Try NFL Sport Channel Seach:
Selected searches:
NFL Football Players Draft Injuries Rookies Season Superbowl
Items by
Chiefs’ Larry Johnson Needs to Shut Up After Tweets About Coach Todd Haley
Published: October 26, 2009
No Comments
Kansas City Chiefs’ running back Larry Johnson is again making headlines for the wrong reasons.
In 2008, Johnson was suspended four games by the Chiefs and the league after two separate nightclub incidents resulted in arrests.
This time, his antics come via Twitter.
Johnson tweeted the following comments about first-year coach Todd Haley after the San Diego Chargers destroyed the Chiefs 37-7 on Sunday afternoon.
“My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans”. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn.”
He also made a number of other comments demeaning his coach and being insubordinate in general.
Last season he did the same thing, making roundabout comments that were critical of former coach Herm Edwards amidst a 2-14 season.
At this point, the over-the-hill running back needs to keep his mouth shut.
While his attitude off the field has drawn headlines, his skills on the field have been forgettable. Johnson doesn’t have the burst of speed to hit the hole that he once possessed and it has begun to manifest in a terrible average of 2.7 yards per carry.
Some might say the Chiefs’ poor offensive line is the culprit. But Johnson’s backup Jamaal Charles is averaging 4.4 yards per carry this season.
Does he actually think anything beneficial to either him or the team will come of his comments? All that his comments do is further sink a 1-6 team that is deep in the depths of a decade-long decline
Johnson should be more concerned about finding a second wind in his career than whether his coach played college football or not.
The running back turns 30 next month and aside from 2005 and 2006, has never notched over 1,000 yards or played a full 16-game season.
He is yet to break a 20-yard run this season and has zero touchdowns.
Johnson is probably right about the coaching situation. Haley is doing a poor job pulling this team out of the doldrums of the NFL and there is no identifiable end in sight.
Before the season, however, Johnson put up a public façade to act like he was okay with the regime change in Kansas City.
“I want to be here because of Scott Pioli’s commitment to winning,” Johnson said. “He has a no-nonsense approach and coach Haley’s offensive system fits me. My decision to want to stay here is really based on what those guys are doing here.”
Johnson was on-board with the “power-running game” that Haley was bringing to the team. He was encouraged about getting back to 400-carry-per-season mark he tallied when he set an NFL record with 416 carries in 2006.
Clearly, Johnson is once again on thin ice in Kansas City and it might affect his dreams of returning to the NFL elite.
I would expect Charles to start getting more carries in the upcoming weeks due to the poor production of Johnson coupled with his off-the-field comments.
Charles rushed for 33 yards on just four carries in Sunday’s loss.
Johnson just continues to prove to NFL owners that he holds no value going forward and is further working himself out of gaining a second chance with another team.
So please Larry Johnson, just shut up until you do something productive on the field.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
