There is one thing about many Chiefs fans that drives me absolutely crazy. I’m sure others who cover the Chiefs — Chris Thorman, Jason Whitlock, Kent Babb, Merlin, Nick Athan, etc…. — get frustrated by it, too. I’m sure it’s not just us bloggers and writers either. I imagine that realistic Chiefs fans often get annoyed by the rampant homerism as well. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the fact that Chiefs fans often, to quote Jack Nicholson, “can’t handle the truth.”
They refuse to look at their team’s roster through anything except a Red-and-Gold-colored prism. This is why guys like Brodie Croyle, Jeff Webb, Kris Wilson and Samie Parker got defended for way longer than they should have. This is why I coined the phrase “earn your Arrowhead” (and, ironically enough, Todd Haley is essentially using that very concept with his players).
Speaking of earn your Arrowhead, L.J. has lost his. Permanently if you ask me.
Look, I want the Chiefs to be good just as desperately as you all do. But if I didn’t come on here and tell you what I thought was the honest truth, nobody would read this site. I’m telling you right now that Larry Johnson is all but done in Kansas City.
We’ve seen this in Oakland with Randy Moss. We’ve seen this in Indiana with Ron Artest. The Big Apple with guys like Plaxico and Starbury. Beantown with Manny. We’ve reached the point of no return with L.J. I’m convinced he’s worn out his welcome and that bridge can no longer be mended. And that’s before you consider that he is likely damaged goods with a suspension looming. These things never work out well. Trust me.
Look, L.J. is only desperately trying to save his career at this point. I’ve always said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, especially a diva of an old dog with a chip on his shoulder bigger than pal Jay-Z’s bank account. He’s not going to become Thomas Jones in pass protection out of the blue. He’s not going to all of a sudden magically transform into Reggie Bush as a pass catcher. He’s not going to stop resenting the Chiefs franchise and its fans, along with the rest of Kansas City.
If Larry Johnson resurrects his career, it will be somewhere else. I doubt he can at this point, by the way. He’s about as wanted as Matt Jones and Travis Henry are nowadays. In fact, I’m not so sure he’s not just still on the roster as trade bait. There’s no real rush to cut him. None at all. And Larry would still show up even if he had a feeling he was going to get cut. He’s auditioning for the rest of the NFL as we speak, practicing his Carlito Brigante “ya Honor, I’m a changed man” speech in the mirror every night.
So, when I say Edgerrin James would be a cheaper, better fit for the 2009 Chiefs than Larry Johnson, it’s not because I’m stupid. It’s because it’s the truth. I can handle it. Can you?
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Word on the Chiefs homepage is that we just signed an UFA C from Cincy Ghiaciuc. He was a 4th round pick in the 05 draft. Looks like a solid competitor up front. This could be yet another building block of a strong O line for a running back to prosper.
Ghiaciuc played for Central Michigan and blocked for a 1,000 yards rusher in each of his last three seasons there. In Cincy, he didn’t have much to block for but started 42 games of the 48 he played in. I like this addition for the competition with Ruddy and his 4 years experience and starting potential. Building up the trenches, I like it.
“Sandya” you know what i got 3 words for you “what a comment” nobody could have said that more perfect props homie
Word on Ghiaciuc from Cincy fans is that he is HORRIBLE. This is the guy that snapped the ball into his own ass on a shotgun play.
Inmem: er… LJ was forced a grievance-mandated pay cut that resulted from him losing bonus money while suspended for being a woman-beating meathead thug. He’s not involved in Chiefs Charity, here. That said, I still say we run his ass into the ground and see what happens before the wheels come off or we find a better option (not Edge).
Adam, I wish you posted this first instead of the first LJ rant. Does that make sense? Anyway, you are wrong. Let us get past the LJ rant’s and move on. He is here and he is a great running back. Helmets is right do not compare LJ to EJ. I saw one post that said he wasn’t as good with a less experienced O-line.
Obviously, Einstein left the building with that remark. I want LJ to succeed, and I want to see that success in red and gold. I love the Chiefs, LJ is a Kansas City Chief. Go Chiefs.
Extramental, he also had the option to be traded thats why a lot of ppl are saying hes a trader but there was “rumors” that he was gonna go if they gave him that pay cut, but instead of leaving KC to make his money, he stayed with the team, thats a true Chief, and no i do not like Edge at all either, he only plays for money and not pride.
dude, he’s under contract. he can’t leave until he’s traded or cut. it has nothing to do with him being a, er.. traitor or “true chief.”
I know hes under contract, all im saying is that he could have asked to be traded, any player under contract can still ask to be traded, but he didnt ask. No big deal, keep LJ and run him into the ground, then Kolby Smith could start like i wanted
inmem58:
I actually really hate to play the devil’s advocate in this situation, but Larry Johnson DID make noises about being traded… he said he felt like he’d reached the end of his road in KC and that it was time for him to move on and that he was done in Kansas City or some nonsense like that. Like it or not (and I don’t, because I want to keep him), he has been a complete shithead.
There’s really no reason to argue on this topic, he’s gonna be a Chief so as fans we should support LJ and not talk bad about our own players it’ll only make us look bad like Cowboys and the TO situation
The lawyer’s answer is “It depends.”
I see a bit of Corey Dillon in Larry Johnson. If the power running, especially to the strong side, is a big enough threat, relative weaknesses in other areas become less important. A lot depends on how/if the O-Line shapes up.
All things being equal, LJ isn’t versatile enough for my tastes. But I can easily see him being a monster against certain defenses.
Watching Edge in the SB, I see a good RB. Maybe not the terror he once was, but his struggles in Arizona were more o-line related to my eye. And I can understand his being frustrated. Arizona really struggled to find balance in their offense, and wasn’t always very quick to adjust to what defenses were giving up. Took them almost the entire first half of the SB to get the ball to the wide-open RB in the flat.
That’s my biggest worry with Haley at the helm – the AZ offense was slow to make adjustments, and take what was given. I worry that Haley’s success is based on the extraordinary talents of Larry Fitzgerald, much the way that Gunther Cunningham made his name on the back of Leslie O’Neal.
On the personal attacks front, I can see how Adam might’ve left himself open by comparing himself to nationally syndicated writers and pundits. But I don’t think he was trying to pull a “false authority” move on us by name-dropping. He was merely citing other writers who had chimed in on this subject. Gives the rest of us some names to look up if we should *gasp* care to research the topic.
Personal attacks, or “flaming” by anyone at any time take away from the discussion. Get over yourselves, people, and quick grabbing at (those kinds of) straws (I grab at a few, myself, but usually in the theory department.).
Witless gets a lot of things wrong, in my book. But sometimes he’s the only guy saying the things I’m thinking, and his skin-color (I’m sorry to say) lets him be frank in ways that this white man (me) can not. I rarely get the impression that his opinions are based on popularity contest polls, although he HAS been able to play the race card effectively, to his benefit.
Blah blah blah.
All of this RB talk is moot if the Chiefs can’t block. I think that even if the changes made only improve the blocking incrementally, we have a pair of QBs who can be successful.
There’s PLENTY of RB talent out there good enough to succeed in a smart system, with ENOUGH of the pieces of the puzzle in place around them. RB/LB talent isn’t not the issue.
We should be watching for what transpires at the wideout position. I think Pioli’s building a solid TEAM concept in the trenches, and we’ll be BETTER than last year, without question. But will we have guys who can win key one-on-one matchups in space? Will we be able to single cover outside much? Little? Not at all? Will we have at least 1 guy who can get open 1-on-1? 2 guys?
These are the HUGE questions, and the Chiefs are sitting on a HUGE pilie of money, and they can be aggressive.
LJ’s biggest value might turn out to be a mid-season trade. I don’t think Pioli’s done going after 2010 picks, and I can easily see Lendale White getting hurt and the Titans, with the Lombardi Trophy in their eyes, giving up a lot for the erstwhile untradeable Larry Johnson. In the meantime, having him in the backfield behind a right side consisting of Colin Brown, Damien McIntosh and a blocking TE is an intriguing idea.
For now, though, Johnson is getting Haley’s attention.
“He made some runs in the last practice I thought were pretty special,” Haley said. “I was very encouraged by a couple of those. Those flashed at me and the coaches to where you say, ‘That was pretty good.’ If Larry continues to work and stay on point and do the things asked of him, he’ll definitely have a chance to help us.”
ahahhahaahahahhahah
ahahahahahhaahahah
where is that apology?