Q/A with Carl Peterson on Larry Johnson

[Scaga]

Q&A with CARL PETERSON on Larry Johnson
Aug 21, 2007, 1:49:21 PM


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CARL PETERSON: “Larry Johnsons is here and practicing. He’s under contract, a six-year deal. It’s been a little bit of a lengthy negotiation but, I think, a good one, a fair one on both sides. He’s obviously very important to this organization and a big part of our offense. It’s good to have him here; it’s good to have the last of all our children here under contract – the full 88 [players under contract].

“We will make a decision but I doubt very seriously he will have any participation Thursday night, but I’ll talk to Herm about that.”

Q: Were you surprised he ran right out here on the field, got in the huddle and ran a play?

PETERSON: “Frankly, it surprised me a little bit. I met with him last night. He called me and wanted to chat and we met privately. I could see that he very much wanted to get on the field. He expressed that to me - that he wanted to be out here with his teammates. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy sign his contract that fast. But he wanted to get out here today and get going. To my surprise, I thought he’d be doing some running on the sideline.

“He is in really good shape and we’ll check it out more thoroughly but I have been monitoring his progress. I think people already know that he was down in Arizona working very hard. I got a scouting report from Brady Quinn who was down there with him when he was out of camp.

“But again, Larry Johnson is very important to this organization. I think he knows that, his family knows that and we’re glad he’s going to be here – perhaps for the remainder of his career. I hope it goes beyond six years.”

Q: In the big picture what do you think he missed in a month of camp and what kind of shape do you think he’ll be in for the first [regular season] game?

PETERSON: “If he was out beyond the third game that’s when I start becoming concerned about veterans. I’ll give you an [example]. In 2005, Priest Holmes was our starting running back and in four pre-season games he had 23 touches and Larry Johnson last year as our starting running back in three games had 22 touches. So, that’s probably what he’s missed – or some portion of that. I don’t think it’ll take him long to get up to speed.

“The one [type of] conditioning that he knows and that all of us involved in football know is that you can’t duplicate is conditioning with your pads on: being hit and hitting people. There’s a soreness aspect you need to go through. He expressed to me last night that he knew that and he didn’t want to waste any more time sitting out.”

Q: Will that $14,000 a day fine hold up or is that negotiable?

PETERSON: “Yes, the fine is there. He knows that and that was part of the agreement. That’s behind us now. The clock stopped ticking today. It’s done and Larry understands that we’re moving on.”

Q: You don’t discuss how much money that it is but I’m assuming he can pay the fine?

PETERSON: “I think they’ll be a little bit left over [laughs].”

Q: Is it safe to say it’s the richest Chiefs contract ever?

PETERSON: “I don’t discuss contracts with the media specific to Chiefs players.”

Q: If he hadn’t reached out to you the other night would this still be where it was a couple of days ago?

PETERSON: “We felt that we were there and it’s a situation where Larry has to ultimately make that decision for himself. As I tell every player, there are two signatures on that contact at the end of the day: his and mine. We both have to be happy enough to be comfortable enough to be signing it. We both were and I appreciate the efforts by Larry’s representatives and how much I appreciate [assistant GM] Denny Thum and his long-time efforts being able to say ‘no’ without upsetting people. He and [Johnson agent] Alvin Keels put a lot of time and effort into this.

“But when it gets down to getting close it becomes Larry’s decision and my decision. I think this is a good decision for both and for the future of the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Q: How does this affect the Priest Holmes situation if at all?

PETERSON: “It doesn’t affect Priest at all. I sometimes don’t understand why the media doesn’t listen to what we’re saying. First of all, Priest Holmes deserves the right to try to make a comeback after being gone for 22 months. After what he’s contributed to the Kansas City Chiefs and National Football League I want to afford him that opportunity.

“But he knew from the onset and I’d like to express it one more time: if Priest is with us it will not be in the same capacity as it was before. I think, and Herm thinks, he can be a marvelous situational running back – that’s short yardage, goal line, screens and draws. He’s not going to carry it or touch it as much as he did when he was with us before.

“We had a running back here more than a few years ago who was 33 years old when I signed him as an unrestricted free agent. He was here five years and left at 38 years old and helped us get to the AFC championship game. He helped us get to a number of playoffs. His name was Marcus Allen.

“I’ve said it before: if Priest Holmes can be 75-80% of what he was when he was with us as the starting running back he can help this franchise win football games.”

Q: Will he start the season on PUP?

PETERSON: “I don’t know that yet. We’re evaluating his condition every day. He’s making great progress. He’s come a long way. In his defense - and he readily admitted it when he made the decision to come back this year - he hadn’t the foundation of cardio-vascular, muscular and strength conditioning as he has in the past. So, he’s been running on a fast track trying to catch up in four weeks. Normally he would do it in six months.

“We’ll see where he is after this week and next week.”

Q: He’s not out there today?

PETERSON: “I don’t know about that. I know he’s been doing some conditioning perhaps inside. But I wasn’t out here. I was busy with another running back?

Q: LJ is here and you’ve got a couple of other running backs that you like. If it comes to it would you release Priest or ask him to retire? How would you handle that?

PETERSON: “Priest has to make this football team on his merits. But they are all the merits that he has accumulated over all the years. That will be something Herm and I discuss. We’ve got a cut to 75 [players] this week and he will be in that 75 without any question. We’ll see where he is next week and we do have some other options that we discussed.”

Q: Is Larry’s six-year deal an extension or starting fresh this year?

PETERSON: “It’s this year and five new ones. But this year has changed [financially].”

[percysnow]

Good read. . .LJ seems ready. . and I would love for priest to make this team for short yard situations and for screen p-lays. . .Love that LJ got right on the practice field. . .

[allen_kcCard]

Any time I read interviews with CP I find myself reading it more slowly than I normally would to match the slow speed he talks talks at.

[Crashride]

Any time I read interviews with CP I find myself reading it more slowly than I normally would to match the slow speed he talks talks at.

Thats what I do with herm...its like I hear him saying it mentally

[MichaelH]

Well HOT DAMN! Now Hermie has no excuse when the offense sputters.

[stevieray]

Q&A with CARL PETERSON on Larry Johnson
Aug 21, 2007, 1:49:21 PM





PETERSON: “It doesn’t affect Priest at all. I sometimes don’t understand why the media doesn’t listen to what we’re saying. First of all, Priest Holmes deserves the right to try to make a comeback after being gone for 22 months. After what he’s contributed to the Kansas City Chiefs and National Football League I want to afford him that opportunity.

[financially].”

but...but...he's not on the sidelines... :deevee:

[Rain Man]

I'm not really sure how this works. Do I have to buy season tickets now to get a chance at Super Bowl tickets at the end of the season, or is there another way to get them?

[noa]

Where does that $14,000 a day fine end up?

[Rain Man]

Where does that $14,000 a day fine end up?

Most likely, it ends up in the Chiefs' salary pool to cover the contract increase in the final stages of negotiations that exactly equals the amount of the fine.

[penchief]

but...but...he's not on the sidelines... :deevee:

I don't think anyone would be criticizning Priest about his comeback if it wasn't for his speech in which he put down the leadership of this team in order to promote his own leadership. And then he didn't back it up.

You're trying to simplify the situation into a pro-Priest/anti-Priest thing. It's more specific than that, IMO.

[noa]

Most likely, it ends up in the Chiefs' salary pool to cover the contract increase in the final stages of negotiations that exactly equals the amount of the fine.

Ah, that makes sense.

[stevieray]

I don't think anyone would be criticizning Priest about his comeback if it wasn't for his speech in which he put down the leadership of this team in order to promote his own leadership. And then he didn't back it up.

You're trying to simplify the situation into a pro-Priest/anti-Priest thing. It's more specific than that, IMO.

please...you're a paranoid delusional that couldn't even admit that you falesly claimed that he said the team sucked without his leadership. didn't back it up? yup, to people whose opinion doesn't mean squat on the field or sideline..

you just need to complain and tear down to feel better.

PH doesn't owe you jack. get over it.

[penchief]

please...you're a paranoid delusional that couldn't even admit that you falesly claimed that he said the team sucked without his leadership. didn't back it up? yup, to people whose opinion doesn't mean squat on the field or sideline..

you just need to complain and tear down to feel better.

PH doesn't owe you jack. get over it.

No. You misread my intent. But I probably could have made it more clear. If you go back and read it you will see that I was denying the things you were accusing me of. I did say that he "was saying" that the teams leadership sucked and therefore the team sucked. I was paraphrasing/reading between the lines. There is no way that you can listen to the entire press conference and miss that.

When I said, "I never said that either." I was referring to the accusations that you were making and the motives you were assigning to me. I should have broken my answer up instead of quoting your entire post. I'm not stupid. I could see the post I made when I was responding to you. And I'd only made it minutes earlier. I knew what I had said.

I did, however, want to ask you why you have to make everything so personal but I decided not to.

[stevieray]

but I decided not to.

until now.

and your comments and accusations about PH aren't personal....because....?

you're the victim of PH's press conference?
he's not here to defend himself?
you're not accountable?
you think PH is accountable to you?


all of the above?

[gblowfish]

Let me cut through the typical "Carl Speak" and interpret this exchange correctly:

CARL PETERSON: “Larry Johnson is here and practicing. He’s under my thumb, the guy who once had me down. Under my thumb. The guy who once pushed me around.

It's a six-year deal. It’s been a little bit of a lengthy negotiation. He was nowhere around the River Falls training facility, so I couldn't get him into the groundskeeper's shed to put the smack down on him. I've been so balled up inside I haven't even been able to squeeze out a decent BM. But today, I think, I had a good one, a fair one.

He’s obviously very important to this organization and a big part of our offense. Last year we gave him the ball over 400 times. So it’s 400 times good to have him here. It’s good to have children around you can hire, as if I were back in Vietnam again, hanging out with Gary Glitter – the full 88 children are under my thumb.

We will make a decision but I doubt very seriously he will have any participation Thursday night. I promised him he could hang out in my suite and eat Nachos, but I’ll talk to Herm about that.

Q: Were you surprised he ran right out here on the field, got in the huddle and ran a play?

PETERSON: “Frankly, it surprised me a little bit. I met with him last night. I had to rap him on the kneecaps a couple times with a tire tool to get him to sign. He's a quick healer, obviously.

He called me real late and wanted to chat. I think the "brothers" call it a "booty call." I could be wrong. I could see that he very much wanted to get on with it. He expressed that to me - that he wanted to get the hell away from me and be out here with his teammates. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a guy sign his contract that fast. He literally ran past me, cut his finger, bled on the dotted line, and zoom... he was gone.

But he wanted to get out here today and get going. To my surprise, I thought he’d be hiding somewhere with Priest Holmes till next week.

He is in really good shape. I squeezed his guns. And I'll check it out more thoroughly when he begins showering with the team. I think people already know that he was down in Arizona "making it rain," whatever that means. I got a scouting report from Pacman Jones who was down there with him when he was out of camp.

But again, Larry Johnson is very important to this organization. I think he knows that. His family knows that. His agent knows that. Everybody.... everybody knows that. We’re glad he’s going to be here – perhaps for the remainder of his career, or until he goes Earl Campbell on us after about two years."

Q: In the big picture what do you think he missed in a month of camp and what kind of shape do you think he’ll be in for the first [regular season] game?

PETERSON: “If he was out beyond the third game that’s when I start becoming concerned about veterans. I’ll give you an example. In 1933, Jay Berwanger was starting running back for the Chicago Bears and in fourteen regular season games he had 223 touches. Larry Johnson last year as our starting running back in three games had 22 touches. Berwanger was a known as a big toucher. His nickname in college was "The Monkey." Soon the other players didn't want to be around him and called him a "Monkey Toucher." I 'm not sure what that means, but we don't want that to happen to Larry. He should slow down on the touching until he gets up to speed.

The one [type of] conditioning that he knows, and that all of us involved in football know - that you can’t duplicate in normal conditioning- is getting the day living crap knocked out of you. There’s a soreness aspect you need to go through. He expressed to me last night that he knew that and he didn’t want to waste any more time sitting out, and for us to please start beating the crap out of him immediately.”

Q: Will that $14,000 a day fine hold up or is that negotiable?

PETERSON: “Yes, the fine is there. He knows that and that was part of the agreement. He paid me, in full, in cash, today. So this season I'll wearing Gianfranco Ferre leather everything...down to my thong and garter hose.

So that’s all behind us now. My watch stopped ticking today. Consequently, Larry understands that I'll be headed off to the Rolex Store with a good part of his 14-grand.”

Q: You don’t discuss how much money that it is but I’m assuming he can pay the fine?

PETERSON: “I think they’ll be a little bit left over [laughs then spits blood].”

Q: Is it safe to say it’s the richest Chiefs contract ever?

PETERSON: “Are you talkin to me? ARE YOU TALKIN TO ME???? (Begins to hyperventilate) I don’t discuss contracts with the media specific to Chiefs players.”

Q: If he hadn’t reached out to you the other night would this still be where it was a couple of days ago?

PETERSON: “We felt that we were there and it’s a situation where Larry has to ultimately make that decision for himself. As I tell every player, there are two blood signatures on that contact at the end of the day: his and mine. We both have to be happy enough to be comfortable enough to slice an index finger, and wipe our names in blood. Actually I'm just kidding. I appreciate the efforts by Larry’s representatives and also appreciate Denny Thum playing bad cop and telling Larry's representatives to stfd and stfu, so I didn't have to. Thum's had a long-time ability to say ‘Go F Yourself’ without really surprising people. He's a lot like Dick Cheney in that regard, and I admire them both very much.

But when it gets down to getting close, I mean really close, it becomes Larry’s decision and my decision. I think this is a good decision for both of us to get nose to nose, belly to belly, eyeball to eyeball, and see who blinks first. I don't blink. I just don't. It's a reptilian trait of mine. That's how I've been so successful in determining the future of the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Q: How does this affect the Priest Holmes situation if at all?

PETERSON: "Who?"

Q: Priest Holmes?

PETERSON: "Oh, right. It doesn’t affect Priest at all. I sometimes don’t understand why the media doesn’t listen to what we’re saying. YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME. YOU ARE THE BEST FANS IN THE NFL... Sorry, you got me off message there.

First of all, Priest Holmes deserves the right to try to make a comeback after being gone for 22 months. After what he’s contributed to the Kansas City Chiefs and National Football League and to HBO I want to afford him that opportunity.

But he knew from the onset and I’d like to express it one more time: if Priest is with us it will not be in the same capacity as it was before. I think, and Herm thinks, he can be a super situational short-distance substitute for screens and scoring scenarios. He’s not going to touch it as much as he did when he was with us before, because in Priest's case, if he touches it more than twice he's undeniably just playing with it. It's up to Larry to touch it a great deal now.

We had a running back here more than a few years ago who was not quite 23 years old when I signed him as an unrestricted free agent. His name was Jesse Haynes. His excessive touching caused him to fumble a lot in the pre-season and we cut him. He wound up in NFL Europa. He's painting houses in Poland somewhere now.

How does that story affect Priest? I’ve said it before: if Priest Holmes can be 75-80% of what he was when he was with us as the starting running back he can help this franchise win approximately 20-25% of our football games. If not, he can paint houses in Poland. I hope that is crystal clear.”

Q: Will he start the season on PUP?

PETERSON: “I don’t know what PUP means. What I do know is our coaches are evaluating his condition every day. We wake him up in the middle of the night. We poke him with sticks. He’s making great progress. He’s come a long way. In his defense - and he readily admitted it when he made the decision to come back this year - he hadn’t the foundation of cardio-vascular, muscular and strength conditioning as he has in the past. He's been in San Antonio, home of Pace Real Mexican Picante Sauce, and you know his affinity for Nachos. So, he’s been running on a fast track trying to sweat out all that cheese and catch up in four weeks. Normally he would do it in six months.

We’ll measure his cheesy-ness and see where he is after this week and next week.”

Q: He’s not out there today?

PETERSON: “I don’t know about that. I know he’s been doing some purging inside for the HBO cameras. But I wasn’t out here. I was busy rapping Larry Johnson on the knees with a tire tool."

Q: LJ is here and you’ve got a couple of other running backs that you like. If it comes to it would you release Priest or ask him to retire? How would you handle that?

PETERSON: “Priest has to make this football team on his merits. But they are all the merits that he has accumulated over all the years. Swimming, Tent Pitching, Compass Reading, stuff like that. That will be something Herm and I discuss. We’ve got a cut to 75 players this week and he will be in that 75 without any question. We’ll see where he is next week, and if we can't find him again, like last Thursday night, we do have some other options that we discussed.”

Q: Is Larry’s six-year deal an extension or starting fresh this year?

PETERSON: “It’s this year and five new ones. But this year has changed financially. Changed a really, really, really lot. Changed like 19 million times, but you didn't hear that from me."

[Logical]

I'm not really sure how this works. Do I have to buy season tickets now to get a chance at Super Bowl tickets at the end of the season, or is there another way to get them?

You have the same chance as the rest of us to watch the Patriots in this years Super Bowl.

[hawkchief]

Carl needs to learn to utter a sentence every now and then without either "I", or "me", in it, and replace them with "we", or "the team", instead. It would be impossible for him to come across much more arrogant and self-serving than he does every time he opens his yap.

The only time he says "we", is when he's forced to speak about his multitude of draft failures, then he makes sure to deflect the blame to his underlings. What a sad, pompous little man.

[penchief]

until now.

Because you KEEP making it personal. It doesn't matter if it's this topic or any other topic. You can get pretty nasty at times. And when it comes to me you usually do.

and your comments and accusations about PH aren't personal....because....?

Again, I'm just expressing my opinion about the situation just like everyone else on this board. Why you have to turn everything personal is beyond me. And again, I'm not saying or doing anything that you are accusing me of.

you're the victim of PH's press conference?
he's not here to defend himself?
you're not accountable?
you think PH is accountable to you?

all of the above?

I'm not playing a victim. You are. Listen to yourself. I don't think Priest is accountable to me. I think he should be accountable for his own words.

And you need to stop with the amatuer psychoanalysis. Do you think you are some sort of psychologist or something? Because if you are, you're pretty piss poor. You've diagnosed me with everything in the book. And most of your diagnoses of me have been contradictary. I can only assume that it must be a way for you to express your derision towards others.

As far as Priest goes, I'm just commenting on how I think his comments and his actions thus far have been somewhat disingenuous. What is wrong with that? It certainly isn't enough justification for you to always be personally attacking me with your insinuations and accusations about what type of person I am.

IMO, you act pretty immature at times.

[stevieray]

As far as Priest goes, I'm just commenting on how I think his comments and his actions thus far have been somewhat disingenuous. What is wrong with that? It certainly isn't enough justification for you to always be personally attacking me with your insinuations and accusations about what type of person I am.

IMO, you act pretty immature at times.


look! ..it's the "I'm just expressing my opinion...' victim card that you always resort to....not one person said you can't comment or express your opinion...you just can't handle what you dish out.

yup, you've never ever made personal comments about others in this forum. never.ever. fact is, you like to sling shit then act like an innocnet little kid when someone calls you on it.

you're running your mouth because you can...with no risk.

"personally attacking with insinuations and accusations about what type of person".. again, you're too much in denial to realize you are writing about yourself and your own actions.

[penchief]

look! ..it's the "I'm just expressing my opinion...' victim card that you always resort to....not one person said you can't comment or express your opinion...you just can't handle what you dish out.

And why are you incapable of "expressing your opinion" without attacking someone personally instead of addressing their opinion?

yup, you've never ever made personal comments about others in this forum. never.ever. fact is, you like to sling shit then act like an innocnet little kid when someone calls you on it.

I won't say you'll never find an example. 'Never' would be a mighty bold claim. I will, however, say that I conciously try to avoid it. It's not in my DNA.

For you, on the other hand, attacking the messenger has become your mode of operation. Why not actually try confronting the message instead?

you're running your mouth because you can...with no risk..

I don't run my mouth any more than you do. The only difference is that I deal in opinions while you deal in innuendo and childish behavior. Be a man and stand up for what you believe instead of trying to turn everything into a sissy fight.

"personally attacking with insinuations and accusations about what type of person".. again, you're too much in denial to realize you are writing about yourself and your own actions.

Again, you're making gobbledy-goop statements as if you were a bona-fide psychology major or something. You are clearly the one with the issues. If anything, you are the one that appears to be in denial. And it is you that appears to be projecting your own deficiencies onto other posters via personal attacks. Why? Is it because you are incapable of presenting you ideas effectively?

[stevieray]

And why are you incapable of "expressing your opinion" without attacking someone personally instead of addressing their opinion?



I won't say you'll never find an example. 'Never' would be a mighty bold claim. I will, however, say that I conciously try to avoid it. It's not in my DNA.

For you, on the other hand, attacking the messenger has become your mode of operation. Why not actually try confronting the message instead?



I don't run my mouth any more than you do. The only difference is that I deal in opinions while you deal in innuendo and childish behavior. Be a man and stand up for what you believe instead of trying to turn everything into a sissy fight.



Again, you're making gobbledy-goop statements as if you were a bona-fide psychology major or something. You are clearly the one with the issues. If anything, you are the one that appears to be in denial. And it is you that appears to be projecting your own deficiencies onto other posters via personal attacks. Why? Is it because you are incapable of presenting you ideas effectively?

thanks for proving my point...the violin music was a nice touch.

I've already stated my view on this matter...it's people like you who need PH to be your personal boogeyman. It's the same thing you do in DC, telling people they are sheep who are destroying this country simply because they don't buy into your drama.


I find it funny you replied to my post, and every post since then is displaying what you claim is not your "DNA".... knock yourself out... I can handle anything dished out on this board...you can't...you have to be the victim..victim of Priest's self sanctimonious BS, victim of GWB and his supporters...victim of somebody saying you're FOS.

[penchief]

thanks for proving my point...the violin music was a nice touch.

I've already stated my view on this matter...it's people like you who need PH to be your personal boogeyman. It's the same thing you do in DC, telling people they are sheep who are destroying this country simply because they don't buy into your drama.


I find it funny you replied to my post, and every post since then is displaying what you claim is not your "DNA".... knock yourself out... I can handle anything dished out on this board...you can't...you have to be the victim..victim of Priest's self sanctimonious BS, victim of GWB and his supporters...victim of somebody saying you're FOS.

It's you that is making this a bigger deal than it is. I'm not claiming to be a victim. You're claiming that Priest is a victim. Again, why does everything have to be personal with you?

All you've done on this board the past year or so is whine like a pussy and act like a girl. Your little one-line zingers that you think are so insightful are only clever to you.

It won't take long for you to prove my point again. The next time I say something about Priest or anything else that you don't like you will automatically go into sissy-fight mode.

[stevieray]

It's you that is making this a bigger deal than it is. I'm not claiming to be a victim. You're claiming that Priest is a victim. Again, why does everything have to be personal with you?

All you've done on this board the past year or so is whine like a pussy and act like a girl. Your little one-line zingers that you think are so insightful are only clever to you.

It won't take long for you to prove my point again. The next time I say something about Priest or anything else that you don't like you will automatically go into sissy-fight mode.



That's some pretty impressive DNA, pwnedchief.

[penchief]

That's some pretty impressive DNA, pwnedchief.

How else should I deal with you? You act all offended by something I say about a topic and then you go into personal attack mode. When I call you out about it all you do is keeping whining like a pussy about how I'm playing the victim when it is you that is clearly playing the victim.

Let's see how you do next time. Anybody that follows how these things get started can clearly see that you are incapable of carrying on a debate without sinking to resentment.

[Inspector]

Are you guys done?

Or is this intermission?

I need to go get some milk duds and popcorn.

[gblowfish]

Let me summarize:

YOU SUCK!
NO, YOU SUCK!
YOU SUCK MORE!
NO, YOU SUCK MORE!!!
et al et al et al....

[shaneo69]

Let me cut through the typical "Carl Speak" and interpret this exchance correctly:


Sorry Blowfish, I can't give you rep for this until I spread some around elsewhere, and quite frankly, nobody else here is rep-worthy.

[Hammock Parties]

Not surprising. Pitbulls are vicious killers with little regard for other forms of life. They should all be destroyed.