Maybe one of the challenges of the modern world is the fact that we are surrounded by technology, but still have–for most teams in a given week–six days between NFL games. Because this week, the internet came up with a doozy of a Dallas Cowboys conspiracy theory on George Pickens. As the theory goes, Pickens has a habit of putting his mouthpiece in when he is possibly getting the ball (i.e., on pass plays) but leaving it out when he is not getting the ball (running plays.)
This comes from an online video suggesting that it’s Pickens who is tipping off the Cowboys’ plays.
Now, it should be pointed out that though the offense was not perfect on Sunday, it was not terrible. Dallas had 244 yards, but it was the defense that was mostly to blame–they could not get the Giants off the field. The Cowboys had three touchdowns on seven possessions, one of which was the end of the half and another was an interception by Dak Prescott. The Cowboys were 8-for-11 on third-down conversions.
Video Claims George Pickens Cowboys’ Revealing Plays With Mouthpiece
Still, the video explaining how Pickens was giving away the Cowboys’ plays made the rounds online, and drew attention from fans and other media members. It does appear that Pickens is telegraphing the plays with his mouthpiece, but again, it should be pointed out that the clips appear cherry-picked. We don’t watch each of the snaps for which Pickens was on the field.
Brian Schottenheimer: George Pickens Has ‘The Biggest Mouthpiece I Have Ever Seen’
On Friday during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about the Pickens mouthpiece controversy, and laughed it off.
Said Schottenheimer: “I am gonna have to go to our analytics department and ask them about it because that is honestly the first I have heard about it. Maybe it is on my desk, there could be a big stack of paper that says GP’s mouthpiece. I do this, if it is in fact true, it is probably a pretty good tell because it is the biggest mouthpiece I have seen.
He continued: “I will probably walk into the meeting room with one of George’s mouthpieces—a clean one—and say, ‘Tell me what you guys think here?’”
Cowboys Self-Scout Each Week
Now, all jokes aside, there would be an easy fix for Pickens if, in fact, the Cowboys found he was tipping plays. And Schottenheimer said the Cowboys staff does spend time looking into any tells or giveaways.
He said: “We start Monday after the players leave, we start what we call self-scout. You always start with yourself, you always start with Ok, hey, in this personnel grouping when you’re in gun and the back is to the tight end or away from the tight end, you always start with that because you want to adjust some of those stronger tendencies.”
Cowboys Shrug off George Pickens Conspiracy Theory