Spoiler Alert: Chris Johnson Wants To Start

Nothing says, “please get here NFL season” like a non-story.  Well maybe blogging about a non-story that someone else wrote is a bigger sign that the NFL season needs to begin.  At any rate, Chris Johnson wants to be the primary starter at running back for the NY Jets.

I should have prefaced that with another spoiler alert because certainly that is a big surprise. Not.

Chris Johnson spoke with Around the League and here is what he had to say.

“Once the season starts and once we’re playing and I’m doing my thing, I’m pretty sure if I’m making plays they’re going to want to keep handing the ball off to me,” Johnson said. “If they want me to continue making plays, I’m pretty sure I can’t do that if I’m on the sideline.”

“That’s with any position on the field, if we have a receiver that’s continuing to make play after play I’m pretty sure they’re going to keep getting the ball,” Johnson continued. “(Offensive coordinator) Marty (Mornhinweg) is a smart guy, he knows how to put his players in the right position to make plays, so at the end of the day, if I continue to play like I’ve been playing, they’re going to keep handing the ball off to me.”

There is no conceivable scenario (injuries aside) in which Chris Johnson isn’t the starting RB. The only debate is how will the carries be divided between Johnson, Chris Ivory and possibly Bilal Powell. I personally see it being a 1a and 1b situation with Johnson and Ivory. Simply put, the Jets are going to want to keep everyone fresh. In May I wrote about how the Jets could split the load at running back.

Running back will be fun to watch during training camp.  We probably won’t know the Jets real plan for the position until the games start in September.  My bet is that the attempts per running back will look very different than last year. In 2013 Powell had 176 carries and Ivory had 182.  How will it break down this year is hard to say but this is my guess:

1. Chris Johnson: 210 carries

2. Chris Ivory: 156 carries

3. Bilal Powell:  55 carries

Which brings me back to my first point; NY Jets training camp really can’t get here soon enough!