Chunky Soup has always been hearty, but it hasn’t always been the healthiest in the soup aisle. But over the past few years, Campbell’s has raised the line’s profile by enlisting NFL stars like Donovan McNabb (as well as McNabb’s mom). Now, with NFL Hall of Famer and current Fox broadcaster Troy Aikman as a spokesman for the brand, the soup has also made their soups healthier, with 23 of them having a full serving of vegetables and 100 percent lean meat. We had the chance to ask Aikman some questions about his affiliation with Chunky, what it all means to him, and about life in and after playing in the NFL. Check out the video here, and Troy definitely wins the award for Showing You Mean Business By Stirring the Crap Out of Soup. But hey, the stuff really tastes good. Here is our assessment of the samples they sent…

Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetables—This soup had big chunks of vegetables and a nice, beefy flavor. But the best part was the little burger patties. In this soup’s former life, the burgers were fatty and tasted like it. These patties are lean and meaty, and this soup tastes way better than before.

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Along with 21 other ex-coaches and players, former UCLA and Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Troy Aikman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Former head coaches Lou Holtz and John Cooper were also inducted, as well as ex-players Thurman Thomas and Sam Mills.

Among the others honored Saturday were former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, former Oklahoma State tailback Thurman Thomas, former Army quarterback Arnold Tucker and John Cooper, who coached at Ohio State, Arizona State and Tulsa.

Jim Donnan, who coached at Marshall and Georgia, poked at Holtz for choosing an overseas opponent.
“One thing about Lou, he knows how to schedule,” Donnan said. “Playing the Japanese he has a good chance of winning.”

Holtz and Cooper agreed that the key to their successful careers were great players.

“The difference between a good coach and a Hall of Fame coach is players,” Cooper said. “You win with people. Show me a winning coach and I’ll show you a coach that has good players.”

Check out the entire list of inductees by clicking here.

In an interview with WFFA Channel 8’s Joe Trahan, Cowboys’ cornerback Terence Newman said that Tony Romo’s relationship with Jessica Simpson has affected his ability to be a successful quarterback.

WFFA Ch. 8’s Joe Trahan asked Newman last week about Troy Aikman’s take that Romo “hasn’t fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about.”

Newman’s reply: “I think that with the situation Tony was in, I think that kind of maybe hurt him a little bit – being a first-year starter, then you have the limelight with his girlfriend and situations of that nature. It’s going to take away from him being a quarterback, being a successful quarterback. He won 13 games and everything was perfect, but now after this past season, it was, ‘Is he doing enough for the team? Is he working hard enough? You know, he’s got this girlfriend, so …’ I think that once he inherited the starting quarterback job and his relationship got into the national media attention, I think that that was something that definitely hurt and took away from Tony Romo being a great quarterback.”

While I don’t disagree with what Newman said (how can I – I’m not a Cowboy and thus don’t know the situation like he does), players have every right to have a personal life off the field. It doesn’t matter if Romo is dating Jessica Simpson or Jessica Nobody – his personal business is his own.

That said, this is at least the third time that Romo has been publicly criticized for his relationship with Simpson. He was hammered by the media for going on vacation with her during the Cowboys’ bye week before a playoff game two years ago, and then came Aikman’s comments, now Newman is speaking out. So maybe Romo does need to be more focused on his football responsibilities. This isn’t to say that he needs to spend every waking hour dedicated to being a quarterback, but obviously there is an issue here because this story won’t die.

Or so says Cedric Golden of Statesman.com:

Romo’s not a leader. Never has been. Never will be.

Leaders don’t develop. They are born. It’s something in the DNA. You either have it, or you don’t. After showing little interest in leadership his first couple of seasons, Romo is talking about becoming a better leader now. In this case, talk isn’t cheap — Romo signed a $67.5 million contract extension during the season — but it’s still just talk.

He’s singing a different tune from the one he sang after the 44-6 drubbing at Philadelphia, which dropped his career record as a starter in December to 5-8. Minutes after his team collapsed on the field, he collapsed in the shower from a rib injury, then offered this explanation of how he dealt with the loss:

“If this is the worst thing that ever happens to me,” Romo said, “then I’ll have lived a pretty good life.”
He might as well have been one of those talentless clowns who audition for “American Idol.” It was comical and hurt the ears.

That’s what separates Romo from guys such as Aikman, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. They live the game. Losses eat at their intestines for entire offseasons. Romo’s comments suggested he was already over the loss.

Aikman offered up no excuses when the Cowboys went 1-15 with him as the starter. And he didn’t morph into a superhero when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls. He was the same hard-playing, accountable dude during good times and bad times. Romo’s not Aikman. Not even close. And while it’s probably not fair to compare the two, Romo opened up the door when he played the leadership card.
Even a defensive player like Ray Lewis, who had off-field problems early in his career, is 10 times the leader Romo is. He doesn’t have to make any pronouncements about leadership, because his actions make it clear who’s running things in the Baltimore Ravens’ locker room.

Ray Lewis is 10 times the leader Tony Romo is? Gee, way to make a prophetic statement there, Cedric.

He may never be the guy that runs up and down the sidelines like Tim Tebow does or have the gonads to get into the face of his offensive linemen on the bench like Tom Brady, but Romo can lead by example. If he wins, his teammates will follow because in the end, winning speaks louder than any sideline speech that he can give.

Will he ever be Brady, Lewis or Aikman in terms of being a leader? Probably not, but then again, it takes a special man to lead like those guys do/did. What Romo can do is focus more in practice, be more dedicated to the game that has treated him very well the past couple years and start producing in December. If he does those things, people will take notice.

Former Cowboys’ quarterback Troy Aikman criticized current Dallas signal caller Tony Romo for saying he doesn’t worry about how he or his actions are publicly perceived.

“I think maybe things happened so quickly for Tony in terms of obscurity to all of a sudden national spotlight that he hasn’t fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about,” Aikman said to Irvin. “And you don’t go to Cabo the week before a playoff game. You just don’t do it.

“It didn’t take away from his preparations. I know that. I mean, everything he says is I think accurate. I don’t think that had any bearing.

“But to say, ‘I don’t worry about perception,’ you better worry about perception, because it’s a big part of making it through some very difficult times.”

Romo famously vacationed in Cabo San Lucas with girlfriend Jessica Simpson during the bye week before last year’s NFL playoffs.

I think Romo is at a crossroads right now in his career. He knows he’s talented enough to get by, but seems to lack the focus and drive to take it to that next step. A lot of players want to get by on their talent alone and it’s not until later in their careers when they realize they have to do that little extra in order to become great.

Romo is a very likeable player and outside of playing for the Cowboys (who are shoved down everyone’s throats by the NFL Network every day), he’s easy to root for. Hopefully he takes Aikman’s (who knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl, although I don’t know if he has the right to tell Romo how to spend his personal time) comments in stride and turns this offseason into a positive. If not, he seems to have already hit his ceiling in terms of potential.