If Larry Johnson Sits This Week, the Chiefs Won't Suffer

by Chris on Nov 5, 2007 11:27 AM CST in Campaign 2007

There isn't any official word out just yet but it appears that Larry Johnson will miss at least this weekend's game against the Denver Broncos. Last year or even two years ago, I would be writing that losing Larry Johnson for any length of time would be the worst tragedy the Chiefs could imagine. Through eight weeks of the 2007 season, you might even argue the loss of Larry Johnson is a good thing.

Listen. The Chiefs running game is so bad, so terrible, so ineffective that it doesn't really matter who lines up in the backfield. If the combination of Priest Holmes and Kolby Smith produces fewer yards than Larry Johnson has, so what? Its not like things can be much worse right now for the Chiefs running game. The Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to running the ball. Green Bay was the worst...until they outrushed us yesterday.

I welcome a change of pace at the running back position. Larry Johnson's style has become stale through eight games this season. Yes, our offensive line is in bad shape but then doesn't that demand a runner whose style is the opposite of the power running style of Larry Johnson? Wouldn't a quicker, more agile Priest Holmes fare better when the line disintegrates, as it inevitably does each game?

I'm not a huge Priest Holmes fan. But he is back. And he will more than likely be the no. 1 running back on the depth chart come Sunday. Theoretically, his type of running style should be more effective than Larry Johnson's.

If Larry Johnson can't go, I fully support the running back experiment that will take place. Something...anything needs to be done to shake up our running game.

A Priest may just do that.

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Comments

I

dont see the play-action pass opening up as much without larry. We'll see what priest can do without his favorite linemen.( Shields-Roaf )

Derrick Thomas- G.O.A.T

by D Thomas on Nov 5, 2007 2:09 PM CST 0 recs

One thing about Priest

On the few carries he got yesterday, he looked much quicker than Larry Johnson.

by Chris on Nov 5, 2007 2:11 PM CST up 0 recs

Yeah

but he goes down when the wind blows to hard! In other words Priest dosent break tackles, not to mention being injury prone.

Derrick Thomas- G.O.A.T

by D Thomas on Nov 5, 2007 2:18 PM CST 0 recs

LJ

hasn't been breaking many tackles of late. For some reason, I have the image of LJ being tackled by the ankles in the backfield burned into my mind.

by Chris on Nov 5, 2007 2:39 PM CST up 0 recs

Unless he has momentum

I don't think LJ shakes anymore tackles than other RB's. And since he gets a downhill run with a hole maybe once, twice a game these days, perhaps Priest won't do too much worse.

by PVChiefsfan on Nov 5, 2007 2:47 PM CST up 0 recs

GOD

do i hope so, i'll agreee with anyone if we can start being consistant. I will say that boy BOONE is nice! Does anyone agree about Gun's bad playcalling in the fourth Quarter?

Derrick Thomas- G.O.A.T

by D Thomas on Nov 5, 2007 2:56 PM CST up 0 recs

Priest Holmes

must be able to break a tackle or two considering he set the single season touchdown record...just saying...

I think it changes the way our offense is built. The objective now has to be to get to the outside since we don't have a runner to pound inside.

Of course, we haven't had that for week and we've still been pounding the ball into nothing over and over again, so we'll see.

I will say this, that Priest's style has always been to avoid the hit, where as LJ's has been to deliver the hit first. I think with our o-line, Priest could be a pretty big help.

And I'm sorry, D, again, Gun's come in and turned the worst unit in the NFL to a top ten unit that forced three turnovers. Gun can't magically make Brett Favre into less than the hall of famer that he is.

Also, if our "offence" were to have run some clock, maybe the secondary wouldn't have been as tired...

by Ridiculous Matt on Nov 5, 2007 3:38 PM CST 0 recs

Agreed MAWK

We have the biggest tandem of safeties in the NFL (Page and Pollard both weigh in around 225 lbs.) but they are fast for their size...however, if they are on the field for 40 minutes, they will lose a step to wide receivers. On that TD bomb to Jennings he had a step on Edwards (a fast LB) and Page (a fast but perhaps tired safety). And this is the guy that lit up Dre Bly (one of the faster corners in the league) and blew right by him last Monday.

by PVChiefsfan on Nov 6, 2007 7:03 AM CST up 0 recs

Right on

People seem to be forgetting that Jennings is pretty damn good.

by Chris on Nov 6, 2007 7:31 AM CST up 0 recs

Well

i know our safties are big and fast, but we were caught out of position and it was obvious. Great defences can be on the field most of the game and still shut down the game winning bomb. We would have been in much better position if Gun would have kept the secondary deeper and made them work for it in the gold zone. We should have learned from the Denver game that Farve is going deep in the clutch. Once again being too agressive can leave people wide open down the field. Forget about a wild card, we must win the division. Also im not sold on the fact that our safties are that great, ive seen Pollard get smoked quite a few times this season!

Derrick Thomas- G.O.A.T

by D Thomas on Nov 6, 2007 12:27 PM CST up 0 recs

not true

you have to take pressure off the defense. Even great defenses start to suffer when they're on the field for long scoring drives.

You may have seen them get burnt this season on long bombs, but maybe you've missed their lateral pursuit and their ability to swarm up and stop the run.

Apparently Damon Huard gets a pass for 8 games of mediocrity, but the defense is the villain for one game where they suffered against a 7-1 team with the best quarterback of the last 12 years.

by Ridiculous Matt on Nov 6, 2007 5:26 PM CST up 0 recs

Well let's see

We have a lead with just a few minutes left. You know Favre loves to go deep and is damn good at throwing the deep ball.

So, we play cover 2? That leaves a LB on Jennings. We set ourselves up for failure right off the bat. Gotta go with play calling on that one.

by primetime 07 on Nov 7, 2007 9:03 AM CST up 0 recs

Whether you let them

complete a 60 yard pass or six 10 yard passes or 10 six yard passes, it doesn't matter...they could still win. If we had put in a nickel-back and played the deep ball they would have eaten us up with underneath routes, because it wasn't like they had to score with one 60 yard pass, they had plenty of time left.

by PVChiefsfan on Nov 8, 2007 10:58 AM CST up 0 recs