, ‘How about returning punts?’” And he said, “Oh my god, no. We don’t want him returning punts. He’s not on sure ground there.” So boy, they went out there and snatched him and got him back off the sideline to make that go. You’d say, ‘Is anybody minding the damn store around here to see if he’s out returning punts?’ Well they are but these guys have a mind of their own a little bit. So, we got to keep him down. I read that the toughest part of an ankle sprain is keeping the athlete off of it. We’ll have Bret Brown, who is the best in the business and specializes in rehab, he’ll give us a little read on him and say that it looks like it’s coming along good.