Disruptive behavior a winning formula for Johnson
In the end, the cost was minimal; maybe only to the remnants of Larry Johnson’s good name. But football is a bottom-line realm, where numbers trump reputation. And when it comes to the numbers, Larry Johnson crushed the NFL establishment this week.
How else could you frame it? Johnson seemingly won it all: his freedom from the Kansas City Chiefs and coach Todd Haley; the remainder of his $4 million salary in 2009 (which the team still owes him); and a new lease on life with the Cincinnati Bengals, an AFC elite and the proverbial port in the storm for the repeatedly troubled. For Johnson, it was an unopposed and unquestionable victory. And all it took was him poisoning the atmosphere in Kansas City to the point management felt like it had lost all its options.
(AP Photo/David Kohl)
After all, this is the kind of thing that makes coaches and general managers cringe. They speak in blustery terms about swallowing a bitter pill and not letting players blast their way off a roster. More often than not, the establishment is successful, burying a player on the depth chart and making an example of him. The Chiefs have done it to linebacker Derrick Johnson, whose failure to live up to expectations on the practice field have led him to a drastically reduced role on game day. And it will likely lead him off the team, too, but not for another few months.
Read the entire article: Disruptive behavior a winning formula for Johnson – NFL – Yahoo! Sports.
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