The Dallas Cowboys have been bad as far as committing penalties in 2011, and unfortunately, that’s nothing new.
In a post today on ESPN Dallas, Todd Archer points out that with one more penalty over the next two games, the Cowboys will have committed more than 100 penalties for six consecutive seasons. That goes all the way back through the Wade Phillips era to Bill Parcells’ last season in Dallas.
Given Dallas’s recent history, this is pretty much a sure thing. But the good news is that, if last week’s victory over the Buccaneers is any indication, they might just surpass the mark, rather than blowing through the century mark with abandon. In that victory, Dallas committed just two penalties for 15 yards, the fewest amount of flags in a game since 2007.
“It’s always a point of emphasis,” head coach Jason Garrett said this week. “We talk about who the officiating crew is every week and what they have a tendency to call. We have officials at practice. We talk about playing with the right technique … things we can do technically to avoid penalties without taking our edge off in the way we play off of us.
“We have to play smarter and I thought our team did that well in the game and I don’t think we had any of those penalties where guys are trying too hard to make the play. I just think guys played the right way with good technique and that happened throughout the team.”
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe to this free service. Read more about it here.
