Not-so-quietly, Chris Johnson endured the worst season of his professional career in 2011. It was a drama-filled campaign, marred by a preseason holdout, a string of lackluster games, and, eventually, a temporary demotion.
We may now know why.
A team source recently told Pro Football Weekly that Johnson’s conditioning (or lack thereof) played a large part in his substandard performances, primarily in the first-half of the season, when he cracked the century mark on the ground just twice.
In other words, Johnson was “simply out of shape.”
Early on, he definitely looked it, rushing for just 24 yards on 9 carries in the season opener, and a combined 74 yards over the next two contests.
During their Week 8 win over the Colts, Johnson, after another mediocre outing, was shown the bench, causing some to speculate the three-time Pro Bowler might be headed toward the chopping block.
He ended up putting together a few nice games toward the end, but it seemed the only thing Johnson ultimately succeeded with was earning a much-ballyhooed contract extension, which, at the time, made him the richest running back in NFL history.
There are certainly no excuses to be made, as he fell way short of living up to the new pact, though him being improperly conditioned can be at least partially attributed to last year’s league-wide lockout, which sapped any and all conditioning programs.
However, that won’t be the case this offseason, and in order to prevent a repeat result, the back formerly known as CJ2K should begin to start running a 5K (or three).
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I thought he was just trying to find the softest place on the field to lay down.
Guess this means Johnson is now officially a diva – he took some good lessons from Albert Haynesworth.
This is the same crap jackson will do to the eagels if thay give him a big contract.