Titans running back Chris Johnson’s ability to bounce back from a disappointing 2011 season is one of the biggest questions about the Titans season to come and he didn’t do much to provide optimism in the preseason opener.
He ran for eight yards on five carries and dropped a couple of passes against the Seahawks on Saturday, which wasn’t really the opening act that the team or its fans were hoping to see. Johnson acknowledged the need for better concentration on passes thrown in his direction, but he was otherwise unconcerned about the performance.
“It’s a thing you go through, “Johnson said, via Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. “But anytime you play against another team (in the presesason), you don’t really game plan against them or anything like that. You’re just going out there basically like another scrimmage.”
Johnson’s right about how the lack of game planning aspect affects things in preseason. Coach Mike Munchak admitted after the game that the Titans didn’t adjust to the Seahawks packing the box against the run until after Johnson was out of the game. That would likely be handled differently in the regular season.
None of which changes the desire to see some sign of the Johnson from the 2009 and 2010 seasons on the field. Game plan or not, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the explosive side of Johnson and no triumphant comeback is happening until it returns.