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It should come as no surprise that the majority of FOX NFL Sunday analyst Jimmy Johnson's interview with Colin Cowherd on Monday was focused on the white-haired coach's former team, the Dallas Cowboys.
The conversation between Johnson and Cowherd, regarding the Cowboys, ranged from the emergence of rookies Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott, to how he would handle a player missing or sleeping through team meetings.
Here are some of the highlights:
On what he's seen from Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott this season:
Johnson: "He’s playing so much better from what we thought he would play when we watched him at Mississippi State. He’s more accurate than he was. Evidently [offensive coordinator Scott] Linehan is doing a great job of coaching him. Jason Garrett is doing a great job of coaching him. He’s got a great supporting cast, a great offensive line and the top running back in the league right now and that’s allowing him to be somewhat conservative and protect the football. That’s what he’s doing so good right now. He’s protecting the football and he’s utilizing the talent around him."
On Dez Bryant reportedly missing meetings and what he did as a coach in similar situations:
Johnson: "Well, Colin, we wouldn’t accept that. And let me explain myself: It’s been misconstrued a little bit as far as my approach to players. I always said there’s a different standard for all the players. Every year I told the guys I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to be very consistent. I’m going to treat everyone of you differently. And how I treat you is: Do you abide by the rules and regulations? Do you do what we ask you to do? And, are you a good player?’ For instance I said maybe I might cut John Roper for sleeping in a meeting, you know, because he was not a good player, he was late to a lot of meetings and he did things that we didn’t want him to. Where as if Troy Aikman would have done it -- and he wouldn’t have done it -- but if Troy Aikman would’ve fell asleep in a meeting, I would’ve disciplined him.
Cowherd: So you would've disciplined him?
Johnson: "Oh without question, but I wouldn’t have cut them. See that’s the difference. And that’s why people say, ‘Oh he’s got a different standard for the great players.’ Yeah, I’ve got a different standard, but I expect them to meet the rules and regulations and do everything that we aks them to do. I don’t want them to break the rules."
On Prescott playing without Bryant and whether or not Johnson would play Prescott when Romo is healthy:
Johnson: "He’s fine [without Bryant]. Dez, you know, gives you the big plays and you have to have the explosive plays. Just like yesterday on FOX NFL Sunday, Terry Bradshaw said ‘I wouldn’t bring [Tony] Romo back in. I would stay with Prescott.’ Even though he’s my good buddy, I disagree with him. Against the great teams, against the really great teams in this league, they’re not good enough defensively to live with their offensive approach right now. Tony Romo gives them the big plays. He’s going to turn the ball over more, but he gives them the big plays...and right now I don’t think the Cowboys are good enough defensively to beat the top teams in the league. They’re very efficient, offensively, and they can run the football and they can score some points, but they’re going to have to be better than that as a total team if they’re going to beat the better teams in the league.
On the Cowboys drafting Ezekiel Elliot in the first round of last year's draft:
Johnson: "Well, I think because of their offensive line, and because of their quarterback situation, he is the perfect player for them. And their defense is not strong enough to carry a team so they have to keep their defense off the field -- time of possession. Just like yesterday, he allowed them to win the ballgame. He rushed for 138 yards, but the time in possession was like 33.5 minutes they kept their defense off the field. So the 49ers are not good enough to take advantage of that. I think he is a perfect player for them right now. And I don’t know him personally -- and that’s a big part of talent evaluation. You want to know how he’s going to be five years from now or six years from now as a person -- you know his character on and off [the field]. Everything I hear is good, but from what I see watching him, he’s a great football player and he’s going to be a great player for this team for a long time."
The conversation between Johnson and Cowherd, regarding the Cowboys, ranged from the emergence of rookies Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott, to how he would handle a player missing or sleeping through team meetings.
Here are some of the highlights:
On what he's seen from Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott this season:
Johnson: "He’s playing so much better from what we thought he would play when we watched him at Mississippi State. He’s more accurate than he was. Evidently [offensive coordinator Scott] Linehan is doing a great job of coaching him. Jason Garrett is doing a great job of coaching him. He’s got a great supporting cast, a great offensive line and the top running back in the league right now and that’s allowing him to be somewhat conservative and protect the football. That’s what he’s doing so good right now. He’s protecting the football and he’s utilizing the talent around him."
On Dez Bryant reportedly missing meetings and what he did as a coach in similar situations:
Johnson: "Well, Colin, we wouldn’t accept that. And let me explain myself: It’s been misconstrued a little bit as far as my approach to players. I always said there’s a different standard for all the players. Every year I told the guys I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to be very consistent. I’m going to treat everyone of you differently. And how I treat you is: Do you abide by the rules and regulations? Do you do what we ask you to do? And, are you a good player?’ For instance I said maybe I might cut John Roper for sleeping in a meeting, you know, because he was not a good player, he was late to a lot of meetings and he did things that we didn’t want him to. Where as if Troy Aikman would have done it -- and he wouldn’t have done it -- but if Troy Aikman would’ve fell asleep in a meeting, I would’ve disciplined him.
Cowherd: So you would've disciplined him?
Johnson: "Oh without question, but I wouldn’t have cut them. See that’s the difference. And that’s why people say, ‘Oh he’s got a different standard for the great players.’ Yeah, I’ve got a different standard, but I expect them to meet the rules and regulations and do everything that we aks them to do. I don’t want them to break the rules."
On Prescott playing without Bryant and whether or not Johnson would play Prescott when Romo is healthy:
Johnson: "He’s fine [without Bryant]. Dez, you know, gives you the big plays and you have to have the explosive plays. Just like yesterday on FOX NFL Sunday, Terry Bradshaw said ‘I wouldn’t bring [Tony] Romo back in. I would stay with Prescott.’ Even though he’s my good buddy, I disagree with him. Against the great teams, against the really great teams in this league, they’re not good enough defensively to live with their offensive approach right now. Tony Romo gives them the big plays. He’s going to turn the ball over more, but he gives them the big plays...and right now I don’t think the Cowboys are good enough defensively to beat the top teams in the league. They’re very efficient, offensively, and they can run the football and they can score some points, but they’re going to have to be better than that as a total team if they’re going to beat the better teams in the league.
On the Cowboys drafting Ezekiel Elliot in the first round of last year's draft:
Johnson: "Well, I think because of their offensive line, and because of their quarterback situation, he is the perfect player for them. And their defense is not strong enough to carry a team so they have to keep their defense off the field -- time of possession. Just like yesterday, he allowed them to win the ballgame. He rushed for 138 yards, but the time in possession was like 33.5 minutes they kept their defense off the field. So the 49ers are not good enough to take advantage of that. I think he is a perfect player for them right now. And I don’t know him personally -- and that’s a big part of talent evaluation. You want to know how he’s going to be five years from now or six years from now as a person -- you know his character on and off [the field]. Everything I hear is good, but from what I see watching him, he’s a great football player and he’s going to be a great player for this team for a long time."
