Why Kansas City Chief RB Larry Johnson will Rush for 1200+

Freak Accident.

That is the only way you can look at Larry Johnson’s foot injury of the 07-08 season. LJ's broken foot had absolutely nothing to do with his record carries set in the season before (unless of course you believe in the Madden Curse). Anytime an NFL linebacker rolls over your foot like it is a paper napkin, it has nothing to do with the shape your body is in. Good. I am glad we got that out of the way. Moving on.

As you read this you are doing one of two things; a) Getting excited because any Kansas City article is a treat in the off season, or b) Thinking about how another homer is writing about how a player on his team is somehow going to be amazing.

Regarding the latter, I will be doing my best to avoid that result, so bear with me.

My first reason for a 1200+ season for LJ has to begin with the most important acquisition; Chan Gailey. Gone are the games where you had to sit and watch the game as your little sister went 9 for 10 on what play the Chiefs were going to run despite being only 6. Chan Gailey has inherited an offence that placed near the bottom in almost every offensive category that can come to mind. Before arriving at the Chiefs, Gailey has had a somewhat up-and-down career as a head coach, usually finding himself in a bowl game or playoff, but having a hard time pulling the trigger on rivalry teams. However, one thing (which I am sure most Chiefs fans have heard many times by now) that has followed Gailey where ever he went is his ability to run the pigskin. It seems as though he could take Maurice Clarrett and turn him into a 1000 yard rusher over night. Now, take arguably the best workhorse back in the NFL and what do we have? We have Chan Gailey squealing like a schoolgirl because he now has a runningback who is deadly when in the defensive secondary, as opposed to Joe Schmo whos just happy to be on the team. It takes more than just a coach (unless you are Mike Shanahan) to make a runningback, but it would be ignorant to ignore the great affect Gailey will have on LJ and his performance.

Reason number two; zone blocking. Speaking of Mike Shanahan, what is it that makes his RB's so successful anyways? Zone Blocking. This scheme allows runningbacks to sit back and watch the holes develop before they break through as opposed to hitting a hole and hoping that kyle turley isn't to jacked up on painkillers to block for you. The biggest complaint from Chiefs fans all year is that LJ never hit the whole as hard as before, leading fans to believe that he is now truly satisfied with his bank account. However, if you go back and watch when LJ is successful, the reason for this is that he is an extremely patient runner who likes to watch the holes develop before hitting them at full speed. How often do you remember seeing LJ tackled as he sat in the backfield waiting for a hole that everyone knew wasn't going to come? I remember many. Now, combine LJ's patient running style with the slow mentality of zone blocking, and you have what seems to be a perfect combination. One of the biggest advantages of a zone blocking scheme is that a runningback can actually benefit from poor blocking (and we will see much of that this year, I promise) because that is what helps to open holes.

Reason three: The D-Bowe Show. Finally, the Chiefs have struck gold at the receiver position by drafting LSU standout Dwayne Bowe. Compared to Terrell Owens, Dwayne Bowe loves to make contact with corners, challenging them to actually play physical, something defensive backs have always avoided. Not only is he strong, but he is quite tall at 6-2, giving him the ability to leap over defenders to make the catch, or in some cases, avoid being tackled (see Oakland game). Now, the obvious benefit from this is that teams now have to cover someone other than  LJ and Tony "Lifesupport" Gonzalez, freeing up some space for LJ to actually run to in the secondary. However, there is another benefit that is not as easily noticeable: the D-Bowe stiff arm. Dwayne Bowe has quietly developed  one of the nastiest stiff-arms among recievers in the NFL. There are few players who can take a quick hitch and turn it into a 15 yard gain because he is just too strong to be tackled by many corners. This will result in spreading the defense out just that much more in order to provide the corner with support in defending Dwayne Bowe from taking a quick hitch to the house. Once again, the defense has already lost another advantage that it has held against the Chiefs since LJ replaced Priest Holmes.

Now, I understand that there are even more factors that will help LJ return to hi old form like the addition of Jamaal Charles, Brad Cottam, and a true fullback, be it Mike Cox or Chris Manderino, but i felt as though these three issues that the Chiefs bring to the table are the most important in terms of the LJ of old returning to the Chiefs. And hey, should the defense continue to improve, we could even see 6 wins this year...

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