Chris Johnson's Decline

[AReed Deep For6]

Let me start out by saying, I cant stand all the witch hunts for steroids in sports. There are several that just seem ridiculous (see Derek Jeter, etc, etc, etc). However, I have a very strong suspicion that Chris Johnson was a steriod user. There are several kinds of steriods, and not all of them will make you 350 lbs. with muscles shooting out of your neck.

 

I just want to know, how can you go from one of the most historical rushing seasons EVER, to 33 caries for 45 yards?!?! Anyone else thinking this way?

 

Longest run of the year for him is 13 yards?!?! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?

Edited September 29, 2012 by AReed Deep For6

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

New offensive coordinator. He's struggled since then. Coaching matters.

[gregkash]

Player turnover, quarterback turnover, offensive turnover. The longer you do something the more defenses can figure you out. I'm never going to say a football player definitively did not take steroids cuz I think we're kidding ourselves if we think otherwise, but there can be a lot of factors involved.

 

Maybe he just plateaued. That's always a possibility. Running backs have short life spans man.

[Meathead]

white women

[Charles Romes]

His 2000 yard season was pretty bogus as far as 2000 yard seasons go. Most of the yards were piled up before there was a lot of tape on him. He broke a number of really long ones that skewed the yardage and they fed him the ball through garbage time late in the season to get to 2000.

[TakeYouToTasker]

His 2000 yard season was pretty bogus as far as 2000 yard seasons go. Most of the yards were piled up before there was a lot of tape on him. He broke a number of really long ones that skewed the yardage and they fed him the ball through garbage time late in the season to get to 2000.

...

 

C'mon man...

 

It's a 2000 yard season. No one gets there without garbage yards. Not just that, but there's only been a handful of them in the whole history of the league. They're rarer than 40+ TD seasons. They're rarer than Perfect Games FFS. Let's refrain from labeling them as bogus in any context.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I don't follow CJ and the Titans that closely.

 

What jumps out at me is that he's listed at 5'11" and 191 pounds and that since his 438 touch season in 2009, his yards per carry has been diminishing (5.6 to 4.3 to 4.0 to 1.4).

 

Is it possible that in his 5th season with 1423 career touches from scrimmage and 66 career kick returns that they guy's body is just done?

 

Some guys have short careers and it doesn't help when you're undersized for your position either.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

p.s.-- Another factor could be that his body might still be able to hold up to the pounding but psychologically he is finished.

 

And another factor could be that after signing his huge contract last year which makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL (4 years, $53.5 million, $30 million guaranteed) that he has simply lost his motivation.

[Gray Beard]

p.s.-- Another factor could be that his body might still be able to hold up to the pounding but psychologically he is finished.

 

And another factor could be that after signing his huge contract last year which makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL (4 years, $53.5 million, $30 million guaranteed) that he has simply lost his motivation.

The Crayonz theory just may apply this time.

[mrags]

p.s.-- Another factor could be that his body might still be able to hold up to the pounding but psychologically he is finished.

 

And another factor could be that after signing his huge contract last year which makes him the highest-paid running back in the NFL (4 years, $53.5 million, $30 million guaranteed) that he has simply lost his motivation.

Makes you wonder what's gonna happen to CJ when his contract rolls around doesn't it? He's gonna expect probably something very similar. My guess is that he's a little more grounded and hopefully we get the "I love Buffalo and it's fans" type of attitude and he is humbled a bit to not want $50m. But my guess is he's gonna make around the 30-40m range over 5-6 years if he stays with us. Hate to say this, but if the Bills dint plan on resigning him when he's up, they should trade him a year early, or at least franchise him to get something for him. But honestly, Freddy will be gone by then and CJ will be the star of not only the team but possibly the league and I hope we keep him.

 

On another note, it shows you made this post at 7:33am eastern time, what the hell are you doing up at 4:33am?

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

His 2000 yard season was pretty bogus as far as 2000 yard seasons go. Most of the yards were piled up before there was a lot of tape on him. He broke a number of really long ones that skewed the yardage and they fed him the ball through garbage time late in the season to get to 2000.

 

That is exactly the argument Manny Fernandez and the Dolphins made about OJ in 1973....

[mrags]

Also, to the OP, if you, or anone else, haven't realized that probably ALL or pretty close to ALL football players are on steroids, then your living in a dream world. It's no different from Baseball when Canseco and others commented that at one time there was more guys doing it than not. This is probably the most physically demanding sport in the world and these guys are now pretty much forced to stay in shape all year round. It's not like the 70-80s when you were off in the summer time to heal up. They all do it.

[PaattMaann]

his line is god awful, already had injuries on the front, and without Hutch being signed, I think he would have negative yardage

 

There was a stat from before the game last weekend that Johnson had rushed for total 29 yards, and he had 27 yards AFTER CONTACT (ill do the math for ya, two yards where he rushed and was then hit), which means every single run he was being hit at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield!!!!! that is REDICULOUS!!!!!!!

 

That is the plain and simple explanation for why CJ sucks this year, his line is in shambles and they abandon the run very EARLY every week

[RunTheBall]

The biggest benefit steroids and HGH would have for a football player during the season is vastly improved recovery from week to week. I think it's a huge stretch to try and link steroids use and yards per carry, that's kind of silly. Most of these players use their college days to use steroids to gain lean mass, where the testing is much easier to dodge.

 

RTB

[Coach Tuesday]

Went from one of the best and most physical offensive lines in football to one of the worst and least physical. His success was always about getting him into open space without first contact - they can't/don't do that anymore. His speed hasn't left.

[MDH]

No NFL RB has stat lines like Johnson has without the OL being absolutely horrible. My guess is that's the main culprit behind his decline. This is also why you don't spend loads of money on RBs - the OL has more to do with it than the RB. From what little I have seen of CJ this year I have noticed him dancing around instead of hitting what little daylight he does have hard. It looks like he's trying to force the big play which usually results in negative plays.

[Max997]

He got paid

[NoSaint]

Almost any RB to ever reach 375-400 touches in a season has fallen off a cliff. There have only been like 2-3 guys in nfl history that haven't seen immediate and drastic dips in YPC. Many end up with career ending injuries within 1-2 years.

 

That's why he held out.

 

I've posted articles frequently in Freddie and spiller workload debates.

Edited September 29, 2012 by NoSaint

[aristocrat]

400 carries a season is insane. I think Larry Johnson was the last one to do it and he fell off a cliff after. He had two great years and then he couldn't stay healthy. Two backs and keep the carries between 250-300 tops and he can have a pretty decent career.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

New offensive coordinator. He's struggled since then. Coaching matters.

 

Offensive line matters.