Player Spotlight: Larry Johnson (1 Viewer)

[rawdog]

From my earlier prediction I would probably tone down the number of carries and possibly the YPC slightly. Kolby Smith looks very good and then there's Jamaal Charles who should command touches. The defense is pretty solid. I'm not worried too much about that. 13th last year in spite of the worst offense in the NFL. They tend to let offenses drive on them a bit but ultimately tighten up in the red zone. And then Herm likes to come back with a clock-chewing drive of his own by running LJ. That's another reason why I'll say he only gets 270-280 carries, about 17 or 18 per game. The offense is young and should get better as the season goes on. Branden Albert hasn't played yet and he will be a marked improvement at LT in the running game. RT Barry Richardson is known for his run-blocking but the Chiefs can't put him in the game because he's not mature enough as a pass-blocker. I'm hoping he gets a shot at some point and he could be a beastly road-grader. I'll go with a revised prediction of: 270 car., 1110 yards, 9 TD*; 40 rec.**, 300 yards, 2 TD.* The only part of my original prediction that was probably a little biased as an owner and Chiefs fan. He has upside, but 13 could be a little high until I see how that young OL develops.** Likely to be out of the game on a lot of third downs based on what I've seen in the preseason. Kolby Smith is a really good all-around back (blocking, receiving especially).

Kolby Smith and\or Jamaal Charles cutting into LJ's touches? That seems far-fetched. Those guys are average RBs at best.

 

[Largent]

Despite the OL - this unit so far looks stronger than last seasons. He now get's a FB in there to block for him again. Chan Gailey will be the difference maker from last season. Age 29 - so's LT (I think) and he's got way more mileage. Croyle will have ups and downs, but I can see him being on an upward curve as the season goes along.

330/1420 (4.3)

40/340

12-14TD's.

 

[Banger]

It's really too bad that Albert got injured before the preseason games because he really may have an impact. Now we'll have to wait for the season to start to see how good he is. There is hope though that the line could be better than it was in the preseason.

 

[JKL]

I'm very high on Johnson this year.

If you look closely at his season last year you'll see he was on pace to be a top 10 back easily.

His worst games were the first three games which were against the Texans, Bears, and Vikings. Two of those teams are very tough against the run when that's all they have to defend. These were also his first three games after holding out for most of preseason.

Game 4 he rushed for 123 yards and caught 25 against SD

Game 5 he was hurt early in the game after a questionable tackle. He never returned to that game. He played the whole game except for the final possession inside of the two minute warning and had less than 20 yards rushing against Jacksonville.

Game 6 119 rushing, 23 receiving and a TD

Game 7 112 rushing, 21 receiving and a TD

Game 8 53 rushing, 42 receiving and 2 TDs

As you can see except game 5 he was on his way to a great year. If you take his point total for his eight games multiply it by two he would've finished in the top 10 for RBs. Depending on your scoring system this could be between 6th and 8th place.

This year he has Brandon Alberts, last year he an undersized Kyle Turley Damion McIntosh playing left tackle.

Fixed. I thought I must have been in a coma and missed LJ getting hurt against Jacksonville on an early tackle and missing the rest of the game. The play by play confirms he did in fact play late into the 4th quarter and the offense was terrible against Jacksonville.McIntosh started at left tackle. Turley was one of a cast of characters who played right tackle, though.

 

[Otis]

I think he's grossly undervalued right now and will have a top 5 finish.

That offense (and team overall) cannot be worse than last year. Bowe brings back a solid receiving threat and now has a year under his belt. Gonzales is still there to spread the field underneath. The QBing isn't the best but with another year under his belt I think Croyle can do enough to at least keep a defense honest. Easy rushing schedule. LJ is healthy and will have a chip on his shoulder.

I think LJ and Gore are both seriously undervalued this year and are the guys to target early on.

 

[Festivus]

He went as RB12 in my league, before the likes of Thomas Jones, Jamal Lewis, Reggie Bush, Brandon Jacobs, McFadden, and Michael Turner.

I'd rather have LJ than any of those RBs.

I have him projected as 1350/13/350/2.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I think he's grossly undervalued right now and will have a top 5 finish.

That offense (and team overall) cannot be worse than last year. Bowe brings back a solid receiving threat and now has a year under his belt. Gonzales is still there to spread the field underneath. The QBing isn't the best but with another year under his belt I think Croyle can do enough to at least keep a defense honest. Easy rushing schedule. LJ is healthy and will have a chip on his shoulder.

I think LJ and Gore are both seriously undervalued this year and are the guys to target early on.

Oh yes they can. And they will be. Croyle will be the NFL's worst starting QB this year.Having said that, Johnson is going to be the workhorse because he has to be.

350/1500/14

30/200/2

I'd say he's the #4 RB in non-PPR and #6 in PPR.

 

[The Jacket]

Kolby Smith and\or Jamaal Charles cutting into LJ's touches? That seems far-fetched. Those guys are average RBs at best.

It's a tad premature to be defining their abilities. Charles is a third-round pick and was generally regarded by notable "draft experts" as a good value pick. He's got great speed and great receiving ability. He's also a very willing blocker, which is more than can be said for Larry Johnson. Smith has looked very impressive this preseason. When he touches the ball he makes things happen. Four carries against the Cardinals, 37 yards - 9.3 yards per carry. Four catches against the Dolphins, 38 yards - 9.5 yards per catch. He's also a very good blocker. On another matter, the Chiefs offense will be better this year. Yards, points, touchdowns - everything. Providing no one gets injured, anyway. It would be hard to get worse, and it won't.

 

[thehornet]

I think he's grossly undervalued right now and will have a top 5 finish.

That offense (and team overall) cannot be worse than last year. Bowe brings back a solid receiving threat and now has a year under his belt. Gonzales is still there to spread the field underneath. The QBing isn't the best but with another year under his belt I think Croyle can do enough to at least keep a defense honest. Easy rushing schedule. LJ is healthy and will have a chip on his shoulder.

I think LJ and Gore are both seriously undervalued this year and are the guys to target early on.

Oh yes they can. And they will be. Croyle will be the NFL's worst starting QB this year.Having said that, Johnson is going to be the workhorse because he has to be.

350/1500/14

30/200/2

I'd say he's the #4 RB in non-PPR and #6 in PPR.

Croyle was the worst QB last year too.

 

[AnonymousBob]

Kolby Smith and\or Jamaal Charles cutting into LJ's touches? That seems far-fetched. Those guys are average RBs at best.

It's a tad premature to be defining their abilities. Charles is a third-round pick and was generally regarded by notable "draft experts" as a good value pick. He's got great speed and great receiving ability. He's also a very willing blocker, which is more than can be said for Larry Johnson. Smith has looked very impressive this preseason. When he touches the ball he makes things happen. Four carries against the Cardinals, 37 yards - 9.3 yards per carry. Four catches against the Dolphins, 38 yards - 9.5 yards per catch. He's also a very good blocker. On another matter, the Chiefs offense will be better this year. Yards, points, touchdowns - everything. Providing no one gets injured, anyway. It would be hard to get worse, and it won't.

Herm Edwards runs his guy into the ground. It's just what he does. We can argue over how productive the Chiefs will be as far as offensive production but there will be no RBBC whatsoever. LJ will get the ball a MINIMUM of 15 times per game (and that's a very, very conservative number).He didn't split in NY when he had LaMont Jordan and he's yet to do it with LJ in KC.

 

[Gr00vus]

Some have reminded us that LJ was coming off a hold out and had an incredibly hard early season schedule last year. He was really heating up his last 4 games or so and was on his way to a huge day against the Packers when he went down and had the easiest part of his schedule to finish off the season - he would have finished top 10 had he not gotten hurt. He never even got to play against Denver, one of the worst run Ds in the league last year against whom he had 2 games remaining on his schedule.

Croyle's another year older and more experienced and while still a bad QB he won't be worse than last year. Bowe really emerged as the year went on and will keep safeties honest. Gonzo's near the end of the line but still respectable. The offensive line will be improved over last season.

The D will be somewhat worse without Allen around (barring an unexpected showing from the rookies), but Herm is pretty good at making his D respectable even without boatloads of talent.

Johnson will be a top 10 RB this year, and I think he has a great shot at finishing top 5 - assuming he stays healthy.

Could be the steal of the draft this year out of the 2nd round except that MJD seems to be going in that round too. I've personally been choosing to pick at the back end of the 1st round so I can get both of them.

 

[mr. furley]

375/1687/14, 4.5 per carry

50/500/2, 5.0 yards per rec..

whoanot saying i agree or disagree.. just... whoa

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/nfl/news?s...s_projection_08

"Only one RB reached 375 touches in 2007 (LaDainian Tomlinson, with 375) after five reached the number in 2006, including three with over 400 touches (Larry Johnson 457, Steven Jackson 436, Tomlinson 404). With more and more teams spreading the workload around to keep players fresh and defenses off-balance, the 2006 season may have been something of a last hurrah for the 400-touch back. The quality of touches becomes that much more important as more and more players have the opportunity for quantity, although that's not to say that it wasn't a concern previously."

 

[Andy Dufresne]

375/1687/14, 4.5 per carry

50/500/2, 5.0 yards per rec..

whoanot saying i agree or disagree.. just... whoa

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/nfl/news?s...s_projection_08

"Only one RB reached 375 touches in 2007 (LaDainian Tomlinson, with 375) after five reached the number in 2006, including three with over 400 touches (Larry Johnson 457, Steven Jackson 436, Tomlinson 404). With more and more teams spreading the workload around to keep players fresh and defenses off-balance, the 2006 season may have been something of a last hurrah for the 400-touch back. The quality of touches becomes that much more important as more and more players have the opportunity for quantity, although that's not to say that it wasn't a concern previously."

Nobody else plays for the Herminator.