Chris Johnson and a reduced workload?
I briefly dabbled as a high school basketball coach way back in the summer of 2000. I was in charge of my former high school’s summer league team and we had a roster of 12 guys.
Now this was just summer league, but both myself and all the players felt an enormous amount of pressure to win. And I quickly learned the most difficult part of being a coach is managing substitution patterns. Therein lies the rub: Substituting and winning can be a tough act to juggle.
Getting to the point, I ended up playing about six guys all season. I just couldn’t take my best players off the court. Parents complained, kids complained -- even my old coach complained. But I couldn’t bring myself to bench someone more talented in favor of someone less talented. And that leads me to all this Chris Johnson and “reduced workload” talk. In case you haven’t heard, here is some of it:
Coach Jeff Fisher: "I'd like to see, not balance, but I'd like to see another back involved in the rotation."
GM Mike Reinfeldt: "When we initially drafted Chris, we thought more of a dual running back. Chris was so productive that it made more sense to give him more and more carries. I think going forward, he is so talented, but you probably find ways to limit those and not wear him out too quickly."
Titans beat writer Gary Eastwick: “I don't see Chris Johnson getting as many snaps in 2010... Wouldn't be shocked if a quality backup is brought in.”
Of course, the Titans would be wise to limit the 2,000 yard man’s workload. The skeletons of running backs that have been overworked is littered all over the NFL. CJ28 is amazing in that he never seems to get hit square and has been remarkably durable so far. The Titans have moderately capable backups in impending restricted free agent LenDale White (who we expect to return) and Javon Ringer.
But what’s wise in the long term isn’t always what happens on the field. I’m no Jeff Fisher, but I found out first hand what pressure to win can do So despite all this talk, expect Johnson to contend for the league lead in touches once again in 2010. It's just too hard for a coach to take someone this good off the field.
Comments
I know for a fact Adam Levitan has an abnormal man-crush on Chris Johnson. Chris should get a restraining order while he still can.
Posted by: Mike Hawk | February 11, 2010 9:13 AM
While Johnson has an opportunity to move into our #1 overall Dynasty RB position within the 2010 season (Current Rank #2), we are definitely interested to see how his workload is managed next year. To maintain long term elite Dynasty status, both Productivity and Durability must remain consistent. Another huge and healthy season should be enough to solidify the #1 overall spot. MJD and ADP should have something to say about that as well. It's extremely close atop the RB rankings.
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Posted by: Dancehall Reggae | February 11, 2010 8:28 PM
I would think that to try and keep Chris Johnson a little fresher, they may go back to spelling him on running plays more often. I don't think that Lendale White or Javon Ringer will be the player doing such though. They might draft someone around round 3 or 4 as a "10 touch" a week back. The vibe I'm getting on all of this is that they want to use Chris on more passing downs as well, maybe ala Brian Westbrook. I think he will see a reduction in his carries this season, maybe by somewhere in the range of 30-50, but in return I'd expect to see an increase in catches and his overall touches to remain near the same, maybe a smaller amount less.
Regardless of what happens, I don't think a reduction in carries or touches would affect his draft stock too significantly. He is a big play running back, and will get his either way. And if the games are close games, you know who is going to be counted on.
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