Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy adjust OTAs to escape further punishment by NFL
The Cowboys are trotting at a leisurely pace this week as Dallas entered phase three of Organized Team Activities. And that’s all by design. No one wants to get tagged for the third year in a row.
Coming into the late May workouts, the NFLPA and NFL had flagged the Cowboys in consecutive years for too much contact during these voluntary drills. The penalties cost coach Mike McCarthy $150,000 in personal fines. And the NFL eliminated two of the OTA sessions.
McCarthy even said that he’s not putting the team through 11-on-11 team drills. Nothing is full speed or even at a THUD level.
“Our team periods are basically walk-throughs and jog-throughs,” McCarthy told reporters. “So, we won’t have a competitive 11-on-11 drill here probably ever again in the offseason.”
Why so extreme? Another OTA mistake could lead to the NFL taking away some draft picks. Practices in spring hardly seem worth that cost. Plus, the $150,000 came directly from McCarthy’s bank account. There weren’t any gofundmes.
A reporter asked McCarthy whether his practice changes related directly to his loss of money. Everyone one laughed,
“I mean I’m glad you find humor in it,” McCarthy joked. “My wife and I don’t think it’s really funny. It’s actually a sore spot with me. I’m on camera (or) I’d tell you exactly how I really feel. Gotta follow the rules.”
So far Cowboys avoided ire of NFLPA. Patriots not so lucky
While the Cowboys are trying to toe the straight and narrow in regards to OTAs, other teams and coaches are stumbling. The Patriots couldn’t practice Thursday after NFLPA reps turned in the team for keeping players too long per day. The NFL fined Bill Belichick $50,000 and docked the team two practices for a phase two transgression.
While violations around the NFL usually involve contact in drills, the Patriots’ issue was about special teams players having mandatory meetings on May 1, 2 and 4th. Those meetings, which were dubbed workshops, caused the players to stay longer than the allowed four hours at Patriots headquarters. The NFLPA filed a complaint on May 4 and amended it on May 9th. The NFLPA focused on special teams coach Joe Judge, who conducted the workshops.
According to the NFLPA, the rules for Organized Team Activities are strict. The entire league now is in Phase Three of the OTA schedule. Coaches and players can do more and stay longer at the practice facilities. There can be 10 practices during this three-week phase. Players can stay for up to six hours per day. But at no time can there be contact in practices.
Mini camps follow next month, with the Cowboys scheduled for June 13-15.