Chris Johnson is smart to stay positive about the ugly trajectory of his 2011 season. There's enough doom and gloom surrounding him as it is.
Well, technically Chris, we're talking about more than one bad game. It actually has been six out of seven. The Artist Formerly Known As CJ2K has 302 yards on 107 carries, good for 34th in the league. Those are scary-bad numbers for a man who signed a a $53.5 million contract extension with $30 million guaranteed after an extended preseason holdout.
During Sunday's 27-10 victory over the Colts, Johnson watched from the sideline as backup Javon Ringer handled backfield duties in the fourth quarter. The home fans even booed Johnson when he was in the game.
"I know if they're a true fan, they're with you through the ups and downs, anytime," he said. "Through my first three years, I've been doing good, and they're my fans. As soon as I have a couple bad games, then they're automatically not my fans and boo me, this and that. They're probably just fans through fantasy football and something like that."
Titans coach Mike Munchak has confirmed Johnson still is the starter. Now all Johnson has to do is flash the form that made him one of the game's elite playmakers in his first three seasons.
"You've got to stay confident," Johnson said. "You've got more games to play. It can easily turn around with one play. It'll be all right."
Johnson clearly believes he already has hit rock bottom. For his sake, we hope he's right.
