As close as Monday's win over the Redskins was, it's quite possible the Cowboys would have lost the game if not for three fortunate bounces on shotgun snaps from Phil Costa to Tony Romo.
The Cowboys say the problem was that Washington's defensive front was barking out signals of their own to try and disrupt the offense's communication, which should be a penalty. With the umpire moved behind the offense since last season, though, it's more difficult for him to tell who's yelling what in the trenches.
After the game, the Cowboys promised they would be in touch with the league to find a solution. Jason Garrett said he did believe the extraneous noise was to blame for the botched snaps.
"We haven't gotten a clarification with them yet, and to be honest with you, that's not something we're overly concerned about," Garrett said. "We need to be able to handle that situation, and we'll do a better job of that going forward. A lot of times there's noise at the line of scrimmage, and we just need to be able to decipher what's our noise and what's their noise."
Before the wild hikes began, Costa was flagged for double-clutching a snap in the second quarter. Garrett said he still anticipated some word from the league.
"I think certainly the NFL understands what was going on," Garrett said. "They're trying to address it and handle it the right way, but we haven't had much communication with them."
