Tennessee Titans Can’t Blame CJ Forever for Run Game
Oct 7, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (28) rushes against the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter at the Metrodome. The Vikings win 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE
The Tennessee Titans had another miserable outing with their run game yesterday with RB Chris Johnson earning only 24 yards on the ground.
Last year the Titans were able to get away with blaming the run game on CJ’s lockout and conditioning, but that’s not the case anymore.
The offensive line does have it’s own problems, but they obviously have the potential to be a good line, as we all saw the week before in Houston.
I refuse to put it on CJ anymore. Yes he does have his moments where he seems to give up, but you’ve got to realize how frustrated he has to be. He’s CJ2K and he hasn’t seen many 100 yard games since the Titans brought in Palmer. When I watch CJ, I don’t see any different of a player than I did a few years ago, though he does have more fear of being hit.
The running game is the same as it was last year. Nothing has changed, and it has to. People have been calling for Johnson to be benched for a game or so.
Why?
People seem to forget the Titans splitting up his carries with the other backs last year and them producing the same results. Benching him isn’t going to help. If there’s nowhere to run, nobody is going to come up with yardage.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Unfortunately, the Titans run game is broke, now somebody needs to fix it.
It’s like the big elephant in the room. If I’m the coach and this is happening, I’m doing something about it. Two years of CJ averaging 30 yards a game is unacceptable. You have to look at what you’re doing and just keep tweaking things until things click.
We saw it happen in Houston. That was against one of the league’s best D-lines. Minnesota has a pretty good line too, but I think the Texans are better.
Either way, this run game has to come together and it’s on the coaches to get it going. Every other aspect of the Titans is struggling thanks to there being no run game; the Titans are losing the time of possession battle, leaving their defense on the field too much, and struggling to move the ball through the air. All of that comes back to the run game.
On top of it all, the Titans have invested $56 million in CJ. They should probably make sure that investment gives returns, especially considering the fact that CJ isn’t getting any younger.
Save the run game, save the team, save the season.
You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart