westtxfballfan
01-10-2008, 11:42 AM
New York Times
January 10, 2008
Now That Romo Has Rested, Critics Ask if He’s Ready
By JOHN BRANCH
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants Coach Tom Coughlin was asked to describe the blooming and well-documented relationship involving one of the quarterbacks in Sunday’s playoff game with the Cowboys.
“I would say hip to hip,” he said Wednesday. “Tied at the wherever.”
Coughlin was referring to the relationship between Eli Manning and the success of the Giants’ offense. He was not speaking about Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, although he was asked about that, too, a moment later.
“I have no comment,” Coughlin said. “I don’t know where he was.”
Everyone else does, it seems. Romo, somewhat benignly and not at all surprisingly, has wrested away a leading talking point before Sunday’s game. It has less to do with touchdown throws than with passes of another sort.
Romo and Simpson, a singer and actress, took advantage of the Cowboys’ bye last weekend by flying to Los Cabos, Mexico, and relaxing with family and friends.
As the Giants were beating the Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., photographs of Romo, Simpson, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and others lounging near a pool trickled north, setting off another silly and serious debate in Texas about the best way to prepare for the postseason.
The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 11 seasons, and there is a pervasive feeling in Texas that a quarterback should prepare for the next chance while tucked away in a film room or something, not being photographed by the paparazzi at a Mexican resort.
There is also a half-joking sense that Simpson is a bad influence on Romo and the Cowboys, a presence as feared as the Giants’ front four. When she was at Texas Stadium on Dec. 16 during a loss to the Eagles, wearing a Romo jersey with a pink No. 9, Romo had his worst statistical day of the season. She reportedly will not be at the game Sunday.
“Everyone keep their eyes open,” Romo said during a conference call, finding fun where others feel anxiety.
Romo and Simpson have quickly become football’s Brangelina — Tossica? Romimpson? — and have given a gossipy twist to the buildup to Sunday’s National Football Conference divisional playoff game between the Cowboys (13-3) and the Giants (11-6).
Such discussions reached inside the Giants’ locker room, sprinkled amid the usual conversations regarding strategy, injury reports and the relevance of previous matchups.
“He plays loose,” Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell said, straight-faced. “And I would assume he lives his life like that — real relaxed.”
Romo did not wait for a question to come before cheerfully announcing that this had been “an interesting week.” After a few football queries, he was finally asked about the “gossip elements” of his world.
“I learned a while ago that stuff doesn’t matter,” he said without a hint of annoyance.
Romo, who always seems to be having more fun than everyone else, is often linked to starlets and photographed on red carpets and chaise longues. The latest episode, however, was quick to evolve, or devolve, into something more than playful gossip. Columnists, talk-show hosts and television analysts have devoted time to the subject of Romo’s dalliances. Some views are hardened by the seriousness attached to the postseason.
Romo treats it with a shrug.
“It was nice to go there and just rent a house and just sit around and watch football over the weekend,” he said. “And not have to worry about answering my phone, or worry about tickets, or radio shows or TV things and the normal everyday things. I think I needed it, and I think some of our guys needed it. So I think it will hopefully help us prepare for this week.”
The Giants keep stumbling into the middle of such debates. They stirred some controversy by electing to play their starters in an effort to beat the undefeated Patriots, despite having their playoff position locked. They lost, 38-35, but felt they gained the necessary momentum to beat Tampa Bay — which rested its key players the week before — in the wild-card game.
The Cowboys rested some players in the season finale at Washington, then gave them most of last week off. Players could go where they pleased, spawning another rest-versus-momentum discussion.
“The question has been asked 100 times,” Coughlin said. “I think you prepare for the real difficult and the hard by putting yourself in the real difficult and the hard.”
His Cowboys counterpart, Wade Phillips, exudes a more relaxed approach. His team having earned the first-round bye, he saw no problem with Romo, Witten and linebacker Bobby Carpenter going to Mexico. Many players left Texas for the weekend.
“Just because they say he is a celebrity doesn’t mean he can’t do the same things that everybody else does,” Phillips said of Romo. “That is the way I look at it.”
It might have been a smaller story without Romo’s recent struggles. He has thrown one touchdown pass and five interceptions, and completed 51.1 percent of his passes, in his past three games. He also has an injured thumb, which he hopes will not bother him on Sunday.
“I just live my life,” Romo said. “I try and work hard at football. I try to do things the right way. And no one is even going to remember my name 10 years from now, anyway. So just enjoy it and go out and win some football games.”
Enjoy it and win football games? Romo hopes to show that it is possible to do both.
January 10, 2008
Now That Romo Has Rested, Critics Ask if He’s Ready
By JOHN BRANCH
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Giants Coach Tom Coughlin was asked to describe the blooming and well-documented relationship involving one of the quarterbacks in Sunday’s playoff game with the Cowboys.
“I would say hip to hip,” he said Wednesday. “Tied at the wherever.”
Coughlin was referring to the relationship between Eli Manning and the success of the Giants’ offense. He was not speaking about Dallas quarterback Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, although he was asked about that, too, a moment later.
“I have no comment,” Coughlin said. “I don’t know where he was.”
Everyone else does, it seems. Romo, somewhat benignly and not at all surprisingly, has wrested away a leading talking point before Sunday’s game. It has less to do with touchdown throws than with passes of another sort.
Romo and Simpson, a singer and actress, took advantage of the Cowboys’ bye last weekend by flying to Los Cabos, Mexico, and relaxing with family and friends.
As the Giants were beating the Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., photographs of Romo, Simpson, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and others lounging near a pool trickled north, setting off another silly and serious debate in Texas about the best way to prepare for the postseason.
The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 11 seasons, and there is a pervasive feeling in Texas that a quarterback should prepare for the next chance while tucked away in a film room or something, not being photographed by the paparazzi at a Mexican resort.
There is also a half-joking sense that Simpson is a bad influence on Romo and the Cowboys, a presence as feared as the Giants’ front four. When she was at Texas Stadium on Dec. 16 during a loss to the Eagles, wearing a Romo jersey with a pink No. 9, Romo had his worst statistical day of the season. She reportedly will not be at the game Sunday.
“Everyone keep their eyes open,” Romo said during a conference call, finding fun where others feel anxiety.
Romo and Simpson have quickly become football’s Brangelina — Tossica? Romimpson? — and have given a gossipy twist to the buildup to Sunday’s National Football Conference divisional playoff game between the Cowboys (13-3) and the Giants (11-6).
Such discussions reached inside the Giants’ locker room, sprinkled amid the usual conversations regarding strategy, injury reports and the relevance of previous matchups.
“He plays loose,” Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell said, straight-faced. “And I would assume he lives his life like that — real relaxed.”
Romo did not wait for a question to come before cheerfully announcing that this had been “an interesting week.” After a few football queries, he was finally asked about the “gossip elements” of his world.
“I learned a while ago that stuff doesn’t matter,” he said without a hint of annoyance.
Romo, who always seems to be having more fun than everyone else, is often linked to starlets and photographed on red carpets and chaise longues. The latest episode, however, was quick to evolve, or devolve, into something more than playful gossip. Columnists, talk-show hosts and television analysts have devoted time to the subject of Romo’s dalliances. Some views are hardened by the seriousness attached to the postseason.
Romo treats it with a shrug.
“It was nice to go there and just rent a house and just sit around and watch football over the weekend,” he said. “And not have to worry about answering my phone, or worry about tickets, or radio shows or TV things and the normal everyday things. I think I needed it, and I think some of our guys needed it. So I think it will hopefully help us prepare for this week.”
The Giants keep stumbling into the middle of such debates. They stirred some controversy by electing to play their starters in an effort to beat the undefeated Patriots, despite having their playoff position locked. They lost, 38-35, but felt they gained the necessary momentum to beat Tampa Bay — which rested its key players the week before — in the wild-card game.
The Cowboys rested some players in the season finale at Washington, then gave them most of last week off. Players could go where they pleased, spawning another rest-versus-momentum discussion.
“The question has been asked 100 times,” Coughlin said. “I think you prepare for the real difficult and the hard by putting yourself in the real difficult and the hard.”
His Cowboys counterpart, Wade Phillips, exudes a more relaxed approach. His team having earned the first-round bye, he saw no problem with Romo, Witten and linebacker Bobby Carpenter going to Mexico. Many players left Texas for the weekend.
“Just because they say he is a celebrity doesn’t mean he can’t do the same things that everybody else does,” Phillips said of Romo. “That is the way I look at it.”
It might have been a smaller story without Romo’s recent struggles. He has thrown one touchdown pass and five interceptions, and completed 51.1 percent of his passes, in his past three games. He also has an injured thumb, which he hopes will not bother him on Sunday.
“I just live my life,” Romo said. “I try and work hard at football. I try to do things the right way. And no one is even going to remember my name 10 years from now, anyway. So just enjoy it and go out and win some football games.”
Enjoy it and win football games? Romo hopes to show that it is possible to do both.