ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
In a season that has not exactly gone as planned and with an offence that seems to be getting younger, it should be of no surprise that the Argos are looking to experience and leadership in the final few weeks of the season.
A quiet but powerful back, Jeff Johnson has witnessed almost everything and anything since joining the Argos in 2002. The club’s longest serving CFL’er, in his 10th season, Johnson has been part of squads that have experienced the highs of turning success into championships and teams that have missed the playoffs entirely.
Veteran Argos running back Jeff Johnson has recorded three touchdowns in as many games – one on the ground and two by pass reception out of the backfield.
Now he is faced with being a part of a team in transition. One of the few mainstays left from the 2004 Grey Cup team, Johnson is celebrating a decade as a pro football player alongside many of those who are experiencing their first – both on the field and in the coaching staff.
However, to the outside observer the former OUA rushing champion seems to be approaching this season the same way that he does any other – wanting carries, but never demanding them and waiting patiently for his opportunities, only to make the most of them when they finally come.
A somewhat forgotten man in the Argos’ offence early in the season after an injury sidelined him, the cerebral tailback, who sees more time as a blocking fullback, has once again been given his opportunity to carry the rock and done nothing but produce.
Johnson has recorded a major in each of his last three games and has been effective when used both on the ground and through the air. To say that Johnson has reshaped the Argos offence is perhaps a little audacious but seldom does he go unnoticed when his number is called up the gut or he is on the receiving end of a swing pattern out of the backfield.
Argos followers may recall that this is not the first time that situational use of Johnson’s talents have come to fruition late in the season. Many would point to the final three games of the 2005 season where Johnson filled in more than admirably when injuries befell then starter John Avery and his replacement Sean Millington.
Johnson stepped into the lineup in the final three games of that ’05 season and accumulated 431 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns as the Argos went on to clinch first place in the East Division after he was essentially regulated to special teams play throughout the majority of the season.
Neither he nor his game are flashy as his touchdown celebrations rarely exceed more than a hand raised in the air, but Johnson’s ability to take his game to a new level when called upon is a quality that most teams across the country have yet to call their own.