Cowboys Insider: Romo, James have emerged as leaders
Web Posted: 10/26/2007 09:35 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
San Antonio Express-News
Before the start of the season, I wrote that a lack of leadership would contribute to the Cowboys’ failure to become a championship team
Seven games into the season, it’s unclear whether Dallas is as good as its NFC-best 6-1 record suggests. But this much is certain: The Cowboys may still fall short of the Super Bowl, but a lack of leadership won’t be the reason.
Tony Romo and Bradie James both deserve midseason grades of A for the leadership they’ve shown during Dallas’ surprising start.
Elected team captains before the start of the season along with Jason Witten and Keith Davis, Romo and James have emerged as the most vocal of the four.
Romo, in particular, doesn’t hesitate to speak out during games. Players who continually make mental mistakes are sure to hear a word or two from the quarterback.
“You have to be vocal with everybody,” Romo said. “When I say vocal, I don’t mean lean on them or be mean-spirited. I think you just talk to them, tell them what you are thinking.”
And like any good leader, Romo understands when to back off. He’s especially patient with the guys who protect him.
“I know (guard) Kyle (Kosier) got beat on a play (against Minnesota), and he looked back with a the-guy-is-pretty-good kind of look,” Romo said. “I was like, ‘Don’t worry. I will get the ball out.’ It puts them at ease a little bit.”
Romo said the secret to being a good leader is knowing when to chew a teammate out and when to use a kinder, gentler approach.
“When anyone struggles, you do two things,” he said. “One is say, ‘Hey, we can’t continue to do this.’ You do that if it’s a mental mistake. If it’s physical, I think that is part of the game. With (an offensive lineman), if a guy beat him once or something, I know he doesn’t want him to, so getting in his face isn’t going to do a lot about it.
“At the end of the day, you just want to stay positive and say, ‘Hey, keep fighting. I’ll get the ball out.’ ”
It also helps that Romo has the moral authority to speak out. That’s because he makes plays. Just being a quarterback doesn’t make you a leader. Do you think the Vikings listen to Tarvaris Jackson like the Cowboys do Romo?
“From the first you could see he was a hard worker, and you could see he made plays in practice,” coach Wade Phillips said of Romo. “But, again, a lot of guys can’t carry those (traits) over to a game, and he’s been able to do that pretty consistently. It’s one thing to just play quarterback, and even be a leader, but to be able to make plays that most people can’t make, or most quarterbacks can’t make…”
James, who calls the defensive signals, has also made his share of plays this season. The inside linebacker leads the team in tackles with 47 and has two sacks.
“Bradie James has played outstanding,” Phillips said. “He’s a leader. He’s really smart. He can make adjustments during the game. He can make audibles and things like that. I’ve had guys who couldn’t do that. We had to call everything for them and do everything for them. Bradie’s not that way. We are trying to utilize him more and more that way because he can put us in the right defense in a lot of cases.”
Phillips said Witten and Davis also deserve praise.
“Our captains have certainly played well,” Phillips said. “Our resident superstar has played well too. I guess I will call him by name – Terrell (Owens).”
Because of his age, Owens’ time with the Cowboys is probably limited. But Romo and James are 27 and 26, respectively, so expect them to be the team’s leaders for years to come.
Not bad for a team that some people thought didn’t have much leadership entering the season.
