Bills will be keeping fast company on Sunday
Published: November 14, 2009, 12:24 am
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The issue: Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.
The question: Can the Buffalo Bills stop him?
"Easier said than done," said Bills coach Dick Jauron, whose team visits the Titans on Sunday. "We're working hard on trying to figure out what we can do to try to slow him down because it doesn't seem like that many people have success doing that."
Johnson is the NFL's leading rusher with 959 yards, 122 more than Cedric Benson of Cincinnati. The second-year pro is just 269 yards shy of last season's rookie total and is on pace to challenge the single-season franchise record of 1,934 yards set by Hall of Famer Earl Campbell in 1980. Johnson also has a shot to become the sixth running back in NFL history and the first since Jamal Lewis in 2003 to reach 2,000 yards.
Johnson, the 24th overall pick in last year's draft, ran the 40-yard dash in a staggering 4.24 seconds at the league's scouting combine last year. By comparison, Bills receiver Lee Evans ran the 40 in 4.38 seconds.
Johnson puts that blazing speed to good use. He has seven plays of more than 40 yards this season, including touchdown runs of 91, 89, 57 and 52 yards. He has five other runs of at least 20 yards. He also turned a short pass reception into a 69-yard touchdown.
Because of those big runs Johnson is averaging a whopping 6.7 yards per carry, the highest average for an NFL leader through nine weeks since 1970, according to the league. The last player to win a rushing title while averaging more than 6 yards per carry was Barry Sanders, who had a 6.1 average during his 2,053-yard season in 1997.
"It is only so often, in any sport, that you get to play with someone that is as talented at their craft," Titans wide receiver Nate Washington said recently. "Chris is definitely one of those guys that can give you a game-changing play at any moment."
So, can the Bills stop Johnson? Their defense's record this season isn't promising. The Bills are last in the NFL against the run, yielding at least 171 yards in five games. Opponents topped 200 yards in three of those contests, including 318 put up by the New York Jets. The Bills have also allowed 38 runs of 10-plus yards and they share the NFL lead with 10 runs of 20-plus yards allowed.
Five running backs have enjoyed 100-yard days against the Bills. Three others ran for at least 85 yards.
Johnson has been virtually unstoppable in recent weeks. He has gained more than 100 yards in his last three games, including a franchise-record 228 yards against Jacksonville two weeks ago.
"He's a big-time running back," Bills middle linebacker Paul Posluszny said. "To win this game, we're going to have to control him and stop the run. We're going to have some different stuff for them because of how well they are running the ball, especially Johnson. He's got unbelievable speed, so we are really concerned about him getting to the edge and turning the corner on our defense. We're going to have some different stuff with the linebackers and D-line to really contain him."
Of course, the Bills wouldn't be the first team to come up with a special defense designed to neutralize Johnson. Every opponent goes into the game focused on shutting down the Titans' running game, using run blitzes and eight- or nine-man fronts.
The Titans' running game is succeeding anyway.
"What makes C.J.'s effort thus far so impressive is people are committed to stop him and yet he's still able to do it," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said this week. "He's got tremendous speed, vision and acceleration."
He's also a multidimensional runner. He is fast enough to get outside and turn the corner, but he also runs between the tackles with toughness and power that belie his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame. He can break tackles or make people miss, and he has the vision and balance to find creases and cutback lanes.
"I think you have to cover the entire field with a guy like Chris Johnson," Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "You have to pursue and you can't miss. If you do miss you better have a second person there or a third person there. We have to really do a good job of getting more than one person to the ball, pursuing, getting a lot of people around him making sure we take great angles to the football."
Sometimes having proper pursuit angles doesn't work against Johnson.
"When he gets the ball in his hands, he's not only got tremendous speed, he changes angles," Fisher said. "When you have to adjust your angles to his speed, then you make yourself vulnerable to the cutback."
Cutback runners have feasted on the Bills because defenders are often caught out of position. Posluszny said they have to be more disciplined and stay in their assigned gaps.
Perhaps more important, he said the defense has to go into Sunday's game with a different mentality.
"Coach Fewell said to us, "This is a want-to game. How bad do you want to win? How bad do you want to get off a block and get to the ball?' " Posluszny said. "That's really what it comes down to. Now we've just got to go out on Sunday and make the plays we need to make."
Bills defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said he hopes the Titans take them for granted, but Fisher warned his team that the Bills' run defense isn't as bad as the numbers show.
Johnson got the message, insisting he's not taking the Bills lightly.
"We're 2-6. ... We have to prepare like it is a playoff game," he told Tennessee reporters this week. "You lick your chops, but you know they are going to give you their 100 percent because they know we like to run the ball."
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