Dallas Cowboys Sign ‘No-Penalty Pledge’
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Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips had his players sign a “no-penalty pledge” this week, promising to play smarter and avoid dumb mistakes. Take LB Kevin Burnett for example. His 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for standing over and taunting N.Y. Giants RB Brandon Jacobs last weekend cost the Cowboys three points (and lightened Kevin’s wallet by $5,000). In a tight game, a mistake like that could be the difference between a win and a loss. Coach Phillips said:
“I want their word that they’re going to try to do the right thing. That’s my feeling. It may be silly. It may be whatever, but I was serious about it and I think I feel like I needed to do something they’re going to respond to. And everybody saw that it cost us points. We all saw it but I felt like I needed to do something.”
I think having the team sign something is a bit ridiculous — maybe even juvenile — but if it works, Coach Phillips will look like a genius. I think the team needs to be smart enough to figure these things out for themselves. I mean, tell them once and let the captains and team leaders take control of the situation. As we head into the run for the playoffs over the next month or so, the Cowboys will need to clean-up their act to have a chance to get to the Super Bowl. If signing a piece of paper gets the job done, than good for Coach Phillips. However they accomplish it, I think the team will need to develop the right mix of passion and aggressive play with just plain common sense to be considered among the NFL’s elite.
Tags: Brandon-Jacobs, Dallas Cowboys, Kevin-Burnett, N.Y. Giants, wade-phillipsRelated Stories
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