Machota: How will Cowboys capitalize on new TD celebration rules? Witten loves it, WRs have secret stuff planned

Cotton

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How will Cowboys capitalize on new TD celebration rules? Witten loves it, WRs have secret stuff planned
By Jon Machota , Staff Writer

Jason Witten says his two sons know better. They don't ask their father why he doesn't dance like Odell Beckham Jr. or throw on a fake Hall of Fame jacket like Chad Johnson after scoring a touchdown.

"Granddad taught me a long time ago, act like you've been there before," Witten said. "But better yet, I'm just not as clever as these guys."

The 10-time Pro Bowler isn't opposed to touchdown celebrations. He's actually a pretty big fan of some turned in recently by his teammates.

"Jumping in the Salvation Army bucket and throwing up the X," Witten mentioned as a couple of his favorites. "I love [Terrance Williams'] even better. He's kind of got that little swag walk as I call it."

The NFL announced in May that it would be relaxing its rules on what is allowed after a touchdown this upcoming season.

Witten says that decision is great for the league.

"Our game is at an all-time high," he said. "My kids watch it. I know a lot of guys, even in this locker room are really good at it. I enjoy seeing it and I get a laugh out of it.

"You never want to lose the fun of it. I think they got to draw the line. The league's in a tough spot in a lot of ways. But you never want to see the kid in these players when they make these plays lose sight of that.

"Hopefully they'll be able to find a boundary there and allow these guys to still entertain and do what they like to do."

Ezekiel Elliott's leap into the Salvation Army red kettle following a touchdown in December at AT&T Stadium received as much attention as any celebration last season.

Elliott was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, however, he was not fined. Elliott said he thinks kettle jumps should be allowed, but he hasn't received approval.

"I always felt like it should be 15 seconds, you do what you want as long as you don't do anything obscene," Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler said. "This game is hard. You watch soccer, they score a goal and it's like a party. They do their thing for like 20-30 seconds, the crowd goes crazy and the guys line up again."

Under the new guidelines group celebrations, using the ball as a prop and going to the ground for a snow angel are all allowed. Nothing about jumping into a kettle was mentioned.

Despite that celebration coming during a 26-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett wasn't too pleased with his star running back after the game.

But Garrett was a proponent for relaxing the rule. During the NFL owners meetings in March Garrett and Baltimore's John Harbaugh spoke to a group of coaches at length about why the league needed to lighten up.

"It's a tricky deal," Garrett said. "We don't want to take it away from the team. I think everybody understands that. But at the same time, football is fun. It's fun to be part of the National Football League. For the players to have some fun and show some personality, I think that's a positive thing for the league."

Some of the celebrations that remain off limits include dunking on the goal posts or performing any offensive or sexually suggestive gestures. While the dunking seems harmless, the NFL is trying to avoid potential delays from having to reset the posts if they are knocked off center.

Since there is no exact definition for what is and is not allowed, plenty of debate should be expected. It seems unrealistic to think some celebrations won't be flagged and later determined to be legal.

The group celebrations will likely be the most noticeable difference. Wide receivers have been responsible for many of the most memorable moments after touchdowns.

According to the Cowboys wide receivers, some top secret choreographed celebrations have already been discussed.

"Check me out," Dez Bryant said. "When I get in that endzone Sunday, Sept. 10. We got some stuff planned."
 

DLK150

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About fricking time. Not that some celebrations aren't a little over the top but these guys are grown men playing a game, not going to Sunday school. I'm not a fan of taunting an opposing teams' player right to his face though. However, if they do and there are "consequences" later in the game, I'm good with it.

 

Cotton

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About fricking time. Not that some celebrations aren't a little over the top but these guys are grown men playing a game, not going to Sunday school. I'm not a fan of taunting an opposing teams' player right to his face though. However, if they do and there are "consequences" later in the game, I'm good with it.

I made a gif of the Teague hit on him. I can easily make it a smiley here if we want.

 

data

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While awesome that Teague did that, that's a low point in our history id rather not relive.
 

Cotton

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DLK150

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While awesome that Teague did that, that's a low point in our history id rather not relive.
I hear you but it was one of the rare things to get excited about in those days. 5-11, 5-11, 5-11. The poodle as head coach was disastrous. Trading away two first round picks for Galloway, resulting in such a failure of a draft.

Sorry, that probably didn't help :art
 

BipolarFuk

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My favorite all time celebration was when the Seattle WR acted like he was shitting the football. :lol
 
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