A fair QB comparison
GREEN BAY, Wis. — With prime playoff positioning at stake for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, Brett Favre doesn't feel the need to play along with one of the game's other compelling story lines.
Still, Favre has to admit there are some striking similarities between himself and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
Favre sees himself in Romo's knack for turning broken plays into big gains. He can identify with Romo's rise from relative obscurity. And if there is any other player in the league who plays with the level of pure joy Favre does, it's Romo.
But Favre thinks the comparisons are a little overblown, and not necessarily fair to the kid.
"I am sure he is probably tired of answering this question or talking about it himself," Favre said. "I think he's his own player. I think the fact that he's from Wisconsin and is younger than me and watched me play and was a Packer fan enhances this whole scenario."
Romo spent this week fighting the comparison, too.
"Brett's Brett," Romo said. "At the end of the day, anyone who tries to pretend there's another Brett is just kidding themselves. That's like saying you've got the next Jordan and all that stuff. That's just what people want to talk about. But the reality is, he's one of a kind and there'll never be another one like him. It's just neat to be able to watch him from time to time."
Romo did indeed grow up in Burlington, a small town in southeastern Wisconsin. But unlike many folks in America's Dairyland, Romo didn't have a Favre shrine in his house as a kid. Didn't wear holes in a tattered No. 4 jersey. Didn't own a cheesehead.
Truth be told, Romo was more of a basketball guy. He wanted to be like Mike, not Brett.
And — gasp! — he even admitted this week that he rooted for John Elway, not Favre, in the 1997 Super Bowl.
"I understand the angle and it's nice and fun, but I have to beat the guy this week," Romo said. "At the end of the day I don't want him to pass for 265 yards against us. That's the bottom line. I'll root for him on every other game."
But even if Romo didn't grow up idolizing Favre or trying to pattern his game after the three-time MVP, the end result certainly looks familiar.
"Absolutely," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said earlier this week. "I had a conversation with Brett this morning and he even made the statement that Romo reminds him of himself in his early years."
Favre says the most pronounced similarity is Romo's ability to scramble out of trouble and try to make a jaw-dropping play — and get away with it, at least most of the time.
"His creativity to bail himself out is very good," Favre said. "It's probably the same mentality I had. There is never a bad play, which can get you in trouble sometimes. For the most part it's worked out for him."
Heck, Favre admits that Romo might be faster than he ever was.
"Or he seems that way," Favre said.
