Why do the Titans keep letting Chris Johnson carry the ball

[Crewfan82]

I know they need to play him to justify the huge contract, but why not bench the guy to send a message. He obviously has zero desire to play anymore or at least zero desire to give any effort. I know they don't have many better options, but, hell, a practice squad RB could run for 20 yards a game.

Needed to rant. I can't stand guys that have insane amounts of talent that don't appreciate and capitalize on their skill set.

 

[CollectorsCorner]

I said this in the Daily Thread last Sunday.

Definitely agree and I think they do have some backups that could prove a thing or 2 given the chance.

 

[Card Magnet]

I guess when you pay a guy that much, if you can't get the production, you at least make him take the punishment to earn it.

 

[scottagibson]

Please don't take this the wrong way, because I'm not trying to be a troll... they are still playing him because he is the best player they have. He still has explosiveness (maybe not as much as his rookie year) and he can still run well. His problems, as they were describing in detail before tonight's game, are as follows:

1. He is trying to hit a homerun EVERY single play. He needs to take the blocks that he is given and remember that a 5 yard run is a successful play.
2. His interior offensive linemen are not opening huge holes for him. They are below average in talent.
3. The defenses he is playing against really are loading up the box against him.

Again, we can agree to disagree and I'm very frustrated as well (fantasy speaking)... but he is not quite as bad as he may seem. He'll come around.

 

[P_Manning 18]

Might not have been pretty... but 19 carries... 91 yards.. 4.78 yards per carry

 

[nappyd]

I guess when you pay a guy that much, if you can't get the production, you at least make him take the punishment to earn it.

And to painfully remind him that they spent their $ on him instead of getting better replacements for their OL since '09.

 

[notjomommasclint]

He's not getting enough carries to succeed. He needs 20-28 carries to make an impact giving him less carries is less opportunity to hit the big play.

That said he needs to get north and south and not make his first cut till the second level to return to his form. The titans offensive scheme is crap right now and the o line can't keep their qb upright how are they going to keep a positive running game?

 

[ffgameman]

As Clint posted, he isn't getting the ball enough.

Yes, Chris Johnson has been garbage with many of his runs - mainly when he tries to dance around. However, the Titans are relying too much on the passing game. Some games CJ only gets 12-15 carries. He doesn't have enough chances to break a big run.

Chris Johnson's carries and yardage this year:

Week 1: 11 rushes, 4 yards
Week 2: 8 rushes, 17 yards
Week 3: 14 rushes, 24 yards
Week 5: 25 rushes, 141 yards
Week 6: 15 rushes, 24 yards
Week 7: 19 rushes, 91 yards

Hasselbeck passed 44 times last night - those are numbers you would typically expect from Brees, Manning, and Brady - not Matt Hasselbeck. Against the Viking he threw 43 times. The one game that he had a conservative passing day (25 attempts against the Texans), Chris Johnson had a great game, albeit in a loss.

 

[Crewfan82]

I know he needs the ball, but the reason he may not be getting it is because he doesn't produce. At least not on a regular basis. Say all you want about blocking or play calling, but he isn't the same back. His yards per carry have gone 5.6, 4.3, 4.0, to the current 3.3.

 

[notjomommasclint]

It's a beautifully weaved twine of play calling, blocking, him not getting the ball, and underproducing when he does. It would be different if there was another back on the team just dominating but that's not the case.

 

[Johnny G]

While it seems Johnson is dancing a bit, I agree with scottagibson in that the interior line is not opening up holes for him. I grabbed him in the 4th round of my fantasy draft and he has been a huge disappointment. Thought he'd step it up this year.