For those looking to point fingers, the Tennessee Titans organization may be partly to blame for the current situation involving Chris Johnson’s lack of rushing success.

Johnson’s productivity has taken a highly publicized and much-scrutinized nosedive since he ended his holdout, and he has been running like he is carrying that $30 million guaranteed on his back. CJ has just 302 yards to show for the lucrative contract extension, and it is becoming clearer each week that the missed time due to both the lockout and holdout played a role in Johnson’s struggles.

But the front office played a role as well.

First off, the Titans should have never allowed themselves to be taken hostage in salary negotiations from a player who was still under contract with two years to run. Sure, Johnson’s camp was going to see to it that they got their big payday before the 2011 season began. But the Titans front office should have headed this situation off at the pass by making a good faith offer in the “range of pay” Johnson was seeking the moment the lockout ended. It should also have made that offer on the condition that Johnson not hold out.

Valuable time was lost because the lockout took away the entire offseason, and as TitanInsider.com reported recently, citing sources, once Johnson finally got his $53 million extension, he did not report to the team in the best of condition, putting him further behind in preparation.

But part of that lies with the Titans, going back to the entire contract stalemate at the start of training camp. Remember, Johnson’s camp (primarily agent Joel Segal and Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt stared each other in the face for the first three weeks of the holdout with no significant breakthrough. That wasted valuable time when Johnson could have been at training camp, getting into playing shape, learning Chris Palmer's offense and working toward getting the 2011 season on, pardon the pun, the right foot.

Speaking of learning the offense, the fact that the Titans were breaking in a new coaching staff and a new quarterback, is another reason for CJ’s struggles. It takes time to learn a new playbook and new terminology. Wondering why Javon Ringer looks so much more effective running the ball than Johnson? It’s probably because he had a training camp and preseason games to work on such things.

While Johnson says he is still the same player as before, it is evident from anyone watching that right now he does not possess the same elusiveness and shiftiness that made him the a top running back in the first place. Though there are plenty who might scoff and say that he has had seven weeks to catch up, it is evident from his play that he has yet to do so.

So the question now is this: Will he?

Pac is back

The most controversial Titans player ever is returning to LP Field Sunday when Adam “Pacman” Jones comes to town as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jones was a well-documented walking rap sheet during his time with the Titans, with six arrests and a dozen or so incidents where police were called -- from his first week as a member of the team to the infamous Las Vegas strip club triple-shooting in 2007.

While Jones claims he has matured and learned from his mistakes, I doubt Titans fans will be very forgiving on Sunday. Nor should they be.

Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com and is the AFC blogger for National Football Post.