Chauncey Gardner-Johnson: Good Instigator, but Better Defender

Every championship team has one. The trash-talker, rabble-rouser, and instigator! For the New Orleans Saints, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson fits and breaks the mold.

Every championship team has one. The trash-talker, rabble-rouser, and instigator! 

For the New Orleans Saints, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson fits and breaks the mold.

You call them trash-talkers, rabble-rousers, 'pebbles in your shoes,' 'splinters in your fingers,' or 'thorns in your sides.'  

For the New Orleans Saints, we call him The Instigator. Mr. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.  Or, alter ego, Ceedy Duce.

In two-years, he has made a name for himself as one of the league's more accomplished trash-talkers in the game. His tenacity and ability to affect a player's focus have become a well-documented fact. Gardner-Johnson draws the ire of receivers, tight ends, running backs, and even his very own teammate. A point in case is Michael Thomas.  

Thomas punched CJGJ during practice. As a result, the All-Pro wideout was disciplined by Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints. In Gardner-Johnson's rookie campaign, he teased Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen about his height. Cohen is 5-6 and Gardner-Johnson's 5-11. Not a huge difference, right? 

Bears WR Anthony Miller strikes DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the NFC Wild Card game in New Orleans.  Credit: CBS Sports

Moving forward to Week 8 and the NFC Wild-Card round against the Chicago Bears, Gardner-Johnson's trash-talking drew penalties and ejections for receivers Javon Wims and Anthony Miller. Why? Well, you guessed it, punches connected to CJCJ's head.

PREPARING FOR CEEDY DUCE

Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is coaching his team and consulting with the referees ahead their NFC Divisional Round contest with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.  Arians is preparing for the trash-talk and appears Gardner-Johnson is already affecting his team's approach to the game.

#GoBucs coach Bruce Arians says he warns his team not to be provoked into personal fouls. He also said refs need to control the game. In the Saints-Bears game, Arians says "They let it get out of hand and it cost a team an ejection

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 13, 2021

Championship teams always will have that 'one guy' who was a little different. Some coaches and opponents may call them a 'Trouble-maker.' He's the slick-tongued, fast-talker, and could cut you deep (to the white meat). 

Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe would say he took time to study his opponent's personal weaknesses.  He knew what could rattle him. It could be a player's low points in their career, a family issue at home, or something intimate about his girlfriend; Sharpe would "run his mouth" about it and get the player distracted. He employed this strategy to get a defender to forget his game preparation and become emotional enough to make his play personal against Sharpe. He usually won. 

PAYTON ON CJGJ 

Sean Payton told the Advocate's Rod Walker this morning that Gardner-Johnson's needling opponents will not be a problem as long as his antics are "in line with the team." 

 Payton continued, "what's not okay is drawing DPIs [personal fouls]."

Gardner-Johnson leads the New Orleans defense with 8 penalties in 2020.  The fouls committed by Ceedy Duce accounted for 89 yards against the team where one penalty was offsetting and the other declined.  (Defensive Holding-4, Unnecessary Roughness-4, DPI-1, Unsportsmanlike Conduct-1)

The University of Florida product is talented.  I remarked to my colleague Bob Rose after last year's draft how I believed Gardner-Johnson would be a "game changer" for the Saints defense.  In 31 NFL career games, he has 2 interceptions, 21 passes defended, 115 tackles, and 1 fumble recovered.

© Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

If you recall, the Chicago Bulls finally reined-in Dennis Rodman, which led them to more championships. The Falcons, Cowboys, and 49ers had CB Deion Sanders. The Denver Broncos had TE Shannon Sharpe, and Baltimore Ravens had LB Ray Lewis. These players were Super Bowl champions and were considered the most annoying trash-talkers in NFL history.   

THE BOTTOMLINE

You could love them or hate them! It didn't matter to them. They found a way to get under their opponents' skin and helped their teams win. Why? Because they knew how to win the mental battle before and during the game. 

The New Orleans Saints are two wins removed from playing in their second Super Bowl. The players know him. The coaches are aware of the problems he causes. And, the refs are ready to prevent more player confrontations with Gardner-Johnson. Nevertheless, the Saints have to like the fact he's on their side during this playoff run.

You need a guy like Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to be the spark-plug and create chaos.  He does it on the field or on social media.  He knows how to irk his opponent(s).  Most of all, you need him to be that Instigator others are cautious in being.  I expect more of CJGJ's agitation will come against the Bucs this weekend.