Wisconsin-reared Romo OK seeing Favre in purple

[September 03, 2009]  IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Tony Romo is looking forward to seeing Brett Favre on Friday, even if No. 4 is wearing purple.

While the sight of Favre playing for the Vikings rankles many Wisconsin natives, Romo doesn't mind. The Dallas Cowboys star is for all quarterbacks, or any other athletes, hanging around as long as they can, wherever they can.

"I've gotten used to it now," Romo said Wednesday. "You see him with the Jets last year, you see him with the Vikings this year. The thing that people don't realize is you don't just get chances to play in the National Football League because, I mean, you have to be a good player.

"He's one of the best to ever play the game. I think that sometimes people might forget how special. Not really forget, but they just think kind of, 'Oh, he's coming back, whatever.' But at the end of the day, the guy's a talented football player. There's obviously a team that wants him for that reason. It's going to be fun to go out there and play against him."

Romo probably won't get to see Favre play, and Favre is just as unlikely to see Romo, when the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings meet in the preseason finale Friday night.

The Cowboys have seen enough from Romo this summer to know he's ready for the regular season. Although Favre might benefit from more playing time with his new teammates, coaches probably won't risk an injury to their soon-to-be 40-year-old newcomer.

Romo will still make the trip and certainly will find time before the game to hang out with Favre, whose best days with the Green Bay Packers came while Romo was growing up in Burlington, Wis.

Romo was in high school when Favre won three straight NFL MVP awards and led the Packers to consecutive Super Bowls. Now Romo is going into his seventh year in the NFL and Favre keeps chugging along, even if this is his third team in as many years, with heavy doses of drama and short-lived retirements surrounding every change of address.

Has it tarnished Favre's legacy? Not to Romo.

"Shoot, history tells us plenty of people have done it," Romo said. "Everybody remembers your (best) moments. Is Michael Jordan not Michael Jordan because of Washington? He came back, he was still a good player, very productive, but you hold such a standard -- can you ever reach the level you were at in your prime? I don't know. That's why they all come back, to try and do that."

Romo's swashbuckling style certainly is reminiscent of a young Favre, from the scrambles and clutch plays to the groan-worthy mistakes made while trying to do the impossible.

This season, though, Romo is working to break that habit, trying to convince himself that a sack is better than a turnover, that an incompletion is better than an interception. He spent the offseason working on a new mindset and on doing other fundamentally sound things like keeping two hands on the ball when he's on the run.

The early results this preseason were promising. Then an ugly interception in the last game was a reminder that he's still trying to learn which risks are worth taking. The first sign of progress was admitting that he made a mistake.

"I think every quarterback in the league should be looking at themselves from that same perspective and trying to figure out a way to minimize mistakes and turnovers," Romo said. "Believe me, there's not one quarterback in the league who hasn't done something, turnover-wise, that they can get away with saying, 'Oh, I'll never do that again.' Everyone has things that they're going to work on to try to improve upon."

He knows more mistakes will happen, but he expects there will be fewer than last season, when he had at least one interception or lost fumble in 12 of 13 games. He had a total of 20 interceptions and seven lost fumbles.

"You just have to understand what went through your mind and why you're doing certain things and what can you make and turn into something that can be second-nature to you instead of having to think. That's where practice comes into play," Romo said. "Same with a golf swing. Tiger Woods changed his golf swing. It's not going to be as natural in the beginning, but eventually it turns natural, then you get all your feel and everything back. ...

"I'm happy with the way the progression is taking shape. I still have a long way to go."

Maybe Romo will get things so smoothed out that teams will still want him to play when he's 39.

"Um, I don't know," Romo said. "I'm just trying to get better this year."

[Associated Press; By JAIME ARON]

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