Chris Johnson aiming for 2500 yards and MVP
Chris Johnson became just the sixth man in NFL history to run over 2000 yards last season yet he didn’t win the league’s MVP award.
This season Johnson is looking to break the all-time rushing record of 2,105 yards as well as winning the MVP and if you thought breaking the record was unrealistic then Johnson’s target of 2500 yards might seem a bit loopy.
"I'm shooting for 2,500, but I'll be happy with anything over the record. A player never did it twice, back-to-back [running 2000 yards],” Johnson said.
Johnson didn’t receive a single MVP vote last year despite his mammoth achievement and if history is anything to go by, the running-back might not get any this year again. Out of the five players to run for over 2000 yards in a season, none have managed to get close to that mark the following year. Barry Sanders ran for 1,491 yards the year after he ran over the magic 2000 mark.
For all his success last year it’s one of Johnson’s rivals who is taking some of the credit for that success. Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson says he spoke to Johnson and gave him some words of advice.
"I view myself as the best running back and the best player that's going to play this game. I told him to be able to accomplish those things you have to envision [and believe] in yourself, or it's not going to happen," Peterson said.
The 2010-11 season could be the first to have a player run back-to-back 2000 yard seasons, but don’t count on it.
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