Chris Johnson didn't have a good game on Sunday. In his first game in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins' first-round pick started as the team's nickelback and seemed to give up two touchdowns. On Tuesday, Jeff Hafley met with the media on a video call and cleared up the misinformation.
"On some of those other plays that you saw, everybody wants to say, ' Was he responsible for this touchdown or that touchdown," Hafley said regarding the two touchdowns that Johnson gave up. "I can tell you, on those two plays, his help was not where it was supposed to be, and he was playing the leverage he was supposed to play. Guys on the sideline immediately took ownership of it."
This isn't a case of the head coach throwing anyone under the bus, but instead clarifying a distinct case of players not being where they were supposed to be. It's refreshing to hear that the players who were in the wrong place were aware of it and owned it.
Miami Dolphins' Chris Johnson not responsible for Raiders' two touchdowns, according to Jeff Hafley
We may need to go back and reverse our knee-jerk reactions and/or the grading of Johnson as a "C". The optics are often wrong, and in this case, they apparently were.
What's impressive, when you think about it, is that when Johnson spoke to the media after the game, he took ownership of all of it and said he needs to get better. He could have easily said that someone else was out of position. That's leadership.
Johnson is going to have a much tougher time this week when they face the 49ers. The WRs are much better than the Raiders', the quarterback is better, the offensive line is better, and pound-for-pound, the 49ers have the experience to make this game long for Johnson. Oh, and did we mention Christian McCaffrey?
This probably isn't going to be a win for Miami, but it could be an excellent opportunity to judge how much they have changed in a week. How Hafley has adjusted his coverages, blitz packages, and personnel groupings. There is a lot to learn from the next few weeks as Miami rolls through the first of several tough stretches this year.
As for Johnson, he is going to get better, and apparently he wasn't as bad as we all initially thought. It is further proof that there is far more going on in a play than we realize in those few seconds that the play flies by.
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