ARLINGTON, Texas - It's funny, because Tony Romo wasn't really exaggerating all that much.
"For us it's just about improvement and getting better," the quarterback said after Sunday's 38-17 win over Seattle. "I can say it 55,000 times but it's true."
The Cowboys were better Sunday than they were against the Falcons the week before, and far superior to the team they trotted out for the season opener in Tampa nearly two months ago. Romo is better. The receivers are better.
To get to where they are now, the Cowboys offense has done exactly what they told us they would, letting the opposing defense dictate where the ball goes. A lot of the time Romo knows where the ball will go before the play starts. All he has to do is throw it.
That's how he was able to have the game he did Sunday, completing 21 of 36 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with 10 different receivers.
"If they take away something, we've got to be good enough to do something else," Romo said. "The system is in place to have those options. I think you're seeing that we have different people that do different things well and we're getting them the ball in those situations."
So even though Romo and his most highly-regarded receiver haven't been able to get on the same page yet, the offense is working anyway. Even when defenses decide they want to take Jason Witten out of the game, the offense is working anyway.
If they want to blitz, fine. Bring it. Romo will throw it over their heads.
If they want to stay back, cool. The Cowboys will adjust and call more runs, or Romo can throw to his check downs.
"You have to go with what's best," Wade Phillips said. "That's what I like about this team - if they're playing the run we can throw it. If they're playing the pass we can run it. And if they're playing it deep we can hit it short. That's a good sign."
Through seven games this season the Cowboys have the third-most yards of total offense (2,878) of any season since their founding in 1960, and they're averaging 28.1 points a game, always hard to beat.
The Cowboys are getting good play from every position on the offense. The line has protected Romo and paved the way for more than 100 yards rushing in six of the seven games. The tight end and wide receivers have all had their moments both catching the ball and blocking, and one of the running backs seems to emerge every single week.
The guy who makes everything work, of course, is Romo. The first four games he threw as many interceptions (4) as he did touchdowns. Since then he's had eight touchdown passes and no picks, the first three-game stretch without an interception of his career.
"Shocking," Romo joked. "It's kind of like the old-age saying I've used and others have, 'Either you can do it or you can't.' Either you're good enough to do it and see it and not throw the ball to the other team, or you're not. I'm just seeing things, it's as simple as that. I'm just not throwing it and hoping and things of that nature, and throwing the ball away and different things like that help."
When asked how this year's offense compares to the standard the group set for itself in 2007, Romo said he laughs at some of the things he did that year.
As boring an answer as it may be, one we've become accustomed to from Romo and Jason Garrett these last few months, Romo's progress and that of the offense is a classic study in continuing to grind, work and get better every day, every week.
It's happening right before our eyes.
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