erod
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Here comes a little old man's syndrome for you, lest you be warned.
I swear there was a time when players knew the rules. They understood the situation. They had a better grasp of risk/reward. It was a much rarer event when a player did something just point-blank stupid. And coaches ripped these guys into raw sinew when they did.
Somewhere in the 90s, it changed. Players started trying to scoop-and-score everything, often bobbling the ball and giving it back to the offense. Guys began getting into lulled into personal fouls after making a good play or a key 3rd-down stop. Celebrations and taunting became cool, no matter what it did to the team's situation as a result of the penalty. Late hits, unsportsmanlike penalties, untimely laterals, dropping the ball before entering the end zone, you name it.
The Cowboys have improved in this regard under Garrett, but there are still far too many instances of knucklehead plays. The NFL as a whole is a brain-dead exercise in futility, and it must drive coaches mad. So many games are lost because some goofball didn't understand the proper play to make, or not make.
Demarco Murray was a repeat offender. He'd swing the ball wildly in traffic just begging for a fumble. Even worse, he'd do so trying to get one more yard in a pile when he'd already gotten the first down. The Green Bay play was unforgiveable. He contributed heavily to the losses against San Francisco and Washington, and almost Houston, with sloppy fumbles in traffic when nothing more was there.
We saw it against Detriot in the playoffs when Demarcus Lawrence didn't just recover Matt Stafford's fumble to seal the game for good. That was the WORST time to scoop and score, and he almost gave the Lions the game. Earlier, Dekoda Watson roughed the punter in the end zone when Dallas was about to get the ball in great field position. And Dez was extremely lucky he didn't get called for going out on the field to talk to the referee on the pass interference call that was reversed against the defense.
Scandrick needs to be careful with his whoofing after plays, as does Wilcox and McClain. (This is way out of control in the NFL.) We all saw it. Celebrate with your teammates and go back to the huddle, and STOP MOUTHING AT THE OPPOSING SIDELINE. It's selfish and ugly to watch.
Even Dez, in that infamous play, has to understand that the catch itself was enough with plenty of time left. Secure that first and foremost. Truth be known, some extra time to kill before scoring could have been beneficial. Obviously, this one is nit-picking a bit, but I will say players used to consider these things more back in time.
I'm sure you can think of many more examples, but you get the point. Some teams do this kind of thing every series.
The Cowboys have high hopes, and they should. However, well over half the games in the NFL are decided by 7 points or less, and it's these kind of things that often determine that. It could be the difference between 13-3 and 9-7.
I'm proud to say the Cowboys seem to be joining the smarter teams in the league - like the Patriots, Steelers, and Packers - when it comes to this. That's good, and that trend must continue.
As Jimmy Johnson used to say, it's not the number of great plays you make. It's the number of mental mistakes you don't make.
I swear there was a time when players knew the rules. They understood the situation. They had a better grasp of risk/reward. It was a much rarer event when a player did something just point-blank stupid. And coaches ripped these guys into raw sinew when they did.
Somewhere in the 90s, it changed. Players started trying to scoop-and-score everything, often bobbling the ball and giving it back to the offense. Guys began getting into lulled into personal fouls after making a good play or a key 3rd-down stop. Celebrations and taunting became cool, no matter what it did to the team's situation as a result of the penalty. Late hits, unsportsmanlike penalties, untimely laterals, dropping the ball before entering the end zone, you name it.
The Cowboys have improved in this regard under Garrett, but there are still far too many instances of knucklehead plays. The NFL as a whole is a brain-dead exercise in futility, and it must drive coaches mad. So many games are lost because some goofball didn't understand the proper play to make, or not make.
Demarco Murray was a repeat offender. He'd swing the ball wildly in traffic just begging for a fumble. Even worse, he'd do so trying to get one more yard in a pile when he'd already gotten the first down. The Green Bay play was unforgiveable. He contributed heavily to the losses against San Francisco and Washington, and almost Houston, with sloppy fumbles in traffic when nothing more was there.
We saw it against Detriot in the playoffs when Demarcus Lawrence didn't just recover Matt Stafford's fumble to seal the game for good. That was the WORST time to scoop and score, and he almost gave the Lions the game. Earlier, Dekoda Watson roughed the punter in the end zone when Dallas was about to get the ball in great field position. And Dez was extremely lucky he didn't get called for going out on the field to talk to the referee on the pass interference call that was reversed against the defense.
Scandrick needs to be careful with his whoofing after plays, as does Wilcox and McClain. (This is way out of control in the NFL.) We all saw it. Celebrate with your teammates and go back to the huddle, and STOP MOUTHING AT THE OPPOSING SIDELINE. It's selfish and ugly to watch.
Even Dez, in that infamous play, has to understand that the catch itself was enough with plenty of time left. Secure that first and foremost. Truth be known, some extra time to kill before scoring could have been beneficial. Obviously, this one is nit-picking a bit, but I will say players used to consider these things more back in time.
I'm sure you can think of many more examples, but you get the point. Some teams do this kind of thing every series.
The Cowboys have high hopes, and they should. However, well over half the games in the NFL are decided by 7 points or less, and it's these kind of things that often determine that. It could be the difference between 13-3 and 9-7.
I'm proud to say the Cowboys seem to be joining the smarter teams in the league - like the Patriots, Steelers, and Packers - when it comes to this. That's good, and that trend must continue.
As Jimmy Johnson used to say, it's not the number of great plays you make. It's the number of mental mistakes you don't make.
