FRISCO, Texas _ Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith has been flagged for eight penalties in 12 games this season.
The perennial All-Pro, who was just named to his sixth Pro Bowl has been called for holding six times. The Cowboys, however, think officials are unfairly targeting Smith because he is so dominant at his position. Through eight seasons, Smith is averaging 7.5 penalties a season.
"I think Tyron's excellence gives him more attention and a higher bar relative to holding. In my mind, he's the best left tackle," Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on KRLD/105.3 The Fan. "The results of neutralizing the defensive player implies that he must be holding or gaining an advantage somehow."
But the Cowboys say his blocking is textbook. They've sent in video of some of his holding penalties and asked for clarification. The response has been that Smith needs to disengage quicker, which would seem to be the opposite of what you'd want to tell your linemen.
Cowboys' coach Jason Garrett agrees.
"The biggest thing he has to learn is he has such great hand strength that he has to let go because they're calling those plays," Garrett said. "If you look back at all of the holds he's had over the course of the year he's been in outstanding position, great sets, great position down field on guys."
Most holding calls are more obvious, Garrett said, are when a lineman is beat and he's reaching out to grab a defender. That's typically not happening to Smith.
"He just has to have more discipline at the end of the down releasing the guys he's blocking because he's done a really good job of getting himself in great position to block the way we want him too," he said.
Jones compared it to former Cowboys' defensive tackle DeMarcus Ware being routinely penalized for being offside because he was so quick off the ball.
