Charlie Johnson did ok at LT

by Brad Wells on Sep 16, 2008 10:20 AM EDT in Colts Analysis

Charlie has taken up the Rob Morris mantle of being the resident bunching bag for Colts fans. We always have to have one player we love to criticize. It is just how we are, and Charlie Johnson is now that player. We are quick to forget that without Charlie, Indy would not have beaten the Bears in Super Bowl 41. He stepped in for an injured Ryan Diem (Diem injured? I'm shocked) and stoned Bears DE Alex Brown the entire game. The Colts also rushed for close to 200 yards that game.

And yet, we still love to bash Charlie.

This past Sunday, Tony Ugoh got hurt and Charlie had to step in at LT. the last time he did that, Rosevelt Colvin nearly took Peyton Manning's head off. This time around, despite what Colts fans think, Charlie did a good job.

Now before you freak out and dismiss me, hear me out. Charlie stepped into the LT spot because Tony Ugoh got hurt and his primary back-up, Dan Federkeil, was busy playing guard. Charlie started the game at the other guard spot guard. Steve Justice was more comfortable playing Charlie's guard spot than Dan's. Thus, Charlie gets moved to LT, where he has to go one-on-one with Jared Allen; arguably the best all-around DE in football. First play in, Allen blows by Charlie and nearly kills Manning. We all throw our arms up in the air and sign. Here we go. "Same old Charlie."

But, throughout the course of the game, Charlie got better. Sure, Jared Allen was able to get some pressure. He's Jared Allen. Great DEs are going to get pressure. We've seen Dwight Freeney maul great offensive tackles like Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden. Allen is the same. So, for a patchwork LT like Charlie to hold up as well as he did against a great player like Allen is worthy of our praise. He even got some praise from Coach Dungy. Factor in that the Colts were totally one dimensional in the game, throwing the ball 42 times. This means Allen could pin his ears back and zero in on #18. But, for the game, Allen had 1 sack (which occurred when Tony Ugoh whiffed on a block) and 3 tackles. Part of that is Peyton's uber-human-like ability to sidestep pressure and get rid of the football.

But some of it was also the solid play of Charlie Johnson, Indy's favorite fan punching bag.

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

He wasn't a disaster

but Allen was abusing him. Johnson was totally turned around literally blocking (briefly) Allen with his back on one play. Johnson isn’t Winston Justice, but he has done nothing to change my mind that he’s a big liability at tackle.

The sack might have been on Ugoh, but if it was it was because he had the assignment wrong. Allen was one on one with Santi with Ugoh moving towards the inside (where there was no one to block)

"I'm not racin', I'm just sprintin'
Cuz I don't wanna finish
they diminish, I replenish"
-Lil Wayne "Let the beat build"

by shake n bake on Sep 16, 2008 10:38 AM EDT reply actions

For as often as Ugoh seems to get hurt, I think we need to use next year’s first round pick on either a DT or another O-lineman, specifically one that can be a decent backup LT.

Bob Sanders eats a forest on Friday so he can lay the wood on Sunday.
http://sportscircuits.wordpress.com
http://monkeybiziu.deviantart.com

by MonkeyBusiness on Sep 16, 2008 12:01 PM EDT reply actions

and an related fun fact

from something that got me sidetracked while writing the above comment

For every dollar of revenue the NFL makes, almost 2 cents of it goes directly to the Colts salary cap.

59% of NFL revenue under the current CBA goes to the players and 1/32nd of that 59% goes to the Colts player cap. For a total of 1.85% of NFL revenue.

"I'm not racin', I'm just sprintin'
Cuz I don't wanna finish
they diminish, I replenish"
-Lil Wayne "Let the beat build"

by shake n bake on Sep 16, 2008 12:47 PM EDT reply actions

Is it just my foggy memory?

My memory of the game is that our whole line looked confused for most of the game. Granted, I was so pissed off that I almost stopped watching 5 or 6 times. Then Minnesota stopped blitzing and our pass game suddenly appeared. I have no idea why they stopped, but I’m glad they did. I’ve never cussed as much during a win as I did on Sunday. I’m suprised my neighbors didnt think there was a domestic dispute going on.

by SeattleColt on Sep 16, 2008 2:31 PM EDT reply actions

Love for CJ

I recall last year’s SD game well and as much as I like to rip CJ… I have to say the O performed better as the game went on. Was it all CJ? No way. Was CJ infeior to Ugoh? I assume. Does he deserve specific criticism for Sunday? I think not. Praise…? Maybe, though I had not thought of it. I’m glad to not abuse him for a change, so I’ll second that motion to praise CJ.
SeattleColt, I did stop watching a lot in the first half because we had a great sunny day in Seattle and I had yard work to do, but I watched most of the 2nd half—it looked like a HS OL facing an NFL DL… and they more or less exceeded expectations. I hope we get to see the Jags game on the local stations, though I can’t imagine why they’d show it. And my wife may just boot me out if they do (I’ve used the “I only get to see a few of their games a year” excuse for quite some time and she’s catching on).

Bobman

by Bobman on Sep 17, 2008 1:44 AM EDT reply actions