Johnson Preaches What He Practices
Tight end Eric Green missed 39 practices for the Miami Dolphins in 1995. There won’t be a repeat in 1996, not with Jimmy Johnson as coach.
The Dolphins were an expensive group of underachievers last season. Expected to win the AFC and compete with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for a Super Bowl championship, the Dolphins barely qualified for the playoffs with a 9-7 record, then bowed out in the wild-card round. A country-club atmosphere existed.
“I was astonished when I looked at the number of players that missed practice,” said Johnson, who was hired to replace Don Shula this year. “We had players missing 20, 30, nearly 40 practices. When you consider there are only three practices a week - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - that’s a player missing 13 weeks of practice.
“If you miss 13 weeks of practice in a season, you’re not going to get a whole lot better.”
And Johnson is as brash as ever.
“We’re the team to beat, not anyone else in our division,” Johnson said. “We’ll win. There’s no doubt in my mind that we will win. And in all honesty, there’s 29 guys in this room (the other coaches), they know we’re going to win, too. I’m not making a prediction, but I want my players to have the attitude that we are the team to beat.”
He also didn’t want anybody to think that he wants to win a Super Bowl so Dan Marino can finally get his first ring.
“I could say I want it for Dan Marino. The hell with that; I want it for Jimmy Johnson,” he said.
He even sent a message to his old team.
“You can tell Dallas that we have the attitude that we’re the team to beat,” he said.
Wisdom of Wise
Speaking of ex-Cowboys coaches, Tony Wise of the Chicago Bears might be the best offensive line coach in the NFL. The Bears had a 1,000-yard rusher and a 3,800-yard passer last season. They allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL (15) and were detected for the fewest offensive holding penalties (nine).
Yet none of Chicago’s linemen made the Pro Bowl, nor were any of them serious candidates. Credit Wise, who also molded the Dallas offensive line into the best in football at his previous coaching stop.
Draft watch
Most NFL teams have Keyshawn Johnson of Southern Cal rated as the top wide receiver in the 1996 draft. But a few teams were leaning toward smaller but faster Terry Glenn of Ohio State - until last week.
Glenn has a reputation as a blazer, and scouts expected him to run a 40-yard dash in the 4.2-second range at Ohio State’s pro workout day. But Glenn trudged home with a 4.48, locking himself into the No. 2 wideout spot on everyone’s draft board. Ohio State tight end Rickey Dudley matched Glenn with a 4.48 40 - and may have run himself into the Top 10 picks of the draft.
End zone
The Indianapolis Colts got more help for their offensive line Saturday, signing unrestricted free-agent offensive guard Doug Widell. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Widell started 11 games at left guard for Detroit last year but missed four games with an ankle injury… . The Denver Broncos have signed former Pro Bowl player and free-agent defensive back Erik McMillan. McMillan, 29, is attempting a comeback after two years out of football. McMillan’s last season in the NFL was in 1993, when he played with Kansas City.