Jerry: Tony Romo on top of his game
IRVING, Texas -- Tony Romo declared during training camp that his best football was ahead of him, a promise that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones believes his franchise quarterback is fulfilling.
"I don't know that I can say that I've ever seen him play better," Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan. "We've seen him certainly do what Romo does. That is, instinctively make plays."
The 34-year-old Romo has recovered from December surgery on a herniated disk in his back to help lead the Cowboys to a surprising 5-1 record.
The Cowboys have relied less on Romo this season than they have in the past, committing to a running game that ranks first in the NFL. But Romo ranks fourth in passer rating (100.5), behind only San Diego's Philip Rivers, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Denver's Peyton Manning.
Romo, who has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 1,510 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions, has been especially productive since he started sitting out Wednesday practices in favor of focusing on core-strength exercises. In the past four games, Romo has completed 70.2 percent of his passes for 1,053 yards with nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
He also has shown the uncanny ability to escape pressure and make plays that many believed he no longer possessed after undergoing two back surgeries over the span of a year. In a Week 5 win over the Houston Texans, Romo spun away from All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt and found Terrance Williams deep for a 43-yard touchdown. In last week's road win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, Romo eluded Bruce Irvin with a similar spin move and threw a strike on the sideline to Williams to convert a third-and-20 on the Cowboys' game-winning drive.
That is the "best version of me" that Romo said this summer people would see over the next four or five years.
"Certainly these last three or four ballgames are starting to basically ratify that statement," Jones said.
Jones also addressed reserve running back Joseph Randle's arrest for shoplifting Monday night.
Randle was booked on a Class B misdemeanor theft charge after attempting to steal a two-pack of Polo underwear and a tester bottle of Gucci Guilty Black cologne from a Dillard's in a suburban Dallas mall. The Cowboys fined Randle one week's pay, which is $29,117, USA Today Sports reported.
"He's contrite, which is an overused word but an important word," Jones said. "He sees how his actions can impact a lot of people. He's certainly going to pay a high price for some underwear and a demonstration bottle of cologne. That'll set a record. It'll probably be what they charged Dez Bryant when all the [veteran players] took Dez out for that hazing, when they put that big tab of food and wine on Dez. That'll probably surpass what Dez paid for a few bottles of wine."
