Tony Romo: Cowboys will be at their best over the next 4-5 years
The Dallas Cowboys defense was historically bad in 2013 and they suffered a couple of significant blows in the off-season when DeMarcus Ware signed with Denver and Jason Hatcher headed to Washington.
Rod Marinelli is calling the shots with a defensive unit that is going to be much less experienced, especially up front. So, is it realistic to believe that the Cowboys can get over the 8-8 hump with so many question marks on that side of the ball?
"I think the organization as a whole has a real good philosophy," Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said Wednesday on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. "We're building through the draft with some of the linemen that we're drafting on both sides of the ball. I firmly believe that's how you win late in the year, and that's how you're kind of able to accomplish your goals.
"The best teams, they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and they're able to protect the guy standing back there, and you're able to run the ball and the other things that allow you to be good when you're on the road, in tough environments and things of that nature."
Dallas drafted offensive lineman Zack Martin with its first-round pick in this month's draft and traded up to select defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence early in the second round.
While the Cowboys have recently made an impressive commitment to the offensive line, spending three first-round picks on the position group over the last four years, the defensive line is another story.
Other than Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford is the only other defensive linemen Dallas has selected in the first three rounds of the last seven drafts.
"It's a man's game," Romo said. "It's a very aggressive, physical game and you got to have players who give you that chance to put the other team where they have to play a little faster than they want to and we got to be able to have a little bit of time, that's part of it and I think we're going in that direction.
"I'm excited. I think the next four or five years are going to be our best team. I like to think that we're going to be much improved next year, but I also know that over the course of the next couple seasons we're going to be a much, much better football team than we've been in the last few years. I'm excited about that."
And just to make sure he hammered home the point, Romo again expressed his confidence near the end of the 28-minute interview.
"I think in the next five years our football team is going to be better than it's been in seven years," he said. "I firmly believe that we kind of had to get some pieces to kind of get back to where we were six or seven years ago. I think that we're getting close. I hope it's this year. It might take two years but I do know that our football team has improved and we're a team that has a chance to be pretty special again. That's exciting from my perspective."
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
