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Star QB's workout leadership impresses Cowboys' Sendejo.
By Tom Orsborn
torsborn@express-news.net
Dallas Cowboys safety Andrew Sendejo likes highly structured practices.
With quarterback Tony Romo running the Cowboys' players-only workouts, Sendejo is squarely in his comfort zone.
“They've been very structured, well-paced,” the Smithson Valley graduate said. “We get our stuff done. We get in, and we get out. It's been productive — just what we needed.”
The lockout prevents teams from conducting their usual offseason practices. In a display of leadership, Romo accepted responsibility for organizing and running the team's unsupervised workouts.
The first several sessions took place over the last two weeks at an undisclosed location in the Dallas area. Sendejo said Romo made sure the 40-50 players involved worked just as hard as they would in practices overseen by coaches.
To help him control the workouts, Romo blows a whistle at the end of each drill to signal the start of a different activity.
“It's great to see guys like Tony taking charge and saying, ‘All right, let's get this going,'” Sendejo said. “He keeps us on pace. You can imagine these practices could be very methodical and that players would just be going through the motions thinking, ‘We are out here, and it looks good, and it makes us feel good about ourselves, but we are not getting anything done.' But that's not the case. Tony keeps us on pace ... and tells us, ‘All right, offense over here, defense over here. Let's get this going.' He has done a good job.”
Sendejo, 23, also saluted the leadership displayed by linebackers Keith Brooking and Bradie James.
But it's Romo who deserves the bulk of the credit for the workouts being so crisp, Sendejo said.
“It's definitely not a laid-back atmosphere,” Sendejo said. “We are pretty much on the clock, and Tony keeps track of it all.”
A former Rice standout, Sendejo spent most of last fall in the United Football League. Dallas signed the rookie to its practice squad Nov. 24 and promoted him to the 53-man roster less than a week later.
Given Sendejo's inexperience and shaky hold on his job, the labor strife couldn't have come at a worse time for him.
“There are no guarantees in the NFL, so I want to play as much as I can for the Dallas Cowboys and soak up as much of this experience as I can,” Sendejo said. “It's frustrating, but I try not to worry about it too much. There's nothing I can do about it, so I just go with it.
“I keep working out and studying the playbook. That way, when we do go back, I'll be as ready as I can be to make the 53-man roster and try to earn a starting position.”
Thanks to what he termed his “frugal” nature, Sendejo said it hasn't been difficult for him to survive on considerably less earnings than the $1.9 million average NFL salary. He also isn't eligible for the NFL Players Association lockout fund, which offers as much as $60,000 to players who were on the 53-man roster last season and have been paying union dues at least since the 2009 season.
“I've always been tight with my money,” Sendejo said. “You hear a lot of stories about guys going broke after three years in the NFL or something like that. That's ridiculous. Just because you have money doesn't mean you have to spend it.”
Sendejo wasn't sure how much he earned from the Cowboys last season, but he was quick to say, “I've been in way worse situations (financially) and made it work, so I'm not worried about all that.”
What does concern him is that the lockout could wipe out training camp at the Alamodome.
“A lot of family and friends are excited about camp,” Sendejo said. “That's really cool. I'm excited too. Hopefully, we'll be on time with it. It would be really special.”
By Tom Orsborn
torsborn@express-news.net
Dallas Cowboys safety Andrew Sendejo likes highly structured practices.
With quarterback Tony Romo running the Cowboys' players-only workouts, Sendejo is squarely in his comfort zone.
“They've been very structured, well-paced,” the Smithson Valley graduate said. “We get our stuff done. We get in, and we get out. It's been productive — just what we needed.”
The lockout prevents teams from conducting their usual offseason practices. In a display of leadership, Romo accepted responsibility for organizing and running the team's unsupervised workouts.
The first several sessions took place over the last two weeks at an undisclosed location in the Dallas area. Sendejo said Romo made sure the 40-50 players involved worked just as hard as they would in practices overseen by coaches.
To help him control the workouts, Romo blows a whistle at the end of each drill to signal the start of a different activity.
“It's great to see guys like Tony taking charge and saying, ‘All right, let's get this going,'” Sendejo said. “He keeps us on pace. You can imagine these practices could be very methodical and that players would just be going through the motions thinking, ‘We are out here, and it looks good, and it makes us feel good about ourselves, but we are not getting anything done.' But that's not the case. Tony keeps us on pace ... and tells us, ‘All right, offense over here, defense over here. Let's get this going.' He has done a good job.”
Sendejo, 23, also saluted the leadership displayed by linebackers Keith Brooking and Bradie James.
But it's Romo who deserves the bulk of the credit for the workouts being so crisp, Sendejo said.
“It's definitely not a laid-back atmosphere,” Sendejo said. “We are pretty much on the clock, and Tony keeps track of it all.”
A former Rice standout, Sendejo spent most of last fall in the United Football League. Dallas signed the rookie to its practice squad Nov. 24 and promoted him to the 53-man roster less than a week later.
Given Sendejo's inexperience and shaky hold on his job, the labor strife couldn't have come at a worse time for him.
“There are no guarantees in the NFL, so I want to play as much as I can for the Dallas Cowboys and soak up as much of this experience as I can,” Sendejo said. “It's frustrating, but I try not to worry about it too much. There's nothing I can do about it, so I just go with it.
“I keep working out and studying the playbook. That way, when we do go back, I'll be as ready as I can be to make the 53-man roster and try to earn a starting position.”
Thanks to what he termed his “frugal” nature, Sendejo said it hasn't been difficult for him to survive on considerably less earnings than the $1.9 million average NFL salary. He also isn't eligible for the NFL Players Association lockout fund, which offers as much as $60,000 to players who were on the 53-man roster last season and have been paying union dues at least since the 2009 season.
“I've always been tight with my money,” Sendejo said. “You hear a lot of stories about guys going broke after three years in the NFL or something like that. That's ridiculous. Just because you have money doesn't mean you have to spend it.”
Sendejo wasn't sure how much he earned from the Cowboys last season, but he was quick to say, “I've been in way worse situations (financially) and made it work, so I'm not worried about all that.”
What does concern him is that the lockout could wipe out training camp at the Alamodome.
“A lot of family and friends are excited about camp,” Sendejo said. “That's really cool. I'm excited too. Hopefully, we'll be on time with it. It would be really special.”
