There is a lot of hype surrounding the Dallas Cowboys this year. For a team that has ended most seasons in absolute disappointment, many truly believe this is the season everything gets put together. Already with four days of training camp under their belts, players and coaches are buzzing about the roster and the talent on the team. While the Cowboys made very few offseason transactions, quarterback Tony Romo believes this is the most complete Cowboys team he has been a part of.
While interviewing with Sirius XM NFL Radio, Romo bragged about the roster and his excitement for 2013. In his 11 years with the Dallas franchise, Romo said this is the "most complete" team he has been on. That even includes the 2007 team that went produced the NFC's best regular-season record of 13-3. Romo's confidence comes from the fact that players are motivated to break their postseason drought.
"We went through a phase where we kind of had to reshuffle some things," Romo said. "Some of the older guys were going out and newer guys were coming in. Now, we're kind of getting to where these guys have played and been in the system a little bit. I'm excited where this team is at right now."
Romo believes that with the current roster, Dallas could be competitive for the next three to five years. While that is certainly important, the immediate future is the issue at hand. While Jerry Jones continues to insist that head coach Jason Garrett and the other coaches are not playing for their jobs this year, another missed postseason could spell out trouble.
Dallas finished last season 8-8 with a Week 17 loss to the Washington Redskins that had them miss out on the playoffs again. Romo thinks the biggest issue is slow starts. The Cowboys scored first in only six of their 16 games, leaving the team to play catch-up most weeks.
"You don't want to be involved in that many games where you have to come from behind. There are certain things you can do to help yourself in those situations. I think we're doing that," Romo said.
Romo insists there is urgency this year for a productive season. Veteran tight end Jason Witten echoed those statements saying how disappointed he was in the way things ended the last two seasons.
"There's a core group of guys who understand it's not about what we talk or say," Witten said. "It's our actions and developing a team that can compete, develop a good chemistry and ultimately execute when we get into tough situations."