by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR, jjtaylor@dallasnews.com, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Every question you've had about the phrase Jerry coined while explaining the reasons for T.O.'s release should've been answered Sunday in the Cowboys' 38-17 blowout win over Seattle.

This is all you need to know: One minute into the second quarter, Romo had completed passes to Jason Witten, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd and Roy Williams.

Uh-huh. That's right. Much-maligned Roy Williams caught a pass in the first quarter. Heck, he even caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter.

Forgive me, I digress.

The point is that wherever the coverage took away receivers, Romo successfully went the other way with the ball.

Hence, "Romo-friendly."

Romo took that approach the entire day, finishing the game 21-of-36 for 256 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and his third consecutive passer rating of more than 100.

Ten players caught passes, and Romo can drop back and throw the ball wherever he wants without worrying about appeasing T.O.'s ego. This is the Romo we saw in 2007, when he strung together seven consecutive games with a passer rating of at least 100.

Actually, the Romo we've seen the last three games is better because he's not making dumb decisions. This Romo has not thrown an interception in 120 pass attempts, spanning 13 quarters.

This is the first time Romo has gone three games without an interception.

Wow.

"He's playing great," Crayton said. "He's in control. He's making plays and not making mistakes."

Here's some perspective: Romo has had interception streaks of four, five, six and eight games since becoming a starter in 2006.

It took Romo 5 1/2 games this season to find the comfort zone between gunslinger and bus driver - two analogies he abhors.

Too bad. It's the truth.

Besides, it's the easiest way to describe the inner struggle Romo wages to fight his natural inclination to make something good happen every play.

There are times when a sack or an incompletion is a good play. Some plays are destined to be disastrous, something good quarterbacks recognize and prevent from happening.

Every quarterback throws interceptions.

Bad routes. Miscommunications. Hail Mary throws. Poor reads.

Mistakes happen, but when is the last time you remember Romo forcing a stupid throw into coverage like we saw him do with regularity early in the season?

"Either you're good enough to see it and not throw the ball to the other team, or you're not," Romo said. "I'm seeing things. It's as simple as that. I'm just not throwing it and hoping or things of that nature."

It won't always be as easy as it was on Sunday when Dallas totaled 362 yards, 26 first downs and hogged the ball for 34:45.

Hurd won't always take a four-yard crossing route, outrun two defenders and run through two others for a 36-yard touchdown and a 7-3 first quarter lead. Crayton won't always make a sliding catch to convert on third-and-11, and Williams won't always catch a slant, run through a tackler and stretch the ball over the goal line as he did on the touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 21-10 lead.

Austin caught only five passes for 61 yards, but he scored a touchdown and drew two pass interference penalties. Felix Jones even gained 30 yards on a pass Romo threw in the flat because everyone else was covered.

A few weeks ago, we all know Romo would've forced the ball into a bad spot, hoping to make a play.

"For us, it's just about improving and getting better," Romo said. "I can say it 55,000 times, but it's true."

Fine. No problem.

But the next two weeks against Philadelphia and Green Bay will tell us whether this "Romo-friendly" offense is equipped to handle good teams.

It all starts with the quarterback. It always does.

Good things happen

A look at the Cowboys season so far and how they fared in turnover margin in each game:

Cowboys WINS

at T.B.

0

vs. CAR

+3

at K.C.

-2

vs. ATL

+2

vs. SEA

+1

TOTAL

+4

Cowboys LOSSES

vs. NYG

-4

at DEN

-1

TOTAL

-5

NFC EAST STANDINGS

Team W L Div. Conf.

Philadelphia 5 2 2-0 4-1

Dallas 5 2 0-1 4-1

New York 5 3 2-1 3-3

Washington 2 5 0-2 2-4

Miles ahead

The Cowboys' Miles Austin has the most receiving yards in his first three starts of any player in NFL history. Here are the top five:

Player Team Yards

Miles Austin Cowboys 482

Anquan Boldin Arizona 378

Marcus Robinson Chicago 377

Dave Stief St. Louis 361

Mike Quick Phila. 340

Three sharp

With 482 yards, Miles Austin has the best three-start total by a Cowboys wide receiver:

482 - Miles Austin, 2009

Oct. 11 at Kansas City - 250

Oct. 25 vs. Atlanta - 171

Nov. 1 vs. Seattle - 61

472 - Terrell Owens, 2007

Nov. 4 at Philadelphia - 174

Nov. 11 at NY Giants - 125

Nov. 18 vs. Washington - 173

435 - Michael Irvin, 1993

Oct. 3 vs. Green Bay - 155

Oct. 10 at Indianapolis - 112

Oct. 17 vs. San Francisco - 168

428 - Michael Irvin, 1992

Sept. 20 vs. Phoenix - 210

Oct. 5 at Philadelphia - 105

Oct. 11 vs. Seattle - 113

402 - Terrell Owens, 2007

Oct. 21 vs. Minnesota - 103

Nov. 4 at Philadelphia - 174

Nov. 11 at NY Giants - 125

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