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KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The last couple of seasons haven't been happy ones for running back Larry Johnson, but he hasn't seen hard times like these.
Johnson is again far down the NFL's list of top rushers, only with numbers that reflect futility more than a lack of activity. With 93 carries, he is fifth among backs, but only 26th in yardage.
His per-carry average of 2.4 yards is the lowest among the league's top 50 rushers.
Johnson had perhaps his roughest game of the year in the Chiefs' 26-20 overtime loss Sunday to Dallas. He had just 37 yards, once a quarter's worth of work for Johnson.
Coach Todd Haley indicated Monday that he's not inclined to make a change at running back anytime soon, saying Johnson's struggles may be a factor of the larger offensive problems around him.
"The kid ran hard," Haley said. "He stuck it in there. He needs a little help, too."
In that, Haley referred to an ineffective offensive line that has largely been unsuccessful in creating significant running space for Johnson. The Chiefs finished the Dallas game without left tackle Branden Albert, who was on the sideline because of an injured ankle.
Haley was hopeful Albert would play in Sunday's game at Washington, saying Albert was close to returning to the lineup late in the Cowboys game.
"We taped him up a couple of times," he said. "He tried to come back in. It just wasn't meant to be."
At running back, one option for the Chiefs is to give more playing time to Jamaal Charles. But the Chiefs so far at least have mainly resisted the idea of using Charles as anything but a third-down or change of pace back. He's been handed the ball just 15 times in five games.
The Chiefs will get another option beginning next week when Kolby Smith becomes eligible to return to practice and the active roster. Largely forgotten outside of Chiefs headquarters since he tore ligaments in his right knee halfway through last season, Smith could eventually get a look at least as a part-time back.
"I feel good," Smith said. "It's just a matter of once you get back on the field going through contact to see how the knee feels then. That's when we'll decide whether I'm ready to go or not. Whenever they say I can play, I'll be out there. I want to make sure I'm right before I come back."
Since the start of training camp, Smith conditions in a corner of the Chiefs practice field while his teammates go through drills. Part of his ritual includes running up a steep, grassy slope adjacent to the practice field the Chiefs have come to call Priest Holmes Hill for the former running back who regularly scaled its heights.
"Running up that hill," Smith said, "it will get you right."
Smith took over as the Chiefs' featured back for several games in 2007 after injuries knocked out both Johnson and Holmes. He had a 150-yard, two touchdown game that season against Oakland.
For now, at least, the Chiefs are committed to making their running game work with Johnson.
