Brian Schottenheimer quietly fires off a warning to his All-Pro star — and it exposes a Cowboys problem no one wants to talk about.QQ
Dallas Cowboys’ kick returner KaVontae Turpin knows he need to be better.
If you didn’t know there was such a thing as an invalid fair catch signal, don’t feel bad. According to Dallas Cowboys insider Bobby Belt, in a 2,265-day span, the NFL flagged one player across the league for it.
That was until, in a 12-day span, Cowboys’ All-Pro return specialist KaVontae Turpin was flagged for two of them, most recently in Thursday’s disappointing, 44-30, loss to the Detroit Lions — a loss that resulted in a major blow to the team’s playoff chances.
The Cowboys get the win, and playoff hopes against the ChiefsThe Cowboys get the win, and playoff hopes against the Chiefs
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The rule is simple. If you’re calling a fair catch, you need to “fully extend one arm above the helmet and wave it from side to side.” The NFL rulebook clearly indicates that if a player raises his hand “in any other manner,” it’s an invalid signal. It is a rule specifically designed to avoid attempts to deceive opponents. In other words, why even raise a hand if you’re not trying to fair catch it?
After the game, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t sugarcoat it, sharing a crystal clear message for Turpin.
“(Turpin) knows better than that,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “It’s pretty simple, you just don’t do it. If you put your hand up, you can’t run. If you declare for the fair catch, you have to be clear and decisive with it. If you do, then don’t run.”
Respectfully, it’s a silly mistake for any NFL player. But it’s utterly unacceptable for someone who likely wouldn’t be on the 53-man roster if it weren’t for his returner role. We’re talking about a first-team All-Pro returner, too. You can’t have that happen once, let alone two times in 12 days.
It’s a tell of the Cowboys’ current state on special teams. While Turpin’s mental mistake is his own, this is one of the worst special team units we’ve seen in years for Dallas.
Cowboys’ special teams woes go well beyond Turpin’s invalid fair catches
On Sunday, the Cowboys’ biggest silent killer was starting field position. In five of their scoring drives, the Lions didn’t gain over 50 net yards. They never had a drive go over 60 yards. Sure, the defense played poorly, but the Cowboys allowed an average starting field position at the Lions’ 38-yard line, excluding two drives beginning with interceptions.
Per PFF, the Cowboys missed four tackles on special teams, each from a different player. Angles were poorly taken, too.
“The field position felt like – I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head, but they seemed to be starting around the 40,” Schottenheimer said. “We certainly didn’t cover very well, and I thought that kind of flipped the field. We gave them a bunch of short fields, and we have to look at why that was. We’ll do that. Certainly, an area for us to clean up.”
Special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen will need to clean it up, indeed. A good place to start is attention to detail. Because if your top returner makes it seem like he doesn’t know the rules for a fair catch, you’re clearly not thinking of details.
