OXNARD, Calif. — Anyone wondering if the Dallas Cowboys were truly champing at the bit to get things underway in this year's training camp need look no further than the first couple of practices. On Day 1, there were some near skirmishes that were dissolved fairly easily but, on Day 2, things spilled over in a big way.
During a full team drill in the middle of practice, a fight broke out on the sideline that escalated into a massive rugby-level scrum and punches being thrown — eventually being broken up.
But before practice was allowed to continue, head coach Brian Schottenheimer tore into the entire roster at midfield, hurling justified expletives and repeatedly screaming "do you f**king understand me?!" before resetting for the next round of reps.
The message was received, and there were no further incidents on the day.
"Did you guys hear what I said?" said Schottenheimer. "I definitely won't repeat it … but here's the deal: I love the intensity. I love [it] and these guys are working their asses off.
"I love that. But, again, there's a tempo that we discuss everyday and we've talked about it multiple times."
The fact is Schottenheimer is trying to not only establish a culture of self-discipline and accountability but, with that, the understanding that if certain things are allowed in practice, they'll likely spill over into actual games with the win-loss record on the line and, in his inaugural season as an NFL head coach, he refuses to accept such a controllable reaction to derail drives or possibly entire games (or stretches of them, should a league suspension follow).
And he expects teammates to save each other from themselves as well, should it come to that.
"There are going to be those events that happen during a game that, if you throw a punch, you're getting kicked out of the game," he said. "And, along with that, you're getting fined about $45,000. So, do we have the discipline to, when those things happen, to not throw a punch and to go and grab your own guy, your brother, and pull him out of the fray so he doesn't do anything messed up. I love the way they're practicing, but I've warned them before. And I made it very clear.
"We're not throwing punches. If you throw a punch, there's going to be a consequence, just like in a game. … I love that competitive nature. It just can't get into where we're throwing punches."
The word "culture" has been thrown around vigorously this offseason as it pertains to the tectonic shift occurring in Dallas due to the installation of Schottenheimer as head coach, and the events of Day 2 present themselves as additional evidence as to what that looks like.
Intensity plus control equals wins.
