IRVING, Texas -- There are ways Jason Garrett can protect Tony Romo on Monday against Washington so the quarterback’s ribs are less of a target for the Redskins’ defense.

He can use less seven-step drops so Romo is forced to get rid of the ball quickly. He can use more max-protection blocking schemes. And the Cowboys can run the ball more.

But that could play into Washington’s defensive hands.

Shorter drops mean the Redskins’ defense can get a better read on what routes are coming. Using more max protection schemes takes Jason Witten out of the offense. Running the ball more makes sense, but the Cowboys have not been able to run the ball much at all in the first two games.

“It’s a balance, that’s the right word,” Garrett said, “You still want to be able to run your offense. If they’re active for the game, we feel like they can run the offense. If they weren’t able to do that we probably wouldn’t have them on the roster. Having said that certainly guys are more experienced with some things than they are with other things, so you’re always trying to put them in a situation where they’ve had some success and they’ll have a level of confidence to go out and execute football plays.”