Snap Judgments: Forgotton factor in Favre fiasco; Keyshawn rips WRs

• A couple weeks back, when I wrote a story about how NFL receivers have dominated the news, one potential source I tried to reach was Keyshawn Johnson. As it turned out, Johnson called me back after I had already finished the piece, but that doesn't mean he didn't have anything interesting to say about the state of the NFL's diva position.

No surprise there, as Johnson has been speaking his mind entertainingly since the moment he joined the NFL.

"I know this much,'' Johnson told me. "Back in 1996, I was drafted No. 1 overall [by the Jets]. I was the queen of the ball, the princess, whatever. And all those guys have come after me. I wrote the book on diva receivers. Truly, when you break it all down, I'm the first guy in the last 15 years of receivers who did all that stuff. I threw my helmet to the ground when no one was doing that. I slammed my helmet to the ground and then they changed the rules banning that.''

But Johnson had the good fortune to be drafted and play under Jets head coach Bill Parcells early in his career, and in time, the Tuna taught him how to be a team player even if he never lost his individuality or his penchant for drawing attention to himself at the game's most diva-heavy position.

"It took me two years to figure that out,'' Johnson said. "But eventually I had to admit to myself: 'You had fun with that act for a couple years, kid. But let it go. Now it's time to be a professional, have fun, make money and win games.'''

Johnson said he hasn't been closely following all the offseason storylines involving high-profile receivers this year, but he didn't hold back when I referenced Brandon Marshall's recent request to be traded from Denver.

"Brandon Marshall, what have you ever done?'' Johnson said. "You went to one Pro Bowl, maybe two. You caught a bunch of balls because they threw them to you. Have you even won a playoff game yet? Guys like me and Michael Irvin, we all won rings. Win a ring first and then talk that way.

"He says he doesn't want to play in Denver because he doesn't have a quarterback now that Jay Cutler is in Chicago. Please. When I was with the Jets, our starting quarterbacks were Ray Lucas, Frank Reich, Neil O'Donnell, Glenn Foley, Rick Mirer and Vinny Testaverde. And he's complaining about having to play with Kyle Orton? You should worry about making your quarterback better.''

Johnson serves as an ESPN analyst during the NFL season, and this offseason has been devoting his energies to his new show about decorating on the A&E network: Tackling Design. His opinions apparently never get rusty, no matter what time of year it is.

"I keep seeing where Anquan Boldin wants to be traded from Arizona, or he wants to be paid like Larry Fitzgerald,'' Johnson said. "Anquan, you're a glorified T.J. Houshmandzadeh, so cut it out. They're the same player. You want $11 million? Why don't you take the $8 million they're offering and be happy? You're not Larry Fitzgerald.''