No surgery, but Romo needs many weeks to heal

IRVING, Texas - Tony Romo doesn't need surgery on his broken left collarbone, just time for it to heal.

He may have all the way until spring minicamp.

Romo is expected to miss six to eight weeks, which could be an eternity for the 1-5 Dallas Cowboys. If their playoff hopes aren't already squelched, they likely will be by the time their Pro Bowl quarterback is healthy again. So perhaps team owner Jerry Jones will end up telling Romo to call it a season and rest up for 2011.

Think about it: Considering how wretched the Cowboys were led by their star, it seems unlikely they will turn things around while led by 38-year-old backup Jon Kitna, who hadn't thrown a pass in more than two years before Monday night and whose last gig as a starter was on the Detroit club that went winless in 2008.

"We're not going to stop right now and give up or quit or whine or even make excuses," coach Wade Phillips said Tuesday. "You've just got to go forward. That's what we have to do. I think our guys will band together."

Dallas opened training camp being hyped as favorites to reach the Super Bowl, which will be at Jones' $1.2-billion stadium. The Cowboys already were on the brink of being left behind when Romo threw a pass early in the second quarter, then took a hard - but clean - hit from Giants linebacker Michael Boley. Boley drove Romo into the ground on his left shoulder. Boley heard Romo "let out a little scream" and the quarterback had trouble breathing and regaining his senses.

X-rays taken immediately showed the fracture and further tests Tuesday, including a CT scan, confirmed the initial diagnosis.

Phillips spoke with Romo and described him as disappointed. "He's going to be sad for a while," Phillips said.

Romo also may be peeved at rookie fullback Chris Gronkowski, who was supposed to have gotten in Boley's way.

"We just made a mistake," Phillips said. "It certainly was unfortunate for Tony. It was a base thing that we've run since training camp. That was the discouraging thing . . . [Romo] just fell the wrong way. He's been hit before, but this time, it was more serious."