igtmfo
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I remember watching Jerry at QB, he was about equal with Don Meredith, very good QB numbers for those years until 1966-7 or so ... his prob was he was only 24 but he looked 34 bald and all of dat, like YA Tittle... victim of job discrimination they wanted to kick grandpa out .. Jerry was on par with Craig Morton, but Craig Morton got the promotion ... Jerry Rhome is responsible for some heroic CB comebacks (I think, well at least one or 2 ...) OK here's new article from another grandpa ..
Rhome has a good grip on this job
RANDY GALLOWAY
In My Opinion
It was in the spring of 1989 at Valley Ranch, and Jerry Rhome, who had once played for Tom Landry, was the quarterback coach on Jimmy Johnson's new staff.
And he's on the practice field, working for the first time with the Cowboys' prized rookie, a fresh-faced, handsome young fellow named Aikman.
"Troy picked up the ball and started throwing to some receivers," remembered Rhome this week. "But right away, I noticed something strange."
Aikman was rifling spirals without gripping the lace on the ball.
Rhome: "I'd been around awhile, played the position myself, thrown a few passes in my time, but I'd never seen a quarterback who gripped all leather and no lace."
Amused, Rhome halted the workout for a brief chat.
"I asked Troy, 'What's that about?' "
"He told me that was the way he'd always done it. And it was the right feel for him on the ball."
Rhome, the quarterback teacher, and a former QB who had once shattered NCAA passing records at the University of Tulsa, figured he had the answer he needed to hear.
His young pupil resumed rifling the same kind of spirals that would eventually take him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"Playing this position is a lot about whatever makes you comfortable, and whatever you've had success with," Rhome said. "If it didn't matter to Troy, it didn't matter to me."
So fast-forward that same Jerry Rhome philosophy to the here-and-now.
Instead of Aikman, the current quarterback pupil is named Vince Young.
And Rhome's answer from his home in Atlanta came over the phone loud and clear.
You heard a "No." A pause. Then another "No."
That was his reply to the question he hears often these days:
In getting Young ready for NFL inspection does he plan a major overhaul of Vince's funky, sidearm passing delivery?
Rhome: "That's all this poor kid has been hearing, that he can't go to the NFL and throw like that. That he's got to change this and that. Well, I don't think that's the case.
"No one has taken out a patent on how an NFL quarterback has to throw the ball. A lot of guys over the years have had their own style."
For instance, Steve McNair ...
"I coached him [with the Oilers], and when Steve was young I had people telling me he'd never make it throwing like he does," Rhome said. "But we changed nothing. Seems to me Steve's done pretty well for himself."
In fact, it was probably McNair who led Vince Young to the Rhome quarterback workshop. McNair has long been a mentor to Young.
And like Aikman, McNair has a special memory of receiving early quarterbacking lessons from Rhome.
Almost since his January decision to leave the University of Texas early and declare for the NFL Draft, Young has had his choice of "advisers" heavily questioned.
His agent is green, and his business manager is also not wise to the ways of the NFL world. Both are family friends.
But when Young picked the 63-year-old Rhome as his personal quarterback guru, even the skeptics nodded in agreement.
Before retiring several years ago, the old Dallas Sunset High School product spent 33 years in the NFL as a quarterback, quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. He was on the coaching staff of nine different teams.
To this day, Aikman says the only thing that kept his brain functioning in a troubled 1989 rookie season were the soothing words and savvy lessons he got from Jerry Rhome.
"Otherwise, I may not have survived, and I'm serious," is the way Aikman often describes his rookie desperation.
Even in retirement, Rhome is still in demand. The Vikings called him in October to help with their offense.
And his phone also rings when college quarterbacks want a tutor in preparing for the NFL Draft.
Besides Young, Rhome is currently working with Reggie McNeal, the Texas A&M quarterback who Rhome described as "a real talent. Watch him closely. I didn't follow him at A&M at all, but he's a player."
Vince, however, is one of the two or three headliners of the '06 draft.
And that funky, sidearm delivery remains a hanging question, except, of course, unless you ask Rhome.
"I'm much more concerned with getting the ball from point A to point B and doing it with accuracy," said Rhome. "And Vince can do that. Now, there's a lot of other things to go over, and improve on, starting with footwork.
"I've only had one good work session with Vince, but I've found him to be eager, down-to-earth, and he tells me, 'Coach, I will do whatever you think I need to do.'
"Well, to me, that's a coaching dream right there."
Young is attending the scouting combine in Indianapolis this week, but at last report would not throw for the coaches and scouts there.
Either way, Rhome is prepping Vince for the March 22 "NFL Day" at the University of Texas. That will be the major audition for the pro scouts and coaches.
"I've got like five more workouts with Vince, and we're going to cram those into about three days," Rhome said. "I'm doing my homework on him, breaking down film, the same as if I was an NFL offensive coordinator preparing for this draft.
"But this a great talent, and I think, a great kid. I'll take that combination any day."
Even one with the funky, sidearm delivery.
Rhome has a good grip on this job
RANDY GALLOWAY
In My Opinion
It was in the spring of 1989 at Valley Ranch, and Jerry Rhome, who had once played for Tom Landry, was the quarterback coach on Jimmy Johnson's new staff.
And he's on the practice field, working for the first time with the Cowboys' prized rookie, a fresh-faced, handsome young fellow named Aikman.
"Troy picked up the ball and started throwing to some receivers," remembered Rhome this week. "But right away, I noticed something strange."
Aikman was rifling spirals without gripping the lace on the ball.
Rhome: "I'd been around awhile, played the position myself, thrown a few passes in my time, but I'd never seen a quarterback who gripped all leather and no lace."
Amused, Rhome halted the workout for a brief chat.
"I asked Troy, 'What's that about?' "
"He told me that was the way he'd always done it. And it was the right feel for him on the ball."
Rhome, the quarterback teacher, and a former QB who had once shattered NCAA passing records at the University of Tulsa, figured he had the answer he needed to hear.
His young pupil resumed rifling the same kind of spirals that would eventually take him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"Playing this position is a lot about whatever makes you comfortable, and whatever you've had success with," Rhome said. "If it didn't matter to Troy, it didn't matter to me."
So fast-forward that same Jerry Rhome philosophy to the here-and-now.
Instead of Aikman, the current quarterback pupil is named Vince Young.
And Rhome's answer from his home in Atlanta came over the phone loud and clear.
You heard a "No." A pause. Then another "No."
That was his reply to the question he hears often these days:
In getting Young ready for NFL inspection does he plan a major overhaul of Vince's funky, sidearm passing delivery?
Rhome: "That's all this poor kid has been hearing, that he can't go to the NFL and throw like that. That he's got to change this and that. Well, I don't think that's the case.
"No one has taken out a patent on how an NFL quarterback has to throw the ball. A lot of guys over the years have had their own style."
For instance, Steve McNair ...
"I coached him [with the Oilers], and when Steve was young I had people telling me he'd never make it throwing like he does," Rhome said. "But we changed nothing. Seems to me Steve's done pretty well for himself."
In fact, it was probably McNair who led Vince Young to the Rhome quarterback workshop. McNair has long been a mentor to Young.
And like Aikman, McNair has a special memory of receiving early quarterbacking lessons from Rhome.
Almost since his January decision to leave the University of Texas early and declare for the NFL Draft, Young has had his choice of "advisers" heavily questioned.
His agent is green, and his business manager is also not wise to the ways of the NFL world. Both are family friends.
But when Young picked the 63-year-old Rhome as his personal quarterback guru, even the skeptics nodded in agreement.
Before retiring several years ago, the old Dallas Sunset High School product spent 33 years in the NFL as a quarterback, quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. He was on the coaching staff of nine different teams.
To this day, Aikman says the only thing that kept his brain functioning in a troubled 1989 rookie season were the soothing words and savvy lessons he got from Jerry Rhome.
"Otherwise, I may not have survived, and I'm serious," is the way Aikman often describes his rookie desperation.
Even in retirement, Rhome is still in demand. The Vikings called him in October to help with their offense.
And his phone also rings when college quarterbacks want a tutor in preparing for the NFL Draft.
Besides Young, Rhome is currently working with Reggie McNeal, the Texas A&M quarterback who Rhome described as "a real talent. Watch him closely. I didn't follow him at A&M at all, but he's a player."
Vince, however, is one of the two or three headliners of the '06 draft.
And that funky, sidearm delivery remains a hanging question, except, of course, unless you ask Rhome.
"I'm much more concerned with getting the ball from point A to point B and doing it with accuracy," said Rhome. "And Vince can do that. Now, there's a lot of other things to go over, and improve on, starting with footwork.
"I've only had one good work session with Vince, but I've found him to be eager, down-to-earth, and he tells me, 'Coach, I will do whatever you think I need to do.'
"Well, to me, that's a coaching dream right there."
Young is attending the scouting combine in Indianapolis this week, but at last report would not throw for the coaches and scouts there.
Either way, Rhome is prepping Vince for the March 22 "NFL Day" at the University of Texas. That will be the major audition for the pro scouts and coaches.
"I've got like five more workouts with Vince, and we're going to cram those into about three days," Rhome said. "I'm doing my homework on him, breaking down film, the same as if I was an NFL offensive coordinator preparing for this draft.
"But this a great talent, and I think, a great kid. I'll take that combination any day."
Even one with the funky, sidearm delivery.