Shonn Greene will see his load increase out of the Tennessee Titans' backfield.
Coach Mike Munchak said Wednesday that Greene should accumulate around 15 carries per game moving forward.Â
Greene missed five weeks early in the season after having his knee scoped. He returned Week 7 and had one rushing attempt for 2 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. On the year, he has just five carries for 20 yards after being signed in the offseason to share the backfield with Chris Johnson.
Munchak's plan figures to have the biggest impact on Johnson, whose role has already shrunk in recent weeks.Â
Johnson had just nine carries in Week 7, and is averaging just 11 carries per game in the last three weeks. That has a lot to do with the Titans trailing in games, but the 28-year-old is averaging a feeble 3.2 yards per carry. (His career average is 4.66.)
Munchak was careful to say he wants Johnson to run more as well.
"You'd hope that we'd run the ball 35 times, and that (Greene would) get 15 (carries), and C.J. get 20," Munchak said.
The Titans, of course, would love to run a lot because that means they aren't forcing Jake Locker to carry the team. In reality, Munchak is probably paying lip service to a veteran who hasn't deserved such a big role. An increased role for Greene is going to come at Johnson's expense, and it's overdue.
Johnson has been one of the worst backs at finding holes and hasn't been able to make defenders miss. When Johnson does find the hole, he stutters instead of bursting through the line. It's been a long, long time since he looked like CJ2K.
Coming off the bye week, it appears Munchak will use the bigger Greene, who is more likely to create positive yards on early downs, to keep the Titans on schedule.
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