Chris Johnson: 5 Things Tennessee Titans RB Needs to Do to Get Back on Track

It's no secret Chris Johnson's season hasn't gone as planned—at least, not the way the Tennessee Titans or Johnson himself would have planned it.

With Matt Hasselbeck exceeding expectations and the defense finding some teeth, Johnson's running should have been the heart and soul of a better-than-expected team.

Instead, the Titans have stumbled to the middle of the pack in a watered-down AFC South, and Johnson has gone over 53 yards on the ground only once. 

Here's some free advice for one of Tennessee's most recent multimillionaires.

Have Fun Again

Maybe it's just me, but I like to think most NFL players started playing—or at least kept playing—football because it was fun. They enjoyed it, and they enjoyed it even more because they were better than just about everyone they played.

And while I've never been offered a multimillion dollar contract to play football—I'm just guessing again here—it seems like spending your offseason lobbying for more money is a quick way to sap the fun from football.

Johnson might want to take a Gordon Bombay-style skate around the ice and remember why he started playing this game in the first place.

Run Forward

We've all seen it before. A back gets so much press, attention and praise for his speed that he starts to play with nothing else.

Don't get me wrong; Johnson's speed has served him well, and without it we probably wouldn't even be having this discussion, but it's not the only strength of his game. These quicker backs tend to have a propensity to ignore logic and believe they can make any carry a home run by simply bouncing it to the outside, and when that doesn't work they just bounce it to the outside a second time. And a third.

You get the point.

The only problem is that the outside runs out quickly and if you haven't made any vertical progress by the time you reach the sideline, you're not doing much good for your team.

Study

Again, not knowing Johnson personally and having never played on a football team with him, I can't speak with certainty about his film habits. However, I do think there are a fair amount of NFL players who would agree with the idea that you can never study your opponent too much.

Johnson's never had a dearth of talent, and although that's certainly been a major factor in his success, it can also lead to a lax attitude when it comes to the mental part of the game.

If nothing else, watching at least his old highlights would have to be motivational. 

Realize He's Slipping Toward Second String

If I spent an entire offseason complaining about the lack of zeroes at the end of my paycheck and declaring I wouldn't be happy until I was the highest paid guy in my specific career field in the world, I'd damn sure want to be the starter.

Right now, Johnson is getting dangerously close to being supplanted by Javon Ringer, and although that won't really affect his paycheck, it should affect his pride. Maybe being benched is the best thing for him, though it's hard to imagine it striking a chord when Johnson has yet to seem motivated by the fact that Ringer is earning more carries each and every week.

Offer to Do More

Okay, so it's pretty unrealistic that the Titans would suddenly hand over the return duties to such a highly paid player, especially one who hasn't shown much breakaway ability this season. However, Johnson has to do something to help this team, and a smaller overall role that included fielding punts or kickoffs might be a nice niche while he finds his footing again.

Plenty of NFL teams have won games with ace returners, and Johnson definitely has the speed and agility to make opposing coverage units pay.

And if he doesn't like that, there's always a spot out wide. He's not exactly a refined route runner, and he doesn't offer much in the size department, but Johnson is very dangerous when he gets the ball in space, and Tennessee isn't exactly overflowing with healthy talent at the receiver position.