Chris Johnson Not Actually Back to Form

[mav1234]

Apparently, CJ didn't actually return to his previous form last week, he just happened to be playing against the Panthers.

CJ against the rest of the league so far: 379 yards, 133 carries, 2.8 YPA

CJ against the panthers: 130 yards, 27 carries, 4.8 YPA

Not sure if I feel bad for him or not...

[charlottenian]

having teeth like this costs a lot to maintain

[R0CKnR0LLA]

I don't feel bad for him. He and his agent did what they had to do and it worked, he got PAID. I blame the Titans for caving and giving him a huge deal when he still had 2 years left on his current contract.

I would have let him to play out his rookie deal, and if he was still paying at a high level franchise him. And then franchise him again if need be. Not only would that save a significant amount of money but you wouldn't have a massive long term deal. You could move on at any point without having to deal with a big cap hit.

[Gazi]

Who's the RB for the Colts. He probably needs a boost in stats.

[mav1234]

running back by committee, Addai and Brown actually averaging >4 yards per carry and Delonte Carter is at 3.9.

[Fox007]

Addai and Brown will prolly go for 100 each with a score each.

Hell they may even put the ball boy in there for a few snaps.

[BlanksKarma]

I would have let him to play out his rookie deal, and if he was still paying at a high level franchise him. And then franchise him again if need be. Not only would that save a significant amount of money but you wouldn't have a massive long term deal. You could move on at any point without having to deal with a big cap hit.

I thought that according to the new CBA, a player cannot be franchised in back-to-back years by the same team.

[davos]

per CBSsports:

"First, some background: the Lions selected running back Kevin Smith in the the third round of the 2008 draft. After suffering late-season injuries in '09 and '10, the team chose not to re-sign him. He was out of football until two weeks ago when Detroit, in dire need of warm bodies in the backfield, gave him a call. Against the Panthers Sunday, Smith ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 61 receiving yards and a score.

We mention this because after Chris Johnson treaded the Panthers for 130 rushing yards last week, there were some rumblings of him "being back." Turns out, that performance was an aberration and unless the Titans are facing the Panthers every week from here on out, Johnson continues to be one of the worst backs in the league.

Back during training camp, when Johnson was parked on his couch waiting for a new deal, one of the reasons his supporters gave for paying him was that Johnson's presence in the backfield would take pressure off rookie quarterback Jake Locker. Well, Locker saw extensive action against the Falcons and he looked just fine. And he did it without anything resembling a running game.

Which brings us back to CJ. He carried the ball 12 times in Atlanta for a grand total of 13 yards. That works out to a nifty 1.08 yards per carry. Put differently: Matt Hasselbeck, who left the game with an arm injury and probably travels 40 yards in closer to six seconds than five, was the Titans' leading rusher with 17 yards on the afternoon.

(Even more embarrassing, courtesy of colleague Will Brinson's Sorting the Sunday Pile: "There were nine -- NINE! -- quarterbacks with more rushing yards than Johnson in Week 11.")

“I know we didn’t execute some plays that we could have,” Johnson said, via the Tennessean. “They are a pretty good defense, and they made a lot of plays out there. I’m sure if we would have executed better, then we could have had a better day in the running game.”

Or, as we mentioned above, the Titans could just petition the league to face the Panthers every week."

[mav1234]

I bet there are a few teams that wish they could face us every week :(

[R0CKnR0LLA]

I thought that according to the new CBA, a player cannot be franchised in back-to-back years by the same team.

The players pushed to get it reduced down to one year but it remains at two.