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Cowboys' spirit not broken despite loss of Tony Romo
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Leave it to Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones to come up with a colorful description of his feelings when he learned Tony Romo suffered a broken left collarbone.
“I was just about as low as crippled cricket’s ass,” Jones said. “I was feeling sorry for myself. I thought the world was picking on me. How could anybody be as bad off as me?”
In last Sunday's season opener, the Cowboys lost Dez Bryant to a broken foot. They are already without cornerback Orlando Scandrick for the season because of a knee injury suffered in training camp. They will miss defensive end Greg Hardy and linebacker Rolando McClain for two more games because of suspensions. Defensive end Randy Gregory could miss three more games with a high ankle sprain.
The emotions of losing Romo sapped some of the energy from the Cowboys’ 20-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles just as Bryant’s broken foot sapped some of the energy from the Cowboys’ victory over the New York Giants.
Some, but not all.
“The best thing this team has done under coach [Jason] Garrett is just kind of move on,” tight end Jason Witten said, “as tough as those blows are with Dez and, of course, Tony. You don’t replace a guy like Tony with the way he’s playing now and what he does for our football team.”
The spirit was not broken.
Garrett’s fight message never meant more.
“It’s what,” Mincey said, unzipping his sweatsuit, revealing the message on the T-shirt, “we do.”
The Cowboys didn’t have Bryant, but the special teams scored a touchdown on a blocked punt when Kyle Wilber scooped up a Danny McCray block and ran 26 yards for the Cowboys' first touchdown in the third quarter. It was the team's first blocked punt touchdown since Sept. 13, 1992.
The Cowboys didn’t have DeMarco Murray -- he was on the other side, gaining two yards on 13 carries -- but Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle picked up dirty yards, combining for 82 yards on 28 carries.
The Cowboys didn’t have Romo, but Brandon Weeden, Romo's replacement, iced the game with a 42-yard touchdown throw with 4:13 to play to Terrance Williams, Bryant’s replacement. Weeden completed all seven of his passes for 73 yards. Williams caught four passes for 84 yards.
“The positive part is that we are 2-0,” Weeden said. “Guys like that are hard to replace. They are Pro Bowl players that are arguably some of the best at their respective positions. It’s hard to replace that. But, you know, it’s going to sound cliché, but next man up.”
The defense has done it without Scandrick, McClain and Hardy. They did it without Gregory on Sunday. The offense did it without Romo, Bryant and left guard Ronald Leary, who was out with a groin injury.
“We just focus on what we do,” Garrett said. “Guys are ready to play. Guys stepped up. You think about the guys that went in for them; they were the guys that made the significant plays throughout the ballgame.”
By the end of the game, Romo was on the sideline with his left arm in a sling, but he was there to congratulate Weeden with a fist pump and a slap to the helmet. Romo had a smile on his face despite knowing he could be out for the next two months.
“The NFL really is about adversity in general,” Romo said. “It’s how you handle it, how you approach it on a day-to-day basis, individually and collectively as a team. The goal for our football team is to just find ways to win. I think we have guys in that room who can do that.”
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Leave it to Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones to come up with a colorful description of his feelings when he learned Tony Romo suffered a broken left collarbone.
“I was just about as low as crippled cricket’s ass,” Jones said. “I was feeling sorry for myself. I thought the world was picking on me. How could anybody be as bad off as me?”
In last Sunday's season opener, the Cowboys lost Dez Bryant to a broken foot. They are already without cornerback Orlando Scandrick for the season because of a knee injury suffered in training camp. They will miss defensive end Greg Hardy and linebacker Rolando McClain for two more games because of suspensions. Defensive end Randy Gregory could miss three more games with a high ankle sprain.
The emotions of losing Romo sapped some of the energy from the Cowboys’ 20-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles just as Bryant’s broken foot sapped some of the energy from the Cowboys’ victory over the New York Giants.
Some, but not all.
“The best thing this team has done under coach [Jason] Garrett is just kind of move on,” tight end Jason Witten said, “as tough as those blows are with Dez and, of course, Tony. You don’t replace a guy like Tony with the way he’s playing now and what he does for our football team.”
The spirit was not broken.
Garrett’s fight message never meant more.
“It’s what,” Mincey said, unzipping his sweatsuit, revealing the message on the T-shirt, “we do.”
The Cowboys didn’t have Bryant, but the special teams scored a touchdown on a blocked punt when Kyle Wilber scooped up a Danny McCray block and ran 26 yards for the Cowboys' first touchdown in the third quarter. It was the team's first blocked punt touchdown since Sept. 13, 1992.
The Cowboys didn’t have DeMarco Murray -- he was on the other side, gaining two yards on 13 carries -- but Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle picked up dirty yards, combining for 82 yards on 28 carries.
The Cowboys didn’t have Romo, but Brandon Weeden, Romo's replacement, iced the game with a 42-yard touchdown throw with 4:13 to play to Terrance Williams, Bryant’s replacement. Weeden completed all seven of his passes for 73 yards. Williams caught four passes for 84 yards.
“The positive part is that we are 2-0,” Weeden said. “Guys like that are hard to replace. They are Pro Bowl players that are arguably some of the best at their respective positions. It’s hard to replace that. But, you know, it’s going to sound cliché, but next man up.”
The defense has done it without Scandrick, McClain and Hardy. They did it without Gregory on Sunday. The offense did it without Romo, Bryant and left guard Ronald Leary, who was out with a groin injury.
“We just focus on what we do,” Garrett said. “Guys are ready to play. Guys stepped up. You think about the guys that went in for them; they were the guys that made the significant plays throughout the ballgame.”
By the end of the game, Romo was on the sideline with his left arm in a sling, but he was there to congratulate Weeden with a fist pump and a slap to the helmet. Romo had a smile on his face despite knowing he could be out for the next two months.
“The NFL really is about adversity in general,” Romo said. “It’s how you handle it, how you approach it on a day-to-day basis, individually and collectively as a team. The goal for our football team is to just find ways to win. I think we have guys in that room who can do that.”
