What a crazy season it has been for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
One week, he's reviled and hated, making people wonder how in the world he decided to make certain throws. The next week, he's adored and heralded for his performance and leadership.
Such is the life for the quarterback of "America's Team."
"As far as the up-and-down stuff, you know, you're gonna have a couple hiccups every year, that's part of playing quarterback in the National Football League," Romo said in an interview with NFL Network's Michael Irvin. "You go 16 games, and you play well in 13 or 14 of them, you're playing at one of the higher levels in the league, so that's what you try to do each year.
"You know, obviously it sucks when (the hiccups) both happen early in the year, but I'd like to think they're both out of the way, and we're moving on and going forward from here."
When Romo has been on this season, he's been outstanding. Look no further than Week 2's heroic comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers and last week's historic performance in a blowout of the Buffalo Bills.
When Romo has been off, though, boy, has he made people scratch their heads. The season-opening loss to the New York Jets and Week 4's epic collapse against the Detroit Lions are proof positive.
Naturally, Romo's inconsistencies in 2011 have made him the target of much criticism from the media. He's done his best to take it in stride.
"I think after a while, you've been through it enough times, it really doesn't matter what people on the outside kind of say," Romo said. "What really matters is whether you're getting the job done, whether you're winning football games, whether your team is getting better, and, you know, I know personally that it comes down to winning."
The Cowboys have been fine in that department lately, winning three of their last four games, and Romo -- now completely healed from broken ribs -- is a big reason why.
He has thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception during the four-game span and is coming off a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills last week in which he completed a team-record 88.5 percent (23 of 26) of his passes.
The Cowboys are 5-4 and back in the thick of the NFC playoff race, though Romo is wise enough not to make any bold predictions about where the team is headed. Not that he's lacking confidence.
"I'm not in the world of making predictions, but I do know this team's getting better, and I'm excited about where we're going," Romo said. "I think we're gonna have a great finish to this football season."
