Tank Johnson: Activated but Not Audible

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Defensive tackle Tank Johnson was activated by the Dallas Cowboys earlier this week after serving an eight-game suspension for violating probation on a weapons charge. But he hasn’t been talking to the media all week and he won’t until after the Cowboys game Sunday against the Giants.

This is one action I feel shows that Tank is on the right path. Whether this was his idea or a brainstorm from his agent or the Cowboys media relations department, it’s smart. By talking to the media, he’s only opening the door for potential distractions and taking away from what the team is trying to do this week, which is win a ball game. Naturally, he’ll eventually have to come out of his shell and answer questions, some of them probably stupid, but the hoopla will die down as long as he keeps his nose clean and simply does his job.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips hasn’t revealed how much Tank will play Sunday, only that he will be “part of the rotation” that includes starter Jay Ratliff. He later guessed Tank might get about a third of the defensive snaps. It will be interesting to see how Tank’s conditioning is, but at less than half the defensive plays, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. How productive he is with those snaps is the real deal. If he can make some plays in limited time, he’ll soon be talking about his game and his past off-the-field exploits will be just that — a thing of the past.