L.J.: ‘It’s Time For Me To Goâ€
From Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati
If it was up to Larry Johnson, Sunday’s game against the Bengals would be his last in a red and gold uniform.
Speaking in a calm, measured voice, Johnson said what he’s said before: he doesn’t see a place for him in the Chiefs’ future.
“It’s time to move on,” Johnson said. “For me and for the Chiefs.”
With the conclusion of the ’08 season and the 10-point defeat against the Bengals, Johnson made it very plain he wants to end his time in Kansas City. He said he needs a new start.
“I’ve been through a lot being in this city and there are certain things you feel, certain things you just can’t get corrected,” Johnson said. “You take your losses and you move on.”
When asked what he thought his chances were of being with the Chiefs in the 2009 season, Johnson said:
“Slim and none. You can tell. When I came back, I was coming back ready to play and for some reason it just didn’t fit. Even when my rushing yards were pretty good, it felt like my role diminished. That’s a telltale sign for anybody in that situation so you know what’s coming.
Since he returned after missing four games in the middle of the season for disciplinary reasons and his one-game NFL suspension, Johnson felt like he no longer fit into the offensive plans of head coach Herm Edwards and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. The Chiefs had gone to the spread offense and Johnson acknowledged that he did not fit that scheme.
“They did what they had to do,” Johnson said. “I understand that. They moved on. It’s time for me to move on.”
The Chiefs have been able to run the ball in the spread, but a lot of that yardage has come because of the legs of quarterback Tyler Thigpen. Before the arrival of the spread, Johnson played in five games and ran 93 times for 417 yards. He’s averaged 18.6 runs for 83.4 yards.
Once he returned to the spread, in seven games he’s run the ball 100 times for 457 yards, or an average of 14.3 carries and 65.3 yards per game.
Sunday against Cincinnati was not a good day for Johnson or the Chiefs running game. Down by 13 points at half-time, they ran the ball only 15 times for 31 yards. Johnson had 10 carries for 18 yards and one of the biggest plays of the game came in the second quarter, when the Chiefs reached Bengals territory for the first time in the game. On third-and-one, they went with a power formation and ran Johnson behind RT Damion McIntosh. The play gained nothing.
“When you play a team that’s going to run the ball a majority of the time (Cincinnati ran 39 times in 70 offensive plays) it backs you into a corner and you start throwing the ball because you are going to get fewer shots because they are going to eat up the clock,” Johnson said.
“If you are not successful on the first two drives you are doomed from the get go. That’s what happened to us. We didn’t’ want to run the ball; we wanted to pass it and those three and outs really hurt us. They got up in the first half, so we were chasing them the whole game. So instead of just playing your game, you are always looking at the scoreboard and the clock and you are seeing chances slip away and time slip away so you go with the pass and try to make big plays. ”
As Johnson pointed out, when the Chiefs were most successful offensively in this decade, they were considered a high flying offense, but they were an attack built around the running game, whether it was Priest Holmes or Johnson.
“Kansas City was always a run team, even in the days of Al Saunders and the Greatest Show on Turf; that was all built on the run,” Johnson said. “We didn’t do the spread offense then. We didn’t pass the ball that many times. It’s evident the key games we’ve lost, we failed to run the football. That’s in the stats, you can see that.”
There’s a mentality that comes with running the football that the Chiefs are lacking and Johnson acknowledged that as well.
“When you pass t he ball in the end zone, it’s always like a flash knock out,” he said. “When you run the ball, it’s like hitting the guy with a lot of body shots. You wear him down and you end up destroying his will. You have to want to do that. If you don’t have that as a goal, you can’t accomplish it any other way.
“That’s when you take over games. The running game is a mental thing. You impose your will on them and you make them feel it all the way down to their toes. You feel conquered when you are getting ran on. ”
Right now, Johnson feels like his whole situation with the Chiefs has conquered him. It’s time to find new horizons.
“I’m definitely glad this is all over and hopefully I can start a new beginning and work from there,” Johnson said. “Until I find myself in a new situation or a new environment, I won’t feel like I’ve started something new yet.”
Larry is right about everything he said!
But this statement is typical of a L Johnson personality….
I’ve been through a lot being in this city and there are certain things you feel, certain things you just can’t get corrected,” Johnson said. “You take your losses and you move on.”
What losses have you suffered?! Your one of the problems with this team,from the former GM and the CURRENT Head Coach, all the way down to you Johnson! Your a ME guy! Just like to many in this organization!
Good Bye and Good Riddance!
LJ has too big of a contract to leave KC. He will be back. LJ hasnt run with the force that he ran in 2006 or before his contract. He gets tackled by CB all the time and that NEVER happened before he signed that contract. LJ did a lot of that to himself when he went to bars and beat up on women. There is a reason KC doesnt like someone like him.
Cut out the “LJ” cancer and start the radiation! Home boy got the money and got fat and lazy!
Trade him to the Cowboys. They take thugs.
lj all i can say is he could run with authority instead of i got my money why try after holding us up he disresects us by the legal problems and thinks his time is up well he was done when he got paid LJ’S MOTTO HIT ME ILL FALL DOWN
LJ THE BUM should learn how to run again
He can follw his Daddy Carl Peterson and get out of town.
So glad this thug and locker room cancer will be gone. Go the Raiders or Pokes or Donkey’s. I don’t care. I was so glad Herm sat you down. Hope you learned. You don’t run like you used to except when you leave town I bet you run really fast because it is all about you LJ.
How bad is it when LT makes more sense than Herm?
Keep up the great work Coach Edwards. ALL of KC is behind you and we know that you will lead us back to glory very soon now.
AND NOW, Clark Hunt has RE-RE-affirmed Herm’s The Man!
I don’t like his personality, I never have but those are his personal issues.
I have to say that he is right. The chiefs have always had a running game: Okoye, Word, Holmes, Larry.
Yes he is a me guy, but Herm has destroyed this team in his quest for the youth movement.
Herm will be gone. I say we let him L.J. bitch and moan, we keep him for now and worry about our defensive line.
Remember when we had Tony Richardson???
He’ll probably go to another team and rush for 1500 yards next year. He has every right to be mad after this game. 1st and goal at the 1 and we line up in the shotgun and run the worst play in football (my opinion) a fade to the endzone. The fade is just throwing it up for grabs. STUPID!
Line up in the “I” and give it to LJ four straight times if necessary. The only time they gave him a chance was out of the wildcat which is stupid because he gets the ball all the way back at the 8 and then has to weave through the penetration. Not even my man Chan Gailey did anything well today.
Worst goal line offense I’ve EVER witnessed as a fan.
Rin tin tin …….. you’re still smoking the ditch weed. Herm is not the man, he is not what we need or want here to WIN. Marty never got to the dance …….. but we won during the regular season. Now he was the man….. kinda. At least we were not losing 20 plus games under Marty.
( in 3 years) We need Turner Gill!! Tell me I am wrong. If he can turn a Div3 team around what could he do at this level?
DOG
Herm’s The Man – Head Coach of the KC Chiefs again in 2009!
LJ needed to give them a reason to run the ball on the goal line. Almost every time they did give him the ball he ran sideline to sideline and got tackled for a loss. I can only think of a couple of times he actually went downhill. What reason did he give them to give him the ball in that situation? He runs like he has lead strapped to his legs and he seems scared to hit the hole any more.
This just in…Rin Tin Tin’s true identity revealed!
Dick Curl finally learned to use a computer!!
You and all of Herm’s idiots will be gone!
Well LJ isn’t running like he used to. On a 3rd and 1 he can’t get the yard, this isn’t the first 3rd and 1 he hasn’t been able to pick up this year either. Well hopefully we can trade LJ for a couple picks, not that any team thinks that he is going to run like he did before…
Sadly we are stuck with LJ’s salary. LJ = little juice, actually no juice – yeah, can’t get 1 yard against the Bengals? Likely, we have to pay him whether he stays or goes – thanks to our former GM. lj doesn’t have it anymore. If he can’t help the team be better, then, salary or not, he has to go. Trade him for the best deal we can get as soon as we can. If we don’t get rid of him we must keep him away from the guys who make a good faith effort. lj, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Hey, Isn’t Darren Sproles a free agent now?
Trade LJ to the bolts.
LT and LJ – 12 punch! We can pick up another running back somewhere else and use sproles as a backup RB and a KR/PR .
Imho we may already have a Sproles on our roster…. Guys name is Savage!
I know you are all worried about salary, but the word on the street is we can void the remaining money on his contract since he was suspended this year. We cant get guaranteed money back, but we can get his salary going forward off the roster. just a heads up….
Also, I have been saying this for a while.
Thats a good poit also, The IT Guy!
Point too!
LJ will be gone due to the clause allowing the guarenteed money to be cut out…saves quite a bit….
With the amount of money they have, why not get rid of a cancer.
Just heard Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards press conference – sensational! What a refreshing and positive outlook – I’m already stoked for 2009! Man, it’s gonna be GRRRRREAT having Herm return as Chiefs Head Coach for year 2 of the rebuild come next season!
heh heh heh
im not gonna comment at all…i was told if ya cant say anything nice ..say nothing at all…
GRRRRREAT watching the Chiefs become the 2nd NFL team to go 0-16? Thats the way he’s trending. Last years he was 4-12, he just topped that with a 2-14, I can’t see him doing much better.
Yeah, we can suffer through 1 more year of Herm the Germ so next year we can get that franchise QB we’re still lacking.
The Chiefs really did need to rebuild, theres no question there, but we need a head coach and staff, not someone that buddy buddies with his players.
Herm’s The Man!
Maybe if Larry had read the blocks right the first few times they gave him the ball they would have given it to him more. On his first carry he turns a 3 or 4 yard gain into a 2 yard loss by trying to break it outside. He came up short on a 3rd and short by dancing around. He also lost yardage on another play up the middle by running right into the stunting nose guard instead of going where the play was designed to go and picking up a few yards.
Um, your going to pay sproles the 8 million he most likely will get to be a backup RB-PR/KR?
I think the chiefs next year will be a winning a club under Herm, everyone knew this year was going to be bad. Once the chiefs go through Free Agency and have another successful draft this team will be young and alot better then this year. I don’t see a 0-16 team next year being in KC. The team needs a linebacker or two and a defensive end, also a RG and RT.
Do you think Carr is going to start next year?
if we get center,right guard and right tackle i think lj will be fine. his personal issues are tragic but hey what are you gonna do. i personally think herm will be back(booooooo) and rod marinelli will be def coordinator.
herm has re-affirmed that lj is the man.
deployed, what branch of the service are you in?
If we get all those positions filled we won’t need LJ, a much less troublesome and less expensive RB would be able to run behind a great line, it takes an elite back to run with a mediocer line especialy in short yardage situations.
Be Safe and God Bless Man!
PS I’m a former Marine