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Johnson not frustrated by lack of production
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
Seventy-eight feet is not much.
It is less than the distance from home plate to first base (90 feet). The average person will cover 78 feet in about 30 steps. It's the length of a tennis court. A few times a year, somebody somewhere makes a shot of around that distance in a basketball game.
Sunday, Larry Johnson covered 78 feet on the ground in a 15-carry, 26-yard day during which his longest carry went for 8 yards.
It was his worst day as a starter.
In consecutive weeks, Johnson has failed to break 40 yards against defenses mainly designed to stop him.
"I'm not frustrated at all," he said. "They're just putting eight in the box. That's what happens when you're good. Everywhere across the league, LaDanian (Tomlinson, of the Chargers) is going through it. Shaun (Alexander, of the Seahawks) is going through it. All the good players are going through it."
Johnson, who entered the game averaging 3.7 yards per carry, got 1.8 Sunday against a Steelers defense that was ninth in the NFL, allowing 3.4 yards per carry.
It was another in a series of games in which Johnson was the opponent's primary worry and another in which the opponent demonstrated little respect for the Chiefs' passing game, a strategy which proved appropriate when Damon Huard threw for 162 yards and completed 50 percent of his throws.
"Larry is so dependent on what we do up front and the way our passing game goes to get his numbers," guard Brian Waters said. "But honestly, we didn't do anything as a football team."
Statistics aside, Johnson hardly had a worse day than anybody else on the team.
"None of us played good," Huard said. "We had some chances early in the game and you've got to convert third downs and we didn't do that and before you knew it, you're down two, three touchdowns against the defending Super Bowl champions at their place."
Nothing takes a running back out of a game like a multiple-score deficit, which Johnson's day reflected. LJ had just six carries in the second half.
"When you get down, you just can't run the ball," Johnson said. "When you're down 21 points and you're trying to get some points on the board."
Even when the Chiefs began throwing, Johnson -- who entered the game as the team's leader in catches and receiving yards -- was a nonfactor. His day ended with three catches for 6 yards.
"You go through tough times," Johnson said. "We're going to find ways to get around it and be successful."
Johnson flagged for hair-pulling
Larry Johnson's hair tackle on Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was the cause of some confusion when officials flagged LJ for a personal foul after the play.
Johnson dragged Polamalu down by his considerable mane, which was legal. What ensued was not.
"The dude had hair," Johnson said. "What do you want me to do. They said hair is part of the uniform last time I checked. That was the only thing I could get my hands on."
Johnson said his hand got stuck in Polamalu's hair after the tackle, prompting Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor to confront Johnson.
"It's real cute that Ike Taylor comes over and tries to defend his boy when that wasn't what was going on. If I got penalized I hope it's because of me hitting Ike Taylor in the face twice and not for pulling Troy's hair."
Johnson saved a touchdown.
Not-so-sweet
A blowout loss spoiled homecomings for a handful of Chiefs.
Larry Johnson, a Pennsylvania native and Penn State product, said he would like to play for the Steelers.
"Who wouldn't? I played at Penn State," he said. "Who wouldn't want to stay at home and play in front of their home family and in front of their home fans?"
The Steelers, who at No. 16 were 11 picks higher than Kansas City, showed interest in Johnson prior to the 2003 NFL draft, but instead took USC safety Troy Polamalu. Kansas City took Johnson 27th.
Cornerback Ty Law, another Penn-born Chief, feels a lesser connection to the Steelers.
"Being from Pittsburgh, I was never a big Steelers fans," he said. "I was a Cowboys fans growing up with my cousin being Tony Dorsett and all."
Defensive end Eric Hicks, linebacker Kris Griffin and tight end Kris Wilson were also born in Pennsylvania. Linebacker Kendrell Bell was a second-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2001, when he was the NFL defensive rookie of the year.
Hall inactive
After a week of saying they expected him to play, the Chiefs made Dante Hall inactive for Sunday's game. Hall injured his hip Oct. 8 at Arizona and left the game in the second half. All week, Edwards and Hall both said the return specialist would play both as a returner and in his regular offensive role.
Instead, rookie Jeff Webb returned kickoffs, Eddie Kennison fielded punts and Rod Gardner was Kansas City's third receiver.
Other key inactives for Kansas City were running back Michael Bennett, offensive tackle Will Svitek, cornerback Benny Sapp and quarterback Trent Green.
FB Cruz injures knee
Chiefs fullback Ronny Cruz left the game late in the fourth quarter with an injury to his right knee. He was carted off the field wearing an air cast. Cruz is Kansas City's only fullback, though they have sparingly used tight end Kris Wilson as a lead blocker.
http://cjonline.com/stories/101606/chi_notes.shtml
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
Seventy-eight feet is not much.
It is less than the distance from home plate to first base (90 feet). The average person will cover 78 feet in about 30 steps. It's the length of a tennis court. A few times a year, somebody somewhere makes a shot of around that distance in a basketball game.
Sunday, Larry Johnson covered 78 feet on the ground in a 15-carry, 26-yard day during which his longest carry went for 8 yards.
It was his worst day as a starter.
In consecutive weeks, Johnson has failed to break 40 yards against defenses mainly designed to stop him.
"I'm not frustrated at all," he said. "They're just putting eight in the box. That's what happens when you're good. Everywhere across the league, LaDanian (Tomlinson, of the Chargers) is going through it. Shaun (Alexander, of the Seahawks) is going through it. All the good players are going through it."
Johnson, who entered the game averaging 3.7 yards per carry, got 1.8 Sunday against a Steelers defense that was ninth in the NFL, allowing 3.4 yards per carry.
It was another in a series of games in which Johnson was the opponent's primary worry and another in which the opponent demonstrated little respect for the Chiefs' passing game, a strategy which proved appropriate when Damon Huard threw for 162 yards and completed 50 percent of his throws.
"Larry is so dependent on what we do up front and the way our passing game goes to get his numbers," guard Brian Waters said. "But honestly, we didn't do anything as a football team."
Statistics aside, Johnson hardly had a worse day than anybody else on the team.
"None of us played good," Huard said. "We had some chances early in the game and you've got to convert third downs and we didn't do that and before you knew it, you're down two, three touchdowns against the defending Super Bowl champions at their place."
Nothing takes a running back out of a game like a multiple-score deficit, which Johnson's day reflected. LJ had just six carries in the second half.
"When you get down, you just can't run the ball," Johnson said. "When you're down 21 points and you're trying to get some points on the board."
Even when the Chiefs began throwing, Johnson -- who entered the game as the team's leader in catches and receiving yards -- was a nonfactor. His day ended with three catches for 6 yards.
"You go through tough times," Johnson said. "We're going to find ways to get around it and be successful."
Johnson flagged for hair-pulling
Larry Johnson's hair tackle on Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was the cause of some confusion when officials flagged LJ for a personal foul after the play.
Johnson dragged Polamalu down by his considerable mane, which was legal. What ensued was not.
"The dude had hair," Johnson said. "What do you want me to do. They said hair is part of the uniform last time I checked. That was the only thing I could get my hands on."
Johnson said his hand got stuck in Polamalu's hair after the tackle, prompting Steelers defensive back Ike Taylor to confront Johnson.
"It's real cute that Ike Taylor comes over and tries to defend his boy when that wasn't what was going on. If I got penalized I hope it's because of me hitting Ike Taylor in the face twice and not for pulling Troy's hair."
Johnson saved a touchdown.
Not-so-sweet
A blowout loss spoiled homecomings for a handful of Chiefs.
Larry Johnson, a Pennsylvania native and Penn State product, said he would like to play for the Steelers.
"Who wouldn't? I played at Penn State," he said. "Who wouldn't want to stay at home and play in front of their home family and in front of their home fans?"
The Steelers, who at No. 16 were 11 picks higher than Kansas City, showed interest in Johnson prior to the 2003 NFL draft, but instead took USC safety Troy Polamalu. Kansas City took Johnson 27th.
Cornerback Ty Law, another Penn-born Chief, feels a lesser connection to the Steelers.
"Being from Pittsburgh, I was never a big Steelers fans," he said. "I was a Cowboys fans growing up with my cousin being Tony Dorsett and all."
Defensive end Eric Hicks, linebacker Kris Griffin and tight end Kris Wilson were also born in Pennsylvania. Linebacker Kendrell Bell was a second-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2001, when he was the NFL defensive rookie of the year.
Hall inactive
After a week of saying they expected him to play, the Chiefs made Dante Hall inactive for Sunday's game. Hall injured his hip Oct. 8 at Arizona and left the game in the second half. All week, Edwards and Hall both said the return specialist would play both as a returner and in his regular offensive role.
Instead, rookie Jeff Webb returned kickoffs, Eddie Kennison fielded punts and Rod Gardner was Kansas City's third receiver.
Other key inactives for Kansas City were running back Michael Bennett, offensive tackle Will Svitek, cornerback Benny Sapp and quarterback Trent Green.
FB Cruz injures knee
Chiefs fullback Ronny Cruz left the game late in the fourth quarter with an injury to his right knee. He was carted off the field wearing an air cast. Cruz is Kansas City's only fullback, though they have sparingly used tight end Kris Wilson as a lead blocker.
http://cjonline.com/stories/101606/chi_notes.shtml
