Chris Johnson: Idzik Lied to Me About Jets Playing Time

[flgreen]

LOL

I assume the barrage of 3 month old threads has stopped and it's save to post current stuff again?



Chris Johnson: Idzik lied to me about Jets playing time


By Brian Costello





February 16, 2015 | 5:11pm

Chris Johnson believes the Jets lied to him.

The running back said the Jets were not honest about what his role would be when he signed with the team last April.

“I think I went into a situation where I was told one thing, and it was another,” Johnson said Monday on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

Johnson rushed for a career-low 663 yards on 155 carries in his one season with the Jets. The team declined Monday to pick up his option for 2015, making him a free agent on March 10.

The Jets split carries among Johnson, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, something they said from the start of the season they would do. But Johnson seemed to believe eventually he would have a bigger role.




“Basically, it was a situation where I was going there to be the guy or whatever,” Johnson said. “It was still said, yeah, both guys [Johnson and Ivory] were going to get playing time. I think it was like after the [third] game or something like that, it just switched over and I started getting less and less playing time, and not knowing where it came from.”

Ivory had 198 carries for 821 yards last season.

Johnson said he does not blame former coach Rex Ryan. Instead, he believes general manager John Idzik dictated the playing time.

“Throughout the whole thing, I think last year, with that organization, I think a lot of the stuff was out of Rex’s hands,” Johnson said. “A lot of the things that we were doing, I think it was out of Rex’s hands. Don’t nobody know but it was a [bad] situation.”

 

[flgreen]

Or maybe the fact that he isn't any good any more dictated his playing time. IMO the Jets would have been a lot better off if Powell got half of the carries that Johnson actually got

 

[jetgreen13]

Or maybe the fact that he isn't any good any more dictated his playing time. IMO the Jets would have been a lot better off if Powell got have of the carries that Johnson actually got

johnson is delusional.. this is the second time i/we've heard him say something ass backwards about his role/production with the jets.. fail..

 

[ucrenegade]

maybe idzick meddled more than we believed.

 

[sg3]

Dear Mr Johnson.

We watched you play for all of 2014. And you sucked Donkey balls every single moment you were on the field. Worse than that, our idiot HC and OC kept running you out there taking away valuable playing time from your superiors, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell.

In summary, you washed up.piece of crap, we,.as Jet fans, are unanimously jumping for joy that your sorry ass is no longer a NY Jet.

So please just STFU

Sincerely


100% of Jet fans

 

[NickSINYC]

Or maybe the fact that he isn't any good any more dictated his playing time. IMO the Jets would have been a lot better off if Powell got have of the carries that Johnson actually got

this

 

[flgreen]

Chris Johnson trashes John Idzik, says Jets pulled bait and switch on him




Chris Johnson
In an interview Monday with "The Rich Eisen Show," running back Chris Johnson sounded like he's happy to be moving on from the Jets, who declined his 2015 contract option on Saturday. (William Perlman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)



Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on February 16, 2015 at 4:05 PM, updated February 16, 2015 at 4:33 PM


Just two days after the Jets declined to pick up his contract option for 2015, effectively making him a free agent, Chris Johnson sounded a lot like a guy who's eager to get the heck out of Florham Park.

"I think I went into a situation where I was told one thing, and it was another," Johnson said Monday afternoon during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show."

The old bait and switch, eh? More on that in a bit.

Last April, at the time Johnson signed with the Jets after six years with the Titans, he said he understood he'd have to share the load with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, as was the plan. But Johnson's opportunities more or less fell off a cliff early in the season, an outcome he blamed on interference from general manager John Idzik, who was fired along with head coach Rex Ryan the day after the regular season ended.

Johnson, who will be 30 in September, rushed for only 663 yards and one touchdown and caught just 24 passes for 151 yards, all of which were career lows by wide margins. He did, however, average 4.3 yards per carry. And he only got roughly half the opportunities to run the ball—9.7 attempts per game—as he had annually with the Titans.

"Basically, it was a situation where I was going there to be the guy or whatever," Johnson said. "It was still said, yeah, both guys [Johnson and Ivory] were going to get playing time. I think it was like after the [third] game or something like that, it just switched over and I started getting less and less playing time, and not knowing where it came from."

Johnson finished the season with 155 carries to Ivory's 198. But from Week 4 through Week 12, Johnson had more than seven carries in a game just twice.

In December, Johnson expressed frustration about his role to NJ Advance Media's Darryl Slater. In his interview with Eisen, Johnson acknowledged he had tried to keep from going public with how much things had bothered him last season.

"I never wanted to be a cancer in the locker room, or be the bad guy, so all I could really do is take advantage of my opportunities, talk to Rex, talk to [Anthony Lynn] the running back coach," Johnson told Eisen.

Johnson then said he felt like Ryan's hands were tied the whole time.

"Throughout the whole thing, I think last year, with that organization, I think a lot of the stuff was out of Rex's hands," Johnson said. "A lot of the things that we were doing I think it was out of Rex's hands. Don't nobody know but it was a [bad] situation."

Eisen then asked if it was it Idzik who took things out of Ryan's hands.

"Yeah, like a lot of things, probably, I guess, calling the shots, as far as with the team and things that goes on on Sundays, and whatever," Johnson said. "I think a lot of it was out of Rex's hands because when I sat down and talked to Rex before I signed with the Jets, my role and my situation were explained to me totally different to what actually happened. That's just what it was. It wasn't never a type of thing where I was just being outplayed or anything like that. It was never a situation where I got the opportunity to show my talents and be used the way that I was supposed to be used."

Johnson's assessment dovetails somewhat with a report Thomas George did for SB Nation back in December that described a "toxic" culture over at One Jets Drive. The Jets have since cleaned house by replacing Ryan and Idzik with Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan.

By declining to exercise Johnson's option, the Jets won't have to pay Johnson a $500,000 option bonus toward his $3.5 million base salary for 2015. And because that money was not guaranteed, the Jets can wipe that $3.5 million off their cap charge for the coming year, though they are expected to have an estimated $50 million in cap space.

Johnson, meanwhile, will now become a free agent on March 10, the first day of the new league year. Last year, the Titans didn't release Johnson until April 4, more than three weeks after free agency had begun, thus limiting his options. But thanks to the way his deal with the Jets was structured, Johnson won't have that problem this time—and he's happy about that, even if his age and his lack of production last year might be used against him at the negotiating table.

Johnson also still has an open case pending for his arrest on a misdemeanor weapons charge last month in his home state of Florida. He has pleaded not guilty.

"It just didn't jell; it just didn't work out," Johnson told Eisen of his time with the Jets. "That being said, I think it was a good thing I did my contract how I did it. Basically, I was on a one-year deal with an option of a second year. I know how I feel when I'm working out and all those types of things, so I'm just very excited to see what lies ahead.

"This year, I'm a free agent earlier on and I'll be able to go through the process like everyone else, and I think this time I'll be able to put myself in a better situation than what I was able to do last year. I was kind of forced on going somewhere because I didn't have the right opportunity as everybody had when it was time to hit free agency."

Dom Cosentino may be reached at dcosentino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @domcosentino. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.

 

[sg3]

If only his legs worked as hard and well as his big fat dumb mouth, he'd still be a pro bowler.

But enough about this washed up turd, already. I'm sure he will be a Bill soon and remind his new HC of a young Walter Payton, and all that stuff

 

[hobson54]

not sure i understand what idzik's motivation would be to tell his coaches to not play johnson? makes no sense for the GM to tell the coaches not to play the guy who was one of his high profile FA signings.

sounds like CJ is blaming idzik instead of himself, and doesn't want to offend rex and maybe he's hoping to find a landing spot in buffalo

 

[Elias]

not sure i understand what idzik's motivation would be to tell his coaches to not play johnson? makes no sense for the GM to tell the coaches not to play the guy who was one of his high profile FA signings.

sounds like CJ is blaming idzik instead of himself, and doesn't want to offend rex and maybe he's hoping to find a landing spot in buffalo

This is what I think too. It would have been dumb for Idzik to call the shots on not playing Chris Johnson. I just wish Eisen asked this very important question to him

 

[flgreen]

not sure i understand what idzik's motivation would be to tell his coaches to not play johnson? makes no sense for the GM to tell the coaches not to play the guy who was one of his high profile FA signings.

sounds like CJ is blaming idzik instead of himself, and doesn't want to offend rex and maybe he's hoping to find a landing spot in buffalo

I agree, and I'm a person who really wanted Idzik gone. Johnson just doesn't want to face the fact that he has lost a step. And actually your Buffalo angle is interesting, particularly if Spiller finds his way to the Jets.

 

[Superman55]

Don't feel bad, Chris, he lied to us about being a competent NFL GM.

 

[Superman55]

I agree, and I'm a person who really wanted Idzik gone. Johnson just doesn't want to face the fact that he has lost a step. And actually your Buffalo angle is interesting, particularly if Spiller finds his way to the Jets.

I'd take that trade.

:smiley-cool11:

 

[BlindsideD'Brick]

CJ is attempting to explain away his sub par season by blaming Idzik...

Typical. The GM promised me lots of playing time, and he's a liar liar pants on fire!

 

[jetgreen13]

i doubt johnson makes a teams regular season roster next year..

if he does i hope it's buffalo's..

 

[Old#15]

It also wouldn't shock me that he was complaining about his playing time to Marty and Rex and they blamed Idzik, saying that he was dictating the playing time.

 

[WilliesDad]

I don't know. I felt like he was one of those backs that needs to tote the rock a lot before he gets warmed up and I don't feel like he got that opportunity to do that in many games. I also believe that Rex would have no reservations about over stating someones role to that person to get him signed up and/or hyped up. It could be that Rex believed it when he he said it, and then it changed, but I think that Rex is the ultimate salesman to players and he over sold it to CJ.

I expect CJ, if he's eligible to play next year, to have a bounce back year.

 

[soj]

Ivory was simply better and IMHO as another poster pointed out took valuable touches away from Powell. Every time he came onto the field I cringed. He IS a shell of his former self and to use our former GM as an excuse for his piss poor performance speaks volumes about the person. I say Good bye sweet prince and don't let the :smiley-finger007:* door hit you in the ass on your way out!

 

[SackExchange]

The whole thing makes no sense. Idzik would want one of his guys to shine, not be buried on the depth chart. Play better, and you'll get the ball. Don't, and you'll sit.

 

[Superman55]

Kellen Winslow seconds Chris Johnson’s view of the Jets

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 17, 2015, 11:26 AM EST
New York Jets v Miami Dolphins
Getty Images
Chris Johnson isn’t the only former Jet who thinks the team failed to put his talents to use.

Kellen Winslow Jr., who spent the 2013 season on the Jets, wrote on Twitter that he agrees with Johnson’s opinions about the dysfunction on the Jets. According to both Winslow and Johnson, decision-making was taken out of the hands of head coach Rex Ryan and given to General Manager John Idzik.

“Chris Johnson is not lying,” Winslow wrote. “My role was never explained to me. Wanted to help Geno/Jets as route runner. Politics got in the way. #Idzik ”

The Jets were a mess during the Ryan-Idzik years, and there’s a widespread perception around the NFL that Idzik put Ryan in a no-win situation. That perception permeated the Jets’ locker room as well.

And that perception is why Ryan has landed on his feet as head coach of the bills, while Idzik will likely never get another job as an NFL G.M.