ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Quick, who is the backup quarterback for the Denver Broncos?
Come on, tell me, don't be looking it up, and sorry if I just happen to know, but only because I spent the morning out here at the Broncos practice facility in Dove Valley watching them work for the first of four times against the Cowboys.
The answer is . . . Patrick Ramsey.
What that do for you?
And on my little stat sheet - as somehow I've gone from Oxnard, Calif., to here, and I'm still working in a tent outdoors - it says Ramsey, in his first preseason game this past Saturday, went six-for-11 for 32 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, with a QB rating of 20.5.
And you guys want to moan about "Bull," probably the best backup quarterback the Cowboys have had, the guy who was most ready to play - other than, as it turned out, Tony Romo in 2006 - since, well, since Jason Garrett held down the job last in 1999.
No joke.
Now I am not here to defend Brad Johnson or the Cowboys' decision to go with the 39-year-old as the team's immediate backup to Romo as much as I'm here to explain exactly why he makes the most sense to them, and me too. And to do so, I must digress.
The best part of the first episode of "Hard Knocks" to me was the inside dialogue we got from the draft room when it was time for the Cowboys to make their first choice, and ultimately decide if they would take running back Rashard Mendenhall or running back Felix Jones. Great stuff.
We got to see how Cowboys offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Jason Garrett told the room, and owner Jerry Jones who initiated the debate, how the Cowboys had Mendenhall already. His name is Marion Barber, and without hesitation but much conviction, he got on the table, as they say in the scouting circles, for Felix Jones, explaining why he made the most sense for the Cowboys' needs.
And by time he finished, with the Cowboys on the clock, Jerry Jones said, "Let's go with Felix Jones," the owner listening to his football people, contrary to popular belief, before making his ultimate decision.
To me, that speaks volumes about the trust these Cowboys have in Garrett, the guy many of you already have anointed as the Cowboys' next head coach. So if you trust him to run your team, if you trust him to call plays, then tell me, why do you not trust "Red Ball" to pick your backup quarterback? Because believe me, Johnson is Garrett's guy.
Think back to when Garrett arrived last year, back to when the Cowboys had committed to Romo becoming their starting quarterback. They were in need of a backup then, and at the time Joey Harrington was available. Many bemoaned the Cowboys passing him.
Did it ever cross your mind Garrett knew all there was to know about the Atlanta quarterback, having served as the Miami quarterbacks coach when Harrington was there the previous year? Surely if the Cowboys trust Garrett's judgment to sway the decision on their first draft choice they must trust his judgment on the backup quarterback.
The Cowboys signed Johnson.
Then even more of you began stumping, and might still be, for the Cowboys to sign Daunte Culpepper. Again, Garrett knew intimate details of Culpepper's knee rehabilitation since the two also crossed paths in Miami.
Yet the Cowboys signed Johnson.
Then this off-season Culpepper was available again. The Cowboys passed.
Cleon Lemon was available. The Cowboys passed.
Josh McCown was available, the Cowboys passed, and then so did the Dolphins after signing him and naming him their starter, backtracking to instead sign Chad Pennington once he was released.
Kelly Holcomb was available, and still is. The Cowboys passed.
And on top of all that, Byron Leftwich was available, and still was until the other day, but it took the great Charlie Batch to suffer a broken collarbone in Pittsburgh for Leftwich to find a job. Yes, the Cowboys had been passing on him.
The Cowboys have stood pat with Brad Johnson, who turns 40 in September, evidently the magic number for all good quarterbacks to lose their arms, or at least what many would have you believe. It's like, "he's 40, he can't possibly throw the ball anymore." Heck, Roger Staubach is 60, and I'm guessing he could still break your hand with a pass.
"I think we knew what Brad Johnson was when we brought him in here," Garrett said, "and I think the Redskins probably knew what he was when they brought him in there in 1998, and Tampa did, too. He's a certain style of quarterback.
"He's got plenty of arm, he's got plenty of ability to move, and what we love about him is his experience, his ability to go into a game in a moment's notice and execute our offense. And it's his leadership and his ability to function as a quarterback, that's what you're looking for in a backup."
Which is pretty priceless for a backup, especially the part about being able to go into a game in a moment's notice without having taken a bundle of practice reps for eons, and still being able to function, sort of the microwave position of football.
"Hard to find guys like that, and what he does out on the field for us speaks for itself," Garrett said.
That's not me, that's Garrett, your assistant head coach saying all that. Now I guess Garrett is not immune to making mistakes in judgment, but don't think just because of Johnson's performance against San Diego that suddenly the Cowboys are scouring a deserted landscape for a backup quarterback. Maybe a third quarterback with a little experience, as I've previously suggested, but not the immediate backup.
The Cowboys' coaching staff understands the pick Johnson threw against the Chargers had nothing to do with arm strength. He was throwing an out and Patrick Crayton ran a stop-and-go. His perceived immobility - here's that 40-year-old thing again - had nothing to do with the two sacks he took. Both were blown blocking assignments by rookies.
In fact, I thought he threw the ball as good in that game as I've seen him since he got here. Johnson, affectionately nicknamed by his receivers "Check Down," for usually taking the safer route by throwing the underneath passes instead of firing carelessly down field, did have that nice 21-yard post completion to Miles Austin, and wisely checked down to Felix Jones on an out the rookie turned into a 28-yard gain.
That's what you want from your backup quarterback, smart, high-percentage decisions. Not some sort of swashbuckler taking chances that invariably will get you beat by throwing irresponsibly down field when you haven't thrown many of those passes during maybe your 10 snaps with the first team in practice. Maybe.
The last thing you want out of your backup quarterback is a risk-taker who gets you beat. You want that guy to allow the other guys to win the game.
Plus, when watching the Cowboys work against the Broncos Wednesday morning, it became quite obvious the receivers, including Terrell Owens, were running different kinds of routes when Johnson was in there than when Romo was running the offense. Yep, things were less vertical and more horizontal, and that's by design.
It's not as if Johnson gets in the huddle and proclaims, "listen guys, my old arm is about to fall off, so please, please just run a bunch of five-yard curls". Come on.
"People always say you run the same offense," Garrett said, "well sure you do, but there are certain things Tony does well, there are certain things Witten does well, there are certain things that Marion does well that you naturally try to get to those things. And it's the same thing with the quarterback.
"Now there are some things he has a lot more experience with than other things, and we'll try to highlight and feature those things."
What the Cowboys would like to do, and maybe this Saturday in the preseason game against the Broncos, is get Johnson some work with the first-team offense - the guys he would be playing alongside if he ever had to go in for an injured Romo. See, normally in these preseason games and usually always in practice, when Johnson goes in, so goes in the backup offensive line, receivers and running backs.
That's not what happens in a game. The backup doesn't round up, what we called in high school "The Nut Squad" when he goes in the game. He meets Owens and Witten and Barber in the huddle, Flozell and Leonard and Andre, too, so keep that in mind when you are ready to condemn Johnson to retirement.
Now none of that took place Wednesday morning, though. Garrett said it would be only fair to get Johnson some snaps in a game with the guys he'd be playing with, and reminded how he had to learn a new offense last year with minimal opportunities, and really only threw 11 passes in games last year.
Lately, you have heard that so-and-so's name came up within the team's organization, and right away it's assumed the club is shopping for a backup quarterback. First of all, guys' names come up all the time for discussion, and just today I'm told guys' names came up at three separate positions, none of which was quarterback. That's what NFL teams do, and shame on them if their scouting departments are not doing their due diligence, because if you can get better, then you need to get better. That's nothing against the guys you have.
Secondly, if you are shopping for a backup quarterback right now, good luck. Because as scarce as these cats are, if a guy is available today, could 32 teams be wrong? Why do you think so many teams have signed Vinny Testaverde the past few years? There isn't anyone out there.
So please don't buy into the perception that Brad Johnson just got old or he just doesn't have an arm anymore or that the Cowboys got stuck with him. Or that he's Jason Garrett's brother-in-law or something. Just not the case.
As I said to Garrett, suffice to say if you would have wanted to do something different at the quarterback position you would have done so long time ago.
"Yeah, yeah," Garrett said with much clarity, "absolutely."
And that's not me, that's him.
Just thought you should have the facts.
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Mickey Spagnola - 
