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Kevin Turner couldn't sit still on that April afternoon in 1992. The Alabama fullback tried to watch the NFL draft for as long as he could, but a combination of tension and monotony increased with each pick. Every 15 minutes another name that wasn't Kevin Turner was announced.

Turner stepped into the backyard of his parents' Prattville, Ala., home for some fresh air and hopefully a diversion. He still laughs at the memory of what happened next. His father bolted out the door and blurted the big announcement: "The Boston Patriots!"

Turner gently corrected him. Actually, it was the New England Patriots. They selected him 71st overall, the second fullback off the board.

The moment was exhilarating for a father and his only child. Raymond Turner coached Kevin from 5 years old until junior high and nearly wept the first time he saw his son enter Bryant-Denny Stadium decked in crimson and white.

Now his son was headed to the National Football League. He loaded up his maroon 1991 Ford Bronco and, with Guns N' Roses blaring, headed off to Massachusetts, where he began an eight-year, $8 million NFL career, met his future wife and scored some touchdowns.

Yet if he knew then what he knows today, he'd be torn about pulling out of Prattville.

"If they would have come to me and said, 'I've seen the future. This is what happens.' Of course, I would stop playing immediately," Turner said. "But, as we all know, nobody can see the future. For me, it just falls into a long line of bad decisions."

Turner is divorced. He went bankrupt on bum real estate investments. He was addicted to painkillers for a couple of years. None of those problems are the worst of it.

Ten months ago, the 41-year-old father of three was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the incurable neuromuscular disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Turner's arms don't work well, his hands even less. His pinch strength, a measurement of the strength generated by the thumb and forefinger, is one pound. That's comparable to an infant. He doesn't have enough might to squeeze toothpaste out of a tube.

Forget about buttoning a shirt. It can take him half an hour to wiggle into his blue jeans with nobody there to help, but he said, "socks are the worst."

The body that produced 30-plus receptions five times for the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, made him the second-richest fullback in the NFL and impressed then-Patriots coach Bill Parcells as a prototypical West Coast fullback is failing.

"It's quite a different way of life," Turner said. "It's pretty embarrassing, but cleaning yourself after going to the bathroom becomes very difficult when you can't use your hands. These are just things you don't think about.

"You have to be very creative. I can't pull down my zipper. I got what I call zipper-getters. It's a little hook with some fishing wire that goes around the zipper of my pants so you can go to the bathroom."

Doctors have told him his speech probably will be the next to go. His throat and jaw muscles cramp, reminding him ALS is as relentless as he was on the football field.

Eventually, it will kill him. Maybe within another year or two. ALS is undefeated.

Recent scientific data strongly suggests repeated head trauma can cause a condition that mimics ALS. The neuromuscular disorders are virtually identical -- so alike the difference is detectable only by autopsy.

"Football had something to do with it," said Turner, who has no family history of ALS. "I don't know to what extent, and I may not ever know. But there are too many people I know that have ALS and played football in similar positions. They seem to be linebackers, fullbacks, strong safeties. Those are big collision guys."

To raise research funds and awareness about sports-related head injuries and ALS, he formed the Kevin Turner Foundation.

Dr. Ann McKee said Tuesday the latest information shows NFL players have eight to 10 times the likelihood of being diagnosed with ALS than the average citizen. McKee was the lead neuropathologist for the study that linked head trauma in collision sports to the ALS variant.

The effects of head trauma are a hot-button NFL issue. The league has included ALS as an automatically qualified condition under the 88 Plan, which assists former players with medical expenses related to head injuries.

Cases continue to emerge about retired players experiencing early dementia, memory loss, depression, aggression or erratic behavior. Last month, four-time Pro Bowl safety Dave Duerson committed suicide after complaining of severe headaches, vision impairment and an increasing inability to form coherent sentences.

Parcells said he was "sick" to hear about Duerson's death. Duerson played for Parcells on the New York Giants' 1990 championship team. Parcells coached Turner for two years in New England.

"Look, we all know that this is hazardous to your health," Parcells said in a somber tone last weekend. "We do know that. And fullback is a very high-collision position. It's not like playing wide receiver or corner. He's either running the ball and getting tackled, catching the ball and getting tackled or blocking somebody.

"I've seen a lot of big collisions in football. We all know when we sign up for this that there's an element of risk involved."

'A special kid'

Turner wasn't a superstar in terms of decorations. He didn't go to Pro Bowls. But he was far from an NFL commoner.

"He had a heart that just wouldn't stop," Raymond Turner said of his son. "From the time he put the gear on to the time he took it off, he was a competitor. Never once in my lifetime did I have to tell him to hustle. It was there. It was built in. He knew what he wanted to do."

The Eagles loved Turner enough that they signed him to a three-year, $4.125 million offer sheet with a $1.5 million signing bonus when he became a restricted free agent in 1995 after two seasons with the Pats. They outbid the Washington Redskins. Daryl Johnston of the Dallas Cowboys was the only fullback with a bigger contract.

The bemused Patriots couldn't match the Eagles and settled for a third-round draft choice as compensation. New England fared well with the transaction. The draft pick turned out to be running back Curtis Martin.

But at the time, Parcells didn't want to lose Turner.

"There's nobody out there who wouldn't like [Turner] as a person, player, practice habits, versatility," Parcells said. "This kid had everything. He was a special kid.

"He was a first-down player and was capable of playing on third down because he had such great hands. He really was an all-purpose back. And you don't see those fullbacks anymore. Kevin was a traditional, old-time, versatile, run-block-and-catch fullback."

Turner's best season was 1994 with the Patriots. When not blocking for Marion Butts, Turner made 52 receptions, gained 582 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns -- all career highs. Turner scored an overtime touchdown in Week 11 to beat the Minnesota Vikings. His catch in the left corner of the end zone was Drew Bledsoe's 45th completion on his 70th attempt, a record that stands by one throw.

Whatever glory Turner experienced came with a price. He absorbed punishment. That's how players often win their team's Ed Block Courage Award, as Turner did with Philadelphia in 1996. They're admired for their perseverance.

Turner knows of only two concussions he suffered in the pros. One came with the Patriots in 1994 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He twisted awkwardly while trying to catch a pass near the goal line, and his head struck Riverfront Stadium's hard artificial turf.

The other known concussion happened with the Eagles in 1997, while Turner was running the wedge on a kickoff return against the Green Bay Packers at Veterans Stadium.

"The next thing I remember," Turner said, "I was asking our backup quarterback, Bobby Hoying, 'You're going to think I'm crazy, but are we in Green Bay or are we in Philly?' I was looking around that stadium and could not figure it out.

"I stayed out for two, maybe three series of downs, got my senses back and finished the game. It was a fairly significant injury to my brain, and I just kept pounding on it."

Turner's father is aware football probably contributed to the ALS diagnosis. He often wonders what hit wrecked his son's brain.

Was it the wedge? Was it the time Turner collided with Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jessie Tuggle so violently at the goal line he knocked Tuggle out? Was it his final NFL play in 1999, when he barely got a piece of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Cornelius Bennett but both arms went numb for 15 seconds?

The probable answer is all of them contributed amid an accumulation of other hits that didn't register.

"I never thought about my head, the way I was abusing my head, the pounding my head was taking and the long-term consequences," Turner said. "Playing the position I did, I leveled my head every time I was on a lead block. It was part of the three points: my two hands and my head. That's how I was taught to do it."

A wicked game

McKee helps run the brain bank at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine. The center has studied 46 brains of athletes who sustained repeated, sports-related head trauma. Research indicates concussions aren't necessary to induce frightening symptoms.

Many retired NFL players, such as Turner, Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, Buffalo Bills guard Conrad Dobler and Patriots cornerback Mike Haynes, have pledged to donate their brains for research.

"It's very tough now to look at the sport and not listen to the voices inside your head that are very, very much aware this game is associated with significant risks," McKee said. "And we may not fully understand the depths of those risks.

"Every month, we've been getting more cases into the brain bank and seeing more cases of [chronic traumatic encephalopathy] and some with this [ALS] variant. It's more and more difficult to embrace this sport as it's currently being played. With each month of this work, it just seems worse."

McKee isn't some fuddy-duddy intellectual, trying to undermine football's place in society. She was raised in a football household just outside Green Bay. Her father played for Grinnell College. She attended every game her brothers played.

"Football is a way of life there," McKee said. "It's huge. It's how we define ourselves. I'm sure I would have played if I'd have been born a boy. Football is an enormous part of my heritage. I do understand that football is so much more than a sport to people. It's what we do."

But is football evolving into a culture of regret?

Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who has a long history of concussions, recently told HBO's "Real Sports" that if he had a son, the boy wouldn't be allowed to play football. Four-time Pro Bowl safety Blaine Bishop didn't make an edict but showed off his scars until his son decided not to play, which suits his dad just fine.

Turner's jovial patter quickly switched to an agonized sputter when asked whether his two sons should play football. Nolan, 13, has been playing for a while. Cole, who will turn 8 next month, started last year.

Turner doesn't let his kids (10-year-old Natalie is a cheerleader) drink sodas because he doesn't think it's good for them, yet football maintains a powerful influence in their family. Turner hinted he won't let Cole play this year because he's perhaps too young. Nolan's situation sounded more complicated.

"It's something I struggle with every day, whether to just lay the law down and say, 'No, we're not playing,'" Turner said. "Or do I let him live his life and take a chance? But, God, I can't tell you how hard a question that is, especially in Alabama. I'm still not sure that I'm going to let him."

Turner was 5 years old when his dad began coaching him. In many ways, it turned out well.

Colleges began recruiting him as a high school sophomore. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden came to their house, but Alabama won out. The Crimson Tide chose Turner for their commitment to excellence award his junior season. He was a captain his senior season. He left with a finance degree and lived a fantasy some folks would give a limb to experience.

"If they'd have told me when I was 23 years old, in the best shape of my life and just got the dream chance of my life to play in the NFL -- first week of practice in New England, I'm in awe of Andre Tippett, Irving Fryar -- but in 17 years, you're not going to be able to pull up your pants ... you could not imagine it,” Turner said.

"Most people would say, 'If there's a 10 percent chance of that happening, I'll take my chances.'"

'You know it's coming'

Chances are, Turner doesn't have long to live. One of his doctors gave him two years. That was almost a year ago.

ALS has no cure. There are no treatments to stop or reverse it. Fifty percent of ALS patients do not live three years beyond their first symptoms. Only 20 percent reach five years.

One by one, motor neurons steadily shut down. As they do, muscles wither. Although Turner's brain will remain sharp, he will lose his ability to walk, speak and swallow.

ALS eventually reaches the muscles of the chest wall and diaphragm. Suffocation and pneumonia are the most common causes of death.

"There are still times, and let me say it's not very often, in the past year where I'll sit there and become completely overwhelmed and break down and cry," Turner said. "Every now and then I'll let myself think about it. I'll see something or hear something that reminds me of the inevitable. You know it's coming."

Turner said he intends to immerse himself in his children's lives and his foundation's cause. He travels the country for speaking engagements to raise funds. Country-gospel singer Ty Herndon dedicated the title track of his Grammy-nominated album, "Journey On," to the Kevin Turner Foundation. Turner and his children appear in the poignant video.

Turner’s father, meanwhile, can't help but worry. He admitted he and his wife, Myra, feel helpless -- a disconcerting sentiment when it comes to any child, let alone an only child. Raymond is 67 years old, and he's dealing with the likelihood he'll outlive his once-vigorous son. The unavoidability hit home the day a packet arrived in the mail, detailing the process of donating his son's organs.

Turner's mom and dad are considering moving from Prattville closer to Birmingham, Ala., where their grandchildren live, about 85 miles away. Raymond wants to make sure they have a father figure nearby.

"The fact that I'm healthy lets me think I'll be around to see the kids through," Raymond said. "This is not supposed to be this way. Just things you've got to think about and don't want to think about, but you've got to be realistic."

So much has transpired in the 19 years since Turner drove that Ford Bronco from Prattville to the NFL. He made it a point to swing through Manhattan on the way, getting a slice of New York-style pizza and some cheesecake from Carnegie Deli just in case his ride didn't last very long.

The possibilities were infinite. Today, they're decidedly limited. But Turner insists he will make the most of the time he has left and maybe -- just maybe -- be the first person who beats ALS.

On Tuesday night, Turner’s father pondered how amazed he was the first time he glimpsed at his son in an Alabama uniform and saw "Kevin Turner" scroll across the bottom of his television screen on draft day.

And then, he considered how pleased he is with Turner today. The feeling doesn't pertain to football at all anymore.

"I swell up and tell him so often about how proud I am of him, most part for being a man of good character," Raymond said. "That's meant more to me than anything."

As some of you know, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo made it through the first round of qualifying for the U.S. Open, which will be played next month at Pebble Beach. Karen Crouse of the New York Times says that only three professional athletes from other major sports have competed in the U.S. Open: John Brodie, a 49ers quarterback in the 1960s; Sammy Byrd, a Yankees outfielder in the 1930s; and Bill Ezinicki, who finished his N.H.L. career with the Rangers in 1955.

Brodie actually had some success on the Senior Tour in the early 90s and it wouldn't surprise me if Romo tried to do the same -- 20 years from now. For the time being, he'll focus on the Cowboys' upcoming organized team activities this week. On Friday, though, he was following his 16-year-old pal Jordan Spieth as he made the cut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.

I know there are a few Cowboys fans and even some reporters who wonder if Romo spends too much time on the course in the offseason. But as long as he doesn't miss any football workouts, I don't see why it's a problem. And you can rest assured that owner Jerry Jones loves seeing Romo show up on "SportsCenter" for his golf exploits.

And if Romo happens to qualify for the U.S. Open, I'm sure he'll turn to the NFC East blog for some tips. I played the course with him in 2005 when the Cowboys made a West Coast trip to play the 49ers and Raiders. I've conveniently misplaced the scoreboard, but I believe Romo shot a 74, punter Mat McBriar carded an 85, Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News had a 93 and a birdie on No. 8 helped me avoid triple digits.

By the way, Drew Bledsoe canceled on us at the last minute, which may or may not have led to his demise with the Cowboys. For more on my round with Romo, stay tuned to the Golf Channel.

It looks like Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had some inside knowledge when he predicted Friday on Dallas-Fort Worth's ESPN 103.3 that his pal Miles Austin would soon show up for voluntary offseason workouts. Austin, a restricted free agent, has returned from Los Angeles and joined his teammates at Valley Ranch, according to ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins.

"Miles will be back and around," Romo told us Friday. "It's like anything, it's all part of the business side of things that happens once and a while."

Romo sounded nonchalant about Austin's absence, but I think he probably had a different tone when he called his friend. He first found out that Austin had some special traits during offseason workouts just like these. And I'm sure Romo impressed upon Austin the importance of being an example for young receivers such as Kevin Ogletree.

Heading into the '07 season, Romo was wondering when the Cowboys would take care of him with a long-term contract. He'd replaced Drew Bledose six games into the '06 season and led the Cowboys to the playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones hedged his bet by waiting to see how his young quarterback responded at the start of '07.

Romo had an unbelievable start to the season and soon signed a contract that included $30 million in guaranteed money. If he'd agreed to what the Cowboys offered before the season, I suspect it would have been about $15 million guaranteed.

I'm sure Austin looks at how much Roy Williams is making ($13 million guaranteed this season) and wonders why he's making $10 million less. But if he goes out and has another huge season in 2010, Jones will take good care of him. For now, I think Austin's made the right decision to show up for offseason workouts.

He's sent his message. Now it's time to start building on his breakout season.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo keeps a busy social calendar during the offseason, but he has always made the club's voluntary conditioning workouts his first priority. Now, his good friend Miles Austin has chosen to work out separately from his teammates in Los Angeles.

During an interview with Romo on 103.3 ESPN's "Galloway and Company" on Friday, I asked the quarterback if he was concerned about Austin's absence.

"Miles will be back and around," said Romo. "It's like anything, it's all part of the business side of things that happens once and a while."

As a restricted free agent, it's not like Austin has a lot of leverage right now. But he's obviously trying to make a point to owner Jerry Jones that he is not going to roll over and be happy about a first- and third-round tender of roughly $3 million. Not when the Cowboys' No. 2 receiver Roy Williams will make $13 million in 2010.

But it sounds like Romo believes that Austin will show up one day soon at Valley Ranch. In other news, Romo told the story about replacing Drew Bledsoe in the second half of the Giants game at Texas Stadium in 2006. He revealed for the first time something Bill Parcells told him earlier that day.

Take a listen to the audio to find out what I'm talking about.

One more thing: If you'd like to watch tomorrow morning's demolition of Texas Stadium, go to espn3.com. If you want to reminisce about your favorite moments, read this column from one of my heroes, Frank Luksa.

If you somehow missed it earlier, take some time to read ESPNDallas.com reporter Tim MacMahon's excellent story about how Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson admire the Cowboys' Tony Romo and Miles Austin. I hate to bring it up since Vikings fans have been stopping by the blog this week, but Staubach and Pearson teamed up for one of the most famous plays in NFL history 35 years ago. (And no, Pearson did not push off!) Here's a great quote from Staubach about Romo:

"Through thick and thin, he's still been one heck of a quarterback," Staubach said. "When he's out there on the field, I just always feel that he's going to find a way to win the game. This is the first time I've felt that way about a Cowboy quarterback since Troy Aikman."

With all apologies to Quincy Carter and Drew Bledsoe, I think Staubach might be onto something.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

I'm going to start dipping into the Beast mailbag on a more frequent basis. Each afternoon, I'll choose a question of the day to answer. Who will be our first "winner"? Keep reading to find out:

Alex from Arlington, Va., wants to know what's so special about Eli Manning: Matt, could you answer for me why people are so high on Eli Manning? Apart from catching fire in the 2007 playoffs and (admittedly) playing relatively well in 2008, he's been a mediocre QB in the NFL despite a consistent wealth of offensive talent nearly every single year. I wouldn't call him any more accomplished than, say, Drew Bledsoe, Kerry Collins, Trent Dilfer or any number of QBs who rode outstanding teams to playoff success despite being little more than caretakers. The problem I've always had with Manning is that even as a caretaker, he's inaccurate, erratic, and prone to lose his team more games than he's capable of winning by himself. You admit that his stock is falling right now, but for those of us who saw his Super Bowl "MVP" as nothing more than a fluke, his recent play is hardly that surprising. Love the blog, otherwise!

Mosley: Alex, thanks for making us a (vital) part of your day. At his peak, Bledsoe was not a "caretaker" quarterback. You think of him like that because he played for Bill Parcells, but the mighty Tuna let Bledsoe sling it around quite a few Sundays. And I don't think Collins was strictly a game manager either. Yes, I agree that Eli Manning doesn't put up huge numbers, but he seems to be at his best during huge moments. He put together late drives against the Cowboys in the divisional playoff game in '07 and then he made clutch plays against the Packers and Patriots. I don't see how critics can sort of brush that away with the whole "fluke" argument. Manning had an excellent '08 season, but like the rest of his team, he faltered against the Eagles. He gets the benefit of the doubt because of his '07 run.

Right now, he's in a bad place. I don't know how bad his foot injury is right now because he's refusing to use it as an excuse. The scary thing is that he's making really poor decisions with the football. I think he has enough confidence to fight through this slump, but he needs to make it happen in a hurry. In the past, the defense could cover for Manning if he had a rough day. That's not happening at this point. The Giants need Manning to be great -- and he's not even good right now. But let's give it a month before we write him off as a "mediocre" quarterback. I, for one, don't think that '07 run was a fluke. And I think Manning will get it going soon.

Keep your questions coming. We just surpassed the 7,000-question mark in the mailbag. I'm hoping to answer at least 3,400 this week. All my best.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Five nuggets of knowledge about this weekend's games:

The Cowboys better not peak too early in Sunday night's game: With the grand opening of Cowboys Stadium, owner Jerry Jones thinks his players will be more motivated than ever. And I actually think you'll see a lot of emotion from the Cowboys in the game. If the Giants can match that intensity and sort of hang around for three quarters, I like their chances late.

	Mark J. Rebilas/US Presswire
	The Giants will try to force DeMarcus Ware into pass coverage.

The thing to remember is that Tony Romo has all but owned the Giants during the regular season. He replaced Drew Bledsoe at halftime of the Cowboys-Giants game at Texas Stadium in '06. The Cowboys lost that game, but Romo's lit them up since then. Obviously, the huge exception is the divisional playoff game at the end of the '07 season. But still, I think that past success should give Romo a lot of confidence heading into Sunday's game. I talked to Justin Tuck via phone Thursday and he promised we'd see one of the most physical games of the year. The Giants want to keep Romo in the pocket and make sure he's not always side-stepping Tuck and Osi Umenyiora.

Why am I the only guy in the country who thinks Kevin Kolb will play well against the Saints? It's not like the Saints have a juggernaut defense. Starting linebackers Scott Fujita and Scott Shanle still read this blog on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to account for Brian Westbrook coming out of the backfield and tight end Brent Celek running down the seam. I think the Eagles' defense will force at least two turnovers and second-year wide receiver DeSean Jackson will have a big game. I don't trust the Saints' corners against Jackson -- especially Jabari Greer.

Santana Moss is about to go off on the Rams: There, I said it. I think Jim Zorn will take more shots downfield, in part, because Jason Campbell should have more time against the Rams' front four. Leonard Little and Chris Long aren't slackers, but they aren't Umenyiora and Tuck. Can we agree on that? The only thing that gives me pause is the memory of Steve Spagnuolo's defenses dominating the Redskins last season. But the Redskins will roll in this game. Clinton Portis goes for 115 yards and a touchdown and Moss goes for six catches for 127 yards. Trust me on this stuff.

I'm worried about the Giants' lack of depth in the secondary: The Redskins didn't put much pressure on the Giants' injury-depleted secondary last week -- yet Antwaan Randle El still managed 98 yards receiving. Starting safety Michael Johnson (burner) returned to practice Friday, but Kenny Phillips (knee) wasn't able to go. The Phillips injury is the bigger concern. He has the athleticism to cover Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett. And he's also capable of doing a good job on the Cowboys' receivers. If one of those players is out, C.C. Brown would have to start. That would be a dicey situation for the Giants. And nickel corner Kevin Dockery missed practice Friday. That means the Giants could go into the game with undrafted rookie corner Bruce Johnson "starting" at the nickel. He did fine against the Skins, but the Cowboys have more offensive firepower. Tough situation for the Giants.

The Giants' offensive game plan will account for DeMarcus Ware at all times: Ware's emerged as the best defensive player in the game. He got dinged up early against the Bucs last week and wasn't himself. On Sunday night, he'll be relentless. He'll move to both sides of the line and I think his athleticism is too much for Giants left tackle David Diehl. The Giants will have to max protect at times -- and they'll also chip on Ware with Kevin Boss. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will do everything in his power to force Ware into coverage. It's not like that's a huge weakness for Ware or anything, but it takes him out of the pass rush. Of course, every team tries that. Eli Manning needs to anticipate where the rush is coming from. Wade Phillips does a nice job of changing those calls up, but Manning has the ability to make him pay.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

The Beast had a chance to have breakfast with former Cowboys assistant Tony Sparano at the recent NFL owners' meeting in Dana Point, Calif. We covered several topics, but his eyes lit up when Tony Romo's name came up. Sparano, now the Dolphins head coach, was calling plays for the Cowboys when Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe six games into the 2006 season. Asked whether he knew if Romo was truly ready to be the starter at that point, Sparano had this to say:

"We knew when we put Romo in, yeah," Sparano said. "Honestly at that point with Tony, every time you put him in a game something good happened.

"We had a lot of experience with him, more than we have with our quarterback right now in Chad Henne. We had Tony a couple of years in the preseason and Tony got a lot of playing time that way. Nothing against Drew Bledsoe at the time, but you could just see where we were. We were 3-3 I believe ... and it was just the right time."

At this point, I asked Sparano if Romo's one of those players coaches needed to stay on top of in terms of limiting mistakes.

"Tony is a pretty easy guy to coach," Sparano said. "He's an intelligent guy and he really is a competitor. If you're walking down the hall with Tony Romo, he's going to try to beat you to the door. It was always easy to motivate Tony from my end."

Bill Parcells used to talk about how important it was to "coach Romo all the way through the game." Even after he exploded onto the national scene, Parcells constantly reminded him of his humble beginnings. And Sparano had his own way of keeping Romo grounded. Someone told me a story about something that happened one day in practice in '06. When Romo made a poor throw, Sparano walked up behind the huddle and wondered aloud whether the quarterback had been thinking about his girlfriend at the time, Carrie Underwood.

With Parcells and Sparano gone, there doesn't appear to be anyone at Valley Ranch willing to remind Romo that he wasn't always on the cover of People Magazine.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

The guys on ESPN's "Monday Night Countdown" show had a lot to say about Donovan McNabb's benching Sunday. Former Bears coach Mike Ditka took Eagles coach Andy Reid to task for not delivering the message.

"I don't let the ball boy tell him," Ditka said of Reid, who ordered quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur to inform McNabb on Sunday. "I don't let the quarterback coach, the defensive coordinator tell him. I tell him. Not only do I tell him that he's benched, I tell him why he's benched."

Cris Carter agreed with Ditka, but Keyshawn Johnson and Steve Young sided with Reid. Young, of course, played under Reid in San Francisco and Johnson knows that his former coach and mentor, Bill Parcells, would've handled it the exact same way.

When Parcells decided to pull veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe at halftime of the Cowboys-Giants game in 2006, he ordered quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer to deliver the message. Coaches such as Parcells and Reid believe in a chain of command, and in their minds, they have more important things to do at halftime than providing explanations to players.

Maybe you should be willing to break protocol when a move involves your franchise quarterback, but Reid certainly didn't see it that way.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- For a few frantic moments Sunday, the Cowboys made you forget how pedestrian they've become. Marion Barber's mad dash to the end zone and a 52-yard field goal by Nick Folk at the end of regulation temporarily covered up another unimpressive effort.

But with one blocked punt return for a touchdown, the Cardinals delivered a jolt of reality. Arizona won the game 30-24, and any other result would've been a crime after watching the Cardinals dominate the second half.

	Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
	Dallas quarterback Tony Romo's solid numbers and high passer rating are misleading.

The Cowboys probably should've turned the ball over four times in the first half, but they only had one. The aerial assault on what had been rumored to be an outmanned Cardinals secondary never materialized, and Tony Romo spent most of the day checking down to Barber.

Romo somehow always ends up with 300 yards and three touchdowns, but don't be fooled by those numbers -- or his 113.3 passer rating. He fumbled the ball three times, and was fortunate to lose only one. The only thing that prevented him from giving up a touchdown in the first half was the tuck rule, which makes less sense every time I see it called.

In fairness to Romo, his Pro Bowl-laden offensive line was dominated by the Cardinals' defensive line. Left tackle Flozell Adams offered little resistance as defensive ends Bertrand Berry and Antonio Smith raced past him. I've documented almost every Romo start since 2006, and I've never seen him take that much punishment. People want to ask where all the enthusiasm and child-like joy has gone. Well, getting hit in the mouth every other play isn't a particularly enjoyable experience.

Romo showed up to his news conference with a heavily bandaged right throwing hand. According to the Cowboys, he sprained his right pinky finger. And considering the punishment he took Sunday, he may have gotten off easy. Romo made an interesting statement when asked about the constant pressure he faced.

"I think there's a couple of things we've got to do to counteract ... one of our formations I think some of the teams are kind of getting a bead on," said Romo. "We'll rectify that this week and hopefully learn from it."

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