Romo's even keel helps keep T.O. off hot seat

IRVING, Texas — Tony Romo and Terrell Owens have gotten along famously in their time together with the Dallas Cowboys.

Owens is notorious for undermining the authority of and ripping apart relationships with his own quarterbacks. Owens had good things going with such Pro Bowl quarterbacks as Jeff Garcia with the 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Donovan McNabb before contributing mightily to messy breakups.

But Romo seems to have discovered the key to maintaining a solid relationship with Owens.

He simply does not listen to him.

Well, Romo said he does not listen to everything Owens has to say.

“I don’t take what people say in the moments of emotional situations to heart — I don’t,” Romo said last week in a conference call with Bay Area reporters. “I understand that as human beings we all do things we either wish we didn’t do or we all just make mistakes in some ways. I don’t ever judge anybody or hold anybody to any standard higher than I’d hold myself to. I think it’s allowed me to just accept people for who they are and what they are.

“I think also I understand that he’s not a bad person. He’s actually a really good person. He wants to be a good person. He tries hard. . . . He’ll say things once in awhile that you guys will jump on and things of that nature, but I don’t ever let it affect me and it doesn’t affect our friendship or quarterback-receiver situation.”

Owens played eight seasons with the 49ers. Today, he’ll face his former organization for the second time in his career.

While playing for the Eagles in 2005, Owens recorded five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-3 victory against the 49ers.

Owens appeared to have a good thing going with the Eagles before punching his ticket out of town.

He played the full 2004 season with the Eagles, which included a trip to the Super Bowl. But in 2005, he participated in just seven games before getting suspended for conduct detrimental to the team after making a flurry of comments critical of the organization and McNabb, and getting in a fight with club “ambassador” Hugh Douglas.

Prior to his divorce from the Eagles, Owens had an awkward departure from the 49ers. The relationship began to sour in 2000 — at Texas Stadium, of all places — when Owens caught a touchdown pass from Garcia and posed on the Cowboys’ star logo at midfield.

When Owens caught a second touchdown pass in the 49ers’ 41-24 victory, he again began a sprint to midfield. But this time, Cowboys safety George Teague leveled Owens and a mini-riot ensued.

The 49ers suspended Owens for a game, citing conduct detrimental to the team. In his last couple of seasons with the 49ers, he regularly spoke out publicly about his discontent with Garcia, who earned trips to three consecutive Pro Bowls.

However, in Owens’ 2½ seasons with the Cowboys, he has not been a detriment. Last season, he had 1,355 yards receiving with 15 touchdowns. Owens signed a three-year, $34 million contract extension in the offseason.

“From the media standpoint, there are certain things that have happened that make people scratch their heads,” Owens said during training camp. “But I am the same person that I was in 2006. I am still the same person I was coming into the league, in the sense of being passionate and about another human being. I am still that person.”

Owens’ production has slipped this season, in part because of Romo’s three-game absence with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand.

Just last week, Owens was critical of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s scheme and the coach’s inability to make adjustments.

When asked whether he misses the West Coast offense, Owens said yes.

“(But) you’ve got to deal with the cards that are dealt,” Owens said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Owens played the first 10 seasons of his career in the Bill Walsh system. Is that offense more flexible?

“It’s a different offense,” Owens answered. “It’s a lot of flexibility.”

Romo probably did not spend much time thinking about Owens’ words. Romo said both men have an understanding of the symbiotic relationship of the quarterback-receiver dynamic.

“He appreciates me as a quarterback. I think we both understand that our success is directly related to each other,” Romo said. “If I play well, it’s usually because he played well. And if he plays well, it’s usually because I might have done something well. So we appreciate each other for having that.”

Owens ranks 39th in the NFL in receptions (40) and yards receiving (505), but he’s tied for third with six touchdown catches.

“He’s fine,” Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. “He wants to win first, and that’s the most important thing. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a lot of footballs in the last six games here. We try to get him the football because he’s a great player. So we are still working on ways to get him the ball as much as we can.”

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@press

democrat.com.