If the first two pre-season games are any indication, the most dominating position on the field during Cowboys’ games this season will be …
Referee.
Altogether now: Grooooaaaaaan.
The NFL’s emphasis on defensive holding/illegal contact by defensive backs has turned the exhibition season into flag football. Through 33 games there have been 756 penalties, compared to only 526 a year ago. Defensive holding flags – only a five-yard penalty but punctuated with an overly punitive automatic first down – are up from 20 in the first 33 pre-season games last season to a whopping 112 this summer.
It’s yet another example of the NFL becoming a less and less physical game. The basis for the rule is basically “no touching.” These days there is much more contact in an NBA lane than an NFL secondary.
The Cowboys have felt the brunt of the increased emphasis. In the 2013 regular season they were called for 12 defensive holding penalties. In two pre-season games they’ve already been whistled eight times, in addition to an illegal use of hands and one illegal contact.
With Orlando Scandrick suspended four games, Brandon Carr just getting back on the field after the death of his mother and the lack of depth at safety, the Cowboys need all the help they can get in the secondary. But it’s obvious they’re not going to get any from the zebras this season.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
