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IRVING – The ball leaves Tony Romo's fingers in a tight spiral down the field as Terrell Owens sprints. At the last moment, inches before the goal line, Owens snares the pass with his fingertips.

This was at Tuesday's practice inside the Cowboys' practice facility.

In last week's preseason victory over the Houston Texans, Romo overthrew a deep ball to an open Owens in the first quarter, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal instead of a 35-yard touchdown.

A few ticks into the play, Romo pump-faked to Owens, causing cornerback Jacques Reeves to freeze. Romo then looked to the other side of the field to move a safety and give Owens more room. When Romo came back to Owens, he threw more on feel than actually trying to hit a target.

"The next time, the rhythm of it, you put a little more air, you put a little more touch," Romo said. "The second time it's a lot easier."

Romo is not worried about missing Owens against Houston or the on-a-dime deep ball that eluded Sam Hurd at Denver.

"At the end of the day, you're trying to improve on something," Romo said. "One ball that you might not do a certain way tomorrow that I did yesterday. I feel like the best thing that happens to me are the mistakes that I make, because very seldom do I make the same mistake twice."

There is an art to throwing the deep ball. There is more touch involved than many think, because it's not just a heave. Receivers prefer to reach for the ball to keep their stride. It should be to the outside shoulder so receivers can ward off defenders.

"When I threw to Bob Hayes, I had to get rid of the ball quicker because he ran under it," Hall of Famer Roger Staubach said. "I couldn't overthrow him. There's a touch to throw the deep pass, but it takes work, like anything. You have to work with the receivers, know their speed, what they're doing and then be able to get it out there."

Of passes thrown 21 yards or deeper in 2007, Romo completed 25 of 62 throws for 11 touchdowns and six interceptions, according to STATS Inc. Only New England's Tom Brady had more touchdowns (13), eight to Randy Moss.

The Romo-to-Owens tandem connected for a league-high 10 touchdowns on passes of 21 yards or longer in 2007.

"Every receiver has a different gear," Owens said. "Every receiver has a different stride. It's all about how quick a quarterback can really assess the stride and the speed of that receiver."

Well before Romo became the starter, he and Owens developed an on-field chemistry through work in Owens' first off-season with the Cowboys. By the time Romo became the starter, he knew where Owens would be, when and how.

To get that understanding, coaches have different philosophies. Some will have quarterbacks attempt to throw deep balls into a distant trash barrel or net to help with accuracy and arc.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett prefers the real thing.

"I'm a big practical guy," Garrett said. "If a receiver's out there, I want to be throwing to a receiver. Throwing at nets, throwing at buckets, throwing to mattresses, we've all done it, but ideally you want to throw to a running target."

On passes of 21 yards or longer last season, Tony Romo finished third in the league in yards and second in touchdowns to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, according to STATS Inc.

Tom Brady, New England –26-of-60 1,076 yards, 13 touchdowns 3 interceptions

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis –25-of-62, 909 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

Tony Romo, Cowboys –25-of-62, 846 yards, 11 touchdowns, 6 interceptions

Brett Favre, Green Bay –19-of-42, 840 yards, 7 touchdowns, 6 interceptions

Terrell Owens led the league last year with 10 touchdowns on passes of 21 yards or longer and tied for the lead with 14 receptions.

Randy Moss, New England –13 catches, 589 yards, 8 touchdowns

Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis –14 catches, 535 yards, 6 touchdowns

Braylon Edwards, Cleveland –13 catches, 490 yards, 6 touchdowns

Terrell Owens, Cowboys – 14 catches, 466 yards, 10 touchdowns

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona –10 catches, 429 yards, 3 touchdowns

Torry Holt, St. Louis –10 catches, 306 yards, 1 touchdown