Brad Johnson gets the latest laugh even if he doesn’t sound like he’s chuckling at all.
“Sometimes as a quarterback you’re on fire and nothing can stop you. Sometimes things don’t go right and it’s not the quarterback’s fault,” Johnson said.
An injury cost Johnson the starting job with the Minnesota Vikings last season. When Randall Cunningham took over and enjoyed a record-setting season, Johnson became expendable. But the bad-luck kid landed with the Washington Redskins and is directing an offense reminiscent of last year’s Vikings.
Receivers Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell have more touchdown catches and more yards than Minnesota’s duo of Cris Carter and Randy Moss. Tight end Stephen Alexander is a faster, better threat than Minnesota’s Andrew Glover. Running back Stephen Davis has outgained Minnesota’s Robert Smith and outscored everybody.
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And Johnson is the league’s second hottest quarterback behind St. Louis’ Kurt Warner.
“Here in Washington, as a whole, we have a lot more speed than Minnesota,” Johnson said. “In Minnesota they have Hall of Famers. Here these guys haven’t really been given a lot of recognition. But in due time, I think we have some definite Pro Bowl talent.”
While Cunningham was benched last week, ex-Vikings quarterbacks Johnson, Rich Gannon in Oakland and backup Jay Fiedler in Jacksonville directed their teams to wins.
“It just shows a lot of very good quarterbacks come through Minnesota–Wade Wilson, Warren Moon,” Johnson said. “When I was in Minnesota I played great when I was healthy. I just had unfortunate injuries. I don’t call that injury-prone. Look across the league and there’s 17 quarterbacks who have been knocked out or replaced.”
Tough duty: Bucs defensive end John McLaughlin is listed on the injury report as questionable with a sprained shoulder, which sounds better than the sunburn that kept him from practice Wednesday.
“He can’t put his helmet on,” Bucs coach Tony Dungy said. “He’s got a problem with his forehead. He couldn’t practice. I’d have to say right now, unless they pass a rule that we can play without helmets, he’d have to be questionable. He would try, but from what I understand, that’s a uniform violation.”
Kramer over Harbaugh: San Diego coach Mike Riley says Erik Kramer is still his quarterback after he won three games as a replacement for injured Jim Harbaugh.
“Jim is what we would say healthy again, but we’ve won three games in a row and I don’t want to disrupt anything,” Riley said. “I really tell everybody, we have a 1 and 1-A quarterback.” Kramer faces the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Arena to the rescue: In the wake of Kurt Warner’s success in St. Louis, the Arena Football League is getting extra looks from NFL scouts. The Arizona Cardinals signed quarterback Sherdrick Bonner out of their back yard, where he was batting .800 in four softball leagues while awaiting the Arizona Rattlers’ indoor season.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 245-pound left-handed Bonner, 31, had shots with the Dolphins and Falcons. In a workout for the Cardinals, he completed 48 of 50 passes.
“I’ve been through a lot of workouts, and his was one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Cardinals General Manager Bob Ferguson said. “This is not a token PR gimmick. This is a legitimate shot. He’s got the chance to come in and be part of this organization for a long time.”
Rattlers Vice President Gene Nudo said: “I think Sherdrick Bonner is a better NFL prospect than Kurt.” If he is, a lot of scouts will be embarrassed.
Roving Ravens: You wonder where the new Houston franchise is going to find players? Besides the arena league, they will come from the same place as the Baltimore Ravens get them.
“We’re a bunch of guys who have been thrown on the trash heap of the NFL,” coach Brian Billick said. “Our quarterback (Stoney Case) was waived out of the league in August. Our tight end (Aaron Pierce) was out of football last year. Our leading receiver (Qadry Ismail) hadn’t caught a pass in the last two years and our second receiver (Justin Armour) caught just two in the last two seasons (actually one since 1995). Our leading rusher (Errict Rhett) was on the bench for two different teams the last two years, and our go-to weapon is 5-8 (Jermaine Lewis).
“But I like this group. They’re hungry to succeed. They’re all trying to prove themselves and then reap the benefits that might come at the end of the season.”
Such as money.
“Most of this group is on one-year contracts. I trust that motivation more than any other,” Billick said. “They talk about `Win one for the Gipper,’ but greed is a good old-fashioned motivator, and I don’t mind that at all.”
Have a nice day: George Seifert’s win over his former team, the 49ers, last week was the 100th regular-season victory of his career. It came in his 133rd game, making him the fastest NFL coach to the century mark. Don Shula, who won his 100th in his 135th game, had been the fastest. Seifert also kept his standing as the coach with the all-time best winning percentage, counting playoffs. He’s 110-38 for a .743 percentage. Vince Lombardi is second at .740. A loss to the 49ers would have dropped Seifert to .736.
Flat Pack: Here’s how bad the Packers were in Denver:
– They ran 35 plays, fewest since they had 33 against Atlanta in 1971.
– They gained 133 yards, fewest since gaining 131 against Buffalo in 1988.
– They rushed for 21 yards, fewest since gaining 13 against Seattle in 1990.
– They were 0 for 8 on third down, the first time they failed to convert in a game since going 0 for 10 against Cleveland in 1986.
– They allowed 28 first downs, the most since Minnesota registered 32 in 1991.
– Quarterback Brett Favre completed 7 of 23 passes for 120 yards with three interceptions for a passer rating of 9.6, a shocking number and the lowest of his career.
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No wonder Packers fans had recollections of bad old days. All those were before the Mike Holmgren era.
“This is on me,” coach Ray Rhodes said. “If I don’t get it straight, it’s on me. It’s a reflection on me. I don’t worry about anyone else. I don’t pass the buck. I have to get it right.”
Favre said: “I’m just as embarrassed as anyone else. But I can’t wait to play this Sunday.”
Ray of doubt: Atlanta cornerback Ray Buchanan agreed with critics of Pittsburgh quarterback Kordell Stewart, and so did Stewart in a strange pregame exchange of opinions.
“He looks where he is throwing the ball,” Buchanan said. “I don’t know what’s going on with their offense, but he’s pretty easy to read.”
Stewart laughed and thanked Buchanan.
“I can’t knock him for seeing that and recognizing that. Now I have to go out to practice and not stare down my receivers so he can’t use that to his advantage, try not to give them any keys to work from.”