Quote:
Originally Posted by Schneed10
Yeah he commands 8 defenders devoted to stopping him, because if he gets ANY space at all he'll find a way to break it. You've got to smother him before he gets a chance to breathe.
IMO he's the whole reason Vince Young looks at all competent right now. I don't think Young is doing anything special, but talking heads are kissing his ass because he's extending the play and making smart decisions.
There are tons of QBs in the NFL capable of that, especially when 8 defenders are looking run first.
6 straight games of 125 yards or more, only Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson have done that. On pace for 2000 yards, that's only been done 4 times.
Barry Sanders holds the NFL record in the SB era for yards per carry in a single season, his 1997 season in which he broke 2000 yards. He ran for 6.1 per carry. Johnson currently sits at 6.4.
If he keeps this up, you can make the case that this is the best season by any NFL running back in the SB era.
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I disagree, I think, with the framing of Johnson's season in a historical context. Johnson's best attribute may be his patience, it's what allows them to break those 30 yard chunks off against whatever front he sees.
But the problem is that Johnson, even this year, is not a great player at the line of scrimmage, as evidenced by his 42%
success rate on carries this year. I wish I had the advanced information at my fingertips, and I don't, but the median Chris Johnson run this year is something like 3 yards, which is pretty standard, not anything spectacular.
What Chris Johnson has been this year is a brutally fantastic finisher of runs. When he gets through the second level to that sideline, he outruns everyone on the field. It's ridiculous. He can do it with power too, as I've seen him run over safeties trying to stop him short of the first down marker.
The other thing that makes Johnson's MVP case less-than-stellar is that he hasn't offered much as a receiver in addition to his long runs. He had that one 69 yard reception two weeks ago or whatever, but outside of that, he does have a minor case of the butterfingers out of the backfield.
Again, I think anyone could make a really strong case that Johnson has been the most valuable running back in the NFL this year, and starting with the obscene yards per carry figure, that'd be a hard case to beat. I'm not even going to try to act like I can disprove a case that Johnson is the best runner in the NFL right now, even if I don't necessarily think that.
I would just think that if we're talking about him as MVP, the separation between him and others: Steven Jackson, DeAngelo Williams, and particularly Ray Rice is pretty minimal upon further review. If you use YPC, Johnson is clearly the best. Combining everything we have though, he's probably still the best runner, but there are better receivers out there who are also having really great rushing seasons.
As awesome as he's been every week, Johnson's air is hardly rarefied.