Quote Originally Posted by Tyrone Bigguns
Umm, romo did just barely make the team. I don't know what you are talking about, Bledsoe wasn't even in the picture when romo started with the cowboys.

He was a 3rd stringer, behind such notables as Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.

He wouldn't have even been on the roster the following year if QC didn't get suspended for drugs. They had traded for Drew Henson and had Vinnie on the squad. Sorry, but they weren't going to keep 4 qbs.

The point Sal is making is that he was a SUPERSTAR out of the gate without having to prove himself.

I have to agree. If he wasn't playing in Dallas there is no way that he woulda been a superstar right away. Not saying he doesn't deserve it NOW, but that isn't Sal's point.

As for Favre. i'm in semi agreement. He isn't denigrating his QB skills at all. Just saying that his good ol boy legend has overtaken everything else. No one remembers his calling out team mates when he certainly wouldn't have liked that done to him, his poor decision making, his drug problems, his drinking problems, his ever constant should i retire, keep the team in suspense act.

Do i love Favre. OF COURSE. But, the myth is a bit much to take. And, the constant fawning over him is a bit nauseating. To think that Favre personfies everything that is good/just/right in the NFL/America is just ridiculous.
Tyrone, you should put "I don't know what you are talking about" in your sig for as often as it's true. You missed the words "last year" in my post.

I was talking about how Romo did not "barely make the team" last year---in the season that Paolantonio is talking about.

Paolantonio says Romo "barely made the team" in a disparaging manner that implies he barely made the team last year, and so was not deserving of his starting spot and the adulation that came with it. It implies that he was never anything more than a marginal roster guy who got lucky.

If he's talking about barely making the team way back in 2004---as you are---then the statement does nothing to support his point. Most undrafted free agents from small schools barely make the team until they get some experience.

Think: Cullen Jenkins. Is it a rip on Jenkins today that he failed to make the Packers team in 2003 and barely made the team in 2004? Of course not. If anything, it's a credit to his ability to work his way onto the roster and grow as a player.

Paolantonio was obviously not saying "barely made the team" in a way to give Romo this kind of credit. He was implying that Romo barely made the team last season, which is misleading and untrue.

From Romo's wikipedia page:

Elevated to the Cowboys' #2 quarterback in 2005, Romo had strong showings in the 2005 and 2006 pre-seasons. In the 2006 off-season, Sean Payton (now head coach of the New Orleans Saints), offered a third round draft pick for Romo, but Jerry Jones refused, asking for no less than a second round draft pick. Romo eventually took over the starting quarterback role from Drew Bledsoe during half time against the New York Giants on October 23.
Romo was not just some guy, as Paolantonio implies, that went from the trash heap to the Pro Bowl "after one season of play ... without really accomplishing anything to deserve it."

Romo started humbly, improved over time, and became a prospect for the team's quarterback of the future. He got the starting gig for one of the most followed and hyped teams in sports, played lights-out (after throwing 5 touchdowns on Thanksgiving, he led the NFL in passer rating), and led the team to the playoffs.

The hype wasn't completely unwarranted, and it's not surprising given how sports media always hypes 1) quarterbacks 2) "rookies" who are playing lights out, and 3) success stories that come from humble beginnings. Romo was all three rolled into one.

The fact that this apparently takes you and Paolantonio by surprise shows how little either of you know.