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Like leading a horse to water, Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips had to literally be led to say Brad Johnson will start Sunday against the New York Giants. But he did say it.
Despite leading the Cowboys to a victory against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Johnson’s status as the quarterback is as shaky as the offense under his direction. Even though he is expected to start against the Giants in New Jersey, Johnson appears to be guaranteed not much of anything beyond the Cowboys’ first offensive series against the top-ranked defense in the NFC.
Third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who was signed by the Cowboys on Sept. 8, is on notice. Should the Cowboys struggle Sunday and show a penchant for three-and-outs and punting, expect Bollinger to play. Just don’t expect any miracles.
And don’t expect anyone else, either. Sources said after the Cowboys’ 20-point loss against the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 19, which featured Johnson’s debut as the starter, there was not enough time for another veteran passer to come in and prepare himself adequately for anything other than the game against Washington on Nov 16. By then, Tony Romo is expected to be back.
"It’s the same thing I said the week before that we weren’t changing any people as far as starters were concerned on the defense or whatever," Phillips said. "So I mean you know we didn’t play well. But we didn’t play up to our standards and so our offense, they had a tough game but Tampa is good on defense."
The Cowboys feel like they got away with one against the Bucs. The Cowboys finished with 172 yards of total offense, the lowest total ever in franchise history in a win. They aren’t so sure they can get away with a similar offensive performance two weeks in a row, particularly on the road against a team like the 6-1 Giants.
The Cowboys fear they need something more than just safe — i.e. no turnovers — from the quarterback position. They want plays from the quarterback position.
In Johnson’s first two games as the Cowboys quarterback, he has completed 53.7 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, three interceptions and has been sacked six times. His passer rating is 60.3.
Against the Bucs, Johnson completed 19 passes, but averaged 2.8 yards per pass play. On the Cowboys’ lone offensive touchdown series, the Bucs kept the drive going with a pair of third-down penalties that resulted in automatic first downs.
Johnson’s strength is experience — he’s 40 — and the ability to recognize the smart play. His greatest asset Sunday, which should not be trivialized, is that neither he nor the offense committed a turnover. That allowed them to stay in the game despite not moving the ball.
Just as there was in the off-season, there is a concern that Johnson simply can’t make the vertical passes to keep defenses honest. As a result, defenses crowd the line of scrimmage and play up secure in knowing that anything deep will either be rare, or ineffective.
Bollinger, however, does not have magic dust for an offense that has stalled since Tony Romo suffered a busted right pinkie Oct. 12. Bollinger has 10 career starts, and has passed for 2,155 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. While slightly more mobile than Johnson, Bollinger is still not nearly as quick on his feet as Romo; Bollinger has been sacked 46 times in 19 games.
A sixth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2003, Bollinger is on his third team and fourth offensive system.
"This is a difficult time of year to learn an offense. Everybody is in game-plan mode," Bollinger said last week in terms of knowing this offense. "They could call anything. I get the game plan and I’m working my butt off. I could spit out the play and picture it in my head. There are plays I’ve had more familiarity with than others. There isn’t a play in there I’d say, 'Coach, I don’t get it.’ It’s not like that.
"You have to pick up things as you go and figure what I need to know right now and what’s something I can learn over time."
What Bollinger needs to know right now is that if Johnson struggles, he’s likely to get a shot.
