ARLINGTON, Texas -- Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach is sick and tired of hearing Tony Romo get ripped for the Dallas Cowboys' lack of success.

"If there's a bigger Romo fan in town, I don't know who it is," said Staubach, one of many former Cowboys who attended the team's open practice at AT&T Stadium and private dinner. "I want to argue with all my negative Romo fans and let them know and tell them how great this guy is."

Staubach, a longtime staunch supporter of Romo, understands that quarterbacks for the franchise who don't earn a Super Bowl ring are considered failures because of the standard he and Troy Aikman set. He firmly believes Romo is capable of leading the Cowboys to a title if he gets help. In particular, Staubach pointed out that the Cowboys must drastically improve a rushing attack that set franchise records for futility last season.

"Last year, if you looked at the Super Bowl, those guys had running backs over 1,000 yards," Staubach said. "[Romo] doesn't complain. He doesn't blame it on anybody, but he needs some help up front at times. The running game has got to be better than [31st] in the league, but Tony just does his job. He makes plays. He's got a strong arm, and he just does a lot of good things out there [that] only a few quarterbacks in the league can do.

"It's a team effort, too. I can't take credit for those great teams that I had. It was because I had a running game, I had a good offensive line, I had a lot of good things working for me. But you've got to be good yourself. Tony is a franchise quarterback."

The Cowboys have ranked among the league's top 10 in rushing offense only once during Romo's seven seasons as a starter. That was in 2009, when the Cowboys went 11-5 and recorded their lone playoff victory since 1996.