More for All the L.J. Haters…
Gets 20-plus carries.
If you don’t like Larry Johnson as a person, fine — just come out and say that you don’t like him.
But after all he’s done for this organization, please don’t question his talent or what he means to the Chiefs offensively. When he gets upset with the Chiefs ineptitude, please don’t judge him any different than you’d judge Tony Gonzalez when he gets frustrated with the Chiefs. Wanting to win doesn’t display a lack of heart, it displays heart. And please, PUH-LEASE, don’t insinuate that Kolby Smith is a better back. That’s just asinine.
Personally, I can’t wait to see what a rejuvenated L.J. does behind a revamped line with a real offensive coordinator. I have faith that he will silence the haters. He absolutely has heart, and it really is peculiar that anybody who has seen him play extensively could say otherwise.
If you have any quarrels with the above-mentioned stat, go ahead and bring it in the comments. A little friendly banter never hurt anybody 
Kolby Smith looked good behind a bad offensive line, even had better stats, but he is not better than LJ. Good thing for us they will both tote the rock next year. What is the liklihood that we sign Alan Faneca from Pittsburg? I heard Mcintosh is moving to right tackle, Waters to Center, could be nice to have Faneca at Left Guard, and our #1 draft pick playing left tackle.
January 4th, 2008 at 12:22 pmI would rather see Niswanger play Center, why move a pro bowler from him respective postition? Move McIntosh to RT and draft a LT in the first round and a RG in the second. In the Third go for Owen Schmidt from my home state (WVU). Now you’ve revamped the line (all but Waters) and you have a bull dozer that is 6′3" 260lbs running a 4.5 40 plowing down any defender who dare get in the way. I just got chills on the back of my neck. GO CHIEFS.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:09 pmLJ is a beast on the field, the only problem is, he has little to no respect for the Chiefs. It’s obvious he only cares about personal stats, and won’t block for anyone!! The real pros, like LT, always put the team before personal numbers! Even when Preist was still the starter, LJ acted like a fucken toddler, besides any back would look good behind the all- pro line we used to have.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:23 pmPlease don’t compare Gonzalez to Johnson, thats horrible! Tony is a team player who rarely complains, while Johnson is the exact opposite. Tony breaks records, while LJ falls beneath the shadow of Tomlinson. The worst problem the team had this year was blocking, and LJ couldn’t block an intersection with a double-wide trailer!!
January 4th, 2008 at 2:30 pmIf you want my honest opinion, Larry has no business being in on third and long. If we had of kept Tony Richardson we’d have someone to hang in there and block on those downs, and someone who excelled at it. He can improve as a blocker, yes, but he shouldn’t be relied on as a blocker on obvious passing downs. That’s a waste of his talent, and setting him up to fail. We need to save most of that tread for him running the ball.
Keep in mind that L.J. has done just as much early in his career as L.T. and Tony did, and that he’s still young. Tony didn’t complain? He absolutely did, but with age and experience he has learned a little more tact. He didn’t become this leader that he is overnight.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:41 pm"Statistics are a drunken man’s light pole, he uses them for support not illumination."Numerous carries are a result of success, not a cause of success. Q: why did L.J. get 20 carries in the first place? A: Because we had the lead and were running out the clock, playing ball control offense. The exact same can be said for the games he didn’t get 20 carries. We were behind and could not afford to play ball control offense.
January 4th, 2008 at 3:04 pmNick, while you bring up a reasonable point, I don’t think it’s as strong an argument to make because 20 carries is a pretty standard workload for an NFL RB. In fact, I would argue that 20 carries is a very light workload for a RB. AAdict, I’m glad that you are one of the few that acknowledges how important LJ is to this team. It’s a shame that his production last year was so lousy because the offensive coordinator was running LJ directly in the direction of a 9-man, even 10-man front. No excuse for that kind of lousy playcalling. Kolby never got nearly the attention LJ got.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:54 pmwhat I didnt like was when he was takled for the umpteenth time behind the line of scrimage and he thru the ball down towards the line crying like a baby…and got flagged for it…lol if he would take a little less money and allow the chiefs to sign linemen then he would have his numbers…. I didnt see allen cry during the chiefs sucky deff. years…
January 5th, 2008 at 10:49 amYou have to be on crack to think LT is a team player. As far as I am concerned, LJ has never left his QB when he went to sit down beside him. You want to talk about being a baby? That is a perfect example. Another thing: most fans dont realise this but the NFL is a job for players, not a past time. When Larry Johnson is done, he needs the money from football to ensure he doesnt need to worry about money again because chances are, he wont be walking to well by the time he 40 or 50. Too many people just dont understand or even try to understand the fiscal part of football. Larry isnt going to be working when he is done, so he needs this money now, not to mention he is IMO the best RB in the NFL. Our O line was almost as bad last year, yet he still produced immensly with sometimes 9 guys in the box. What has LT done behind a top 3 O line? Just cry and complain. Yes he led the league in yards this year, but with how many? Exactly. He just "wasnt the worse". One more thing, if being destroyed behind the line time after time doesnt get you worked up, then you shouldnt be watching football. period. When Larry threw the ball is about the same time a threw my remote.
January 5th, 2008 at 12:52 pmI was frustrated as well when Larry threw down the ball. I was at that game, and felt that Solari was trying to get him killed. I thought it was more towards the staff than his teammates, but that’s just me. It was a bit out of line, but I saw Huard, Benny Sapp and plenty of others blow their cool this year, too. Larry really gets held to a double standard and has a short leash with Chiefs fans. I don’t know if it’s Jay-Z, the tats, his East Coast roots or that stupid Vermeil "diapers" comment, but he’s never really gotten a fair shake with Chiefs fans.
January 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pmI agree that LJ gets a bum rap, but really, he doesn’t do a lot to help his image. Regardless of the offensive coordinator (WE SAY HIS NAME NO MORE!) calling idiotic plays, to spike the ball in frustration was inexcusable. He’s gotta be a professional, no matter what. LJ’s struggles this year were by no means his own creation–too many things happened to blame him. Great call on the 20-carries stat.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:32 pmFor the money we paid the bum we should see better blocking. Suck s to actually have to earn it when you have no o-line.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pmI sense a little hostility in you, Daniel-san. The fact of the matter is, regardless of what L.J. does, some Chiefs fans are going to hate him. You know, he’s gotten more crap over spiking the ball then Jared Allen did for his two DUIs in one year. I love Jared, but most Chiefs fans just don’t look at things objectively.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm