Video: College Highlight Reel of Legendary Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo

Pass2Run

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I'm pretty sure not many of you have seen this one. I like watching film of players on YouTube, so I was digging around and found this footage of Romo playing at Eastern Illinois during the late 90s.

It's pretty interesting to see his footwork, and how evasive he was in the pocket, even back then.

Nowadays, if we see film like this, people will almost always say that he wasn't playing against any real competition. And that may be true. But his skillset still stands out in his college film.

There's also a video of Romo playing in high school, which I found entertaining to watch during this offseason.

Maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you won't. I'm only posting because most Cowboy fans never saw Romo play in college, myself included.

EIU Highlights


Tony Romo High School Game (Elkhorn Elks vs Burlington Demons - Wisconsin)


 
gimmesix

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Even though he had a lot to work on to refine his game, Parcells may have done him an injustice by not turning the starting job over to him sooner. Knowing what we know now, I would have preferred to see him grow on the field than watch Testaverde and Bledsoe finish their careers ahead of him.

Of course, it might have messed him up to start him earlier than we did, but I don't think so based on how he approached his career.
 
Pass2Run

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gimmesix said:
Even though he had a lot to work on to refine his game, Parcells may have done him an injustice by not turning the starting job over to him sooner. Knowing what we know now, I would have preferred to see him grow on the field than watch Testaverde and Bledsoe finish their careers ahead of him.

Of course, it might have messed him up to start him earlier than we did, but I don't think so based on how he approached his career.
Click to expand...

He was begging for the job long before they gave it to him. Like the proverbial, "put me in coach."

It was a hoot.

But, yeah, we may have wasted some time there. Then again, maybe not. Parcells was a decent coach and may have had to refine a few things before he unleashed him.

Really, though, it was his small school status that held him back. Had be been drafted from a bigger program, he likely would have cut his teeth differently.

The even crazier thing is that UDFA signing bonus story. He took chump change to play here, because he thought he had a better shot. Still, he was an UDFA. So they all passed on him.

I'm sure there's a ton of misses in the draft and even some guys who never make it to UDFA, could have maybe been players.

Just shows how tough the evaluation process can really be.
 
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Pass2Run

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By the way, this the caption on a different YouTube video of the same team at EIU during Romo's redshirt freshman year.. Interesting facts about that team Romo played on as a redshirt back then. One ended up being the general manager for the Chicago Bears; another got drafted in the 3rd round. That's pretty cool.

"The 1998 Eastern Illinois Football team had a special cast of characters and fantastic memories. Our team had three members who would go onto the NFL: 3rd Round draft pick Chris Watson (Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills), All Pro QB Tony Romo (redishirt year), and my defensive line-mate and the Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Pace (starting left DE, Jersey # 38). Romo red-shirted in 1998 and will not appear in this video. In 1998, EIU a division I-AA team defeated Northern Illinois University (Division I-A), we played tough against Daunte Culpepper's Central Florida team at the Citrus Bowl (UCF's home field), had a come from behind wins against Middle Tennessee State and finished second in the Ohio Valley Standings. Enjoy the memories!"
 
805BoysInBlue

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I remeber I saved the article with Romo, Chad Hutchinson, Clint Storener, and Quincy Carter. They were all in their throwing motion and I told my friend that Tony Romo would be our Qb one day. This was in 2002 and I still remeber his first start vs the Panthers. My friend and I had a long convo. Not gonna lie I shed a tear when I saw him go down in the Seahawks preseason game.
 
Cebrin

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Pass2Run said:
I'm pretty sure not many of you have seen this one. I like watching film of players on YouTube, so I was digging around and found this footage of Romo playing at Eastern Illinois during the late 90s.

It's pretty interesting to see his footwork, and how evasive he was in the pocket, even back then.

Nowadays, if we see film like this, people will almost always say that he wasn't playing against any real competition. And that may be true. But his skillset still stands out in his college film.

There's also a video of Romo playing in high school, which I found entertaining to watch during this offseason.

Maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you won't. I'm only posting because most Cowboy fans never saw Romo play in college, myself included.

EIU Highlights


Tony Romo High School Game (Elkhorn Elks vs Burlington Demons - Wisconsin)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. Ya know, for a guy who wasn't that physically athletic he sure had an insane skill of evading pressure, and finding an open guy. He'll always be one of my favorite Cowboys. Great guy, and hell of a player.
 

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gimmesix said:
Even though he had a lot to work on to refine his game, Parcells may have done him an injustice by not turning the starting job over to him sooner. Knowing what we know now, I would have preferred to see him grow on the field than watch Testaverde and Bledsoe finish their careers ahead of him.

Of course, it might have messed him up to start him earlier than we did, but I don't think so based on how he approached his career.
Click to expand...
I believe all QBs should sit . . . just to get acclimated with the speed of the game.

I believe Dak not sitting has done more harm then good. . . Which is the reason I believe QBs drafted High don't pan out.

They get thrown to the wolves and then instinctively develop bad habits just to survive . . . Many times these bad habits stay with them their whole carears
 
John813

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gimmesix said:
Even though he had a lot to work on to refine his game, Parcells may have done him an injustice by not turning the starting job over to him sooner. Knowing what we know now, I would have preferred to see him grow on the field than watch Testaverde and Bledsoe finish their careers ahead of him.

Of course, it might have messed him up to start him earlier than we did, but I don't think so based on how he approached his career.
Click to expand...

Bill was definitely his vets type of guy to a fault. But hey, while his short time didn't accomplish much I think his discipline and relenting strive for perfection made Romo the QB he became for us.
I think Romo could of started earlier too but Bill was loyal to Bledsoe till it was obvious his time as a starter was done.
 
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big dog cowboy said:
How did this kid go undrafted???
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Because the Eye Test Mafia have never known how to qualify leadership and team chemistry....they love the thrower

Romo was a team guy day one. Respected by veterans and rookies for his work ethic and personality. NFL scouts can be bots....Romo should have been drafted on his 3 sport athletic ability....traits
 
foofighters

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JoeKing said:
Romo is way overhyped. Too many think too much of this QB that did so little with so much.
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Romo never achieved what he wanted but he was far from overhyped. Romo was constantly destroyed by the media and our fans. And what is this "so much" you speak of? and please don't refer to the 13 probowler year. The majority of those guys didn't do much after that year. The pro bowl is nothing but a popularity contest. Romo and Witten were wasted because of Jerry. DWare gets out and gets his ring otherwise his career would have been wasted. That "so much" you speak of was partly due to Romo making players look better than they truly were.

Don't get me wrong. Romo was never elite but I will tell you this...If it's the 4th quarter and we need to come from behind to win and you ask me to chose between Romo and Dak. It's Romo every time. and before you call me a Dak hater, I am not. I like Dak and I cheer him on. However, you guys cant take the discussions about what Dak needs to do to improve.
 
JoeKing

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foofighters said:
Romo never achieved what he wanted but he was far from overhyped. Romo was constantly destroyed by the media and our fans. And what is this "so much" you speak of? and please don't refer to the 13 probowler year. The majority of those guys didn't do much after that year. The pro bowl is nothing but a popularity contest. Romo and Witten were wasted because of Jerry. DWare gets out and gets his ring otherwise his career would have been wasted. That "so much" you speak of was partly due to Romo making players look better than they truly were.

Don't get me wrong. Romo was never elite but I will tell you this...If it's the 4th quarter and we need to come from behind to win and you ask me to chose between Romo and Dak. It's Romo every time. and before you call me a Dak hater, I am not. I like Dak and I cheer him on. However, you guys cant take the discussions about what Dak needs to do to improve.
Click to expand...
You said it yourself. "Romo was never elite". But so many think otherwise.
 
gimmesix

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John813 said:
Bill was definitely his vets type of guy to a fault. But hey, while his short time didn't accomplish much I think his discipline and relenting strive for perfection made Romo the QB he became for us.
I think Romo could of started earlier too but Bill was loyal to Bledsoe till it was obvious his time as a starter was done.
Click to expand...

I think if Parcells hadn't decide he was tired of the toll of coaching, especially losing, he might have won a title here. He was stuck in his ways, but those were proven ways to have success. He built up the team, then turned it over to Phillips, whose ways caused it to fall apart a couple of years later. There would have been no Camp Cupcake under Bill.

He was demanding on players and essentially demanded that Romo prove himself without giving him the opportunity to prove himself. I do agree that Bill's blue-collar style helped shape Romo, who was kind of a blue-collar player anyway.
 
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