Titans running back Chris Johnson, whose 228-yard rushing performance on Sunday helped his team to its first win since Titans running back LenDale White cleaned his cleats with a certain yellow towel, is suddenly feeling a little confident.
And Johnson isn’t bashful about saying so.
On Tuesday, Johnson told Sporting News Radio’s The Monty Show that the Titans’ one-game winning streak could become a 10-game winning streak.
“We really believe like we can,” Johnson said. “Before we played Jacksonville we sat down and was like we really feel like we can go 10-0 in these last ten games. And if we can do that hopefully get a wild card, I’m not sure how all that would work out. But we’re still going to practice and going to work each day. We got to go, we still want to make the playoffs and we know it’s going to be a very tough thing to do but that’s what records are for, they’re meant to be broken. I don’t think a team that ever started out 0-6 ever went to the playoffs or anything like that. We’re trying to do something nobody’s ever done.”
Chris, your team has won one game. Your team was beaten by 59 points in the last loss before the win. Try to get the winning streak to at least two before even thinking about winning 10.
But, then again, Johnson’s delusion isn’t confined to team goals. For himself, he envisions a level of fame that few NFL running backs ever achieve.
“Every time I play I just want to be mentioned in the names like, when people mention guys like LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant, guys like that,” Johnson said. “I want to be up there on that level.”
And Johnson realizes that, to make that happen, he needs to continue to get most of the tailback touches, at the expense of LenDale White.
“If I want my name to be up there with Jordan and Kobe and LeBron and those guys, then that’s how it’s got to be. Me being the player that I am and me being the running back that I am, or any person that wants the ball, I don’t think they’d be like, ‘I wish I didn’t get as many carries, I wish somebody would take carries away from me.’ I don’t think Jordan or Kobe was ever like, ‘I wish somebody could take come of my points.’ When Kobe scored 81 he wasn’t like I wish this player could have some of those points. . . . Not at all.”
It sounds to us like Chris Johnson maybe should have played basketball.