Witten Defends Romo's Worth Ethic

You knew when Jerry Jones shelled out millions to keep Tony Romo as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, the expections were going to be high.

So high, in fact, that Jones said he wanted his starting quarterback to have a Peyton Manning-type work ethic. Anyone who has followed Manning's career knows he is basically obsessed with playing quarterback.

Manning watches film all the time, he works out a lot with his team during the offseason and he works with the coaching staff.

We all know that Jones was taking a shot at his star quarterback for Romo's off-season habits, such as playing golf or going on Mexican vacations with his family, basically, anything but rigorous physical routines and mental preparations once the new season's schedule was publish. In other words, Jones thinks Tony Romo's problem is that he isn't dedicated enough to the job.

Not true, counters Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.

Witten, who is Romo's best friend on the team, defended his work ethic.

“I’ve always felt like Tony was very involved in the process of the plays and our scheme, how we attacked,” Witten said to ESPNDallas.com.

“I think in any organization where you have an elite quarterback like that, you want him to feel comfortable. I think that’s something we’ve always tried to do, and it sounds like we’re going to continue to do that.”

Everyone thought Jerry Jones was crazy to spend $108 million on a quarterback who has yet to make it to the Super Bowl and hasn't been to the playoffs in a while. It's obvious Jones wants to prove that the investment he's made in Romo was the right one.

Tony Romo's issue is not his worth ethic. It's his tendency to choke when the game is on the line, and neither work ethic nor money will cure that.

If Jerry Jones wanted a Peyton Manning-type workout regimen from his quarterback, then maybe he should have just signed Peyton Manning.