Why Chris Johnson Plays Football Like His House Is On Fire

I’ve recently come to realize why I love Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.

No, it’s not because he’s ridiculously fast.  No, it’s not because he’s got good size. It’s not even because he’s so been productive that a ton of teams would take a serious mulligan on passing him up in the 2008 NFL Draft, where he went 24^th . 24^th ! Do you think, if the draft were to be redone, he would go any lower than the fourth pick (where the Raiders took the once heralded Darren McFadden)?

No, it’s because Chris Johnson plays football like his house is on fire. He plays the game like, as another writer on this site has put it, every carry will be his last in the NFL. He is the kind of player that every coach loves, the one who sees a difficult situation and says, “There is no freaking way I am letting my team go down like a bunch of chumps. Hop on my back, everyone, and I will carry you.”

Yes, Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys.

Let’s take a brief look at his stats, shall we? Through Week 10 he leads the  NFL with 1,091 yards rushing, never mind the fact that he’s done so while maintaining an obscene 6.4 yards per carry average. But there’s more to it than just that. In fact, I’d like to use the New England game as proof that Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys:

In week six, the Titans were absolutely lambasted by the New England Patriots 59-0, a score that easily could’ve been worse had New England had vengeful score to settle. While the Titans were being humiliated, what were Johnson’s stat lines? 17 carries for 128 yards, a clip of 7.5 yards per carry.

As someone who’s been around the game for a while now, I can say from experience that many players would just give up on their team when the score got that bad. But Chris Johnson? Chris Johnson apparently doesn’t understand giving up. Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys.

During their bye week, the Titans switched quarterbacks and went back to Vince Young. Since that time, the Titans have gone 3-0. Perhaps Young has made the difference. Or maybe it’s Johnson’s 495 yards rushing, six touchdowns, and 6.6 yards per carry average during that three-game winning streak.

The Titans have gone from possibly the worst team in all of football to a team that may or may not make the playoffs (8-8 looks like the ceiling, as I doubt they’ll beat Indianapolis and San Diego). Why? Because they have a guy on their team who won’t quit. They have a guy on their team who deserves to be league MVP (where would the Titans be without Johnson? 0-9?).

Indeed, the Tennessee Titans have One of Those Guys on their team.