If it wasn't enough what he did to Curtis Martin, Larry Johnson has 416 carries so far this season. They might make the playoffs. Herm just runs his RBs right into the ground.
In Herm's defense, KC was a run-first team before he got there. That's what they are built for. With better receiving options, maybe things would be different.
you can't abuse one RB like that. If you're a running team, you have to split the carries. The carries record was 410 in 1998 for Jamal Anderson. Shattered by Larry Johnson. Last season, LJ had 337 carries. Here comes Herm to wreck his career.
still no excuse for running the guy like that. Kansas City has average receivers but Herm has never trusted the passing game. He' all about taking the air out of the football. Michael Bennett is a decent backup to Johnson who could share some of the load, but Herm never gives him a chance. Much like Lamont Jordan with us.
To follow up on that, Jamal Anderson was 26 when he set that record. Up through that season, he had averaged 4.2 yards per carry in his career. He played only 21 games in his career after that, and averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. Larry Johnson is a year older than Anderson was when he set the record, and averaged almost one yard per carry less this year than last year as it is (although he does have 100 fewer carries now than Anderson did in his career when he set the record).
exactly right. Look at the history of backs who go over 370 carries or so. The next season, they're terrible. Many never recover. Think Jamal Lewis, Jamal Anderson, and many others.
It's worth noting that Anderson actually had 480 carries in 98, with 70 of them coming in the teams 3 postseason games. With Johnson at 416 and the Colts coming up next week I wouldn't be shocked to see him up around 450.
That's impossible. Herm is "moral" and has "character". Exploiting a player to the risk of physical injury just to advance Herm's interests doesn't seem very "moral". WWJD?
Not to mention it's worth noting that neither Jamal Anderson or Terrell Davis could take it anymore, after they're near record breaking attempt seasons.
RBs don't last long as it is. Might as well run them when you can, especially when your passing game is suspect. History would tell us Johnson will break down big time in a couple years. But I don't know if it's the end of the world. Enjoy watching the player while we can. I'm sure Johnson is not complaining about the work. If it's okay with him, it is okay with me. (Note: Johnson is one of my all-time favorite players, so I certainly would like to see this guy have a long career, but that may not be in the cards. So be it.) Bennett spelled Johnson at one point in the game today and fumbled. Bennett was also spotty a couple other times this year, although he did make one of the finest athletic moves of the season in the Seattle game when he hurdled a defender to pick up a few additional yards. I'm not sure Edwards is terribly out of line here.
I'm just sad that Herm is kind of destroying his career. RBs tend to decline faster than other positions anyway, but giving them huge amounts of carries is guaranteed to shorten their careers. So many players have not been the same after getting a huge workload over one (or several, in the case of C-Mart) season.
LJ is a FA after next year. I guarantee he is begging to get more carries, so he can cash in next year. Have a clue before bitching, would ya?
I know exactly what LJ's contract status is. That doesn't excuse what Herm is doing here. It doesn't excuse what he did to Curtis, either. LJ's future isn't bright.
by the way, LJ complained recently over being overworked. So I doubt he's asking Herm to abuse him. Pay attention, will ya?
^ We have a capable backup runningback as is in Brandon Jacobs. An even better backup with someone like LJ starting. That's a crazy duo.
Marcus Allen, Tony Dorsett, Warrick Dunn, Marshall Faulk, Franco Harris, John Riggins (one piledriver season at age 34 in the gravy years), Jim Taylor, Thurman Thomas (one heavy season mid-career), there's a body of evidence, so to speak, that says a tailback who is judiciously used can be a huge asset over the course of his career. All of the grind them into the ground coaches wind up losing out about 90% of the time when they destroy their meal ticket in a few seasons when he proves not to be Curtis Martin, Emmitt Smith or Eric Dickerson.
RBs who played 15 years Marcus Allen- 16 Fred McAfee- 16 Joe Perry- 16 (14 in NFL; 2 in AAFC) Emmitt Smith- 15 McAfee is a special case because after 1991 he didn't carry the ball too often. He made his living on special teams. He made the Pro Bowl in 2002 as a special teams player. It makes for interesting trivia. A player who led his team in rushing in 1991 scored a touchdown for that same team on December 31, 2006.
First of all, Johnson's opinion on the matter is irrelevant. One of the coach's jobs is to protect the most important asset of the team. Second of all, Johnson isn't happy at all about it: Why exactly are you bothering to still post here when you are so obviously not a fan of the Jets, but rather of Herm Edwards?
