Cowboys OTAs Indoors: Mike McCarthy Explains Grass Practice Field Issue
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In Mike McCarthy's Thursday press conference, the Cowboys head coach was straightforward in discussing his state of mind.
"We haven't missed anything,'' McCarthy said of the team's offseason work. "Happy as hell. "No complaints here, not even about the grass."
The beginning of this quote is standard, an invigorating note about a happy marriage between McCarthy and the organization. The latter portion, though, taps into an odd circumstance plaguing Cowboys practices: bad grass.
Amassing just a 1-4 record in the 2022 regular season while playing on grass, it's an advantageous move to spend the offseason practicing on grass at The Star facility. It's also easier on the players' legs to do so. Yet the Cowboys are forced to move inside the Ford Center to hold practice after issues with the grass practice field.
"You know, we do have an issue with the middle of the field," McCarthy said, vaguely hinting at the surface's issue. "Player safety is something that is at the forefront of everything we do."
McCarthy didn't include a myriad of details, but he did remark that the grass field replacement would be complete "the first week of July." Ahead of training camp and the preseason, the Cowboys will be on break during the first week of July. So, for the time being, indoors at the Ford Center it is.
While the specifics about the middle of the grass playing field were left out, did the new Dr Pepper headquarters building play a role? The facility was built alongside the Cowboys' practice field, creating a new, glassy obstacle for sunlight to beam through.
"We've got buildings that have glass on both sides," McCarthy said. " Obviously the heat on the one side, and if you really paid attention, the irrigation system. There's a lot of planning that went into that and the impact that the Dr Pepper building created to the practice environment."
Yes, "a lot of planning" takes place when new construction is afoot, but a grass practice field that is unusable likely means "a lot of planning" did not go exactly as planned. So inside it is, to another part of The Star complex, Ford Center, where plenty of work is getting done - enough at least to keep the coach "happy as hell.''
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