At this time last year Chris Johnson was a rookie who was keeping his head down and hoping to just get noticed for his speed on the field.But with a 1,228-yard rushing season under his belt, Johnson is ready to make a name for himself, as he showed when he announced he has a new nickname -- "Every Coach's Dream."
Johnson isn't backing off from the nickname, but he did come out today and try to explain away any hard feelings or worries fans have that he's now all about himself and less about the team.
"I know people are saying I want to be an individual, that I'm not a team guy,'' Johnson said Friday. "All I want is a new nickname, and it's in fun. I am an entertaining guy. I like guys like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) and the entertainment they bring to the game. And it's not that LenDale and I don't like each other any more either. We love playing with each other. We're friends. I think people have gotten the wrong idea about it. People just can't get sensitive off a nickname. They say you can't give your own self a nickname, but we gave ourselves 'Smash and Dash.'''
OK, maybe you can give yourself a nickname, but that doesn't mean you should, especially since "Every Coach's Dream" is so long as to no longer be a nickname--it's longer than Johnson's actual name. And citing Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson as examples that you are trying to emulate won't help your case either.
But Johnson and Lendale White's back-and-forth this week is clearly meant to be just some joking during the boring final week of offseason workouts. Even Jeff Fisher got involved when he said White and Johnson may be nicknamed "Dumb and Dumber" before the season's over.
But while it's joking in June, White is heading into the final year of his contract, and he may end up losing more carries to Johnson this year, which could hurt his free agent status after the season. If White and Johnson are complaining over who gets the most carries in December, we'll know that the June joking was actually hiding a little actual resentment underneath.
