Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Tony Romo 'all for' complementary role

IRVING, Texas -- Bill Parcells, the first head coach of Tony Romo's NFL career, famously referred to the game-managing style of quarterbacking as a "bus driver" role.

Call it what you want, but Romo insists that he would be ecstatic to continue playing a complementary role, as he did while handing the ball off 10 more times than he dropped back to pass.

"That's what a really good team is; everyone is complementary of each other," Romo said. "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. 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."

The Dallas Cowboys have the league's second-ranked rushing offense and are tied for the fourth-most rushing attempts in the NFL. That's a stark contrast to the last couple of seasons. The Cowboys had the second-fewest rushing attempts in each of the last two years, ranking 31st in rushing offense in 2012 and 24th in 2013.

But there's no doubt that Dallas has the personnel for a ground-and-pound game. DeMarco Murray's biggest problem last season, when he made his first Pro Bowl appearance, was that he didn't get enough opportunities. He's running behind an offensive line that features recent first-round picks Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin and leads the NFL with 285 rushing yards, the most in franchise history two weeks into a season.

And the Cowboys have a quarterback coming off his second back surgery who can use all the help he can get. In case they needed a reminder, Romo sat out Wednesday's practice due to tightness in his back, something that will likely happen several times throughout the season.

Can Romo embrace a complementary role if Dallas has a dominant running game? Absolutely.

Can Romo put the Cowboys on his surgically repaired back if they need to win a shootout? Does he believe he can throw it 50 times if that's what the Cowboys need on any given Sunday?

"Yes, I do," Romo said. "I think I'll be OK."

The running game is a much more sure thing for the Cowboys at this point, which is why the bus-driver role suits Romo just fine.

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