Like many Americans, longtime Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston got together with some pals to watch Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday. His “pals” just happened to be Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and fellow Fox commentator Troy Aikman, both old teammates of his in Dallas.
Also like many (maybe all) Americans, Johnston, Aikman and Garrett were left shocked by the way the game ended, with the Patriots’ Malcolm Butler stepping in front of Ricardo Lockette to intercept Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson at the goal line on a second-and-goal from the one-yard line.
In a recent appearance on 105.3-FM The Fan, Johnston didn’t exactly rip the play call. In fact, he believes the pass could have been completed if Lockette had altered his route just a bit.
“People are criticizing this play call,” Johnston said, via the Dallas Morning News. “If Ricardo Lockette sells that route up the field a little bit more, off his release ... if he would have pushed the stem, which means staying straight up the field a little bit more to hold Butler from breaking and jumping that route, I think they're gonna complete the slant. I think it's little bit of execution on an inexperienced wide receiver's part.”
That said, Johnston believes unless Wilson wasn’t 100 percent sure on the pass, he should have just thrown it away and allowed Marshawn Lynch to have a shot from a yard out.
“When it's all said and done, you're the number one rushing team in the NFL,” he said. “You've got a guy that's averaged 4.7 all year long. It's gotta be absolutely clean if you're gonna throw this. If not, just throw it away and then let us line up on third down.”
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