Well that's a good thing!

 

Very iinteresting, indeed.

My first reaction was like Armando's: that it made us look desperate and we'd be mocked. I overreacted, though I still think those outside Florida see this move as further proof of us being bottom feeders.

Good article. The baby could make a difference.

I hope he can be even 80 percent of what he was five years ago. That would be awesome.

 

I am by no means a fan of bad actors , and especially players that have domestic violence histories. However there is a comment from Mike Tannenbaum where he stated he had a fiduciary responsibility to look at every player that could help the NY Jets win. He made the decision to sign Barney Fife , errr Plaxico Burress .

The " dream team " of course signed Vick who we all agree did dispicable things , yet it seems the media and fans are predominately past that. Two players with concerns that did not play for an extended time , and now seemingly are positive differance makers for their teams.

This is a low risk , low cost signing , if he is focused , he "may" have enough upside to make a positive difference. We'll see ... but let's not grade this signing until we do see.

 

IMO its a good calculated risk .He has relatively low mileage on those wheels ,he is relatively injury free and he has a lot to prove which means he is hungry.

Keep him away from South Beach and the gamble may pay off at least for this upcoming year.

 

I am warming up to this somewhat as well. If he can help it will be welcome. That means alot better than 2 yards on 5 carries, even 5 yards on 2 carries. If he can do anything close to how he used to it will be a success.

 

Some people worry too much about the perception of this team and what other people think. As a fan that stuff doesn't bother me. I leave that to the people who take stock in what the media has to say. I care more about what goes on out on the field. The first thing I thought when we signed him is that we probably got him for a song and if he gets cut he won't get paid. Maybe the guy has something left and might be able to help us.
My initial reaction turned out to be correct

 

I wish we had a FO that was more interested in hunting down legitimate competition at the QB position than kicking the tires on washed up has been RBs.

 

That ship has sailed. Get aboard The Patience Train and like it! lol

 

"The Patience Train"! As long as it has nothing to do with Cat Stevens I guess I'll clamber on board.

 

LOL

but maybe we fans need a "Peace Train" right about now, or at least a peace pipe.

 

Nothing like a player realizing this is probably his last chance after pissing away a dream career to get him focused on what's important and being determined to become the best player he can.$

The contract the Dolphins gave him provides minimum risk to the Phins.

 

My post wasn't about LJ. Like I told you last night, the signing doesn't excite me nor do I hate it. It is what it is. If he helps, then great. If not, then whatever. Although you'd hope a 2nd round back who you traded up for would be doing well enough to make LJ unnecessary.

My response was in reply to a post regarding not getting legitimate competition at the QB position, which I don't feel they did. But the ship has sailed.

 

Peace Pipe will work. What'cha smokin'?

 

I don't worry about perception much b/c if we start winning then all of the moves will be perceived as brilliant (ie. anything the Pats do). So all that really matters is that it works or rather that enough of the decisions work.

 

I'm with you on that. Right now lj is saying all the right things. We've possibly seen b marsh change a corner with the diagnosing of his problem, I personally think it takes maturity to be willing to be diagnosed and be treated. Its possible LJ can get his **** together as well.

 

I am optimistic. He has 1,400 carries total. not too bad. If he is in shape and hungry, this could be a nice pickup.

 

I keep reading things like "gamble" or "calculated risk"? Wouldn't the Dolphins first have to have the possibility of losing something (money, picks etc) in order for this to be a risk or gamble?

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/24/ryan-grant-in-danger-of-not-making-the-packers/

If Ryan Grant is available, sign me up.

 

Question is, why wasn't this move made 2 or 3 weeks ago when you could have picked up someone with less off the field issues, for barely over the minimum ? Makes me question Ireland.....if he knew we needed someone or, even thought we MIGHT need someone, its was his utmost responsibility to have done this, but weeks ago.

 

Why? Was it not worth doing some sort of due diligence on Sheets, Grigsby, or Hilliard?

Who else was there that you would suggest would fit as a 3rd running back with a similar skill-set that was available then that is not that?

 

2 or 3 weeks ago this would have been a "panic" move. This move was based on watching Thomas inability to lower his pads and try and power it into the end zone on consecutive plays against Carolina and Sheets poor play during preseason games.

And if Miami waited another 2 or 3 weeks then it would have been waiting too long. Right now is the right time! Gives coaches long enough to evaluate whether Johnson can contribute and gives Johnson a couple of weeks to get in football shape before the regular season starts.

This regime has taken a lot of heat over the 3 years they have been here and like "ALL" regimes have not made the perfect personnel moves, but one thing is for sure is they don't panic while at the same time they are quick to pull the trigger once they acknowledge they have made a mistake or feel they need to make a move.

 

Had enough of the words, play well or be gone, that simple.

I think this move is basically prejudged, if someone has an agenda that does not like Sparano or Ireland or the direction the Dolphins are heading, then it is a bad move, as are all moves made by them, if someone takes a wait and see approach then more or less are neutral, the ones who think it is a move likely to pay off then they are optimistic about the 2011 season.

For me, I think it is a low risk gamble, and suspect Shannahan is coasting on reputation in DC and also think the NFL frowned on Johnson for a couple of reasons and none of them had much to do with his talent level.

 

To that point, you look at when he fell off the map (2007).

In 2006 he was given an NFL-record 416 carries. That followed a healthy 336 in 2005, most of which came in the final 12 games when he took over for Priest Holmes. To sum up, he averaged just under 26 carries a game over a 28-game period. Johnson also caught 58 passes during that stretch, putting him around 28 touches a game.

We've seen this story before.

Not surprisingly, he only made it thru half the 2007 season.

Still has relatively low tread as Crunch mentioned. So it's possible the battery is recharged. It's also possible he's largely used up from those two years.

 

I'm more on board with the signing after reading Armando's story than I was before. Maybe becoming a father and learning from some of his past mistakes has brought some maturity to LJ? If, and I realize it's a big if, but if he has in fact grown up, is healthy, and still has some burst...then this could be a huge addition at a bargain basement price.

On a side note...I think Ireland had this card ready to play for some time now. Once they decided to cut their loses with Sheets, well it was time to play the card. I say calculated not desperate.

JMHO...

 

Yeah it seems like we have to give that a rest, it is, what it is...

 

If your girl friend or wife gave you a BJ at 10 oclock would you complain it wasn't at 6 oclock?
They wasted no time getting Bush.

 

I'll take my chances with Larry Johnson, seriously. Grant's injury was bad. LJ never had anything like that. I think Larry has more left in the tank.

 

Why are we talking about QB's, RB's & TE's??

We need a #2 K when Carpenter's leg falls off. Is Flutie around for his drop kick?

 

Based on what?

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnLa00.htm

LJ has scored 8 TD's in the last 4 YEARS.

And he hasn't played in 16 games since 2006. He's played for now 4 teams the last two years. I suppose that perhaps he is refreshed, mentally in a good place, etc., but we're talking about a 4 year period of just not being very good.

 

In a lot of ways this is the Ricky Williams signing part II. Like Williams, LJ suffered from overuse that essentially derailed his career. Like Williams, he took some time off to heal, essentially.

I don't think we'll see 1200+ yards out of him, but I do think it's reasonable to expect him to fill a similar role as Williams has for us the last 3 years.

 

LJ--- 1426 career attempts

AP--- 1198 (averages ~300 carries per season which will put him over LJ's mark this year. Is AP done after this season?)

CJ--- 925 ( averages over 300 carries per season. Will he be done after 2 more seasons?)

The point is...there is plenty to base rdhstlr23's comment on. LJ has had nearly 3 full seasons of rest. He's been training hard to get back into playing shape and evidently he showed something during a workout. All of these things point to him as having more left in his tank.

However, we'll find out for sure in a few weeks.

 

If you go back and look at recent running backs, you will find that, from a career standpoint, most running backs start to tail off around 2000 carries, though some have gone as high as 3000 in a career. Generally speaking around 2000 carries is usually the number, though less in some cases obviously.

I think both Peterson and CJ have about 3 seasons left, including this one. That would put them right around 2000 carries on their career, if the numbers hold up.

 

And I would think that the kind of contact would make a difference as well; an Emmet Smith, running behind as dominant an OL as he did, would be tackled primarily by smaller men in the Secondary, as opposed to a runner who had to make his own holes and ended up being tackled primarily by Linemen or Linebackers.

Severity of impact must factor in there somewhere.

 

When I looked into LJ's time in KC, I saw the similarites between he and Williams, only Ricky had even MORE carries then LJ, when they both went on a 3 yr hiatus, by 200 or more carries.

Do not think I'd go as far as to he is Rw pt II, will say the one thing that stands out about him is...no major leg injuries to his groin or his knees, which should help in his recovery process and limit the amount of speed he has lost, from that pov he is a good bet, but I'd expect more like:

-600 yds
-4.1 ypa
-4-7 Td's

If that level of production comes from this signing I doubt anyone would complain very loudly.

 

You and VO are seeing what I'm seeing with LJ, this is not "spray rustoleum on the old vet and try to squeeze one more season out of him" type of move, there is potential upside here and not just "he's now a dolphin he will be great!" type of optimism, there are quantitative factors in play.

 

Seems like Johnson had a decent 2009 season stats wise ( avg. 4.4 per carry, only played in 7 games though). I am not sure what happened in 2010 with the 'Skins where he only played in two games. So I am pretty happy with this move if he is getting the league minimum.

Link to his stats if they haven't been linked to already:
http://www.nfl.com/player/larryjohnson/2505491/profile