All aboard the Chris Johnson hype train. Johnson will turn 29 next month and has been an average to below-average player for the past several seasons. We have not seen the explosive running back that was nicknamed CJ2K for about four years now, but Johnson’s recent struggles are not his fault. Just ask him.
Johnson, who is feeling revived with the New York Jets, told Rich Cimini of ESPN.com on Wednesday that the playcalling was too predictable when he was in Tennessee.
“When I was in Tennessee, a lot of the plays when the offensive coordinator was calling them, they were predictable,” he said. “Everybody could tell what was coming. With (Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg), the plays aren’t predictable.”
Johnson’s 2006-yard season came under former Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger. The Titans fired Heimerdinger a year later in 2010 and he lost his battle with cancer a few months after that.
While those who have studied tape will tell you Johnson has rarely given 100% effort over the past few seasons, he blames the scheme.
“It’s crazy, because after (Heimerdenger left), I bounced around from all different types of offensive coordinators,” Johnson said. “It just didn’t work out. … I had three or four coordinators who just didn’t put me in the right position. They didn’t put me in the right situations.
“Nothing against those guys [in Tennessee]. Those guys had their offense and things they liked to do. … A lot of times, some of the things we were doing were so predictable. That made it tough on the players, not just myself. It’s something you have to go through. I’m not making excuses or blaming anybody. You just have to deal with the cards that are given to you.”
Johnson added that Mornhinweg puts “playmakers in position to make plays” and that he expects the 2014 season to be much different for him. If you want to believe him and use a fantasy football pick on him, go for it. Just remember that Johnson has literally blamed everyone but himself for his well-documented tumble for the top of the running back world.
