“We have to have discipline,” Schottenheimer said early in camp.
“We need discipline,” echoed Lamb in a separate press conference.
There are multiple variations of the act, however, and one of them bit the Cowboys in the backside time and again in their preseason bout versus the Rams — the kind that generates unnecessary penalties that kill or stall drives. And considering the struggles of quarterback Joe Milton to consistently move the offense down the field, at times when he did, those penalties became that much more damning.
And that’s why Schottenheimer, both head coach and offensive playcaller, took them personally.
“Of course,” he said on Monday. “To have six presnap penalties on the offense is awful. It’s awful. And it’s not going to be accepted. We’re not going to allow that to happen. We told guys that today: if you commit presnap penalties, which means you can’t line up the right way as an offensive lineman, and I shave my motions, we’re not going to play you.
“Why? Because why would you put yourself at a disadvantage and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to cost myself five yards here?’ The officials did a good job trying to warn us. … If we’re not a disciplined football team, that starts with me as a head coach and the coaching staff.”
What stands out most here is not only the self-accountability, but the old school style of coaching that threatens a loss of playing time if someone is costing the Cowboys yards and/or entire drives with easily-repaired mistakes.
That is within reason, of course.
“Guys won’t play,” said Schottenheimer.