Cowboys Scrimmage: 'Do You Want To Know A Secret?'

Dallas Cowboys Scrimmage: Mike McCarthy Takes Us Back To A Golden Age When Nobody Could See Anything By Playing 'I've Got A Secret'

Listen, do you want to know a secret?
Do you promise not to tell?
Whoa-oh-oh, closer
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you, ooh

- The Beatles, "Do You Want To Know A Secret?''

ARLINGTON - It might be wildly productive. But it was still hilariously frustrating.

For three hours on Sunday night, we watched a AT&T Stadium "scrimmage'' that was actually just a Dallas Cowboys practice, but a practice not only featuring the stripping of the media's ability to report on its events ... but also a practice that was shown on TV - without actually showing anything.

"The fact that we were televising the practice (meant) we would be exposing our younger players to an evaluation process that the other teams really are not exposing their team to,'' coach Mike McCarthy explained. "That was the reason behind going with the white and blue shirts this evening."

It's not a "Blue-White'' Scrimmage anymore, at least not this year. But yes, it is "blue'' and "white,'' in terms of the jerseys worn by the defense and the offense. But no names on the jerseys. Not even numbers on the jerseys.

There is logic in the thinking. Other teams watching film of this and wondering which of the two-dozen-plus prospects who will be cut this week and worthy of picking up? Those other teams will in theory face a film-room challenge trying to figure out which guy is which.

We might argue, of course, that the Cowboys staff is going to have some of the same challenges, and that when McCarthy says it'll help Dallas coaches recognize its own players' "body types and mannerisms,'' it becomes an exercise in paranoiac silliness.

Something's comin' over me
My baby's got a secret

- Madonna, "Secret.''

Certainly in this COVID-19-condensed summer, teams are trying to find creative ways to gain an edge. So discretion has value. It's part of the Cowboys' policy, more strict than ever now under McCarthy, that limits how media members can report on practice. (Above video courtesy of the Cowboys, though, and appreciated). And I just hope the Cowboys - who I think have gone a bit overboard here - eventually find a balance in the two masters they are trying to serve.

Those two masters are a) winning games and b) serving fans. Certainly, if McCarthy's massive game of "I've Got A Secret'' of not helping opponents detect the identity of Terrence Steele or Cole Hikutini assists Dallas in beating the Rams in Week 1, fans are in favor of it.

But McCarthy himself revealed another aspect of his enjoyment of the decision when waxing nostalgic about where the no-numbers idea originated.

"I just look back to the '70s and the '80s and into the '90s with coach (Chuck) Noll back in Pittsburgh," said McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native who grew up a Steelers fan. "They always practiced without numbers on the jerseys. ... I like it.''

Yes, and just like young Mike growing up learning to love football by watching the Steelers on TV, there are Cowboys fans everywhere, young and old, who hunger to know more about their team, in every delicious detail. It speaks to the clout that McCarthy has with the Joneses that the coach can in such a short time transform what has traditionally been in the "Blue-White Scrimmage'' a football/marketing opportunity ... and turned it into what was essentially a podcast on TV.

Maybe that's a good thing.

The Dallas Cowboys allowed the marketable fun to be sucked out of the "Blue-White Scrimmage.'' Hopefully for just this one unique time. For you see, just like Steelers fans in the 1970s, Cowboys fans in the 2020's love their football and cherish their nostalgia, too.

Secret agent man, secret agent man
They've given you a number and taken away your name'

- "Secret Agent Man,'' Johnny Rivers.