Unhappy with his role in a dismal offence, Johnson lashed out at Kansas City's coaching staff and...

Unhappy with his role in a dismal offence, Johnson lashed out at Kansas City's coaching staff and front office Sunday, saying he didn't see himself being a part of the team in the future.

"Something's going on - I just don't know what it is," Johnson said after a 23-8 loss to Oakland in the Chiefs' home opener. "I'm going to sit down and talk with someone."

Disgruntled Chiefs running back Larry Johnson speaks out yet again

3 months ago Chris Comment 51 comments 0 recs |

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i dont fuckin blame him but he needs to understand that there is no willie roaf no will shields no jon tait anymore!!!! he better sit tight cause hes goin no where not with that huge contract he’s getting!!

by kcchiefsfan56 on Sep 14, 2008 7:19 PM CDT 0 recs

Don't blame him for getting paid

by primetime 07 on Sep 14, 2008 7:32 PM CDT up 0 recs

I can't blame Larry

I can blame Carl for ignoring the lessons of history

by sm7600 on Sep 14, 2008 8:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

He took the holdout

he wanted the biggest contract in Chiefs history. He got it. That comes with certain responsibilities, like loyalty, commitment, and class. Of which LJ has proved time and time again he has none of.

Trade him. I’m done with him. If you still think he’s an awesome running back (which I’m becoming less and less convinced of the more I see him without an All-World O-line; I get that he needs one to give him holes, but even when he gets a hole he doesn’t run hard now. I’ve seen it for two seasons), then think of it this way. This is not going to go away. He’s been a problem child from the start. He’s just going to be miserable while we rebuild this wreck of a team. Trade him for a top pick to get rid of him, and trade Tony so he can go after a ring.

“Pay me.” “Trade me.”

Mr. Roc can go party in New York. I want a better class of running back.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 14, 2008 8:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

No one can run behind that line

But I agree with what you’re saying. LJ’s attitude doesn’t fit KC.

Paying him wasn’t a good idea because even if he performed like a superstar right up until age 30, as a team we’re farther away than that. Same with the Rams and Jackson.

by primetime 07 on Sep 15, 2008 6:13 AM CDT up 0 recs

Rams And Jackson

Jackson’s at least younger than LJ was when he got paid and he’s had a lot less mileage than Johnson has (one 300 carry season) so there’s at least a chance that Jackson could end up being good value for that team. But considering how horrible the Rams front office is, probably it will end up being a waste.

What is it these days with so many incompetent front offices? No wonder the Patriots have won so much…all you’ve got to do is not put screw-ups in charge.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 7:48 AM CDT up 0 recs

I guess my point is

We can agree that the best case scenario sees the Rams competing in 3 years when Jackson will most definitely be on the downhill of his career.

by primetime 07 on Sep 15, 2008 11:13 AM CDT up 0 recs

He'll Be 28 In Three Years

That’ll be in the middle of his prime. And considering how little he’s going to be used (since that defense is going to give up enough points that they’ll abandon the running game frequently) he’ll probably still be good.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 11:16 AM CDT up 0 recs

I don't blame LJ this time

He only gets carries straight up the middle into a brick wall on the only downs he is in…1st and 2nd. Everyone knows what plays are coming.

LJ has every right to be pissed.

by DThomasReigns on Sep 14, 2008 7:22 PM CDT 0 recs

Classic Herm offense.

It will never change.

by Eric Allen on Sep 14, 2008 7:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

I totally

agree. I would be pissed if I was promised another OC that would be different than Solari BUT ISN’T!

by Ilamuku on Sep 14, 2008 10:03 PM CDT up 0 recs

damn straight herm is garbage hes the worst x’s and o’s coach ever hes a good motivator and good players coach but that wont win you games!! he needs to fuckin go!!!

by kcchiefsfan56 on Sep 14, 2008 7:32 PM CDT 0 recs

Spoiled baby,

Remove the diapers, you malcontent.

Maybe if he didn’t tip toe to the line and actually made some creative cuts, he would get more touches.

Banny being Banny.

by JobDDT on Sep 14, 2008 7:55 PM CDT 0 recs

Job, you have to be joking.

by DThomasReigns on Sep 14, 2008 8:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Betcha LJ

Misses Dickie V and his offense!

by Eric Allen on Sep 14, 2008 8:05 PM CDT up 0 recs

With LJ on this one.

by NJChiefsFan on Sep 14, 2008 9:11 PM CDT 0 recs

Not again...

By webby37

-cw

by webby37 on Sep 14, 2008 9:18 PM CDT 0 recs

I Don't Blame Him For Being Frustrated, But

It’s not that the team’s phasing him out so much as it is he’s producing nothing (which mainly isn’t his fault) and the offense as a whole is stagnant.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 14, 2008 9:28 PM CDT 0 recs

Trade him?

I doubt we could get much for him at this point. Third rounder, maybe?

by GonzosDirtyTrailer on Sep 14, 2008 9:32 PM CDT 0 recs

never would i trade him for a 3rd rounder

no matter what he has done this year and last year.. he is still Larry Johnson regardless.. we can get much more i believe

ugh.

by focs on Sep 14, 2008 10:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

Trade Him For What

He’s getting about 3 yards a carry, he hasn’t been the same since he was abused in 2006, and he’s got a huge long-term contract. Even if we could trade him (which we can’t because of the cap hit we’d take) there’s not a soul out there who would trade a first-day draft pick for him right now.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 14, 2008 10:31 PM CDT up 0 recs

The "Curse of 370"

Every running back in history unless he is named Eric Dickerson has fallen to this problem and LJ is no exception see the following http://www.footballoutsiders.com/info/FO-basics

Stick a fork in him he is done, he will never be the back he was a couple of years ago. He refuses to run with the same conviction he did before and he is missing huge holes. I can’t remember how many times today I saw him run right into the back of his blockers when there was a hole three feet from him if he would just look for it.

by tevans96 on Sep 14, 2008 9:33 PM CDT 0 recs

I agree

HE has lost something……either his vision or his heart, HE doesn’t run with Authority he is playing like crap, I really want to see Charles start and get the majority of carries next week to see what he can do……I know he isn’t a 25 carry guy but we need to let him run more….he can make better cuts and plays with more heart

by IamtheGreatest on Sep 14, 2008 9:49 PM CDT 0 recs

release him

and sign alexander, make charles our premier back?

meh, bad idea

Naming my son Brodie Damon

by troy145 on Sep 14, 2008 10:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

I Don't Blame LJ At All

Lord knows I’ve bagged on the guy enough. But there were no holes at all there for him today. He wasn’t dancing, he wasn’t half-assing, he was just running into a brick wall. There was nothing he could do.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 14, 2008 10:32 PM CDT up 0 recs

that will never happen and that is dumb if ur gonna get rid of him trade him and atleast get something but the chiefs wont trade him

by kcchiefsfan56 on Sep 14, 2008 10:26 PM CDT 0 recs

Good for him!

Dude! Ofcourse LJ is gonna be unhappy with his role on the team (especially in the game today). He wants to play. And they hardly allowed him to do that.
He has a bank load of money from them and theyre not even playing the guy. That tells you that he’s in it for the love of the game and not the money, in contrast to what people were saying when he held out.

by ROC 27 on Sep 15, 2008 12:04 AM CDT 0 recs

Right

That’s why he demanded the largest contract in Chiefs’ history, held out until way too late in the start of the season last year which set back his conditioning and my have contributed to the injury, why he threw tantrums on red zone drives which knocked us out of the red zone, and in the midst of a horrible season in which we needed him back on the field ASAP, he was flying to NY for a huge party with Jay-Z. Right.

Look at the long history we’ve had with this guy, compare all the bad incidents to one and a half truly good seasons (and not nearly as productive as Priest). Priest Holmes loved to play football. LJ loves to party like a rap star.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 10:22 AM CDT up 0 recs

Don't even compare PH to LJ

Their both Divas. They have both given alot to help this team win. When you’re a first round pick, do you expect to be stuck on the bench for 2 years? AS A 3RD STRING BACK? I doubt it. I would have been pissed then too. Then LJ came out in one game, and showed he was worth it. What did they do? LEFT HIM 3RD STRING. BEHIND DERRICK BLAYLOCK!

I don’t blame him for being malcontent. He’s been treated like shit with the exception of the huge contract. Now he get’s 12 rushes up the middle in the home opener for the whole game? What a waste of talent.

have you seen my baseball?

by IISaiNtII on Sep 15, 2008 12:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

You ever think

he was left on the bench so he wouldn’t think pulling this prima donna shit every single week like he seems to do with us?

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 6:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

Peterson

gets tons of flack, and I tend to back off because he’s a KC tradition and we’ve always fielded competitive teams. But that LJ signing was the first one where I really started to go “Okay, the time may be nigh.”

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 6:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

I'm w/ LJ too!

We always knew he wasn’t Barry Sanders, so with no offensive weapons and a non-existent pass game we can’t expect for him to create every down. It’s only been 2 games and are play calling has been as imaginative as………..(I can’t even think of something so dull). I wouldn’t throw any blame his direction but rather Herm’s. You want to stick a fork in somebody make it Edwards (I’m not talking about Donnie) because he will NEVER be successful in this league. EVER!

by KansasCityShuffle on Sep 15, 2008 2:30 AM CDT 0 recs

The problem with your rampant and insistent calls

for his firing is that there’s nothing to be done about it. I said last year at the end of the season we were headed in the wrong direction and we should can his ass because he’s never been anything but a mediocre coach. But front office retained him and that’s who we’re stuck with till at least December if not more. Calling for his head right now does absolutely no good, because firing him right now does nothing positive for the franchise. We can’t get a replacement in week 3. But shopping LJ right now is a good idea. Put the feelers out there, let’s see what we can get.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 10:24 AM CDT up 0 recs

Wouldn't his cap hit

Be accelerated to 2009?

by primetime 07 on Sep 15, 2008 11:14 AM CDT up 0 recs

It Would

Without a CBA, there’s not going to be a cap in 2010, and without a 2010 cap all cap hits must be applied in 2009…you can’t defer them to later years. That’s why Larry Johnson’s not going anywhere.

We’ve got a lot of cap room right now, but if you look at all the dead money we’re going to be carrying next year (Napolean Harris, Larry Johnson, Surtain) we can’t just dump any player we want unless we want to have no room to do anything next season.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 11:19 AM CDT up 0 recs

Thanks for the info on the cap

didn’t know that.

Still want to dump him.

I’ve seen too many stars derail good teams with their bullshit antics. I mean, you recognize that if things don’t improve (and we all agree it doesn’t look like they will), he’s just going to keep doing this stuff, right? He never matured. I HAMMERED Vermeil for how he treated him when he got here. Vermeil looks like he saw something we didn’t.

*cue people blaming Vermeil for this problem like they blame him for everything

I’m just saying that we need to turn this franchise around and get back to a winning tradition, and LJ isn’t committed to anything but putting diamonds on his wrists.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 6:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

I've Got No Problem With Him Leaving

But screwing up our team next season because you want to get rid of an annoying player next season is simply not an option.

The problems on this team are a hell of a lot bigger than Larry Johnson. In fact, most of them don’t have anything to do with Larry Johnson at all.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 6:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

Correction

But screwing up our team next season because you want to get rid of an annoying player this season is simply not an option.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 6:17 PM CDT up 0 recs

But how much

is it going to harm the overall locker room attitude? I mean, keeping a guy on and paying him like? Isn’t that pretty much extortion?

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 7:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

Locker Room Chemistry

I think that the inept game plan has a lot more to do with locker room attitude than Larry Johnson will. LJ’s not that different from a lot of selfish players…he’ll keep quiet if he’s able to get his numbers and feels like he’s being used. If he’s not, he’ll bitch. Best way to keep him quiet is to develop a gameplan that can use him. Problem is, Herm hasn’t shown an ability to do that yet this season.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Sep 15, 2008 9:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think there is more value

in keeping Larry Johnson for the remainder of his contract than getting a 3rd-4th pick and the cap penalty. Financially it could most likely evens out(dont know the #‘s)as the last years of his contract I’m sure are pricey plus you might even find a gem in the draft like Jared Allen who went in 5th round I believe. But I personally think its not the backfield that needs rebuilt but as we know its the line. I would spend my highest pick next year on a RT & QB because he is getting no help from either position. I like the tailbacks they’ve selected thru the draft and I don’t suspect to see better performance from Smith or Charles this season so its not that anyone can do better, its just there is nowhere to run.

As for Gonzalez, he is such a good guy that hypothetically the next GM (What a wish) should approach him and say, “Hey Tone, be honest, what do YOU really want? You want us to shop you to a team of your choice for a shot at a ring or you prefer staying here? Your wish is our command” And thats how you handle that ; ^ )

by KansasCityShuffle on Sep 15, 2008 3:38 AM CDT 0 recs

Except

for what kind of presence is he in the locker room? What’s he teaching the rookies? Because essentially, having him as a focal point for your team means that Dwayne Bowe is learning that the way to get what you want is to bitch and whine about you team after you essentially run into blockers and then fall down. He’s shown no second burst, no struggle through tackles. Having him around is only going to hurt us.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 10:26 AM CDT up 0 recs

What do you do when

you’re a halfback thats possibly cognizant of the fact that a few years after the age of 30 you’re basically done in this league and for all those seasons you’ll be playing for a team that doesnt stand a chance at winning? The more I’m obviously thinking about this I realize that as a player on the team he knows more intimately the picture in KC and how bad it really is. What would make him not also see how inept Peterson & Edwards are at their jobs like we do? I understand we don’t see Tony bitching or complaining but can we hold it against someone who does? He on this press release didnt say anything negative about the team just its piss poor management. To me thats demonstrating some leadership by saying some things which need to be addressed. You sure know Herm couldn’t talking in circles

…….The more I continue to think about it the more likely I can see the Chiefs in the off-season moving him……..

by KansasCityShuffle on Sep 15, 2008 4:05 AM CDT 0 recs

Did they ever try a screen?

How many touches did LJ get that we’re run straight ahead on 1st down?

by NJChiefsFan on Sep 15, 2008 5:37 AM CDT 0 recs

+1

I have been in constant befuddlement on why we’re not running more screens. You have a terrible O-line. The best option is to get your running back into the second level with screens. Charles on screens is a great idea.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 10:27 AM CDT up 0 recs

Agreed

Get your fastest guy in space.

by primetime 07 on Sep 15, 2008 11:15 AM CDT up 0 recs

Look at us, Matt!

We’re agreeing!

by primetime 07 on Sep 15, 2008 11:15 AM CDT up 0 recs

get a room you two

Naming my son Brodie Damon

by troy145 on Sep 15, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

I know, it's confusing.

Quick, say Damon Huard is a starting NFL quarterback so we can get things back to normal.

Seriously, though. I’m not suggesting bubble screens, which we run too much, but a nice, normal screen. Run it on 2nd down, you’ll catch them either blitzing or napping on the short drop. If our QBs are going to be running for their lives anyway, they might as well be doing it in pursuit of the screen.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 6:14 PM CDT up 0 recs

Here is a thought

Maybe LJ was a product of a awesome o-line, maybe he is the typical Penn State rb, hello Curtis Enis, bust. Where would LJ be without Roaf, Waters, Wiegaman,Shields, Tait, Welbourne? Got questions about Waters too, without quality guys, he looks like shit. I still hold Herm responsible for putting this mess on the field.

by Eric Allen on Sep 15, 2008 5:14 PM CDT 0 recs

A good example

is, of course, Marcus Allen. There were a lot of years where Marcus had no O-line. At all. We had terrible teams at points during his career. But he always pushed forward and got yards. He made the most out of his situation.

LJ’s never made the most out of anything.

by Ridiculous Matt on Sep 15, 2008 6:15 PM CDT up 0 recs