Let’s be honest. The Kansas City Chiefs are going in one direction, and star running back Larry Johnson is going in another. That’s especially true this weekend, when the Chiefs head to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Tennessee Titans while Johnson sits at home and serves a one-game suspension for violating team rules.

Rebuilding is an awkward time for veterans like Johnson and tight end Tony Gonzalez. They are big parts of the organization’s past, but are gradually being phased out of future plans. Johnson hasn’t made life any easier by showing hostility and lashing out at team management. It’s only a matter of time before he and the organization head for a messy split.

As both parties trudge through the 2008 season, there’s no knowing what’s around every corner. The moody Johnson’s emotional ups and downs seem to show on the field, where he’s a 100-yard rusher one week, a 2-yard rusher the next. His cause surely isn’t helped by injury, inexperience, and a revolving door of ineffective quarterbacks.

Johnson isn’t a multi-dimensional runner. He’s a grinder, a pounder, who can be taken out of game plans by stacking the box with eight-man fronts. With the serious lack of weapons in the Chiefs’ passing game, where is the incentive for opponents not to do just that?

Backups Kolby Smith and rookie Jamaal Charles look to fill Johnson’s void this week, and their showings will serve as unofficial auditions for bigger roles. The speedy Charles will get a crack at establishing himself as a franchise back, while Smith looks to further build on a solid showing in LJ’s absence last season.

Johnson will return in time for Week 8, but it’s tough to tell what to expect from him in the second half of the season. One of fantasy football’s more maddening players, LJ will have his moments - bright and otherwise - but will continue producing unpredictable stat lines.

And, as the Chiefs’ struggles continue, there will be less incentive to keep Johnson happy and more to continue their vast rebuilding project. How and where Johnson fits into those plans is up to him now. He either moves forward as a model citizen or stays grumpy and puts on a different uniform come 2009.

Fantasy Spin
The presence of both Smith and Charles strips owners of an opportunity to grab a fill-in starter. Both should receive nearly equal work loads, but Smith is the more desirable option for desperate owners looking to fill in for a Joseph Addai (hamstring), Edgerrin James (bye), Michael Turner (bye) or Maurice Jones-Drew (bye).