Washington running back Larry Johnson
The Washington Redskins running back, Larry Johnson, did not play in the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. Slated to start last night against the Baltimore Ravens, it was thought he would see a fair amount of playing time. But Johnson only carried the ball eight times. He gained four yards and wasn’t happy about it.
“I guess it was disappointing,” Johnson told reporters. “Trying to get into a rhythm is tough when you’re getting subbed in and out. It’s good that this is preseason and we can try to fix some things that we need to fix on the offense as far as our game.”
Some would opine that his game statistics answer the question of why we didn’t see more of “L.J.” There is an alternative reason, however.
Yes, the play-off caliber Baltimore Ravens are a more talented ball club than the Buffalo Bills. Yes, they have a stout run defense. Who knows? They might have stopped Emmitt Smith last night. But the reason Johnson did not have any stats last night to speak of was because of the play calling, not his lack of performance or the performance of the Ravens.
Shanahan, being the run first coach that he is, knows that a rhythm must be established for a running back to really do well. That, apparently was not the most important thing to accomplish last night.
As the first quarter progressed, the game plan evolved from a running attack into more of a passing attack. Whether this was the plan all along or if it happened based on the looks the Ravens’ defense was giving the Redskins, it took Johnson out of the game. He took his removal to heart.
“I feel personally it set me back a lot,” Johnson said. “I did go out there and practice hard every day and try to see if it could translate over to today. Obviously it didn’t do that.”
Throughout this last week, head coach Mike Shanahan maintained that Larry Johnson would start. Because Johnson has looked so good in camp, expectations were high that he would have a pretty good night, even against a good Baltimore rushing defense. But he never got a chance to show what he could do.
The ball was carried by running backs only 14 times. This is less than half of the passing attempts which was 47. The Redskins 365 net passing yards were the most in a preseason game since Aug. 18, 2002, vs. Pittsburgh when they threw for 405. These facts would indicate that passing the ball was more important than trying to establish a running game. Hopefully, in the next two preseason games, things will be different.
Shanahan was candid about the lack of success trying to run the ball.
“They did a good job up front,” he said when asked to evaluate Larry Johnson’s night. “Their defensive front is very good and the reasons why they will be one of the top two or three rush defenses’ in the league. We couldn’t get things going and our game plan wasn’t quite what it was a week ago. We do want to be a lot more effective then we were tonight.”
“Our game plan wasn’t quite what it was a week ago” is an interesting thing to say. Did they not plan to run the ball as much from the start? Was the game plan not up to par with that of a week ago?
Johnson has been around long enough to understand what the preseason is all about. He also understands that to stay on the field, you have to make plays. Shanahan also has been around long enough to know that he has a valuable player on his roster in Larry Johnson. Not getting the carries we all thought he would get last night was a result of the necessity to evaluate a receiving squad that is still up in the air even at the risk of hampering the establishment of the running game.
Throughout training camp, the former Kansas City standout has worked hard and has done everything the coaches have asked him to do. While young running backs Ryan Torain and Keiland Williams are making themselves known to the coaches, Johnson has shown everything he needs to in camp. Unfortunately, he has only seen NFL action during this game. Shanahan would not invest so much time into Johnson and then let this one preseason game determine the Pro Bowler’s status on the roster.
L.J. will get his chance to show what he can do. Let’s hope that when he does, Redskins Nation will get to see what all the fuss of training camp is about.