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One of the most magical careers in Cowboys franchise history actually began with a boneheaded goof only one person on the planet remembers.
Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo sat down with the Pardon My Take podcast this week, and as he did so often in his playing days, the 46-year-old covered a lot of ground. From his still-improving golf game to what he's learned on the job as a color analyst for CBS Sports, and even the overexcited, uncontrollable noises he still makes (and gets lambasted for) while in the booth on Sundays, Romo shared plenty in an entertaining and wide-ranging interview, with some of the stories being told for the first time.
Like the uncomfortable vote that Bill Parcells put to the Cowboys coaching staff that would determine whether Romo would keep playing over Drew Bledsoe.
And the plain blue baseball cap that Romo has worn in numerous photos over the years and still has, which he swiped from wardrobe after shooting a Pizza Hut commercial.
And the moment it first dawned on him that he had what it takes to make it in the NFL.
But that life-changing revelation didn't come from his first action in an official game. It didn't come with his first dramatic come-from-behind win. Or even when he connected on the first of his franchise-leading 248 touchdowns.
No, the moment the undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois knew for certain he belonged at the pro level actually came during a practice early in his rookie year of 2003. At OTAs. With the veterans there taking reps with the team. And with one pass in particular.
"It was a horrendous incompletion," he freely admits.
Romo told the full story in astonishing detail, even 23 years later: an utterly inconsequential moment that had huge personal ramifications for the eventual 78-game winner who has been promised a spot in the team's Ring of Honor.
"There's a dig route on my right, which is about a 15- to 17-yard route by the outside receiver," Romo said on the podcast. "Well, you're going to have a linebacker in Cover-2. Running back's going to go up about four yards and stand there. And that linebacker in Cover-2, he has hook-to-curl area, so he's got to go here to here. He's either going to come down and take the running back or he's going to stay back on the dig. And I remember he kind of hung there for a while, and I'm like, that window's wide open, but I've got to move [the linebacker]. And this is like the third pass I've done in 'team,' 11-on-11.
"I drop back, I'm looking, so I go like this [flinches] to pretend to throw to the running back, and he moves. And I throw it. It was perfect timing. It was so well-executed... other than the five yards I overthrew the receiver."
Romo's reputation now, looking back a decade after recurring injuries- and an undeniable start by a rookie backup named Dak Prescott- forced him to hang up his cleats, is that of a risk-taking gunslinger who threw plenty of awful interceptions in the waning, desperate moments of a would-be comeback. His story can't be told without the botched field goal hold in Seattle. Or the backbreaking injuries. Or the fact that he never brought a Lombardi Trophy to Dallas, something he considers the only regret of his career. Heck, he never even got closer than Dez Bryant's overruled catch in the 2014 divisional round to leading the Cowboys to an appearance in the Super Bowl.
So yes, there were plenty of high-visibility mistakes and painful near-misses in his career. And over 1,500 incompletions.
Nevertheless, Romo's remarkable 14-year career piloting the most visible franchise in sports started with that one overthrown ball in a spring practice.
And he knew it, even at the time.
"Everything else was so beautiful. I remember going back in; I was so disappointed with the throw. I did that, but I had not worked on the footwork, the technique to be able to move that and then throw there," he remembers. "And all of a sudden I go back and I look, and the other quarterbacks waited until [the receiver] was almost past him. Then they threw it, where the next guy's going to get close. I threw it about four yards before, right after the cut. So I was letting go. It was natural to me.
"That was just given to me. The Lord gifted me with the ability just to see it faster. But I was a horrendous thrower of the football. And that's why I would miss all these things when I was young. And then I eventually got really good at throwing. But that was the first time I went, 'I did throw that when I felt like it was on time.' Everyone told me the game is so fast, but it didn't feel fast for me. And that's what made me feel like, 'I think I can do this.'"
And he certainly did.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys great Tony Romo recalls 'horrendous' moment he knew he belonged in NFL
Continue reading...
Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo sat down with the Pardon My Take podcast this week, and as he did so often in his playing days, the 46-year-old covered a lot of ground. From his still-improving golf game to what he's learned on the job as a color analyst for CBS Sports, and even the overexcited, uncontrollable noises he still makes (and gets lambasted for) while in the booth on Sundays, Romo shared plenty in an entertaining and wide-ranging interview, with some of the stories being told for the first time.
Like the uncomfortable vote that Bill Parcells put to the Cowboys coaching staff that would determine whether Romo would keep playing over Drew Bledsoe.
And the plain blue baseball cap that Romo has worn in numerous photos over the years and still has, which he swiped from wardrobe after shooting a Pizza Hut commercial.
And the moment it first dawned on him that he had what it takes to make it in the NFL.
But that life-changing revelation didn't come from his first action in an official game. It didn't come with his first dramatic come-from-behind win. Or even when he connected on the first of his franchise-leading 248 touchdowns.
No, the moment the undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois knew for certain he belonged at the pro level actually came during a practice early in his rookie year of 2003. At OTAs. With the veterans there taking reps with the team. And with one pass in particular.
"It was a horrendous incompletion," he freely admits.
Romo told the full story in astonishing detail, even 23 years later: an utterly inconsequential moment that had huge personal ramifications for the eventual 78-game winner who has been promised a spot in the team's Ring of Honor.
"There's a dig route on my right, which is about a 15- to 17-yard route by the outside receiver," Romo said on the podcast. "Well, you're going to have a linebacker in Cover-2. Running back's going to go up about four yards and stand there. And that linebacker in Cover-2, he has hook-to-curl area, so he's got to go here to here. He's either going to come down and take the running back or he's going to stay back on the dig. And I remember he kind of hung there for a while, and I'm like, that window's wide open, but I've got to move [the linebacker]. And this is like the third pass I've done in 'team,' 11-on-11.
"I drop back, I'm looking, so I go like this [flinches] to pretend to throw to the running back, and he moves. And I throw it. It was perfect timing. It was so well-executed... other than the five yards I overthrew the receiver."
Romo's reputation now, looking back a decade after recurring injuries- and an undeniable start by a rookie backup named Dak Prescott- forced him to hang up his cleats, is that of a risk-taking gunslinger who threw plenty of awful interceptions in the waning, desperate moments of a would-be comeback. His story can't be told without the botched field goal hold in Seattle. Or the backbreaking injuries. Or the fact that he never brought a Lombardi Trophy to Dallas, something he considers the only regret of his career. Heck, he never even got closer than Dez Bryant's overruled catch in the 2014 divisional round to leading the Cowboys to an appearance in the Super Bowl.
So yes, there were plenty of high-visibility mistakes and painful near-misses in his career. And over 1,500 incompletions.
Nevertheless, Romo's remarkable 14-year career piloting the most visible franchise in sports started with that one overthrown ball in a spring practice.
And he knew it, even at the time.
"Everything else was so beautiful. I remember going back in; I was so disappointed with the throw. I did that, but I had not worked on the footwork, the technique to be able to move that and then throw there," he remembers. "And all of a sudden I go back and I look, and the other quarterbacks waited until [the receiver] was almost past him. Then they threw it, where the next guy's going to get close. I threw it about four yards before, right after the cut. So I was letting go. It was natural to me.
"That was just given to me. The Lord gifted me with the ability just to see it faster. But I was a horrendous thrower of the football. And that's why I would miss all these things when I was young. And then I eventually got really good at throwing. But that was the first time I went, 'I did throw that when I felt like it was on time.' Everyone told me the game is so fast, but it didn't feel fast for me. And that's what made me feel like, 'I think I can do this.'"
And he certainly did.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys great Tony Romo recalls 'horrendous' moment he knew he belonged in NFL
Continue reading...
