There's no such thing as a "primary running back" in most cases (Marshawn Lynch is a rare exception). In today's NFL you have 3 guys. A big guy that can wear down defenses early and late and pick up the tough yards (which is Shonn Greene's job), a guy that can stretch defenses (that was supposed to be Johnson's job) and a guy that can be a third down back out of the backfield (Dexter McCluster). In truth, though, The Titans will win or lose because of Jake Locker, not because of Chris Johnson, Shonn Greene, Dexter McCluster or whatever other back they pick up. If Locker can play like the QB that faced the Jets in 2013 well the Titans will be pretty good. If he plays like the guy that played the Jets in 2012 then the Titans will have a bad season and will be looking for a QB in next year's draft. It's no different than the Jets really. The Jets will win if Michael Vick or Geno Smith play well. Not if Chris Johnson has a big year or has a poor year. If Michael Vick reverts to 2010 Michael Vick then the Jets will have a great shot at upending the Patriots. If Michael Vick plays like he did in 2011 or if he's not playing and Geno Smith plays like he did last year then it'll be a long year for the Jets. Chris Johnson or no Chris Johnson.
The more this guy argues, the more it sounds like he's saying it's the OC's fault for not using CJ correctly. And I just went through all of his snaps for the first three games and came to that very conclusion so far. It's got to be the most boring and predictable game planning I have seen since Hackett.
Okay maybe in part I am saying that. His ability is to run fast through a hole. I've said it in like half my posts. That's what he does and one thing that he gets paid to do. If you open up a huge hole he's as good as anyone. That is one important thing that a running back needs to be able to do. He also has to be able to break tackles, block, not drop extremely catchable balls, and follow his own blocks. Teams have been able to figure out ways to defend Johnson where outside gaps are defended differently and Johnson has to run between the tackles for little gain (or try and take it outside and lose yardage). If you want to see Johnson at his best watch film from the Rams game this year (which is strange because Jeff Fisher should have known better than anyone how to defend Johnson). Johnson was getting outside all day on St. Louis, it didn't appear that the Rams had any intentions to even try and force him inside, and he had by far his best game of the year. Another thing that teams have been figuring out is that in order to defend Johnson, you don't crowd the line of scrimmage (in his long run against the Jets in 2012 the Jets had almost everyone at the line). Once Johnson gets past the first wave, if there's no second wave he will score pretty much every time. When you put 7 guys in the box instead of 8 it makes it a lot harder for Johnson to find creases and since he absolutely cannot break tackles he is usually neutralized.
no, he is saying the opposite. he is saying that CJ isn't any good and lacks the skills to be good, and any success he had was because everything fell into place for him because of what other players did not the field, not his own ability, or he was simply fed the ball enough times to rack up yards.
so he is just fast and took advantage of open holes, even in 2009, but has always lacked the more valuable attributes needed to be a good RB. the reason I qualify that is because there have been plenty of fast RB's who weren't good, so it isn't speed that makes a good RB, just that speed makes a player with those other attributed better if he is fast. but speed alone does not make a good RB. it can lead to some success, as is your argument for CJ, based on how well the team around him opens up holes for him, but left to his own ability, if that does not occur, he is not a good RB and cannot make plays happen. If that is what you are saying, I disagree. a fast RB that possesses no other significant skills at the RB position is not going to have the success he had.
They tried a lot of things. Dowell Loggains (the OC last year) began the season with a heavy package. He then went to a wide open package when Locker went down. With the amount of times that Johnson touched the ball he really should have done better. One of the biggest complaints from the Tennessee coaches over the past few years is that Johnson left too many yards on the field. Frank Wycheck (the radio analyst) would scream about it during games and on his talk show. Part of the reason that he was force fed the ball is because the GM Ruston Webster was ordering it (from what I've heard) to justify Johnson's contract. So even when Johnson was stinking it up the Titans would continue to feed him even though at times Greene (or Javon Ringer) was clearly out performing him.
You have to remember that a lot of the reasons that Johnson got the type of carries that he was getting in weeks 1-3 were because of how the defenses lined up. Read the post I made about how defenses try and contain Johnson. When the other team has the gaps defended the Titans only choice was to give him the ball and let him run up the gut to try and create something. And that's not his game at all.
Except, of course, in those rare cases when a great athlete retires early while still in relatively peak form.....
Man, I have to say, I thought the Jets had a bad offensive line until I committed myself to watching these snaps. Your run and pass blocking are both terrible. Please tell me that it gets better after week 4.
It was always someone else's fault with Johnson. Watch how the run blocking was when Greene got into games.
I am. The difference is the Johnson tries to find room to run when there isn't any (which speed backs tend to do across the league and always have) while Shonn Greene runs face first into unblocked tacklers and drags them a couple of yards. We already know Greene does this. Hell, even when there is a hole, Greene finds the nearest tackler and tries to run him over, and then gets up limping.
You clearly have an issue with reading comprehension and understanding what the point of my original post was. I'm not defending him. I'm saying you guys look stupid freaking out over the idiot, especially considering his opinion isn't incredibly outlandish. If he doesn't think he was never good he's clearly in the wrong. Freaking out and defending Johnson makes our fanbase looks childish. And I wasn't quoting you, I was just pointing out the level of immaturity that the conversation eventually evolved into. On topic, I think Chris Johnson is going to be a boost for our offensive production and I'm happy we signed him.
Of course having a bad knee for the last 13 weeks had nothing to do with it, right? Still he gains more than 1400 yards combined but that must have been the cripple overload...
There is a big difference between not picking up yardage because of poor vision and decision making and not picking up yardage due to injury,
Last sentence is scarily true. What I love about the post you just responded to is he's using a 77-snap sample size against a 279-snap sample size to try and justify his invalid point.
I'm not the one with any comprehension issues. regardless of what the broader point your post was addressing, I was discussing a specific element of your post, that his claim wasn't that CJ was washed up but that he was no good to begin with. whatever your broader point was, you still attempted to defend him, even if just minimally, based on the idea of many people view CJ as washed up and thus TNTiatnsFan's position wasn't that outlandish even if people disagreed with it. whether anyone else believed CJ is washed up has zero relation to TNTitanFan's position that he was never good to begin with.
McCluster is a wide receiver not a running back. lets look at what the titans have done this off season big free agent running back pool bad free agent receiver pool deep draft receiver pool shallow draft running back pool so what do they do; overpay a pedestrian receiver and not sign a back. now they cornered themselves into having to draft a running back and if they don't land their guy, they are fucked. Titans FO is stupid, maybe you should spend less time ragging on a Jets forum about a guy we signed to be a rotational player and more time worried about what the fuck your own team is doing.
Why is there a Titans fan on this forum again? I mean Jesus, don't you have anything better to do than troll a Jets forum? I mean there is no link to the Jets and Titans other than playing each other and us stealing your best player. Go troll a division rivals forums.
So Greene and Ringer were clearly out performing Johnson but the coaches refused to play them. Was this the Javon Ringer who was out of football last year, who never gained more than 239 rushing in any year in the league? And Greene, wouldn't he have had higher yards per rush or reception if he was out performing Johnson? When you only gain 295 yards rushing it seems it would be hard to find someone to sing your praises but Greene has you.
