After the season ended, the Lone Star team was disappointed, losing to the 49ers at AT&T Stadium 23-17 in the wild card round. There are many aspects of the game that have been pointed out. However, if there is one specific thing that sets off alarms and that needs to be worked on next season, it is the penalties.
This clearly reflected a lack of locker room discipline. Since we are not only talking about the 14 penalties for 89 yards in the duel against the 49ers. But the fact that they were the leaders in this statistic in the entire last regular season of the NFL. Leaving a fairly mediocre record of 127 penalties that took their toll over many games.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said reducing penalties is No. 1 focus. “Way too many.” Of Cowboys’ playoff-record 14 penalties Sunday, seven were pre-snap. “There’s no excuse for it.” Pre-snap and holding penalties must be curtailed. pic.twitter.com/fgHde2y3S8
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 19, 2022
“Our first focus once we get going is going to be penalties,” McCarthy said. “There are too many, looking at the pre snaps, there is no excuse for this. That was a main focus throughout the year. What it costs me as a head coach to do this for several years is that I have comparisons over a period of 15 years.
“This team is clearly one of the best groups I’ve ever worked with when it comes to mental preparation and execution,” McCarthy continued. “Our mental notes don’t match the penalties as they usually go hand in hand. It is something that we are going to have to analyze very well.”
Of course, some of McCarthy’s statements don’t match up with what was seen on the field many times. But given the result that ended up being seen in the first postseason duel, there is not much more to say about the team’s performance in general. Since despite the record of 12-5, there were many shortcomings in the offensive game. The defense of the rival ground game was another point against and could also be seen. In any case, the positive note that can be given from the game is that kicker Greg Zuerlein did not miss anything.
Two consecutive DAL false start penalties makes it 4th & 14, Prescott sacked by Arik Armstead for 6-yd loss .. 3 & Out#49ers 16 #Cowboys 7 Q3 pic.twitter.com/5skxWtZ6JB
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) January 16, 2022
Returning to the issue of penalties, McCarthy for the 2022 campaign would enter the third year of the five he has on his contract. Therefore, a better performance than the one seen this past season is expected. Of course, there will be many changes due to the large number of free agents there are. It is not yet known for sure who will stay, or the elements that Dallas could select in the Draft. But avoiding penalties at all costs will be one of the main objectives of the new offseason.
Taking a closer look at McCarthy’s numbers on this front, especially in his job as the Packers’ head coach, penalties were the order of the day for a good number of years. In his first season in 2006, he managed to have 90. Leaving the NFC North team in the top 5 in penalties for the next three seasons. However, for the season they won the Super Bowl in February 2011, Green Bay only had 78, fourth fewest in the entire league. In conclusion, the cowboy head coach could balance success with few penalties. But for that, he will have to start from scratch and focus again this year.
“We are going to improve,” said the coach. “We’re going to do it through process.” In this case, perhaps a third year in charge of Team America really is the litmus test for the coach to finally give the team upgrades. Since even the handling of the clock was criticized in certain situations, in addition to the lack of aggressiveness in important moments. Like when on fourth and seven he opted for the field goal in enemy territory during the last period of play against the 49ers. This is something that was criticized a lot, especially since the duel was going at that time 23 to 7 in favor of San Francisco.
Overall, this is expected to be an area that sees improvement for the Cowboys in the coming months. Although given the disappointing campaign that was experienced, what everyone wants is for the team to simply be more competitive and stop only beating inferior rivals. It will be time to see in the coming months with all the movements, but we will be waiting for highly positive changes.
