Why Larry Johnson was Great

[sluggo72]

LJ was in our top 5 backs ever. very hard to get down and prime breakaway speed. a couple defense held him under 100 in college, but not many.

LJ had some kind of problem of being noticed at PSU and KC. I am not sure if he was such a poor practice player, but somehow he got missed by coaches. I think most all his yardage at PSU came in his SR year. he seemed to be behind people for some time who we not even close to his talent level. You cant say this was just a PSU thing either, because it happened in KC too. In fact, I think there were games he was on the sideline at KC in street clothes without an injury. Then that old Texas RB (forget the name) got hurt and LJ was called on. You could see the impact right away. my thought was how did the KC staff miss him??? well the PSU staff missed him too.

I remember Dick Vermeil (sp?) KC coach at the time referring to having to take the diapers off of LJ, like he was a baby or something. Then he broke for a couple 100's in a few games and that ended that talk.

 

[JoeDidntKnow]

The recent talk of Saquon Barkley and comparisons to former RB's got me thinking of LJ, whose style I recall being very different than Barkley's. I don't have the sharpest eye for football talent, but I remember being surprised LJ was drafted so high. Of course, his NFL success proved me wrong. I recall thinking that LJ didn't MOVE like a running back. He didn't have the shiftiness that Barkley has. Of course, he was very hard to tackle, and I believe his straight-line speed was deceiving, maybe because he was a long strider. He may have also benefited form great offensive lines, both at PSU and KC. I am curious how others evaluate LJ as a running back.

LJ Jr was the greatest RB to ever wear the B&W. LJ Sr... that's a whole different story

 

[sluggo72]

LJ Jr was the greatest RB to ever wear the B&W. LJ Sr... that's a whole different story

Curt Warner was pretty darn good, as was Lydell Mitchell. Lenny Moore was pretty good as well. But here is someone's else's opinion not just mine.

http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2007/5/13/221130/292

 

[LionFan87b]

I am a guy that says to less not more. Have a base and run it!! dont rely on trick plays or tricking them. If plays 1-2-3 dont work, why do you think plays 4-5-6 will??

If plays 1-2-3 don't work, why do you think plays 1-2-3 will??

 

[The Spin Meister]

LJ was always angry young man. There is a story about him at SC High where he was slamming his own team mates in practice. Coulda affected his relationships with his coaches.
One thing he did better than most was not wasting any energy or time with exaggerated moves on the field. Watch the video and see how he makes cuts with minimal movement. This allowed him to make guys miss tackles without losing speed. Most backs make big cuts and jumps which costs them speed.

 

[sluggo72]

If plays 1-2-3 don't work, why do you think plays 1-2-3 will??

They probably wouldn't so I better fix those before moving on. It's the Same reason you don't take advanced calculus without an outstanding of basic calculus

 

[Still in State College]

I don't doubt you at all, and I also believe JoePa's famous quote that what matters is Jimmies and Joes, not X's and O's. But what do you do if you don't have the Jimmies and Joes? What if your players don't execute very well? Do you just give up? Or do you try to overcome it with schemes? BTW, I'm just asking this question in general. I'm not saying Franklin doesn't scheme enough or run enough plays.

If you can't execute, you have to keep working to improve execution. No amount of scheme can overcome lack of execution.

 

[Global Fan]

Curt Warner was pretty darn good, as was Lydell Mitchell. Lenny Moore was pretty good as well. But here is someone's else's opinion not just mine.

http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2007/5/13/221130/292

Great read, thanks for sharing. PSU has cranked out some great RBs!

 

[BoChops]

I saw a Heisman voter (media type) interviewed who said he would not vote for LJ because he did not like the way LJ looked when he ran! Obviously this guy had bias against Penn State or Joe. LJ should have won the Heisman.

 

[JoeDidntKnow]

They stole that Heisman from LJ just like they did in '94 to Carter

 

[PSU1983PHAN]

They stole that Heisman from LJ just like they did in '94 to Carter

94 the votes were split between Collins and Carter.

The Palmer Heisman was a joke, though.

 

[jwlynn]

I thought he was a big, deceptively fast runner (not elite speed, but rarely caught from behind once he hit the jets) with great vision (really set his blocks up well), patience, leg strength, and a nose for the end zone. He could also literally do it all (run, block, return kicks, block punts, catch passes etc.) and was fantastic on screen plays. Here's a link to some of his highlights - notice how well he sets up his blocks and how much room there is for him to run; he's often barely touched because of how good he is in space and how patient he is with the ball. Also great that everyone on that team could BLOCK!! Look at the WR's (Johnson and Johnson) mixing it up downfield on each and every run and MY GOD WHAT ABOUT PAUL JEFFERSON AND SEAN MCHUGH BARRELING OUT OF THE BACKFIELD AS A FBS??? They were hat on hat every time they lined up. That certainly helped.

View embedded media

In watching those highlights what I noticed was how many times LJ made it past the second level without a hand ever being placed on him!

 

[NelsonMunce]

I'll go either Sam Gash or Steve Smith.

Milne, Witman?

 

[81b&w]

Remember when we had to go up against Eddie George? Our opponents secondary must have had the same anguish, how do you tackle someone that big, fast and powerful

 

[PennStateNate]

Since Ben's character was brought up in the HOF thread can I bring up what a POS LJ was here or is that off limits?