Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are using special footballs to teach their RBs not to fumble

Published May. 31, 2016 2:00 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Remember the Nerf Turbo Screamer football?

You probably have to be of a certain age to have such fond memories. But for those of us born in the 80s and 90s, the Screamer was the pinnacle of football technology. If you put threw a tight enough spiral, the ball would whistle as it flew through the air, letting you know that you had what it takes to be an NFL quarterback.

Now, the Dallas Cowboys aren't quite using Vortex footballs. They are, however, using balls that make an absurdly annoying noise in order to reinforce good habits for their running backs:

It's a bit of preventative medicine from the Cowboys, who didn't exactly have fumbling problems last season. Only 11 teams committed fewer fumbles on rushing attempts than Dallas.

According to ESPN.com, the ball makes that God-awful shriek whenever a player carries the ball with proper technique. Although that makes sense -- you want to be able to receive the feedback over the dull roar of OTAs -- it seems like punishing a player for doing the right thing. At some point, someone's going to send that ball flying because they're sick of the noise.

And if we're lucky, the ball will sing as it flies through the air, Vortex-style. Ahhhh, memories.