This isn’t the most concrete of sources (you’ll see the uncertainty in the quote), but the Dallas Morning Newsblog says that Romo could be re-evaluated this week and potentially play sooner rather than later.
Wade Phillips said Romo would throw in practice today and his status could be re-evaluated. At least that is what I think Phillips said while dodging most of the questions, supplying non-answers. He’s really good at that.
If true, this is obviously huge news. We’ll wait for confirmation.
SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has the scoop on Lance Armstrong admitting that he might not compete now in next summer’s Tour de France.
It appears the ante has been upped in the Attention-Hounding Semi-Retired Waffling Athletic Idol competition between geezers Lance Armstrong and Brett Favre.
According to GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT:
“There are still doubts for the Tour. Everyone knows its importance, but the problems that I have with the organizers, journalists and fans could distract me from my mission — focusing the world’s attention on the battle against cancer,” Armstrong said.
This almost certainly is a parry to the thrust of Brett Favre’s latest PR move, calling Tony Romo about his broken finger, and then telling the world about the phone call, reminding us what an iron man he has been over the years. Favre, who spent the last several NFL offseasons wavering about his retirement status before finally retiring in 2008, then finally finally unretiring and then finally finally finally forcing a trade to the Jets, must now consider his response to the seven-time TdF champion.
Some possible strategies for Favre to increase his media exposure: · Reality show, “Favrer of Love“ · Game show, “Are You Havin’ More Fun Than a 5th Grader?“ · Insprirational book, “Chicken Soup For the Gunslinger’s Soul“ · Sitcom, “Madden ’bout You“
I’m setting the over/under on Lance Armstrong backing in and out of next summer’s Tour de France at 487. Just to be clear, you’re wagering on how many times Armstrong tells the media that he’s either in or out of the Tour. I’m going with the over.
ESPN.com is reporting that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo could miss up to four weeks because of a broken pinkie finger.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand and will be out four weeks, a team source told ESPN’s Michael Smith.
Romo initially was diagnosed with a pinkie sprain in Sunday’s 30-24 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Veteran quarterback Brad Johnson, the Cowboys’ holder on kicks, is Romo’s backup.
The Cowboys have lost two of their last three games after starting the season 3-0.
For a team that just lost to the Arizona Cardinals, this is crippling for the Cowboys. Their offense is going to look quite different with “Elbow Pads” Johnson in there. That’s not to say that Johnson is going to be a complete waste (he does have plenty of weapons around him), but all of a sudden Dallas looks incredibly vulnerable.
Ouch! The upside is that owners with Tony Romo are probably doing pretty well record-wise, so maybe they can weather the storm for four weeks. Then again, maybe not. Brad Johnson seems like the easiest move to make, though there’s no guarantee that he has enough left in the tank. He’s a vet, however, and he’s walking into an offense with a ton of weapons. Trent Edwards is out there on a few waiver wires and he has nice matchups in Week 7 and Week 9. Matt Cassel has nice matchups the next two weeks but it looked like he’d post big numbers against a shaky Chargers defense and was unable to have any success. Matt Ryan is on bye this week, but looks like a decent start the following three, while Marc Bulger has three nice matchups in the next four games (though he hasn’t shown much of anything this season).
With a roster that includes Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Marion Barber and Jason Witten, the Dallas Cowboys are easily the most talented team in the NFC. But individual talent only gets you so far in the game of football.
The Cowboys’ 30-24 overtime loss to Arizona on Sunday might be an indication that Dallas is a bit overrated at this point. They’ve been the media’s darlings since preseason, but despite all of their offensive playmakers, the Cowboys are currently 4-2 and almost choked away a 17-0 lead against the Bengals last week. Worse yet, as Pacman Jones showed earlier this week and T.O. demonstrated by yelling at teammate Andre Gurode on the sidelines in Arizona, the team has shown signs of being dysfunctional.
Of course if the ‘Boys want to point fingers, they’ll have to direct at least some of the attention at the defense, which couldn’t stop Kurt Warner and the Cards’ offense from making big plays in the second half. And they did so without one of their top receivers in Anquan Boldin, who missed his second straight game while recovering from nasal surgery. Dallas even allowed Steve Breaston, Boldin’s replacement, to haul in eight catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Somehow the Cowboys finished with more total yards, fewer turnovers and held on to the ball longer, but still found a way to lose. Talent isn’t the issue with Dallas because they’re loaded. Having that talent come together to consistently win seems to be the issue.
And give the Cardinals credit – they’ve been unbeatable at home this year and they came up with big plays on Sunday (see their kickoff return for a TD to start the game and their blocked punt for a TD to win the game). If they can figure out a way to win the road (or at the very least look respectable), then they’re going to the playoffs. Because they’re clearly the best team in the NFC West this season.
The 2008 NFL Season is only a quarter of the way finished, but it already looks like it could be one of the craziest years in some time. And as if anyone needed a reason to tune in this year, I’ve gone ahead and listed 32 of them below.
In no particular order:
1. Parity still rules. Who would have thought that the Bills and Titans would have better records at this point than the Colts, Patriots and Jaguars?
2. The Giants. The G-Men are the best team in the league and nobody is talking about them.
3. Aaron Rodgers is holding his own. The Packers have dropped three straight after starting the year 2-0, but that’s hardly Rodgers’ fault. The young man has gone through a lot this year and he continues to impress, including playing with an injured shoulder and throwing nine touchdown passes in five games.
4. The Colts 17-point fourth quarter comeback against the Texans in Week 5.
5. Preseason predictions still mean nothing. There’s no greater feeling than checking out who the pundits predict will be the best teams in the NFL in preseason…then realizing how wrong they were after the first couple weeks of the season.
6. Jason Campbell’s development. People in the know say that it usually takes a quarterback 2-3 years to fully learn the West Coast Offense but so far this year, Campbell has thrown for over 1,000 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. And oh-by-the-way, he also has the Redskins at 4-1. First-year head coach Jim Zorn has done a remarkable job in Washington so far.
7. The Titans. There’s not a defense in the league that has been more clutch late in games than Tennessee has.
8. Ronnie Brown. No offense to Ricky Williams, but it’s nice to see that the guy who didn’t quit on the game because he wanted more time to smoke weed is having more success than the guy who did.
9. The balance of power is starting to shift between the two conferences. The AFC has long dominated the NFC in terms of teams and quality of play, but so far this year those roles have been reversed. Four of the top five or six teams in the league belong to the NFC.
10. Brett Favre. Through five weeks, no signal caller in the league has a better QB rating than Favre. And his six-touchdown performance against the Cardinals in Week 4 was vintage Brett.
11. Baltimore’s defense. They might be aging unit, but Ray Lewis and Co. can still lay the wood can’t they?
12. Rookie quarterbacks playing well. Matt Ryan just went into Lambeau and knocked off the Packers, while Joe Flacco almost pulled off upsets against top defenses in Pittsburgh and against Tennessee. These first round signal callers have been impressive to say the least.
13. Adrian Peterson. Forget the sophomore slump – the 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year is proving that he’s no fluke.
14. The Bears finally have a quarterback. Kyle Orton is nowhere close to being the best quarterback in the league, but watch him play – he has a little gunslinger mentality in him. And hey, he’s no Rex Grossman, which is a great thing (just ask Bear fans).
15. Kurt Warner. Some groaned when the veteran unseated youngster Matt Leinart in preseason, but so far head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s decision to go with Warner has paid off.
16. The Dolphins. They might be all hype right now, but who cares? The Fins’ fan base saw only one win last year – let them enjoy the ride.
17. Ben Roethlisberger’s toughness. This is arguably the worst offensive line the Steelers have produced in years, yet Big Ben continues to show how underrated he really is. His performance against Jacksonville in Week 5 was simply amazing.
18. The Bills. It’s easy to pull for a young team and most of their wins this year have been nail bitters. Hopefully QB Trent Edwards is okay from the hit he took against Arizona last Sunday and he’ll get back on the field soon.
19. The young Titans’ secondary. Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin share the league lead for interceptions. And they play in the same defensive backfield.
20. Marty Booker’s catch against the Lions.
21. Jay Cutler. The kid is cocky but it’s hard not to like his swagger.
22. Michael Turner’s running style.
23. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. The Packers’ wideouts are just two example of why teams don’t need to spend first round picks on receivers.
24. Fresh starts in Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis. Yes these three franchises are a mess. But maybe there is a silver lining now that Lane Kiffin, Matt Millen and Scott Linehan all received their walking papers. Maybe…
25. Eli Manning. The former first overall pick is proving that last year’s postseason performance wasn’t a fluke and he really has taken the next step as a NFL quarterback.
26. The Panthers. Jake Delhomme is healthy and playing well again, rookie Jonathan Stewart has been a great complement to DeAngelo Williams and the run defense has been fantastic so far. Carolina is a legitimate contender in the NFC.
27. Monte Kiffin’s defense. The Bucs don’t even rank in the top 10 in any major defensive category except for points allowed, but ask Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton and Aaron Rodgers if they would want to face Kiffin’s unit on a weekly basis.
28. The Patriots are still finding ways to win. It hasn’t been pretty, but Bill Belichick and New England are still finding ways to win despite not having Tom Brady under center. Even after being blown out by Miami at home in Week 3, the Pats are still a team to watch out for in the AFC.
29. Reggie Bush. He might not be able to run consistently between the tackles but he sure as hell can run outside of them.
30. Terrell Owens…when he shuts up and just plays. And Tony Romo…when he can hang on to the football.
31. The Bengals. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the field.
32. Al Davis. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the filed.