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We all remember Chris Johnson and his spectacular 2,000 yard season in 2009, and we all remember all the hype following him that season, but has that gone to his head?Johnson has been very out-spoken this off-season and while some may take it has harmless fun, he appears to be heading down a long, dreary, path that no one wants to go down. He's heading towards Diva-town.
Johnson started off with Usain Bolt, the current world record holder in the 100m race (also holds the Olympic record for the same event), even taking it as far as to challenge the Olympic Gold Medalist to a race.
There are reports floating around the media that Johnson's and Bolt's representatives are trying to schedule a race. A race, that in my opinion, would lead to the embarrassment of the NFL star. Johnson may be NFL fast, but no one possesses the speed of Bolt. Not right now.
That's not all so bad, just in friendly fun, but as the interviews piled up, so did his cockiness and playful manner in which he spoke. He is serious, and he feels offended that he is not the fastest man in the world, but it doesn't end there.
Johnson has most recently taken himself to the video-game world where he insists that he is the only person who should be in consideration for the cover spot on EA Sports world famous (and only) NFL Simulation game, Madden NFL.
I guess he doesn't believe in curses. I know, this is all in playful fun, right? But it does enter into the realm of being too cocky and with his latest comments, it enters into the realm of possibly becoming a negative influence on the Titans organization.
Earlier in the off-season Johnson let it be known that he wanted to receive a contract extension from the Titans, and he claimed that he wanted to do it privately, and not through the media. I commended him for wanting to do it internally and not publicly, but Johnson has not held up his end of that bargain.
Johnson has ranted numerous times throughout the off-season, through national forms of media, that he should be the highest paid player in the NFL, despite only entering his 3rd NFL season.
He has had two of the most productive first two seasons of any running back in NFL history, and represented the Titans in the Pro Bowl in both 2008 (his rookie season) and 2009. However, he's going about all of this the wrong way.
He needs to stick to his initial statements and handle the matters internally with the Titans, because quite frankly, he holds no leverage whatsoever. There are three years remaining on a five-year deal signed in 2008, and while his on-field play has matured beyond that salary, his off-field maturity hasn't even come close.
If he remains the same Chris Johnson that we've seen the past few months, he will be a problem for the Titans organization, and it is a shame to watch such a good young player ruin his image in such a way.
