The Green Bay Packers must add Larry Johnson
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by user The Beast
Okay, “must” may be a little bit too strong of a word, but the Green Bay Packers would be making a big mistake by not trading for the Kansas City Chiefs' disgruntled running back, Larry Johnson.
Last season, Johnson led the Chiefs to a 9-7 record and a playoff birth in the tough AFC conference. He was the team’s go-to guy and shouldered much of the offensive burden. Outside of Johnson, the Chiefs were a collection of average offensive players. They were quarterbacked by the inexperienced Damon Huard and the veteran Trent Green. Both players struggled throughout the season, failing to average more than 200 yards passing per game. The receiving corpse was also average as it was headed by Eddie Kennison and Samie Parker. Together, they just combined for 6 touchdowns and 1,421 receiving yards. By comparison Green Bay's number one receiving target, Donald Driver, was five yards shy of 1,300 yards and also pulled in eight touchdowns. With Johnson in the backfield the Cheifs' offense was 2nd in the AFC West in total offense and points per game. Its clearly evident that the Chiefs were truly dependent on Johnson. Without him, their offense would have been horrific.
If you compare the Packers and the Chiefs without Johnson, the Packers easily have the better offense. Brett Favre had more passing yards than both Damon Huard and Trent Green. Favre also had the same number of passing touchdowns as Huard and Green. At receiver, Donald Driver, alone, produced more touchdowns than the Chiefs' top two receivers, Kennison and Parker. As a team, the Packers averaged more yards in total offense last season than the Chiefs did.
Imagine how much more success the Packers could have with the addition of Johnson at running back. Last season, the Packers were ninth in total offense, but 25th in scoring. Why? It was simply a result of being one of the NFL's worst teams in the red zone. To help improve their red zone efficiency, the Packers could use a workhorse at running back with a nose for the end zone. Johnson clearly provides this as he scored seventeen touchdowns in 2006. With Johnson lining up in the backfield the Packers would cure their biggest problem of 2006, red zone efficiency.
So why not give up a first round pick or two for the disgruntled running back? With Johnson, the Packers could turn into a Super Bowl contender overnight. Crazy you say, but not if you think about it. If Johnson was good enough to lead the Chiefs to the playoffs in the AFC, you have to think he could lead the Packers to the Super Bowl in a really weak NFC. The Packers have a much better offense than the Chiefs even if Kansas City does have Johnson. Bringing him to Green Bay could make the Packers' offense one of the best in the NFC. The defense is slowly improving and with a top three NFL back lining up in the backfield you would have to feel pretty confident about the Packers' chances of winning the George Halas Trophy.
