By Mike Fisher
TheRanchReport.com
Date: Jan 8, 2006
IRVING, TX -- So you don't want that big-play, big-money, big-ego big-mouth wide reciever playing for your Dallas Cowboys next year, eh? Well, you may get your wish. Keyshawn Johnson may be outta here.
This might come as a shock to Keyshawn, given the way he spoke out about gossip regarding another high-profile pass-catcher by the name of Terrell Owens. Really, it was awfully bold of Johnson to tell the Dallas Morning News, "We don't need no %@#! receiver.''
Bold, because Keyshawn's comments came across as if he was a member of the decision-making wing at Valley Ranch.
Bold, because not only is he not in on organizational decisions -- he might be the victim of one.
I would describe one source inside the Cowboys as "adamant'' that Keyshawn will not be asked back in 2006. Another source won't go that far, but admits "if you subtract Keyshawn's relationships from the equation, (letting him go) makes some sense.'' Either way, such a move is definitely under consideration.
Is there a noticeable decline in Keyshawn's production? By the numbers, not hugely. His 71 catches led the club, and his 839 yards and six TDs are probably slightly below what the club would wish from him. Those numbers are remarkably similar to what he did in 2005 (70 catches, 981 yards, six TDs) with one notable exception: Johnson caught 15 passes of 20-yards-plus in '04, and just seven last year.
He does do some "little'' things very well. It's a nice luxury to have your top WR be willing to line up inside to pass-block, for instance. (Of course, it'd be nicer to have one who gains a lot of yards and scores a lot of TDs, too.)
What NFL pass-catcher had stats that mirrored Keyshawn's last year? Well, one guy has 75 catches for 855 yards with seven TDs and 12 catches of 20-yards-plus. Of course, that guy was Todd Heap. On a lousy team. That can't throw the ball. Oh, and Heap's a tight end.
Three years ago, I polled five veteran receivers in the NFL and asked them to name the 10 best wideouts in the league. Four of them included Keyshawn on the elite list. It is fair to say that as the former No. 1 overall pick approaches his 34th birthday, he's not that same player.
Has his outrageous personality worn especially thin at Valley Ranch? Again, not that we've noticed. But Keyshawn's "I'm-the-man'' self-image is not shared by some of the other fellas. (And no, not just the kickers and other helpless teammates he screams at on the sidelines.) He is, in many cases, instead accepted by teammates in one of those "aw,-that's-just-Key-being-Key'' setups.
But what happens to the scale if the decision-makers weigh whatever money concerns there might be AND they weigh the production AND they weigh the outrageousness?
Maybe that "relationships'' thing factors in. Keyshawn's future is largely in the hands of the coach, who will likely win an argument with the man who writes the checks if it comes down to that. (Bill was devoted to Chad Eaton, for crying out loud, so he's surely devoted to Key.) But we hear Keyshawn is wrong if he thinks Parcells will go to any length to keep the receiver. Keyshawn is also wrong to believe -- as he apparently does -- that his career numbers, Hall-of-Fame-level, really, make him something of an untouchable.
Johnson has done a nice job ingratiating himself into the Dallas scene. He buddies up to beat writers (though the results of their conversations with him never seem to turn up in the paper.) He buddies up to D/FW business leaders (it's always good to be friends with the biggest liquor distributors in the city). And in the locker room, he had carte blanche because of the leeway given him by the coach. (And what lesser Cowboy would try to buck that?)
And again, he has also been a reasonably productive player here. Maybe not productive enough for him to peacock about as if he's some ungodly combination of Jerry Rice, Don Hutson and Terrell Owens, but productive.
Still, what if you could replace him with, say, Jerry Rice?
Or Don Hutson?
Or Terrell Owens?
Well, Mr. Hutson is dead. Mr. Rice is now a ballroom dancer on TV or something. Mr. Owens is. ... available.