Witten Holds Court
By Mark Lane
SOUTHLAKE, Texas – With news of Tony Romo electing not to qualify for the US Open this off-season, the media needed his BFF decode it for any secret meaning:
“I don’t think anyone has ever doubted his dedication,” Witten relayed to reporters Wednesday afternoon following an autograph session at Dunkin’ Donuts. “I do think there’s a perception that goes along with that and something to be said for that. Now, obviously, I don’t think that takes away anything that he does on the football field. He’s the first one in; he’s the first one to leave. He’s been that way for a long time. I believe he’ll put us in a position to be successful this year. He’s an elite quarterback. ‘Til he wins a championship — ’til we do that — the critics are going to come. I think the best thing about him is he’s so far past that that he knows that he’s got one goal. And he’s all in to doing that.”
Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star Telegram interjected: “Still that sends a message though.”
Witten concurred, saying that it all trickles down and starts at the top. Still, Witten confidently declared that Tony Romo is the leader of their group and his actions send a message.
Qualifying for golf tournaments in the off-season only sends a message to the fans that Romo is uncommitted. Since 2008, Tony Romo qualified for the US Open three times and only became a better quarterback and won a playoff game since then. Furthermore, Romo habitually put football ahead of golf in the off-season. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the perception of Tony Romo changes amidst these alterations to his off-season routine.
The All Pro tight end served up other succulent quotes at Dunkin’ Donuts that should satisfy fan and sports writer alike in this barren, interminable off-season. Here are some notable quotes:
On the Cowboys’ chances in 2012: “I believe we have the right guys to do it. We added some players to help us not only as big time starters but at those other spots too. When you do that and add that with our elite players, I think that in the end it’s going to pay off for us.”
On Jason Garrett’s handling of the off-season: “Now you got to work. Now you got to train. Now you have to handle the adversity and the success. And I think Jason does a good job of leading us in that right way.”
On the sense of urgency at Valley Ranch: “We believe it is time to make that big press to see if we have the ability and the right type of guys to get it done. I believe we do. Right now, you have to work you tail off to give yourself the opportunity that you can.”
On winning close games: “You can’t say you’re close. You’ve got to go do it and make those plays in those key situations that allow you to win. We had key games that went the other way.”
On leadership: “I don’t want to speak for anybody, but we’ve got plenty of leaders… The bottom line is we’ve got to go play better and find ways to win ball games… I think we can do that by having a strong group of six to eight guys… Bottom line is we haven’t played well enough to win those games.”
For the complete interview, including his thoughts on Newman and James’ departures, click the link to the video below:
The All Pro tight end is excited about facing the champs on Opening Night when asked by yours truly for his thoughts on the Cowboys’ schedule.
Yeah, we in Cowboys Nation are pretty excited too, considering the Giants swept the Cowboys with the most fatal blow being the 31-17 slugfest for the NFC East crown.
Like last year, the Cowboys are opening their season in Met Life Stadium on NBC, where they are a dreadful 0-7 since smashing on the Eagles in the 2009 NFC Wild Card.