Texans tight end Dalton Schultz has played for both Texas-based NFL franchises, and he leaves zero doubt about which one is more focused on football.
With the ink barely dry on a new, long-term deal with the Texans after a successful first year as one of C.J. Stroud’s favorite targets. Schultz told ESPN’s Pat McAfee about the stark difference between Houston and Dallas, where he spent the first five years of his career.
“The focus is just football, you know what I mean?” Schultz said of his experience playing in Houston. “I’m going back and telling some people about being around the Cowboys practice facility and game day and describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis and it surprises a lot of people. They’re like, ‘Holy crap. That actually happens at a practice facility?’ You think it’s normal, and then you come to a place like this.”
Dalton Schultz #86 and Xavier Hutchinson #19 of the Houston Texans react during the game against the New Orleans Saints at NRG Stadium on October 15, 2023, in Houston, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Schultz elaborated on some of the “zoo-like” characteristics of Dallas’ training environment.
“It’s literally a zoo, dude,” Schultz said. “There’s people tapping on the glass trying to get people’s attention while they’re doing power cleans or whatever. It’s different. That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what [owner] Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way that they run things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract in the locker room, just being in the facility until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, there’s none of that.'”
Dalton Schultz, #86 of the Dallas Cowboys, makes a catch in the fourth quarter of the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on November 17, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan. (Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
This behind-the-scenes info is not likely to sit well with Dallas fans still smarting after the Packers came into town and bushwhacked the heavily favored Cowboys in the NFC Wild-Card game. Meanwhile, the Texans, who apparently have a very un-zoo-like training environment, crushed the Browns at home in the Wild-Card round.
Is having fans watch workouts the reason for that? That’s probably overly simplistic to say. However, a more focused team has a better chance of winning in the playoffs.
