Shame on You, Michael Fabiano

Look, I have NEVER pretended to watch every game. I don't tell you how a team handled a particular receiver, or how fast a certain running back looked in his three carries. I base my analysis off of numbers and trends, i.e; I don't start ANY #1 WR against Oakland, because I know what the production of receivers lined up against Nnamdi Asomugha is like.

Apparently, Michael Fabiano watches game film for every game, every week. Puh-lease! Writing in his column this week, Fabiano uncorks this blow-hard gem;

"Should I bench Chris Johnson this week? He's done nothing over the past two games and faces the Jets' tough run defense in Week 12. I can replace him with Tim Hightower or Marshawn Lynch. -- F. Classen, Denmark
M.F.: Johnson has seen his numbers fall over the last two weeks, as defenses have focused on stopping the run and challenged Kerry Collins to beat them."

Really? Johnson's numbers have declined because defenses have focused on stopping the run?

Are you sure it doesn't have to do with the fact that in one game, he played against the Chicago Bears, and their hold-every-RB-but-Adrian-Peterson-to-2-YPC-defense? And in the other game, Tennessee only got to run 57 offensive plays, with 16 of them running plays by LenWhale White and Kerry Collins? That leaves 41 plays, of which Johnson carried 17 times and caught four passes, for a total of 88 yards, hardly shut down.

Kerry Collins threw a pick on the opening drive, which cost Johnson potentially 3-6 carries. On the second drive, LenWhale got a 2 yard carry on 1st and 10 from the Jaguars 20, followed by an incomplete pass, and a short screen pass, field goal. A completion (or sequential runs on second down) and maybe Johnson gets 1-2 more plays on this drive. On the third drive, two LenWhale runs resulted in 6 yards, followed by another Kerry Collins incompletion on third down, another chance for Johnson to get carries forgone by a failure to convert third downs. On Tennessee's 4th drive, Johnson had a pair of four yard carries followed by ANOTHER incompletion on 3rd and 2 (why are you passing there?). Boom goes the punt, and out the window go another potential group of plays. On the next drive, a 3 yard run by Johnson, an incomplete pass and a false start lead to a 3rd and 12, with, you guessed it, ANOTHER Kerry Collins incompletion. Boom goes the punt, yadi yadi yada. The next drive, Johnson had 3 straight runs, and could not convert the third down. To this point, I think Tennessee is like 1-8 on 3rd downs. The punt is away, and Tennessee does not get the ball again in the half.

On the Titans first drive of the second half, a long return is followed by a couple of short passes, an 11 yard Chris Johnson run, and another 8 yard pass, with another Chris Johnson conversion. Johnson gets 2 yards to the 13, and the next play is a touchdown pass. On the NEXT drive, CJ has a 7 yard run on 1st down (come on Fabiano, I thought they were loading the box), followed by the 56 yard scoring pass to Justin Gage.

The fourth quarter emerges much the same. A team struggles on third down, but converts a bunch on long plays on first and second downs. The Titans were ONE FOR TWELVE on 3rd down conversions for the game, and THAT is why CJ struggled in this game (granted one was his fault). Kerry Collins completed three passes on third down all game, and two of them went for negative yardage. When you can't convert 3rd downs, your running backs see the field alot less than they should, and THAT is why CJ struggled. Give him 8 more carries at his average production, and you have 95 rushing yards to go with 24 receiving (assuming he didn't catch anything else). All of a sudden, we are talking about 120 all purpose yards.

Michael Fabiano can BS all he wants about schemes and whatnot, but the fact of the matter is that the Titans were dreadful on 3rd down, and that hurt CJ's touches a bunch in this game. Kerry Collins completed his passes on 1st and 2nd down, and they were long, flukish plays for the big scores.

He is a tough play this week against a pretty good Jets defense, but it has NOTHING to do with the Jets loading the box, and everything to do with what the NUMBERS tell you the Jets do to opposing running backs.