It's ok, BMN. I was ranting Sunday about them not putting Watson and Dorsey in. Later that on Sports of All Sorts, they said that both are injured.
I found this on Rudi:
Johnson provides spark to Lions' running game
SAN FRANCISCO -- There was no disrespect intended toward the rookie, but Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola said he believes the team has found a weapon in the running game.
Rudi Johnson, who was signed as a free agent at the end of training camp, took over for starting running back Kevin Smith late in the first quarter of Detroit's 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Johnson stayed in the game and finished with 14 carries for 83 yards and also had three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.
When Raiola was asked if the Lions will now have a strategy of having two running backs and then go with whoever has the hot hand, he said, "No, I don't think so. (Johnson's) a Pro Bowler. Kevin understands, he's not going to go into the tank. I think it'd be good for him to learn from Rudi. They both run hard.''
Quarterback Jon Kitna, who played with Johnson when both were with the Cincinnati Bengals, also was impressed.
"His mental toughness and his competitiveness came out today," Kitna said. "This football team can learn a lot from him today, he forgot about the scoreboard and he played his tail off. That's what we need.''
Johnson isn't talking about his role as a possible starter.
"I don't get into all that. That's for the coaches to decide,'' Johnson said. "I'm here to play and to compete. I want to be physical and bring that to the team.''
Johnson said he's as healthy as he has been since this time last year, when he suffered a hamstring injury in the third game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks.
Johnson said there's no great mystery why the Lions have struggled in each of their first three games.
"We've just got to start faster. The past three weeks, we've been coming out slow,'' he said. "We have to match the other team's tempo coming out of the gate. We've been doing a decent job trying to fight back, but it's 60 minutes of football.''
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2008/09/johnson_provides_spark_to_lion.html
Johnson helps Lions run ball, but is it enough?
Rudi Johnson finally gave the Detroit Lions a semblance of a running game.
His teammates aren't sure if that's going to be enough to end their slide.
Johnson ran for 83 yards in the Lions' 31-13 loss to San Francisco and scored Detroit's only touchdown on a 34-yard screen pass. He saw limited action in the first two games — losses to Atlanta and Green Bay — but took over for rookie Kevin Smith early against the Niners.
"It was hard trying to get the play book down, but I have it now," Johnson said Tuesday. "I couldn't do as much as I wanted until I knew the offense, especially the pass protections. Now I feel like I'm ready to help the team win."
The Lions are idle this weekend, returning to action Oct. 5 when they host the Chicago Bears.
Once Johnson got going Smith didn't touch the ball again, but that doesn't mean the eight-year veteran thinks he has won the No. 1 spot. Johnson signed with the Lions after being released by the Bengals at the end of training camp.
"No one has said anything to me about where I am on the depth chart," Johnson said. "I'm just going to keep practicing hard and trying to do the best I can."
Johnson was especially pleased with his receiving touchdown — just the second one of his 84-game career.
"I've always been able to catch the ball — it was something I worked hard on in Cincinnati, but the Bengals never asked me to do it," he said. "It would be great if that became more of my role here. I'd like to show that I can stay on the field on third down, which I almost never did with the Bengals."
Johnson's performance, though, couldn't disguise the fact that Detroit's season has been a disaster so far. The Lions have trailed 21-0, 21-0 and 21-3 in their first three games, meaning that their plan to use a balanced offense had to be abandoned quickly for a passing attack.
One of Detroit's key offensive threats, wide receiver Roy Williams, thinks Detroit should be using a pass-oriented offense from the start.
"If I had my way, we'd play four wides early, instead of just using it when we are behind and trying to cut into someone's lead," Williams said.
Williams said that he hasn't spoken directly to offensive coordinator Jim Colletto about the issue, but that he's sure the coaching staff knows his position.
"I've been saying this over and over," he said. "They've heard me say it to the media, and I've said it here. But that's not our philosophy right now."
Lions quarterback Jon Kitna said many of the same things immediately after the loss to San Francisco, but backed off on Tuesday.
"Is the way the offense is going frustrating? Yes, but when you are 0-3, everything is frustrating," he said. "This isn't much fun."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/24/sports/FBN-Lions-Offense.php
Lions' Smith unhappy about losing starting job
Rookie running back Kevin Smith has been told that he's lost his starting running back job to veteran Rudi Johnson and Smith isn't happy about it.
"Personally, I don't like it. I think I should be playing a lot more. But it's all about winning,'' Smith said.
"I've got a new attitude. I went home at the break and got a new attitude, I'm just going to get me better. Now I'm going to work on getting myself better every day and try, not the impossible, but I've got the mindset that I'm going to try to hit a home run on every play now. I might only get one carry. If I only get one carry, I've got to make it count.''
In three games this season, Smith had 29 carries for 102 yards (3.5-yard average) and scored one touchdown. Johnson, who was signed at the end of training camp, has 18 carries for 99 yards (5.5-yard average).
"It's nothing against Rudi, he's a good back. If you want to play him, play him,'' Smith said. "But when my number's called, I'm going to perform, bottom line.
"I'm good. I can make as many plays as anybody on this offense. Anybody. We'll see what happens.''
Smith said he's not going to let the demotion get him down.
"I'm not going to lose because I'm not competing. I refuse to let anybody be better than me,'' he said. "You know what the funny thing is? I always start up from the bottom. I did it in high school and when I got to Central Florida. I had to work my way up. The cream of the crop always rises and eventually the story will be told.''
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2008/09/lions_smith_unhappy_about_losi.html
WTG, MIKE BROWN! You got rid of Rudi when he was finally getting better. We don't have much of an option if Perry goes down. We could have used Rudi up the middle and Perry up the side to catch passes like in '05. You got rid of him for no other reason than to keep money in your already fat pocket!
All we have now until Watson and Dorsey are healthy is a James Johnson on the practice squad.
I would like it if they would bring Alexander in. He wants to play and would play and certainly couldn't do worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_iZ8M5vSmU
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