After he was virtually a non-factor in the early part of the season, New York Jets running back Chris Johnson has picked things up a bit the past two weeks. The Jets are so bad that it hasn’t mattered, of course.
Johnson has carried the ball just 109 times this season, but his 4.6 yards per carry is actually the third-best mark of his career. CJ?K has averaged roughly 6.0 yards per carry over the last two games, and he wonders if he would have done it all season if given the opportunity.
“There’s a part of me that wonders what this season could have been for me,” Johnson told Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News on Thursday. “When you look at what I’ve done and the yards per carry, I think I could have had a big year.”
[Related: Johnson thinks season would be ‘totally different’ with Vick]
One of the obstacles standing in Johnson’s way was Chris Ivory, who is near the top of the league in yards after contact. Ivory simply runs harder than Johnson, which has obviously appealed more to Rex Ryan. That said, the 26-year-old’s 4.4 yards per carry are less than Johnson’s 4.6.
“Of course I wish I was in a situation where I was the lead guy,” Johnson added. “But right now at this point there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t go back and change anything. I have enjoyed my time here with the guys.”
Unless he goes bananas over the final three games of the season, Johnson is not going to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his seven-year career. With the Jets looking at an overhaul this season, he might even be sent packing with his $3.5 million cap hit in 2015. Despite that, CJ said he has “no regrets” about signing with the Jets. We find that hard to believe.
