Quarterback Tony Romo has Dallas Cowboys singing confident tune
November 18th, 2008 - 9:10am -
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Though his body says stop — his spirit cries — never!"
Full disclosure: This corn-ball song was written for the movie Rocky IV, but it says something about the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
Not only is his musical taste rooted in aged 1980s cheese (see, Journey), but much like with the Cowboys, he also can bring back bands thought to be long since dead, and songs that are better served for Rocky flying over to then-Communist Russia to fight Ivan Drago.
"It was great to have him back," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the Cowboys’ 14-10 win at Washington on Sunday night. "He adds confidence to our team."
Without Romo, the Cowboys looked and often played like a team that had the confidence of a squad headed to the top of the draft. That believed a margin, no matter how small, was too big to overcome. Although he was far from his best, just the presence of Romo seemed to change things for a team that was in desperate need of a boost.
"It just shows he’s our franchise," Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. "Not just as far as making throws and all that; I think more importantly the leadership and keeping everybody upbeat and the tempo that we play with. That goes a long way, especially in those big games."
There is also some more good news: The splint that supports Romo’s broken right pinkie and forces him to change the way he grips the football might only be on for one more game. Two, tops.
"The adrenaline of the game is a great equalizer when you have things banged up or hurting," Romo said after the game. "I always felt if I could kind of do it during the week I would be able to do it in the game."
He did kind of do it. Romo was effective, but he was not quite the same passer he had been in Weeks 1 through 3.
Romo and the Cowboys won despite scoring 14 points. He was far from sharp and was intercepted twice. But the Cowboys finally began looking like themselves again.
"He affects the game. He affects our players. He affects our attitude about what we can and can’t do when we got behind 7-0," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "I don’t think it bothered anybody that we got behind. We felt like we could score. I think it affects decisions of the game that sometimes you don’t see. And just his enthusiasm. His confidence, his calls."
Unlike the Tennessee Titans or New England Patriots, both of which have managed to win games despite playing backup quarterbacks for nearly the entire season to date, the Cowboys had no such fortune in a much shorter period. In three games without Romo, the Cowboys lost games and appeared to lose their self-esteem while going 1-2.
But Romo practicing with the first-team unit last week injected some badly needed life into a team that played not only as though it didn’t have its No. 1 quarterback, but no shot. If the Cowboys fell behind by two scores, that was it. They played as if they knew the game was over, which it was.
That’s changed now with Romo. There is a belief in him that he can lead a team to make plays, much as he did by helping the Cowboys convert five of 11 third downs against the Redskins. And there is a belief he can lead them to points, much as he did with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett that proved to be the game-winner.
"I felt us getting the swagger back," linebacker Zach Thomas said. "We haven’t had that swagger for a while, and that’s important. It’s confidence. I think we’ve had the confidence, but then had a little doubt in the back of your mind when things aren’t going well. Hey, maybe it took us a while."
They have it now, and a theme song, too.
By MAC ENGEL
IRVING — Tony Romo walked through a celebratory locker room carrying an iPod that blared the song "Burning Heart" by the band Survivor.
Though his body says stop — his spirit cries — never!"
Full disclosure: This corn-ball song was written for the movie Rocky IV, but it says something about the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
Not only is his musical taste rooted in aged 1980s cheese (see, Journey), but much like with the Cowboys, he also can bring back bands thought to be long since dead, and songs that are better served for Rocky flying over to then-Communist Russia to fight Ivan Drago.
"It was great to have him back," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the Cowboys’ 14-10 win at Washington on Sunday night. "He adds confidence to our team."
Without Romo, the Cowboys looked and often played like a team that had the confidence of a squad headed to the top of the draft. That believed a margin, no matter how small, was too big to overcome. Although he was far from his best, just the presence of Romo seemed to change things for a team that was in desperate need of a boost.
"It just shows he’s our franchise," Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. "Not just as far as making throws and all that; I think more importantly the leadership and keeping everybody upbeat and the tempo that we play with. That goes a long way, especially in those big games."
There is also some more good news: The splint that supports Romo’s broken right pinkie and forces him to change the way he grips the football might only be on for one more game. Two, tops.
"The adrenaline of the game is a great equalizer when you have things banged up or hurting," Romo said after the game. "I always felt if I could kind of do it during the week I would be able to do it in the game."
He did kind of do it. Romo was effective, but he was not quite the same passer he had been in Weeks 1 through 3.
Romo and the Cowboys won despite scoring 14 points. He was far from sharp and was intercepted twice. But the Cowboys finally began looking like themselves again.
"He affects the game. He affects our players. He affects our attitude about what we can and can’t do when we got behind 7-0," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "I don’t think it bothered anybody that we got behind. We felt like we could score. I think it affects decisions of the game that sometimes you don’t see. And just his enthusiasm. His confidence, his calls."
Unlike the Tennessee Titans or New England Patriots, both of which have managed to win games despite playing backup quarterbacks for nearly the entire season to date, the Cowboys had no such fortune in a much shorter period. In three games without Romo, the Cowboys lost games and appeared to lose their self-esteem while going 1-2.
But Romo practicing with the first-team unit last week injected some badly needed life into a team that played not only as though it didn’t have its No. 1 quarterback, but no shot. If the Cowboys fell behind by two scores, that was it. They played as if they knew the game was over, which it was.
That’s changed now with Romo. There is a belief in him that he can lead a team to make plays, much as he did by helping the Cowboys convert five of 11 third downs against the Redskins. And there is a belief he can lead them to points, much as he did with a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett that proved to be the game-winner.
"I felt us getting the swagger back," linebacker Zach Thomas said. "We haven’t had that swagger for a while, and that’s important. It’s confidence. I think we’ve had the confidence, but then had a little doubt in the back of your mind when things aren’t going well. Hey, maybe it took us a while."
They have it now, and a theme song, too.
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