Cowboys finally make obvious, much-needed tweak to practice approach

Team drills in practice seem as though they should be the norm, but that wasn’t the case for the Dallas Cowboys early this year.

Oct 6, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy reacts against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Mike McCarthy clearly went to the Jerry Jones press conference school. The Dallas Cowboys head coach was available for media questions on Monday and used a lot of words without saying a whole lot.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t some interesting nuggets in there to find, including his comments on how practices will change as the Cowboys look to improve their fundamentals.

MORE: Cowboys confident run game will improve after bye week

In an effort to get back to the basics, McCarthy says the team won’t focus as much on individual drills but will work as a team more often.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said there was a significant amount of evaluation by the coaching staff during the bye week. The details and fundamentals are the biggest area of improvement. They are tweaking practices to have more team work and less individual drills

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 21, 2024

McCarthy’s mention of fundamentals drew a lot of criticism, since that should be the last thing a team is worried about heading into Week 8. However, the approach to practice might be just as alarming.

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) goes through a drill during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. / Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Individual drills are fine but they feel like more of a tool in training camp. Once the regular season starts, the focus should be having the entire team on the same page — something that hasn’t been the case in Big D.

Team drills seem to be the best way to accomplish this, which makes it alarming that McCarthy wasn’t focused on this earlier.

It could also explain why the Cowboys have played like a confused group of individuals rather than a cohesive unit.

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