I recently conducted an interview with newly signed Cowboys QB Brad Johnson. He and his representation were gracious enough to answer questions that I submitted by email. Below is the content of that interview.
BTB: Congratulations on joining the Dallas Cowboys. It was reported you visited Denver before you visited the Cowboys. What was it about the Cowboys that made you decide to sign with them?
Brad Johnson: As I said in my press conference Dallas had a very good year last year. I had a good rapport with Jason Garrett coming in there as a coordinator. I know Ray Sherman, he was my receivers coach there for three years in Minnesota, and I just thought it was a great fit more than anything.
BTB: You've mentioned you're pretty familiar with new Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett. What do you think will be the fundamentals of a Jason Garrett offense? Vertical passing, balanced offense, power running? Can you compare it to some offenses we may have seen before in the NFL?
Brad Johnson: I'm not sure yet what his exact offense will look like but he's been around football his whole life. He's been around so many different football environments and different head coaches and different quarterbacks. The most important thing is he relates well to people and he's open. He communicates and he tries to make it easier on other people and what's the best situation and what's the best scenario for different people.
BTB: Dallas has some nice weapons in the receiving game with Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn and Jason Witten. What do you know about those players?
Brad Johnson: Yeah we certainly do have talent at the Wide Receiver and Tight End spots and in the backfield too. It's always a good thing to have weapons. I'll be studying film on each of these guys in the coming months.
BTB: You've taken a team to the Super Bowl and won it. Besides just talent on the field, what are the most important factors in a Super Bowl winning season?
Brad Johnson: I think you need to have all 53 guys 100% on the same page. If you have the talent and the single-minded focus, you can do great things.
BTB: For a 9th round draft pick, you've managed to carve out a very long and successful career in the NFL. What do you attribute your success to?
Brad Johnson: I'd say having a real passion for the game, studying the game, consistently having a high completion percentage to keep the chains moving, being able to consistently win games and I work very hard in the off-season to stay fit.
End interview
Full disclosure: I also asked some other questions about the QB competition and whether there is one in Johnson's view, whether the Cowboys had discussed a specific role for him, and his evaluation of Tony Romo as a QB. Admittedly, these questions were meant to get an idea of Johnson's mind-set going into camp and might have led to some controversial answers, but Johnson and his representation did not answer those questions. I felt obligated to ask those types of questions, I think you guys would've thought I went soft in the interview if I didn't, but I really didn't expect them to be answered. And I don't begrudge Johnson or his reps for not answering them. In any case, I'm grateful that Johnson was willing to conduct the interview with BTB.