TEMPE, Ariz. -- Defenders like to make fun of David Johnson because hes almost always smiling.But Johnson usually gets the last laugh.While the Arizona Cardinals did a lot of things wrong in their season-opening loss to the New England Patriots, Johnson did a lot of things right.His mix of skill and instinct was on full display in a 45-yard run that led to the Cardinals go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.Johnson began the play with a jump cut worthy of a long jumper, followed by a spin to get out of the clutches of would-be tacklers. He put his hand to the turf to keep his balance and stiff-armed two defenders as he broke into the open field.A crazy run, basically, Johnson said after the Cardinals practiced Wednesday. It was all instincts. Thats all I could say is that all instincts took over that run for sure.Johnson is big -- 6-foot-1, 225 pounds -- with power, agility and surprising breakaway speed.In the 23-21 loss to New England, Johnson carried the ball 16 times for 89 yards and caught four passes for 43 yards, one of them a 26-yarder that featured a couple of open-field moves and a quick dash past would-be tacklers.The Cardinals, who had the No. 1 offense in the NFL last season, are known for Carson Palmers passing Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown, among others. But Palmer points to Johnson as a critical player if the team is to have the success it expects this season.It goes where Dave goes, theres no doubt, Palmer said. He does so much in the passing game, not only protection but running routes. He catches a lot of balls. But very few things will work in the pass game if we dont have a run game. So, him running the ball like hes been running from the beginning of training camp until has tremendous effect on the pass game. Hes as big a part of this offense as anybody.According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson had the highest rushing grade of opening weekend at 81.4, followed by Melvin Gordon (80.5), DeAngelo Williams (80.1) and Todd Gurley (78.7).In the six games since Johnson became the starter as a rookie late last season, he leads the NFL with 531 yards rushing and 791 yards from scrimmage.Gurley and Gordon were the big-name backs chosen in the first round of the 2015 draft. Johnson was selected in the third round out of Northern Iowa.Coach Bruce Arians said he saw immediately what kind of potential Johnson had, but brought him along slowly.The first time Johnson touched the ball in an NFL game, he caught short pass from Palmer and turned on the speed in a 55-yard touchdown play. The second time he touched it, he returned a kickoff 108 yards for a score.Still, he didnt get the starting running back job until Chris Johnson went down with a season-ending knee injury. Chris Johnson is back but David has a firm hold on the job now. Chris Johnson only played two snaps against the Patriots.Chris will play when David decides hes too tired.He never really got tired against New England, Arians said. There was the one time we had a longer drive and he tapped out, and Chris went right in and Andre (Ellington) jumped in on third down. Hopefully we have some longer drives and he taps out more often and we can get Chris in there.Johnson is such a nice guy its hard to reconcile that with the hard-hitting player on the field.When you get on the field, its a different story, especially as a running back, he said. Youve got to be aggressive. Youve got to be able to take the pounding and be able to get the yards.Not much can make him angry, he said. He gets mad at himself when he makes a mistake. And then theres those times when the defenders are chirping.I try to show them, Johnson said, that just because I smile, Im not a soft guy.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Colts Jerseys . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Custom Colts Jersey China . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.customcoltsjersey.com/ . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Authentic Custom Colts Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Custom Colts Jerseys . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. LOS ANGELES -- The Red Sox placed catcher Ryan Hanigan on the 15-day disabled list Saturday, retroactive to Friday.Hanigan was hit by a pitch on the left ankle while catching Thursday night against Seattle. He was diagnosed with peroneal tendinitis.The RRed Sox claimed catcher Bryan Holaday off waivers from Texas to fill Hanigans roster spot backing up Sandy Leon.dddddddddddd ' ' '
