Not many NFL players could get into an Ivy League school like Jason Garrett, but the Cowboys head coach wants his guys to know basic geometry.
The Princeton man believes understanding the Pythagorean theorem will help his players on the field, according to a report by NBC Sports.
In case you have forgotten your middle school math, it's a2 + b2 = c2.
"If you’re running straight from the line of scrimmage, six yards deep, that’s a certain depth, right? It takes you a certain amount of time,” Garrett said. "But if you’re doing it from 10 yards inside and running to that same six yards, that’s the hypotenuse of that right triangle. It’s longer, right? So they have to understand that, that it takes longer to do that.
Cowboys training camp is in Oxnard, Calif., but instead of spending time on the beach, they're studying math.
"We talked about Pythagorus and it’s been going for the last few days," Garrett said.
Maybe that has been Tony Romo's problem getting the Cowboys in the playoffs. Garrett is hoping his quarterback has a strong understanding of the theorem.
"Quarterbacks need to understand that, too," Garrett said. "If you’re running a route from here to get to that spot, it’s going to be a little longer, you might need to be a little fuller in your drop.”
