Chris Johnson says he could run the 40 in under four seconds on a track

Posted by Mike Florio on September 4, 2012, 10:10 PM EDT
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The debut episode of Pro Football Talk included an interview that Erik Kuselias conducted with Titans running back Chris Johnson.

Among other things, Johnson revisited his claim that he could beat Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt in a race.  Johnson said that he would win a footrace in the range of 40 to 50 yards.

And then Johnson said something even stronger.  He said that, if he were running the 40-yard dash on a track and with spikes while starting from blocks, he’d cover the ground in less than four seconds.

For more, here’s Kuselias and Chris Johnson, who hopes to become the first running back with a pair of 2,000-yard rushing performances.

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60 responses to “Chris Johnson says he could run the 40 in under four seconds on a track”

  7. Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares. A bit old to be boasting this kind of nonsense, isn’t he?

  9. Umm Chris, maybe you should start earning some of the money that you stole from the Titans before you start making more assinine claims again.

    Remember the 2,500 yards rushing claim?
    Remember how you did last season?

    All you have accomplished, besides ripping off Bud Adams, is making it almost impossible from now on for running backs to renegotiate their contracts.
    Because of you, Mr. Khan told MJD to go get on the train or get left behind. And every owner from now on will follow the same stance.

    But hey, at least you got your money, that’s all that matters right?

  12. Please, child. Anyone who’s been watching football since the ’70s could tell you that both the Cowboys’ “Bullet” Bob Hayes and the Redskins’ Darrell Green could SMOKE Chris Johnson–even past their prime. (And neither of them ran a sub-4 second forty.)

    -Titans Fan

  22. He would get burned. The only thing happening in under 4 seconds is him getting tackled in the backfield by Polamalu. Wait that was under 2 seconds. Go Steelers!!

  23. Bolts top gear is higher than CJ2K, no one will argue that.

    Not that it matters… but I could see him beating Bolt in a 40.

    50m is not an Olympic event… if you watch Bolt he is normally not in 1st place 40-50m in. He destroys the competition 50m to 100m with his long stride and better top end speed.

    Bolt would destroy him in anything beyond 60m… but I would not be surprised if he lost to a more initially explosive runner when he doesn’t have the opportunity to get to his top gear during the sprint.

  24. Yeah, yeah,…..and I could a……… fly too, yeah, yeah,…that’s the ticket! And a……..this is my wife…………..Morgan Fairchild…….yeah! who I’ve seen naked!

  25. Get out on the field and produce FFS. We had the Olympics this Summer. You didn’t produce as well as usual during the Winter. Fine. You developed a narrative, but that narrative is disappearing fast.

  28. tennesseeoilers says: Sep 4, 2012 10:23 PM

    Please, child. Anyone who’s been watching football since the ’70s could tell you that both the Cowboys’ “Bullet” Bob Hayes and the Redskins’ Darrell Green could SMOKE Chris Johnson–even past their prime. (And neither of them ran a sub-4 second forty.)

    -Titans Fan
    —————————————————–

    I remember watching Darrell Green chase down Tony Dorsett. If Darrell Green had sold himself out off the field like Deion Sanders did, no one would know who or what “Prime Time” is.

    All the speed in the world will not help CJ2K if he can’t follow his blockers.

  31. I’m waiting for the point where he starts to eat Vaseline on a video like Stephon Marbury. It’s probably just a matter of time.

  33. brownsalwaysrebuilding says:
    Sep 4, 2012 10:29 PM
    Maybe he could. There are faster people than Usain Bolt in the world that aren’t olympic runners.
    ————————————–
    Oh yeah? Who? A kid you knew in junior high? Somebody you read about once?

  36. I love all the haters on here calling CJ high or crazy…for all you Internet athletes out there who walked the 1 mile run in high school…spikes on a track and off a block more than covers 0.4 seconds of make up time as opposed to sneakers on artificial turf..

    See y’all in 17 weeks when CJ pushes for 2k!! Haha

  43. Man there are a lot of clowns in this world – and they all reside on this board. First of all he ran a 4.24 on grass on from a kneel down position. If he’s on a track with starting blocks and spikes that could easily enhance his time. You clowns don’t even know that Chris Johnson was one of the top track athletes in the NCAA before concentrating on football. CJ Spiller, Jacoby Ford, Jeff Demps, Tridon Holliday and Jamaal Charles were all star track guys. I’ve seen them run all throughout the NCAA track circuit. Guess what….NONE of them were even close to Chris Johnsons 40 time. 4.27 by Ford is decently close but not really by track standards…As far as Usain, he is a horrible starter and is ALWAYS losing the first 50 meters bc of his long legs. Chris Johnson is quick out of the blocks he’s top speed in about 8-9 steps. Why don’t you cats actually research or know.something before you comment…And lol at the guy who said Taylor Mays ran a 4.24 – it was officially in the 4.3’s. Johnson is the fastest guy since the comebine began electronically timing…..notice everything I said was fact and not a biased opinion? google it

  44. Two things i know …i love football and the internet has all the information you’ll ever want.

    CJ has a mild case of Tourette’s Syndrome, so i hope you drug sayers feel bad.

  45. Hey D3murf,

    I understand track fine and he is not running a 4 flat if his combine time was 4.24. Let me ask you this…why doesn’t big talker bring a crew to a track and show us? That’s what Bolt does. He should put up or shut up.

  47. d3murf says:Sep 5, 2012 1:07 AM

    Man there are a lot of clowns in this world – and they all reside on this board. First of all he ran a 4.24 on grass on from a kneel down position. If he’s on a track with starting blocks and spikes that could easily enhance his time. You clowns don’t even know that Chris Johnson was one of the top track athletes in the NCAA before concentrating on football. CJ Spiller, Jacoby Ford, Jeff Demps, Tridon Holliday and Jamaal Charles were all star track guys. I’ve seen them run all throughout the NCAA track circuit. Guess what….NONE of them were even close to Chris Johnsons 40 time. 4.27 by Ford is decently close but not really by track standards…As far as Usain, he is a horrible starter and is ALWAYS losing the first 50 meters bc of his long legs. Chris Johnson is quick out of the blocks he’s top speed in about 8-9 steps. Why don’t you cats actually research or know.something before you comment…And lol at the guy who said Taylor Mays ran a 4.24 – it was officially in the 4.3′s. Johnson is the fastest guy since the comebine began electronically timing…..notice everything I said was fact and not a biased opinion? google it

    —————-

    None of your drivel means he can run a sub 4 second 40 on a track, which is what he claimed. The point of this comment board is to post your opinion. Anyone can cut and paste from Wikipedia.

  48. When he brags about his speed all I can think about is how fast his career is going to be over for being so one dimensional. He’s not elusive, doesn’t break tackles, doesn’t catch anything other than a swing pass. All i can say is enjoy it while it lasts Chris you’ve got maybe 2 years left of just going out there and running faster than everyone, because that trait doesn’t have a long shelf life at your position.

  50. wise man once said,

    “Dont tell me, SHOW me”

    point is that no one will believe such an outrageous claim until you actually do it. so if you arent going to actually do it, you open yourself up to the criticism you can readily see on this thread.

  53. It might matter if he actually ran track. Last time I checked he was a running back in the NFL.

    Gotta keep chirping with his mouth since he can’t back anything up on the field.

  54. Hey Johnson, can’t you shut up? Nobody cares about your fantasies. You should pick up a worthwhile book and read, maybe start a new charity or perhaps, go help a neighbor with a household project. Go recycle. But please for the sake of humanity, get off the computer, quit talking about stupid things and mostly yourself. Years gone by, this was called BORING, ya know, being a bore.

  55. Does anyone really care about Chris Johnson anymore? This guy just needs to shut up. I was once a fan of his but after his snide comments during his holdout i really can’t stand the guy and now all this BS. Shut up Chris. Just shut up. No one cares.

  56. Like i have always said C.J is a ledgend in his own mind.What is the old saying, keep your mouth shut and no one will know how dumb you are,OPEN it and they will know for sure.Note to C J just shutup and do your job on the field.

  58. @Steelfan. CJ just started a new charity a few weeks ago. He’s done many in the past. The one this year donates money to underprivileged kids for every yard he runs. He does some good things too but what kind of story would it be if they posted about something positive he’s doing.

  59. Wikipedia must mean my brain. I actually watch sports, I don’t need help formulating my opinion. Not saying he could actually pull off the sub 4, but I think he beats Bolt in a shorter distance just bc I know how both guys run. Bolt would kill him in the 100 of course. Bolt’s bad starts are legendary. Johnson is the start king…..lololol at that dude about the Wikipedia thing, makes me feel good. couch potato need not apply talking to me.

  60. I’m a Titans fan and a Chris Johnson fan, and although I agree with you guys that he should shut his mouth the guy be doing a lot worse. Like a poster earlier said he does charity, never gets in trouble and never throws his team under the bus. Yea he had a down year last year mostly cause of the hold out, he still has put up 1000 yards a year since he’s played in the nfl, he has never been hurt other then the Baltimore playoff game his rookie year, where they purposely hurt him. He’s durable , a team player and he is fast as heck. Does that mean he could actually run a fourt under four, who cares we will never no. I’m just saying this guy is for real and will be for years to come, if you look at all the other backs in this league rice and Peterson are the only consistent backs for the last 3-4 years, along with cj. McCoy and foster have been great but takes more then two good years to be called a sure thing. Rice is the best back in the nfl all around, then in my mind it’s cj. Peterson(due to health concerns). Foster , McCoy more potential then all but will see.

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