Larry Johnson Gets His Christmas Gift

"I'd be lying if I said I ain't looking at that game as a game I definitely want to play in. You take one game at a time, one situation at a time. I'm just trying to get on the field as of right now. If that happens, that'd be the best Christmas gift I could get."  -Larry Johnson, November 17th, on facing the Chiefs

Well, it looks like he's going to get his chance. Barring injury (or, let's face it, another off-the-field incident), Larry Johnson will line up in stripes and face the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in his career.

LJ is trying to give off the impression that this isn't a big game for him and he's a team player now but Jamaal Charles told Cincinnati area reporters today that this is more of a revenge game for LJ.

"Right now, what's going on with this team is bigger than me versus the Kansas City Chiefs," LJ said. "It's basically us trying to put ourselves in a great position to get to the playoffs and hopefully get to the Super Bowl."

Yep, that's the good LJ. Remember him?

Here's a two month old LJ quote to jog your memory: "Gonna gallop all over the Chiefs. Cleat prints on the chests. Mud in the face masks."

That was just taken out of context, right?

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was asked if there have been any signs of the old LJ rearing his head.

"Not one single sign. He’s been on time to everything, ready to roll, prepared. He’s done everything you could ask him to do."

Charles doesn't have to say much more because he knows he's gotten all the revenge he needs. Charles doubled LJ's numbers once he got in there and finally gave the Chiefs a legitimate running threat.