Rush Hour

[Angel]

Rush hour

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
November 23, 2006

KANSAS CITY – No words were spoken between Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green and referee Bill Vinovich, who stood alongside Green in the backfield midway through the fourth quarter. All they did was look at each other, admiring the work of Chiefs running back Larry Johnson on one of the more spectacular carries you will see from any running back.

"It was just one of those looks like, 'Yeah, that was pretty unbelievable,'" Green said.

Johnson's 15-yard run in the fourth quarter exemplified a night that may have changed the AFC West and the conference playoff race in a significant way. With Johnson posting his second 150-plus yard rushing game in the span of five days, Kansas City brushed aside Denver 19-10 at Arrowhead Stadium on Thanksgiving Day.

It was Kansas City's fifth win in the past six games, a half-dozen outings defined by Johnson's unique blend of power and grace. With that, the Chiefs now stand at 7-4 after opening the season at 2-3 and not looking so good in the process.

By comparison, Denver was 5-1 a little more than a month ago and many observers were thinking they were on the way to the Super Bowl. Now, they are 7-4, trailing San Diego (8-2) and the Chiefs in the AFC West based on division record. A win by Jacksonville this weekend would leave the Broncos on the outside of the playoff race with five games left.


Moreover, it would leave the Broncos struggling for answers as they try to deal with a growing quarterback controversy and a suddenly questionable defense. Quarterback Jake Plummer continued to be his mediocre self, fueling the masses who are calling for rookie Jay Cutler.

As for the Denver defense, the Chiefs' running game produced 223 yards rushing on 41 carries. This comes on the heels of San Diego putting up 35 points on Sunday and Indianapolis putting up 34 by scoring on seven of eight possessions (excluding an end-of-half kneel down) against the Broncos.

For all the criticism that the Broncos will take in the coming days, Johnson deserves as much admiration. For the past six games, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards has been working Johnson like a mule. Yet Johnson continues to dance as that carry showed. It was his 27th of 34 carries on the night, not to mention his 58th of 65 when you add his performance Sunday against Oakland.

But on a second-and-1 play from the Kansas City 45-yard line, Johnson made a move that awed everyone. Johnson took the delayed handoff and ran toward a hole between the center and left guard. Denver linebacker Ian Gold went to fill the hole when Johnson made the most subtle of stutter moves. Gold fell over as he tried to get his footing and Johnson accelerated for the 15-yard gain.

It's part of an interesting transformation for Johnson. As Green said, Johnson was "running on power and anger" last year. Now, he's picking out the right time to make a move, evoking a little of former Chiefs starter Priest Holmes.

"I saw the replay," Chiefs guard Brian Waters said. "Yeah, that was ridiculous. But it's like he says, he doesn't even get warmed up until he gets 30 carries."

Over the past six games, Edwards has done his best to get Johnson warmed up. Johnson has 177 carries over that span, piling up 845 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in the process. Over a 16-game schedule, those numbers project to more than 470 carries, 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. If not for this guy named LaDainian Tomlinson, Johnson would be the toast of the league.

Of course, that type of workload can't really last. Edwards made a straight-faced joke that Johnson was "about 15 carries behind his pace" for the season. Johnson, with 282 totes this season, is looking at about 400 carries for the season – a recipe for burnout.

Still, when a guy is making moves like that in the fourth quarter, who can say he can't keep going?

"When you're having fun, you don't take a look at how many carries you have," Johnson said. "You just go out there and try to compete as hard as you can and put your team in a position to win."

Edwards was blunt about his plan.

"I learned one thing about this game a long time ago: you get the ball in the hands of your best players," Edwards said. "Look, I graduated."

In other words, Johnson is Kansas City's meal ticket, its bell cow, its workhorse … or whatever you like to call your best option. Whatever the cost, it's time to run Johnson now.

"He ain't going to have a 10-year career," Edwards said. "He's a power guy who loves the work, loves the contact. So we're going to give it to him."


. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_y...bYF?slug=jc-johnson112306&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

[Angel]

Johnson’s rumble is pure magic
JOE POSNANSKI
The Kansas City Star

All you can say is this: What a run. A couple of years ago, when Priest Holmes was running the football about as well as anyone in memory, I asked his secret. He said that when the guy gets blocked left, you go right. And when he gets blocked right, you go left.
“What if the guy doesn’t get blocked at all?” I asked.

“Then,” he said, “you disappear like Houdini.”

This run was Houdini escaping the water torture chamber. This run was something out of the Harry Potter books. This run was a Vegas show with David Copperfield. Hey, there was too much to see and feel Thursday. The atmosphere sizzled like a playoff game. The parking lot smelled like turkey and stuffing. More than 79,000 hot-blooded fans stuffed into Arrowhead Stadium for Lamar Hunt’s dream game, Thanksgiving football in Kansas City. Sadly Hunt could not be there — he was in the hospital — but he will see the tape. So he will see what the fans saw.

1. They saw the Chiefs beat Denver 19-10 — their seventh victory in nine games — and stay in the playoff hunt.

2. They saw coach Herm Edwards’ dream of a physical, run-the-ball, play good defense, control-the-clock team come to life.

3. They saw the Chiefs’ defense obliterate the Broncos’ famed running game — Denver managed 38 yards rushing, its lowest total against the Chiefs since 1993.

4. They saw Denver quarterback Jake Plummer flop around like a fish in a boat and finally throw what might be his last pass as Broncos quarterback (an overthrow of Rod Smith, for those who want to record the moment for posterity).

5. They saw a halftime show where John Fogerty sang Creedence Clearwater Revival songs that were hits a mere 38 years ago — the NFL, as always, has its finger on the pulse of American pop culture.

But the moment of the night was the run, a 15-yard Larry Johnson run that, truth be told, had almost no bearing at all on the game. Johnson had plenty of runs that mattered more. He was breathtaking again Thursday night. He carried the ball 34 times for 157 yards and a touchdown against what had been the fifth-best rush defense in the NFL. Everybody can see it now — everybody saw it Thursday night (well, OK, not everybody, but everybody who has the NFL Network).

This man runs the football the way Jim Brown ran the football.

Look: In a five-day span, Johnson carried the ball 65 times for 311 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs’ two biggest rivals. It’s possible, I suppose, that some other running back has done something that impressive. But no one comes to mind.

Johnson had huge runs throughout this game, but the run that will stick with everyone happened in the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs nursing a six-point lead, with the Broncos reeling and the crowd freaking out and the game on the line. Johnson took the handoff and started left, and there right in front of him was Denver linebacker Ian Gold. A former Pro Bowler. A big-time tackler. The play was dead. All Johnson could do was plow straight ahead and try to gain a yard or two.

Only, that’s not what Johnson did. Instead, he just stopped.

And then, things sort of moved in slow motion. The two men faced each other. It seemed as if Johnson and Gold just stared at each other for a few minutes, like two gunfighters at high noon. And then Johnson made a move that was so subtle, so fine and restrained, that it was easy to miss it.

And then, like Houdini, he disappeared. The only thing missing was a puff of smoke.

“We really believe that one on one, Larry can beat anybody,” Chiefs offensive lineman Brian Waters says. “He’s amazing that way.”

When Johnson reappeared, he was downfield. He had gained 15 yards. Ian Gold was standing still, looking at his hands, replaying things in his mind. They showed a replay of the run on the video board — again Johnson ran to the line, stopped, stared at Gold and disappeared. They showed it again. Same thing.

The run was nullified seconds later when Green threw an interception. So, if you want to be technical, Johnson’s bigger runs came in the next Chiefs series, when he carried the ball seven times for 24 tough yards that set up the game-clinching field goal. But the run was one perfect moment on this perfect Kansas City night. It’s what I will remember.

Green will remember it. He had the best angle. He was back behind the play with referee Bill Vinovich. They watched Johnson run, stop, disappear and reappear. Then, Green and Vinovich just looked at each other. They didn’t say a word. Words were not necessary. After the game, Larry Johnson left without talking to reporters. A good magician never tells how a trick is done.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/16086489.htm


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------