OXNARD, Calif. – After 15 training camp practices or walkthroughs, Tony Romo is looking forward to playing in his first preseason game when the Cowboys play at Oakland on Friday.
Romo did not play in the Hall of Fame Game against Miami, spending the time listening to the coaches call in the plays to Kyle Orton, Nick Stephens and Alex Tanney.
Romo will likely play a series or two against the Raiders in his first work against an opponent since undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from his back in April.
“I think we’ve had a great training camp and I think the guys have worked real hard," Romo said, "and it’s just going to be good to go out there and hit someone new.”
Romo won’t be doing the hitting, and he hopes to not get hit. The first-team offensive line Friday – Tyron Smith, Ronald Leary, Travis Frederick, Mackenzy Bernadeau and Doug Free – could look like the line that opens the regular season against the New York Giants.
The Cowboys have made no secrets about trying to upgrade on the interior of the line. Romo said he was not involved in the personnel meetings with that.
“I’m just the quarterback,” Romo said. “I’m just trying to get out there and lead the team.”
It will be Romo’s first game with Bill Callahan as the playcaller.
“Jason’s done a great job of simulating the way we’re going to do it in the game while out here,” Romo said. “We’ve been doing it for a little while, but obviously in every game you can find little things here and there that will be a good thing for us.”
Romo said the Cowboys will not break out many if any of the new offensive wrinkles that were implemented in the offseason.
“I think sometimes we all jump to conclusions, us as well as you guys, ‘We’re going to be good, we’re not going to be good,’” Romo said. “More than anything, you just want to have good execution. Sometimes the calls, you’re not game-planning, per se, and having the stuff you’re really going to attack certain coverages and certain teams certain ways, so you get a little vanilla with what you may call. You’d like to get into a rhythm, but I just think we need to go out here and execute the right way.”