Rob Johnson (football player)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rob Johnson
Date of birth	March 18, 1973
Place of birth	Newport Beach, California
Position(s)	QB
College	USC
NFL Draft	1995 / Round 4/ Pick 99
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1995–1997 1998–2001 2002 2003 2003–2004 2006	Jacksonville Jaguars Buffalo Bills Tampa Bay Buccaneers Washington Redskins Oakland Raiders New York Giants

Rob Garland Johnson (born March 18, 1973 in Newport Beach, California) is a professional football player. He is currently a free agent.

[edit] College career

Johnson played college football at the University of Southern California where he was teammates with Curtis Conway, Johnnie Morton, Willie McGinest, and All-America tackle Tony Boselli.

[edit] Professional career

Johnson joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1995. He has played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, and Oakland Raiders until 2004. He was signed to the Giants on May 26, 2006, but his contract was terminated on August 30th, 2006.

Rob Johnson holds the NFL record for most sacks per passing attempt, earning the nickname "Robo-sack" due to his reluctance to throw the ball away. However, Johnson also holds the Buffalo Bills' franchise record for completion percentage and pass-to-interception ratio, besting the likes of Jack Kemp and Jim Kelly. Still, he is one of the least popular players in the franchise's storied history.

After being released by Buffalo, Johnson signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2002-2003 season, a team which, under new head coach Jon Gruden, was looking for a mobile signal caller in the mold of Gruden's former superstar Rich Gannon. Many thought that Johnson fit that mold - a veteran with arm strength and the ability to roll out, which incumbent Brad Johnson lacked. However, Rob lacked Brad Johnson's pocket presence, decisiveness and accuracy, prompting Gruden to name him the backup. When Brad Johnson got injured versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Rob Johnson led the Buccaneers to a defense-filled 9-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers the following week. After being benched for the returning Brad Johnson the following week, however, Rob's subpar play in practice led Gruden to try out veteran and fan favorite Shaun King several weeks later following another Brad Johnson injury. King played so poorly against the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing three interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) versus only five completions that Rob Johnson started the second half, leading the Buccaneers to a late touchdown drive but failing to spark a comeback. The following week, with a first-round playoff bye on the line, Johnson led the Buccaneers to five field goals against the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field, for the franchise's first-ever victory when the kickoff temperature was below 40 degrees (it was 27 degrees out). For the third time at the controls of the Buccaneers, Johnson didn't turn the ball over. In the end, while Johnson's tenure in Tampa was disappointing from the standpoint that he was not a new Gannon, he nonetheless went 2-0 as the starter for a Super Bowl team, wins without which Tampa would not have gotten the second seed in the NFC.

When it became obvious that Brad Johnson was entrenched in Tampa following the Super Bowl win, Rob went to the Washington Redskins, although he had trouble cracking the starting lineup and escaping past woes. In a regular season game in 2003 vs the Buffalo Bills, while a member of the Washington Redskins, Johnson was called into the game after the starting quarterback Patrick Ramsey was injured. He entered the game with a chorus of boos from the crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and on the second play, he was sacked by Aaron Schobel, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Later that season Johnson was released by Coach Steve Spurrier, and replaced by free agent Tim Hasselbeck.

Johnson is also a coach at Camp Quarterback, a program run by his father Bob. The camp has produced players such as Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer.

Currently, Johnson resides in Laguna Beach with his wife Dana.

[edit] See Also

Preceded by Doug Flutie	Buffalo Bills Starting Quarterbacks 1999-2000	Succeeded by Alex Van Pelt
Preceded by Reggie Perry	USC Trojans Starting Quarterbacks 1992-1994	Succeeded by Brad Otton