ChiefsPlanet - Q&A with LJ

Q&A RB LARRY JOHNSON
Dec 07, 2005, 3:47:29 PM

DALLAS CONFERENCE CALL

Q: What is different now that you’re the starting running back?

JOHNSON: “It’s been a little hectic as far as knowing that I have pick up a lot of things. I have to get ready for the whole game rather than just every third series so a lot of things I have to pick up. I have to do a little more studying than I am usually used to doing.”

Q: Were you prepared to take a full load as a starting running back when you first came to Kansas City?

JOHNSON: “I was ready for it when I came in. I was drafted and I assume that is what they drafted me for. It didn’t work out that way the first year, second year it was real late in the season I started to gain a little confidence in the last five games and it kind of spilled over to this year and I have been trying to accomplish a lot of things in the little time that I have on the field but it has seemed to work out.”

Q: Did you ever wonder if you would get an opportunity playing behind RB Priest Holmes?

JOHNSON: “Not really. It would be different if I was RB Willis (McGahee) and RB Travis (Henry) was ahead of me. Obviously it’s a different story with me being younger and Priest (Holmes) being a little older and a little bit seasoned. It would have came regardless if it was this year or next year.”

Q: Didn’t you want to become a Cowboy at one point?

JOHNSON: “My mom is a big Dallas Cowboys fan and she wanted me to go to Dallas. She was trying to wish that I would go to Dallas obviously it didn’t work that way I ended up being in Kansas City.”

Q: How serious was some of the potential trade talk that involved you last season?

JOHNSON: “Obviously it was not going to go down because Carl Peterson basically hand selected me himself and tried to ride out with that decision. I don’t think he would be able to give me up to anybody regardless of what he could get in return. I think it was more that he selected me and it was going to work out.”

Q: What do you think of the Dallas defense?

JOHNSON: “I think they have two of the best rookies defensively that I have seen all year or even since I have played in the league. DE Demarcus (Ware) and DE Marcus (Spears) are two great defensive ends who are guys that can basically play the field, who have a lot of speed. You don’t see out of guys who play that position. And of course you have a Ray Lewis in the (defensive) backfield with S Roy Williams. He can come down and hit you and cover. There are a lot of things that we have to do to prepare for not only those three guys, but the rest of the defense because they have played a lot better as the season has gone on and they have always been a tough defense.”

Q: How important has the improved play of the defense been to your team being 8-4 and how nice is it not to be in a shootout every week?

JOHNSON: “It all has to do with defense. If we don’t get the turnovers if we don’t get the ball back and the defense doesn’t stop anybody then yeah we would have to play this chasing game. But it seems the momentum has changed the last couple of games as far as the defense getting turnovers and intercepting the balls. We have a lot more possessions to do what we want to do with the ball.”

Q: Can you draw any comparisons been Dick Vermeil and Joe Paterno?

JOHNSON: “They both have gray hair. They both have similar styles. They are all about their players and making sure they are playing. If a player makes a mistake they won’t just cut them and get rid of them and say, ‘hey the heck with him we will get somebody else.’ Usually that is how it is especially in this league but Coach Vermeil is all about his players and that is one thing Joe Paterno shares, that unique love for his players. It’s just something that happened to them where they are always there to stand behind them (their players).”

Q: With this possibly being Coach Vermeil’s final season, is important to win for him or is it more important to win for your teammates?

JOHNSON: “We are basically playing for ourselves for a chance for the guys who really haven’t touched that Super Bowl since they have been in Kansas City like G Will (Shields) – guys who have been here since they started even before Coach Vermeil started coaching in Kansas City. We are basically trying to do it for those guys and do it for ourselves and that nobody else can lead us but ourselves into the playoffs and to the Super Bowl so we are basically playing for the team.”

Q: What has been the most important thing you’ve learned from your coaches or teammates?

JOHNSON: “I have learned a lot from FB Tony (Richardson) because being the man he is off the field. I think I learn a lot more from Tony because he has basically been around me and knows what I have been through as far as coming into Kansas City. I look at him as more of a big brother because he helps me with a lot of the reads and a lot of the pass protection stuff that I may not be adjusted to yet or accustomed to since I have been playing football. He has helped me with that and he has just been a real vocal person and really been an inspiration as far as me being in the league so far.”

Q: Is there a fine line between being too patient and not being patient enough as a runner?

JOHNSON: “Yeah, because if you get too patient then the next thing you know the blocks are gone and you don’t get the necessary yards. If you are not being patient enough you commit that crucial block where that lineman just needs a half a second to get over to the linebacker. It all has to do with timing and if you can time it right it’s not going to work 100 percent of the time, but if you hit it at the right amount of times you can bust off 30 or 40-yard runs.”

Q: Does that process of being patient change as the game progresses?

JOHNSON: “It’s filling in naturally being a running back for so many years you know and feel what your body can do and can’t do. You know if you can wait a little bit longer or you know when you can cut and turn up field. It all has to do with the more you get warmed up during the game in the first quarter and second quarter maybe different from what you see in the third and fourth quarter. The third or fourth quarter could be that time where if you wait just a half second you can hit a big touchdown run. I guess it all has to do with how you feel during that time.”

Q: Is it easy to get impatient as a running back if you try to be patient and don’t enjoy immediate success?

JOHNSON: “Yeah, definitely if you wait too long and you say, ‘man I am not hitting this play right I will do my own thing,’ you can easily get frustrated and take it out on your game and can basically get in a slump. The easier it is to be hot and run for 100-yard games is just as easy to not hit the right reads. The next thing you know you are getting 50 yards a game, 40 yards a game and 30 yards a game. You are not on the same track that you were before.”

Q: Is rushing for six straight 100-yard games important to you?

JOHNSON: “I would rather win four in a row and go to the Super Bowl, rather than six in a row. Basically I have my whole career to do that but you don’t have many times in your career to keep going back to the Super Bowl or even get to the playoffs. Getting towards the main game is most important.”

Q: Does the win over Denver give you some momentum coming into Dallas?

JOHNSON: “We are putting that game behind us and looking at the Dallas Cowboys and knowing what we have to do against the Cowboys which is a real tough defensive team. I mean we have to focus on one thing at a time. We can’t look back at Denver and what we did successful that game is over with and got to go forward.”

Q: What would you consider to be the weaknesses of the Dallas defense when you’ve studied them on film?

JOHNSON: “I didn’t see any weakness. They held teams to about 14 to 16 points. They really haven’t gotten blown out all season from what I have seen on tape those guys play and they have done everything they need to do defensively to stop offenses and they can do that regardless of which team it is. I am just excited to go against a good Dallas defense.”

I've cracked his code!!! I've cracked his code!!! Here's what he's REALLY saying! Damn, the media really HAS been right all along!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Q&A RB LARRY JOHNSON
Q: Did you ever wonder if you would get an opportunity playing behind RB Priest Holmes?

JOHNSON: “Not really. It would be different if I was RB Willis (McGahee) and RB Travis (Henry) was ahead of me. Obviously it’s a different story with me being younger and PriestPriest being a little older and a little bit seasoned. It would have came regardless if it was this year or next year.”

Q: Didn’t you want to become a Cowboy at one point?

JOHNSON: “My mom is a big Dallas Cowboys fan and she wanted me to go to Dallas. She was trying to wish that I would go to Dallas obviously it didn’t work that way I ended up being in Kansas City.”

Q: How serious was some of the potential trade talk that involved you last season?

JOHNSON: “Obviously it was not going to go down because Carl Peterson basically hand selected me himself and tried to ride out with that decision. I don’t think he would be able to give me up to anybody regardless of what he could get in return. I think it was more that he selected me and it was going to work out.”

Q: What do you think of the Dallas defense?

JOHNSON: “I think they have two of the best rookies defensively that I have seen all year or even since I have played in the league. DE Demarcus (Ware) and DE Marcus (Spears) are two great defensive ends who are guys that can basically play the field, who have a lot of speed. You don’t see out of guys who play that position. And of course you have a Ray Lewis in the (defensive) backfield with S Roy Williams. He can come down and hit you and cover. There are a lot of things that we have to do to prepare for not only those three guys, but the rest of the defense because they have played a lot better as the season has gone on and they have always been a tough defense.”

Q: How important has the improved play of the defense been to your team being 8-4 and how nice is it not to be in a shootout every week?

JOHNSON: “It all has to do with defense. If we don’t get the turnovers if we don’t get the ball back and the defense doesn’t stop anybody then yeah we would have to play this chasing game. But it seems the momentum has changed the last couple of games as far as the defense getting turnovers and intercepting the balls. We have a lot more possessions to do what we want to do with the ball.”

Q: Can you draw any comparisons been Dick Vermeil and Joe Paterno?

JOHNSON: “They both have gray hair. They both have similar styles. They are all about their players and making sure they are playing. If a player makes a mistake they won’t just cut them and get rid of them and say, ‘hey the heck with him we will get somebody else.’ Usually that is how it is especially in this league but Coach Vermeil is all about his players and that is one thing Joe Paterno shares, that unique love for his players. It’s just something that happened to them where they are always there to stand behind them (their players).”

Q: With this possibly being Coach Vermeil’s final season, is important to win for him or is it more important to win for your teammates?

JOHNSON: “We are basically playing for ourselves for a chance for the guys who really haven’t touched that Super Bowl since they have been in Kansas City like G Will (Shields) – guys who have been here since they started even before Coach Vermeil started coaching in Kansas City. We are basically trying to do it for those guys and do it for ourselves and that nobody else can lead us but ourselves into the playoffs and to the Super Bowl so we are basically playing for the team.”

Q: What has been the most important thing you’ve learned from your coaches or teammates?

JOHNSON: “II have learned a lot from FB Tony (Richardson) because being the man he is off the field. I think I learn a lot more from Tony because he has basically been around me and knows what I have been through as far as coming into Kansas City. I look at him as more of a big brother because he helps me with a lot of the reads and a lot of the pass protection stuff that I may not be adjusted to yet or accustomed to since I have been playing football. He has helped me with that and he has just been a real vocal person and really been an inspiration as far as me being in the league so far.”

Q: Is there a fine line between being too patient and not being patient enough as a runner?

JOHNSON: “Yeah, because if you get too patient then the next thing you know the blocks are gone and you don’t get the necessary yards. If you are not being patient enough you commit that crucial block where that lineman just needs a half a second to get over to the linebacker. It all has to do with timing and if you can time it right it’s not going to work 100 percent of the time, but if you hit it at the right amount of times you can bust off 30 or 40-yard runs.”

Q: Does that process of being patient change as the game progresses?

JOHNSON: “It’s filling in naturally being a running back for so many years you know and feel what your body can do and can’t do. You know if you can wait a little bit longer or you know when you can cut and turn up field. It all has to do with the more you get warmed up during the game in the first quarter and second quarter maybe different from what you see in the third and fourth quarter. The third or fourth quarter could be that time where if you wait just a half second you can hit a big touchdown run. I guess it all has to do with how you feel during that time.”

Q: Is it easy to get impatient as a running back if you try to be patient and don’t enjoy immediate success?

JOHNSON: “Yeah, definitely if you wait too long and you say, ‘man I am not hitting this play right I will do my own thing,’ you can easily get frustrated and take it out on your game and can basically get in a slump. The easier it is to be hot and run for 100-yard games is just as easy to not hit the right reads. The next thing you know you are getting 50 yards a game, 40 yards a game and 30 yards a game. You are not on the same track that you were before.”

Q: Is rushing for six straight 100-yard games important to you?

JOHNSON: “I would rather win four in a row and go to the Super Bowl, rather than six in a row. Basically I have my whole career to do that but you don’t have many times in your career to keep going back to the Super Bowl or even get to the playoffs. Getting towards the main game is the most important .”

Q: Does the win over Denver give you some momentum coming into Dallas?

JOHNSON: “We are putting that game behind us and looking at the Dallas Cowboys and knowing what we have to do against the Cowboys which is a real tough defensive team. I mean we have to focus on one thing at a time. We can’t look back at Denver and what we did successful that game is over with and got to go forward.”