Tony Romo, Cowboys will be unable to dodge Super Bowl expectations talk

The Dallas Cowboys' first public practice session of the 2015 training camp was scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Thursday. So naturally fans started parking along the sides of N. Ventura Road at 6 a.m.

They brought coolers and cookers and a sense of optimism – try exhilaration – about a season that hasn't been felt around this franchise in years. Everyone here thinks Dez caught the ball. Most think the refs up in Lambeau saying otherwise did nothing but delay a long-awaited return to the Super Bowl one season.

And that season is now here, Super Bowl or bust, and for all of them, perhaps especially the ones wearing Tony Romo jerseys, that means the chance for their quarterback to fulfill a long-awaited potential. Not that Romo wants to hear about outside expectations.

"Last year we were in fifth in the NFC East going into the season," he joked about the four-team division.

They wound up 12-4 though, beat Detroit in the wild-card round for a rare playoff victory and then nearly strolled out of Green Bay with another win. Romo had his best season as a pro, 38 touchdowns against just nine picks (counting the playoffs) and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.9 percent. His regular-season QB rating of 113.2 was nearly 20 percent higher than his then career average.And he did it all with a bad back that limited practice time.

For Romo it was a breakout season in a career full of them, this one just seemingly the most unlikely, which is saying something considering he went undrafted out of Eastern Illinois. At 34 however, after a prolonged career slump and three consecutive 8-8 seasons, this was something, a rebooting of a narrative that was headed more toward fame and flash than substantive accomplishment, a good but never truly great QB.

Now even more is possible, most notably because his back, as he puts it, is "better than before."

Everyone here is downplaying expectations and brushing off external opinions. They have to. The only way to win in this league is to live in the moment and get to work. You can't listen to the good or the bad.

"The best thing our team did last year was not listen to [outside opinions]," coach Jason Garrett said.

"You've just got to act like a rookie every single year," Romo said. "That's how you get better."

There are some undeniable facts, though. The offensive line is brilliant, giving not just Romo time but the prevailing wisdom here says, allowing for a running back by committee to replace DeMarco Murray's huge stats. Garrett isn't dealing, even in the subconscious, with being on everyone's hot seat lists. And then there is the happy presence of wideout Dez Bryant, fresh off a long-term contract deal and claiming he's ready to be better than ever.

"[Offensive coordinator] Scott [Linehan] and I joked, 'I'm a lot better quarterback after [Bryant] signed that contract and he's a lot better coordinator,' " Romo said. "Dez [is] an older, more mature [person]. He's come a long way since he first stepped on the field here."

All of this is why, truthfully, it isn't just another year for Romo. All the pieces appear in place – talent, health, coaching – at a time in his career when the years don't stretch out forever.

He's 35 now, about to start his 10th season as the starter and, he notes, the oldest player on the team. While the back is better, history says it is never truly healed. He says the issue is with the torque he puts on it and notes "we make sure it feels good going into games."

His favorite target, Jason Witten, is 33 and while still in his prime there is nothing promised at that age either.

Romo understandably doesn't want to get into Super Bowl talk or legacy talk or career perspective talk, but the opportunities to do something special are limited in the NFL. The Cowboys looked like they would break into the league elite a few times behind Romo only to fall apart.

In 2007, Dallas came off a 13-3 season and then failed to reach the playoffs. In 2009 they went 11-5 and then bottomed out, leaving Garrett to replace Wade Phillips in midseason.

What followed was three consecutive 8-8 seasons that left plenty wondering if Romo would be remembered as anything more than a likeable, popular guy, who's high-profile blunders overshadowed a tendency to actually be excellent in pressure situations. It took Jerry Jones-level optimism to think Dallas was on the verge. It turns out the owner was correct.

"I think it's a different situation," Romo said of past failures. "I think in some ways we are a different team. Where our strengths are now are different. It's just hard to come back and repeat, in the division and in playoff games without having a strong nucleus.

"In 2010, we just didn't have the personnel we had," he continued. "When I say that, some guys just got older, other guys were gone, injuries. There's a lot of things that play into it."

In other words, windows shut quickly.

"You've got to have health," Romo said. "You've got to have some things go your way and everyone has to recommit to starting over and be the best version of yourself. The only way to do that is to grind it out, out here."

So grind it out he is, looking as loose and happy as ever, arriving at camp for the 13th time but with the mentality, he promises, of that rookie just hoping to make the squad.

A season ago it looked like Tony Romo's career was sliding toward a less than spectacular end, one that would be remembered, yes, for how far he came, but also how far he still had to go to be a true Cowboys great.

Then out of nowhere came 12-4, came all those TDs, came all that success. Now it's all lined up for more, for a year no one wants to point to as do or die, but unquestionably brings a sense of urgency, and not just from all those fans wearing No. 9 as they passed the pre-training camp hours alongside a dusty Oxnard road, just waiting for it all to get started.