IRVING, Texas – Quarterback Tony Romo was probably fibbing when he graded his confidence level in the Cowboys' offensive line as a "10," with a grin across his face.
After the shots he took last Sunday, it'd be tough to believe he's feeling carefree behind his line. But as long as the Cowboys are victorious, Romo said he won't get too frustrated with the lack of offensive prowess.
"It's about winning and losing," he said. "That's what it comes down to. You want to execute to the highest level each week, but at the same time, we know that getting a win is as important as anything else, and all the other stuff is just about getting better."
The offense will make adjustments every week, whether or not they won or lost the weekend prior. The focus this Monday for the Cowboys' offensive line will likely be on eliminating the pre-snap penalties, which put a burden on Romo and the offense throughout the Tampa Bay game.
Dallas committed six false starts among its 13 total penalties last week, positioning the offense in situations where calling running plays became more difficult or illogical.
"It's a combination of a lot of things – penalties, negative plays," Romo said. "We need to do the little things better. That'll help us a lot. We're already doing a lot of good things. We just need to minimize the stuff you can control."
Romo said different techniques can be employed to cut down on the penalties. The errors against Tampa Bay forced the Cowboys to run 23 plays that began with at least 11 yards to reach the first-down marker, not including the kneel downs.
"One thing that we can control is not making the same mistake twice, so that's what we're trying to do," Romo said.
