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Jan 14
10:33
AM ET
By Matt Mosley
During a season in which Tony Romo and his boyhood idol, Brett Favre, have been universally praised for changing their approaches, neither quarterback really feels comfortable fueling that storyline. They know that their uncanny improvisational skills are what set them apart, so you can understand why all this talk about protecting the football seems a little mundane to them.
Favre
Romo
ESPN's resident Favre historian Ed Werder did a really nice job of comparing the two quarterbacks in his weekly column for ESPNDallas.com. He mined a classic 2007 quote from Favre.
"They had played the Giants the week before us, and he was making chicken salad out of chicken [expletive]," Favre said. "I was sitting there and thinking, 'That reminds me of someone.' Guys are coming at him, and he's dodging and weaving and throwing. He was using his legs -- not necessarily running for 200 yards -- but making plays. That's playmaking ability. You cannot coach that."
Favre told us during a conference call Wednesday that he and Romo exchange text messages on a fairly regular basis. Favre was aware of how much criticism Romo had taken for his December and January failures in the past and he had tried to lift the young quarterback's spirits. Of course, Romo's been the hottest quarterback in the league over the past six games, so he hasn't needed as many feel-good texts lately.
Here's an excerpt from Werder's column that really seems to capture Favre's mindset:
10:33
AM ET
By Matt Mosley
During a season in which Tony Romo and his boyhood idol, Brett Favre, have been universally praised for changing their approaches, neither quarterback really feels comfortable fueling that storyline. They know that their uncanny improvisational skills are what set them apart, so you can understand why all this talk about protecting the football seems a little mundane to them.
Favre
Romo
ESPN's resident Favre historian Ed Werder did a really nice job of comparing the two quarterbacks in his weekly column for ESPNDallas.com. He mined a classic 2007 quote from Favre.
"They had played the Giants the week before us, and he was making chicken salad out of chicken [expletive]," Favre said. "I was sitting there and thinking, 'That reminds me of someone.' Guys are coming at him, and he's dodging and weaving and throwing. He was using his legs -- not necessarily running for 200 yards -- but making plays. That's playmaking ability. You cannot coach that."
Favre told us during a conference call Wednesday that he and Romo exchange text messages on a fairly regular basis. Favre was aware of how much criticism Romo had taken for his December and January failures in the past and he had tried to lift the young quarterback's spirits. Of course, Romo's been the hottest quarterback in the league over the past six games, so he hasn't needed as many feel-good texts lately.
Here's an excerpt from Werder's column that really seems to capture Favre's mindset:
One of the essential things to know about Favre is the depth of his faith in his own ability. Toward the end of his career with the Green Bay Packers, Favre was forced to endure a game-tape critique of every interception he had thrown the previous season. Favre had to explain his thought process to a member of the coaching staff in the hopes of eliminating those mistakes in the next season.
When the session finally ended and the lights were turned on in the room, Favre said, "Now, let's watch all my touchdown passes."
The point: The same quarterback using the exact same mentality was responsible for both the touchdowns and the interceptions -- and the decisions that led to each.
On Sunday, two quarterbacks at the top of their games will square off inside the Metrodome. They may be coming off the best touchdown-to-interception ratios of their career, but don't mistake these guys for game managers. It really seems to annoy them.
