A Post on Larry Johnson

Look for Larry Jonson to take a step back from last year. Here's why:

Traditionally NFL running backs that have 370 or more carries in the previous season are considered overworked and thus become less productive the following year or get injured.

Here are some examples of running backs that had 370 or more carries one year and the following year were not the same.

The latest example of this is Shaun Alexander last season.

Other examples are Jamal Lewis, and Eddie George.

Also Terell Davis following the 1998 season in which he carried 392 times blew out his knee, Jamal Anderson in 1998 carried the ball 410 times and blew out his knee the following season and in 2000 Edgeren James had 387 carries and the following season played only 6 games before blowing out his knee. Also Curtis Martin was never the same after he hit 370 in 2004 and subsequently was forced to retire after missing most of the next 2 seasons.

Last year Larry Johnson carried over 416 times. He has also missed all of training camp due to contract issues. If Johnson gets hurt it would not surprise me.

Also the Chiefs lost 2 Hall of Fame offensive lineman, Will Shields and Willie Roaf to retirement in the offseason and will have a very weak line this year. That will also affect the running game.

Also without the experienced signal caller in Trent Green the Chiefs will struggle. Opposing defenses are going to be able to stuff the Chiefs running game. That may lead to an injury to Larry Johnson. I do beleive that Priest Holmes will carry a lot this year and keep them competitive. But with so many good AFC teams this year don't plan on KC winning more then 8 games.