Tribal Warfare
08-28-2009, 12:33 AM
Larry Johnson says better supporting cast improves his attitude (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1409983.html)
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
L arry Johnson knows the line he’s walking, and he knows how close he came this last offseason to crossing it. The Chiefs’ occasionally unhappy, occasionally outstanding running back said Thursday that he realized the team could have given up on him during a tumultuous series of months.
“If they wanted to get rid of me,” Johnson said Thursday, “they had a chance to get rid of me.”
The Chiefs held on to Johnson, whose attitude since last season’s finale ranged from sour to desperate to optimistic — or something like it. There’s no doubt that Kansas City needs Johnson’s rushing skills. He’s a big, experienced back who still knows how to exploit weak defenses. A healthy and motivated Johnson could help a Chiefs offense that has few star players, and he also is an essential part of lifting some pressure from quarterback Matt Cassel’s shoulders.
It was the addition of Cassel, and several other promising players, that helped improve Johnson’s attitude, he said Thursday. He said the Chiefs’ blind reliance last year on young players created a culture of losing — and the belief that awful seasons are acceptable for a rebuilding team. Johnson said Thursday that he never agreed with former coach Herm Edwards on that philosophy. Now, Johnson said, the Chiefs’ locker room is filled with known players, some of whom have won at the highest level.
“We didn’t go get guys off the street,” he said. “We actually got guys who have played in the league, were successful in this league and guys that wanted to play. They’re not just settling for 2-14 with a group of guys that were OK and comfortable with being 2-14. They went to get guys who wanted to be 16-0.”
Johnson praised first-time general manager Scott Pioli for acquiring players such as Cassel, linebackers Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas, and wide receivers Amani Toomer and Ashley Lelie. Johnson said that he believes Pioli recognized the Chiefs’ weaknesses and then addressed them. Johnson said that was different than the way Kansas City was run last year.
“Ever since I’ve been here,” he said, “we wouldn’t go get those types of players that we’ve got right now. Having those guys, including Matt Cassel, be a part of the Chiefs, made me excited to be a Chief. We actually feel, with those guys, we’ve got a chance.”
Coach Todd Haley has praised Johnson at times, saying he has done — and said — all the right things since Haley and Pioli joined the Chiefs earlier this year. But Haley has added that he’s waiting to judge Johnson’s actions, particularly if the team or Johnson struggles in 2009.
Johnson said Thursday that he considered life after Kansas City, especially after he said several times during the offseason that the community no longer felt like home. He amended that belief during his impromptu meeting with reporters, saying his anger then was aimed more toward a “handful of people that I have actually encountered that kind of turned their backs on me.”
He didn’t say whether those conflicts were personal or professional in nature, but he indicated that the problems had softened to the point that he could feel happy again in Kansas City. Johnson said during training camp that, in his early meetings with Haley and Pioli, the Chiefs seemed willing to overlook — temporarily, at least — that, in addition to his frustrations with the Chiefs, Johnson was benched and suspended last year after two arrests involving alcohol and women.
Still, Johnson admitted that his future with the Chiefs could be uncertain — but that he thinks he’d have options.
“They can cut me right now,” he said. “Everybody knows in football that there’s no such thing as guaranteed money. They can take it from you today; they could cut me today if they wanted to.
“As (long) as my legs can run, I’m pretty sure I could get a job anywhere else. Maybe not for the money I’m getting right now, but I’d surely be getting paid.”
Johnson, 29, admitted that last year was a reminder that his career, especially now that he’s aging and after a season in which he was phased out of the Chiefs’ offense, is fragile. He said he learned some things the hard way, and whether he meant it Thursday or will believe it in a few months, Johnson said he doesn’t plan to forget those lessons.
“I don’t think it’s a grown-up thing,” he said. “I think it’s more a smart as far as using your head in situations and being able to come into a new situation. You take all that to heart and knowing that they could’ve gotten rid of you, and they kept you. You just play the cards that are dealt you and see where it leads you.”
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
L arry Johnson knows the line he’s walking, and he knows how close he came this last offseason to crossing it. The Chiefs’ occasionally unhappy, occasionally outstanding running back said Thursday that he realized the team could have given up on him during a tumultuous series of months.
“If they wanted to get rid of me,” Johnson said Thursday, “they had a chance to get rid of me.”
The Chiefs held on to Johnson, whose attitude since last season’s finale ranged from sour to desperate to optimistic — or something like it. There’s no doubt that Kansas City needs Johnson’s rushing skills. He’s a big, experienced back who still knows how to exploit weak defenses. A healthy and motivated Johnson could help a Chiefs offense that has few star players, and he also is an essential part of lifting some pressure from quarterback Matt Cassel’s shoulders.
It was the addition of Cassel, and several other promising players, that helped improve Johnson’s attitude, he said Thursday. He said the Chiefs’ blind reliance last year on young players created a culture of losing — and the belief that awful seasons are acceptable for a rebuilding team. Johnson said Thursday that he never agreed with former coach Herm Edwards on that philosophy. Now, Johnson said, the Chiefs’ locker room is filled with known players, some of whom have won at the highest level.
“We didn’t go get guys off the street,” he said. “We actually got guys who have played in the league, were successful in this league and guys that wanted to play. They’re not just settling for 2-14 with a group of guys that were OK and comfortable with being 2-14. They went to get guys who wanted to be 16-0.”
Johnson praised first-time general manager Scott Pioli for acquiring players such as Cassel, linebackers Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas, and wide receivers Amani Toomer and Ashley Lelie. Johnson said that he believes Pioli recognized the Chiefs’ weaknesses and then addressed them. Johnson said that was different than the way Kansas City was run last year.
“Ever since I’ve been here,” he said, “we wouldn’t go get those types of players that we’ve got right now. Having those guys, including Matt Cassel, be a part of the Chiefs, made me excited to be a Chief. We actually feel, with those guys, we’ve got a chance.”
Coach Todd Haley has praised Johnson at times, saying he has done — and said — all the right things since Haley and Pioli joined the Chiefs earlier this year. But Haley has added that he’s waiting to judge Johnson’s actions, particularly if the team or Johnson struggles in 2009.
Johnson said Thursday that he considered life after Kansas City, especially after he said several times during the offseason that the community no longer felt like home. He amended that belief during his impromptu meeting with reporters, saying his anger then was aimed more toward a “handful of people that I have actually encountered that kind of turned their backs on me.”
He didn’t say whether those conflicts were personal or professional in nature, but he indicated that the problems had softened to the point that he could feel happy again in Kansas City. Johnson said during training camp that, in his early meetings with Haley and Pioli, the Chiefs seemed willing to overlook — temporarily, at least — that, in addition to his frustrations with the Chiefs, Johnson was benched and suspended last year after two arrests involving alcohol and women.
Still, Johnson admitted that his future with the Chiefs could be uncertain — but that he thinks he’d have options.
“They can cut me right now,” he said. “Everybody knows in football that there’s no such thing as guaranteed money. They can take it from you today; they could cut me today if they wanted to.
“As (long) as my legs can run, I’m pretty sure I could get a job anywhere else. Maybe not for the money I’m getting right now, but I’d surely be getting paid.”
Johnson, 29, admitted that last year was a reminder that his career, especially now that he’s aging and after a season in which he was phased out of the Chiefs’ offense, is fragile. He said he learned some things the hard way, and whether he meant it Thursday or will believe it in a few months, Johnson said he doesn’t plan to forget those lessons.
“I don’t think it’s a grown-up thing,” he said. “I think it’s more a smart as far as using your head in situations and being able to come into a new situation. You take all that to heart and knowing that they could’ve gotten rid of you, and they kept you. You just play the cards that are dealt you and see where it leads you.”