The Scores Report - The National Sports Blog » Larry Johnson

Redskins still have plenty of concerns offensively

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:00:19 +0000

Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the trio of issues the Redskins could face this season.

I always thought Jason Campbell got kind of a bad rap, although there’s no question that Donovan McNabb has better physical tools – even at this point in his career. Thanks to first round pick Trent Williams and former Saint Jammal Brown, the tackle positions got a much needed makeover in our nation’s capital as well.

So generally speaking, the Washington Redskins are an improved football team.

But it seems as though some pundits are going a tad overboard when predicting this team’s success this year. While they have made several upgrades on that side of the ball, the offense still has plenty of question marks as well.

Let’s start with the offensive line. Williams is a tremendous prospect, but he’s still a rookie and far from a guarantee. He also doesn’t have a ton of experience on the left side, which is where he’s expected to anchor this Washington O-line.

Brown is a massive upgrade over Stephon Heyer, but that’s like saying an authentic slice of New York pizza is an upgrade over Dominos. Heyer was one of the worst offensive linemen in all of football last year, so a broomstick cemented in a bucket would have been an upgrade.

That said, Brown is more of a pass blocker than he is a mauler in the run game and the same could be said for Derrick Dockery, who will start at left guard. Both need to become better run blockers for this team to succeed over the course of the season.

Artis Hicks is versatile in that he can play a couple of spots on the O-line, but it remains to be seen if he can be effective as a full-time starter. At center, Casey Rabach is a seasoned veteran but at 32 he may be in store for a decline.

The fact that run blocking might be an issue compounds the concerns that the Skins could have in their backfield this year. Clinton Portis was only able to play in eight games last year and just returned to practice after dealing with an ankle injury. He hasn’t quite hit the dreaded age of 30 for running backs, but at 29 he appears to be in decline as well.

Larry Johnson, Ryan Torain and Willie Parker are currently listed behind Portis on the depth chart, but there have been reports recently that have stated that both LJ and “Fast Willie” could be cut before the season. And considering their lack of production last year, nobody could blame the Skins if they decided to give the younger back Torain a shot instead of keeping two aging veterans in Johnson and Parker.

The Skins have less of a concern at receiver, although seeing as how 38-year-old Joey Galloway is being tabbed the starter opposite Santana Moss, the team isn’t exactly set at that position either. Chances are Devin Thomas or Anthony Armstrong will push Galloway out of the starting role at some point, but even then the Skins don’t have a true No. 1 wideout on their roster.

I like the additions Washington made in the offseason, but this team isn’t going to go from 4-12 to a playoff contender overnight. Not with the questions that still surround the offensive line, running back and receiver positions.

NFL Reports: Revis deal close? Rice on IR? Daniels now 100%?

Anthony Stalter — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:00:42 +0000

Revis, Jets close to deal
Dan Graziano of AOL NFL Fanhouse is reporting that the Jets and Darrelle Revis are close to signing a new contract. Graziano claims that an agreement could be announced in the coming days, although it’s important to note that the two sides were reportedly $40 million apart on Monday.

Childress doesn’t rule out IR for Rice
Head coach Brad Childress said on Tuesday that the Vikings won’t rule out the possibility of Sidney Rice being placed on injured reserve following the receiver’s hip surgery on Monday. At the very least, Rice is heading for the PUP list, which means he’ll miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season. If the team places him on IR (which seems like a stretch at this point), his entire 2010 season would be over.

Daniels gets good news on MRI
FOX 26 in Houston is reporting that Owen Daniels’ surgically repaired knee is 100% after the Texans’ tight end had an MRI on Tuesday. Daniels will still have a checkup with Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday, but it appears that he’ll be medically cleared to play by the start of the season.

Bulluck moved back outside
Just one day after I question whether or not Keith Bulluck was a good fit at middle linebacker for Perry Fewell’s defensive scheme in my “NFL Question Marks Series,” the Giants have decided to move him back to the outside where he’s played his entire career. (Obviously Tom Coughlin is a fan of The Scores Report and there’s little to no doubt I’ll be an adviser for the Giants in the upcoming months…ah, sarcasm.) Jonathan Goff will start in the middle for the Giants this season, although fourth rounder Phillip Dillard could get a look if Goff struggles.

LJ, “Fast Willie” on the Skins’ roster bubble?
According to Jason Reid of the Washington Post, it wouldn’t be a shock if both Larry Johnson and Willie Parker were released before the start of the season. Neither back has impressed the new coaching staff in Washington and Ryan Torain and Keiland Williams could wind up backing up Clinton Portis this year.

Redskins sign Larry Johnson to 3-year deal

Anthony Stalter — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:30:06 +0000

The Redskins agreed to terms with free agent running back Larry Johnson on a three-year deal with a maximum of $12 million reports Jason La Confora.

Johnson will compete with Clinton Portis and Anthony Alridge for carries in Mike Shanahan’s zone blocking system, although Washington could also add another back before training camp. In fact, there’s a good chance that the Skins will add a back via the draft.

Johnson only managed 3.2 yards per carry last season and appears to have lost most of his burst and explosion. Seeing as how he’s already 30, it’s a little perplexing that the Redskins gave him a three-year deal, especially considering he was so ineffective last year. But hey, this is just par for the course for Daniel Snyder. He was bound to make at least one head-scratching decision this offseason.

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Larry Johnson rushes for 107 yards in Bengals’ win

Anthony Stalter — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:15:29 +0000

It didn’t take long for Larry Johnson to make an impact for the Bengals.

Just two weeks after Cincinnati signed the troubled running back, Johnson rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries to help the Bengals beat the Browns 16-7 in Week 12.

Johnson started by splitting carries with Bernard Scott, but after rushing for 42 yards on his first four carries, Marvin Lewis gave him more opportunities throughout the game. Then after Scott was injured in the third quarter, Johnson took over as the team’s primary back and helped the Bengals earn an unimpressive win.

Johnson won’t unseat Cedric Benson as Cincinnati’s top back, but it never hurts when a contender has two capable runners come playoff time. KC fans will want to throw up when they read this, but LJ gave his best effort of the year, which is huge given Benson’s injury.

With this win, the Bengals completed a season sweep of the entire AFC North and at 8-3, Cincy is right in contention for a first round bye.

Chiefs’ Dwayne Bowe suspended for four games

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:06:56 +0000

According to a report by the Kansas City Star, Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe has been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

League spokesman Corry Rush announced the suspension in an e-mail, and the Chiefs have acknowledged Bowe’s suspension.
In a news release, the Chiefs said Bowe’s suspension will begin immediately.

“As a result of the league suspension, the team will have no further comment,” the Chiefs’ news release said.

The league’s list of banned substances is so long and extensive that Bowe could have taken anything. Some sports fans like to assume that when the league suspends a player it’s because that player took steroids. But that’s usually not the case and actually, it seems like most players are suspended for some kind of weight-loss supplement.

Either way, Bowe is responsible for putting the supplement in his body without first making sure that it wasn’t a banned substance. Teams keep track of what players are taking at all times, including cough medicine and headache medication. Bowe should have known better and unfortunately whatever it is he took will cost him four games.

2009 has not been kind to first-year head coach Todd Haley. Not only is his team heading for a losing season, but he was also publicly criticized by Larry Johnson via Twitter and he just lost his best offensive weapon for four games.

What a bad way to kick off the start of your first year as a head coach.

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Report: Larry Johnson to sign with Bengals

Anthony Stalter — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:56:50 +0000

According to ESPN.com, Larry Johnson is close to signing a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. If the team does sign the troubled free agent, it is expected to be for the prorated league minimum.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said on Monday that if Johnson were signed that he would be inactive on game days. Cedric Benson (who suffered a hip injury yesterday in a win over the Steelers) would remain the starter and Bernard Scott would keep his No. 2 role. LJ would essentially be added as an insurance policy and would be the fourth tailback on Cincinnati’s depth chart.

This might not be a bad move for the Bengals just in case Benson’s hip injury is worse than originally thought. If Benson is healthy, then Johnson can rot on the sidelines for the rest of the year. If he isn’t, then Johnson can rot on the sidelines for the rest of the year unless Scott showed that he couldn’t handle the full-time rushing duties.

My question is whether or not LJ would ruin the Bengals’ chemistry. That might sound like a ludicrous statement given how dysfunctional Cincinnati has been over the years, but this appears to be a different Bengals team – one that plays together and could be affected by the addition of a cancer like Johnson.

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Will Larry Johnson find a home?

Anthony Stalter — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:09:47 +0000

The Steelers and Bears aren’t interested.

The Texans have already said no.

Even the Redskins shot down any potential rumors.

So will Larry Johnson find a home this season?

Johnson, cut by the Chiefs earlier in the week, is looking for a place – any place – to land for the rest of the season. He has already said that he’s willing to take a role as a backup, but even that hasn’t enticed teams to sign him.

LJ picked a bad time to be a malcontent (not that any time is the right time to be a malcontent). We’re to the point in the NFL season where bad teams are playing younger players in order to get a feel for whether or not they have a long-term future with the club and where the good teams don’t want to disrupt the locker room by bringing in a bad seed like Johnson.

LJ’s only shot is for a team to recognize that they’re on the bubble of making a second half push and would risk signing him to add some talent. The Bears, Jets, Dolphins, Texans, Jaguars, Ravens, 49ers, Giants, Packers and Panthers all fit into that category, but for one reason or another Johnson wouldn’t be a fit for any of them.

If I were to take a stab at where Johnson might wind up, my best guess would be Seattle. The Seahawks’ season is hanging in the balance and they definitely need help at running back. But the problem is that Johnson hasn’t been very good this season and the Hawks just cut a veteran running back that wasn’t very good in Edgerrin James. So why add Johnson, a player just as unproductive as James was but with more baggage, to the roster?

Given his history of off-field issues and his lack of emotion, desire and production, there’s a good chance that Larry Johnson won’t be playing for anyone this season.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Will any team sign Larry Johnson?