[Bette]

When Wade Phillips asked his players last week to sign a contract promising they wouldn't be bad boys after plays, he risked coaching ruin.
Could you imagine Vince Lombardi asking his Packers to play nice?

Coaches generally don't ask players to be on their honor after they commit penalties that cost them points.
Maybe you saw Jimmy Johnson set his hair on fire on national TV to demonstrate how he handled undisciplined players.
Phillips? He stopped just short of requiring a notary. Of course, the first game after this legalistic approach, the Cowboys play one of their worst games of the season and have to wait until the final play to know if their five-point lead over the Redskins is going to hold up.
But they didn't commit a single dead-ball foul in a 28-23 victory at Texas Stadium.

Consider this scene: A coach walks into a room full of testosterone-driven, million-dollar athletes and pulls out his pledge.
"Guys," he tells them, "if you don't mean this, don't sign it. And don't laugh."
They might have snickered if Barry Switzer or Chan Gailey or Dave Campo had done such a thing.
If Bill Parcells had tried a ploy seemingly so soft, they'd have called an ambulance.
"You respect Wade," Ellis said, explaining why it went over so well.

The Cowboys don't lose much anymore, and it's time to give the head coach his due.
Even if he doesn't fit the tough-guy mold you might prefer in a head coach.
Case in point: Did you catch his reaction when Romo high-fived him a little too vigorously after a 31-yard touchdown pass to T.O.?
Can you go to the Super Bowl with a coach who cries, "Owwwww"?
Said Phillips: "He plastered my hand."

Even this pledge thing might catch on at this rate. He ought to make Andre Gurode sign another this week after the Cowboys center made like a rocker launcher Sunday.
I will NOT snap the ball over Tony's head. I also promise NOT to snap it off his snout when he's not looking.
The message got through to Keith Davis. When the Cowboys scored to make it 21-13 in the fourth quarter, the special teams ace went jaw-to-jaw with the Redskins' Khary Campbell and was subsequently cornered by his head coach.
"Don't you get a penalty," Phillips told Davis.

"You saw me walk away," Davis said. "I can't take any more penalties."
By the way, what happens if you break the pledge?
"I don't want to find out," Davis said, and he wasn't laughing.
Dallas Cowboys end up good to their pledge | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Columnist Kevin Sherrington