The offseason is a time to work on correcting behavior in an attempt to avoid repeating past mistakes. As the most penalized team in the NFL last season, the Cowboys promised to make reducing their penalties a major point of emphasis as they head into 2022.
So during the team’s OTAs and minicamp, there was one extra unit of personnel on the practice field. In addition to Kellen Moore’s offense, Dan Quinn’s defense, and John Fassel’s special teams group, there was also a larger-than-usual contingent of officials, wearing stripes and throwing flags.
“It was offered,” explained head coach Mike McCarthy of the officials’ presence last week. “I think they were here about three weeks ago. We had our annual officiating meeting with the coaches, so that’s something that came up in the meetings. We’ve requested it.”
McCarthy and the Cowboys had a rather prickly relationship with officiating crews last season. Coaches and players alike were unusually verbal in questioning penalties in deciding key games against Las Vegas, Arizona, and San Francisco.
While a big part of fixing penalties is coaching players to follow proper techniques, players and coaches alike also need to fully understand what will and won’t get called in a live game situation.
That’s what McCarthy is hoping will come as a result of officials’ increased presence in these early offseason sessions.
“I thought it was great to have the officials,” he said. “And really the biggest benefit that I’ve always felt when you have the officials at your practices is not as much having them on the field, but having them in your meetings: the ability to talk about the technique that we’re teaching, what they’re looking for. Because all of those guys- Bill Vinovich all the way through his whole crew- I thought they did a great job of communicating and interacting with our players and just telling them what they see. I think, like anything, group dynamics are about building…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Cowboys Wire…