My theory on CJ and can it be fixed?

This is a short compilation of some of CJ's career highlights.


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLSLz41Lr1E&feature=related"]Chris Johnson Can't Be Touched - YouTube[/ame]

As you can see he's capable of some seriously crazy isht.

A lot of his defenders like to blame the offensive line, but if you watch this video you'll see that a lot of these so called "unfavorable running scenarios" (or whatever gay stat that website used) have been handled just fine by CJ in past years. He used to be able to be stuffed in the backfield and cut back three times, hesitate, evade a tackler, and run to the otherside, and somehow get to the endzone in the middle of the field.

It was simply amazing.

Now he seems to just go down in the backfield.

I don't think he's rusty from the holdout. I don't think he doesn't care about football. I don't think the OL is THAT much worse (it is worse). I think he lost a lot of his speed.

I think this could have been the reason for the holdout to begin with. Everybody was saying it was about greed, and if I'm right it was, sort of. But I think he knows his body more than anybody, and if he showed up a few steps slower than he did in prior years no way does he get a new contract. If he showed up then looking like he does now he may very well have gotten shipped off to Oakland to be Al Davis' new kick return specialisto.

CJ's never been known to break tackles or push defenders. Hell he's never even been known to have great moves. He has that hesitation move, but that's basically just his ability to stop and accelerate extremely quickly. Still a speed thing.

I'd be very very interested to see what his 40 time is nowadayz.. I'd bet it is nothing close to 4.24. Probably more like 4.5. Just from the naked eye. Not that I know anything about 40 times.

Now my question to people who know football, and working out and aging and stuff like that. Is it possible he's just out of shape now? What I mean is could he get his speed back? If he is simply out of shape because of the holdout or whatever, yeah that sucks and he should have been better prepared, but if it's possible that he can return to what he once was I'd advocate keeping him. But I'd send him off to work with some special trainer while I see what I have in my other running backs so when he does get back when he can use him more like the Chiefs used Jamaal Charles when he was healthy and not wear him out. Bring him back when we have a line that can get him some holes and he's in good enough shape to make something of them.

But if he can't get it back, what's the point in keeping him. It's not like we're going to convert him to a traditional NFL back. He doesn't have the size or strength. It'd be easier just to sign somebody or start the kid Jamie Harper if we're going to go that route.

 

well wtf happened? lol.

 

Yeah, you're basically saying the same thing I am but you're saying it from the other side.

Usually when you see a back decay over time it's slower. If you graphed out their production it'd look kind of like a traffic cone. CJ's looks like a cliff dive.

Which makes me think he's just out of shape. Not DONE. Sure the playcalling's been bad, and the O-line got worse, but that doesn't mirror the fall off in his production. So it possible he can get back in shape?

Basically what I'm asking is has it ever happened before. Can you think of a specific example of a running back having one statistically terrible year to come back to the same form or close to it? I can't. IDK I don't claim to me Mr. Football Knowledge nerd like some people do though. I'm busy, I have a family and a job and school. Can't spend all day analyzing football statistics. I take real statistics.

Usually when you see a RB decline it means they're getting old. It happened to Eddie, Emmit, Ladanian.... All the greats. But CJ really isn't that old. Is it possible for him to come back?

Leave the O-line out of this thread. There's enough (more than enough actually) CJ vs. Oline threads, and it usually all comes to the same conclusion. They're both at fault.

This one's about whether or not CJ can return to form.

 

Oh well see there you go. The second best RB of all time did it. Maybe CJ can too. Lol, this thread was really just an open question. Not an invitation for an agruement.

Do you know anything about that year? What was Barry's problem? Was he coming back from an injury? Bad karma?

Anybody else have input?

 

I had to look up "Warrick Dunn". Don't know if that says something about me or if it says something about Warrick.

Lol. I'm talking GREAT running backs here.

Who names their kid Warrick? BTW. Lol.