IRVING, Texas – Since he became the starting quarterback in 2006, Tony Romo has been the most important cog in this offense.
That's the case for most teams and their quarterbacks, but with Romo and the Cowboys, the vast majority of games have come down to him either making a play or not.
Up until last season, the Cowboys have never had a 1,000-yard rusher while he was the full-time starter, but with DeMarco Murray now looking like one of the NFL's top backs – rushing for 285 yards through two games – maybe things are starting to turn away from Romo having to carry the full load.
When asked about that this week, the quarterback seemed to be fully on board with the approach, which worked well last Sunday in Tennessee as the Cowboys ran the ball 43 times for 218 yards. Romo only passed 29 times for a total of 176 yards.
"I'm all for going out and having games like we just had and playing the way Seattle has the last few years and just having those style of games," Romo said. "It makes everyone's job easier. If we continue to do that I think we'll have a great chance to be where we want to be at the end of the year." [embedded_ad]
Call it a game-manager or a bus driver, Romo says it's more about having a "complimentary role."
"That's what a really good team is," Romo said. "Everyone is complementary of each other."
But even if we see more running than in the past, Romo said the offense must remain balanced at all times.
"I think we want to run the ball a lot. I think if you can run the ball like we've been able to do, I think it's a huge bonus," Romo said. "You see the teams, the Niners and the Seahawks, two of the better teams over the last 3-4 years in the NFC, they're running the football and they play great defense. That's what the NFL has been about for a long time. You have your quarterback make plays when they're needed and that's the way to win year in and year out, so we're trying to do that."
When asked if he is still healthy enough to throw the ball 50 times in a game if needed, Romo chuckled and seemingly refrained from a wise comment.
"I think I'll be OK."
Still, it sounds like even he knows those days might be few and far between.
