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How can Cowboys fix penalty problems? All options are open, including running 568 miles
11:41 PM CDT on Monday, October 18, 2010
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
gfraley@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Exasperated by the constant stream of penalties, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips considers everything from fines to running 568 miles as potential solutions to the problem.
The Cowboys rank third in the NFL for both penalties (48) and yards penalized (409). They trail Detroit and Oakland in each category.
During Sunday's loss at Minnesota, the Cowboys reached double-figures in penalties for the third time this season. They are 0-3 in those games.
"There's a fine line there, and we've gone over the line," Phillips said.
Penalties were a major point of discussion during a team meeting Monday.
"I don't think there's any doubt about what we want," Phillips said. "Whether it's fines or running 10,000 100s, whatever it is, we're going to get it done."
(Running 100 yards 10,000 times would equal 568.2 miles.)
On a more realistic level, Phillips indicated that he and his staff will increase the teaching element in relation to penalties and could ask the NFL to send in officials for a mid-week tutorial.
"I've been part of games when we had 12, 13 penalties and won by two touchdowns," defensive end Marcus Spears said. "But we can't do that on this team obviously because it's costing us games."
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11:41 PM CDT on Monday, October 18, 2010
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
gfraley@dallasnews.com
IRVING – Exasperated by the constant stream of penalties, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips considers everything from fines to running 568 miles as potential solutions to the problem.
The Cowboys rank third in the NFL for both penalties (48) and yards penalized (409). They trail Detroit and Oakland in each category.
During Sunday's loss at Minnesota, the Cowboys reached double-figures in penalties for the third time this season. They are 0-3 in those games.
"There's a fine line there, and we've gone over the line," Phillips said.
Penalties were a major point of discussion during a team meeting Monday.
"I don't think there's any doubt about what we want," Phillips said. "Whether it's fines or running 10,000 100s, whatever it is, we're going to get it done."
(Running 100 yards 10,000 times would equal 568.2 miles.)
On a more realistic level, Phillips indicated that he and his staff will increase the teaching element in relation to penalties and could ask the NFL to send in officials for a mid-week tutorial.
"I've been part of games when we had 12, 13 penalties and won by two touchdowns," defensive end Marcus Spears said. "But we can't do that on this team obviously because it's costing us games."
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