Johnson providing unlikely spark to Raider ‘D’

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, November 26, 2008  |  Comments( 20 )

Oakland Raiders
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DeAngelo Hall who?

It didn’t take long for the Oakland Raiders to move on from the failed Hall experience -- one that lasted all of eight games and left behind more bad memories than good ones.

The emergence of 29-year-old journeyman Chris Johnson has fans wondering why team owner Al Davis gave up a second-round pick in the 2008 draft to get Hall and then handed him a seven-year, $70 million deal. After making it with Oakland for just a half-season, Hall is now a Redskin, and it will cost Washington all of just $1 million to retain his services for the season.

Despite all the hassle, Johnson is making the Hall era look like a small blur in the Raiders’ rear-view mirror. All of the antics, headaches and on-field blunders seem so far off in the distance.

Well, for the most part.

There was that one incident last week where a bit of last-minute showboating after an INT got the 6-foot-1 Johnson in a bit of trouble. In the end, a yellow flag negated the entire play, but Johnson’s high-stepping, ball-out-in-the-air celebration led to a fumble in the end zone (recovered by himself) that drove interim-head coach Tom Cable crazy. And, to be honest, it was a bit too … DeAngelo Hall-ish.

Besides that, though, it was smooth sailing for the speedy Johnson, who contained Broncos rookie standout receiver Eddie Royal to just 19 yards on three grabs, despite being targeted 11 times. In Week 1, Hall was scorched by Royal for nine receptions, 146 yards and a touchdown.

“He was awesome,” Cable said of Johnson to the Mercury News. “You look at who they have at wide receiver -- those guys are tremendous, tremendous football players. Chris is just an example of that whole secondary. They were right on.”

Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler was held to just a 43 percent completion percentage (16 of 37) on Sunday and passed for only 204 yards, no TDs and a pick in Oakland's 31-10 win at Denver.

Johnson, who’s in his fifth NFL season (second with the Raiders), has now started two consecutive contests, both of which have panned out well for the silver and black. With just one prior start in his first five NFL years (2005 with the St. Louis Rams), Johnson is playing with the confidence of a seasoned vet. In only two games, the 200-pounder already has 18 tackles, one forced fumble, six passes defensed and his first career interception.

“Each week, teams respect Nnamdi (Asomugha) on the right side, so they’re not going to throw his way,” Johnson said Monday. “I don’t blame them. It’s up to me to hold up my end.”

Responsibility? Who would’ve thought that would come from a position once held by DeAngelo Hall?
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal ...
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