When it was announced that Romo broke his pinky finger in OT last week in Phoenix, and would be out probably four weeks, the first thing that came to mind was “who is our backup?” I had to look at the roster to find out Brad Johnson was still under contract and was a bit surprised he was #2 on the depth chart.
Brad Johnson? What is he all about? Is he the same Old Man Johnson that guided the Vikings until Dante Culpepper came of age, and eventually resurfaced in Washington? Is this the same Old Man Johnson that guided Tampa Bay to complete and utter dominance over the formidable Raiders in Super Bowl 37? It is, in fact, the same Johnson.
I make light of the term “old man”, but Brad is old. In fact he is very old when it comes to the QB position. He is the oldest active NFL QB. Consider a couple of the league’s venerable starters today. He is three years older than two time MVP Kurt Warner, who seemed rejuvenated last week after years of dehydration and playing back up in Arizona. He is one month older than Brett Favre, who some folks swear took over for Bart Starr. Heck he is older than some stars who have recently retired.
But what does age mean? It really comes down to health and longevity. On the positive, when compared again to Warner and Favre, Brad has been major injury free, like Favre and unlike Warner. He also hasn’t been taking many game snaps over the last couple of years either, so that is in his favor.
So how will he do in Dallas over the next four weeks? When we factor in the adjusted age quotient as described, I don’t think age is a factor. We can dismiss the Old Man label. The next thing to consider is his body of work, primarily through career statistics. It’s easy enough to see he is a career 62 % passer. We can also see that he has upwards of 29k yards, a respectable 164/117 TD to INT ratio, and a lifetime QB rating of 83%. That’s the good stuff. The bad stuff is he is known to be a true pocket passer with a weak arm. He is also prone to the sack, collecting a whopping 52 the last two years he was a starter, albeit he played for a pretty dismal Minnesota offense. So the stats help shape who Brad is as well. But what about the other intangibles?
Reputation and Street Cred: Brad has experience. He has been a solid starter and backup throughout his career. He has guided a team to the Lombardi trophy. He should be able to leverage his resume in the locker room and in the huddle.
Weapons of choice: He has plenty of options in Dallas and a ‘one time considered genius in the making’ coordinator Jason Garret to craft a formula on how to get the ball to those weapons. Look for him to dink and dunk early to Austin Miles, especially in 3 wide-out sets, who he teamed up with often in the preseason.
Game Plan: I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of double tight end sets with Barber the lone back. This should help to off set the struggles observed with the line against the Cardinals where Romo was often times scrambling right after the snap. Short passes and a pounding ground game should be in the works.
Of course this in no way addresses the concerns on special teams and the secondary. But if Garret can get the ball out of Johnson’s hands quickly, the Cowboys should be able to control the clock and put points on the board. At least this week that ought to be enough to beat St Louis, who hopefully are still glowing in the after-light of this season’s lone victory over the Giants.
