Penny And Past Hawks Backs

[Smellyman]

I made a comment in the GamedayForum, about him being a little out of shape.

After thinking about it for a couple more hours. I think he spent his time laying around playing videogames, living off that 1st rd money. He has a pouch gut, when he should be rock solid.

He has naturally quick feet, and great vision so he can get away with it, and be an okay back.

They spent a 1st rd pick though, not a 4th rdr. The Seahawks have to be feeling a little buyer's remorse right now I'm sure. They aren't panicking by any means. It's just you invest a 1st rounder in a guy, and he comes back from the 6 week layoff looking all doughy, disappointing.

The natural talent is there, but he has to shed at least 10 lbs of bad weight.

He did eerily look like Shaun Alexander on more than a few plays, but a poorman's Alexander for sure.

It's hard to have the most speculative post on the internet, but you did it!

 

[Spin Doctor]

I found it very strange how the local media wasn't covering Penny, or not saying anything about him really. Outside of Penny gaining weight. It was just Carson this, and Carson that. This 1st rd pick is the least covered 1st rd pick through training camp I can ever recall. Now we know why.

Carson just didn't win the competition this off-season. He beat Penny into submission. He beat him bad.

Chris Carson took no prisoners.

Chris Carson look like far and away the best back. Penny as other posters said looked like just another guy. He wasn't bad, and he even pulled a vintage Alexander cutback that was sick. He didn't strike me as "special" , "powerful" or "electric" either. His pass blocking was suspect, but we knew that coming into the game. Even there he bought Russell some more time as others have said. He looked very good out there on routes, and his hands were good in college. No doubt on whether he can do that.

I think he can be productive in this league. I just think he's going to be the type of back that doesn't really have big splash plays. He's great at the LOS, not particularly powerful, or elusive in the open field at this point. There were a couple of plays where I thought to myself "if this were Carson running this we probably would have gotten a few more yards on the play". I think he can be a workhorse back in the future, but he isn't going to jump out at you on highlight reels.

Another issue I saw is he was noticeably slower than he was in college. He didn't have the acceleration and pop that I saw when he was in college or at the senior bowl. He looked stiffer, and didn't quite have the same second gear. I contribute this to his extra weight. I think his combine weight, 220 is ideal for a running back like him. That is still doable come regular season. Too early to contribute that weight gain to anything. It could be laziness, it could be a coaching suggestion/decision.

The TL;DR version of this is --- some good moments, some bad moments, most were not good, nor bad. Consistent, but not spectacular, didn't really do anything to differentiate himself from any of our running backs.

 

[original poster]

Athletes, for the most part, are extremely in tune with their bodies and eating etc.

If they gain weight right before the season starts, it's intentional. Relax guys.

This was his first outing within the NFL, cut him some slack.

 

[Milehighhawk]

I thought he was the fastest back we had. Control of gears is evident with him and he has more than two. He's somewhat playing like a rookie where he's continually bouncing outside, but that will change. The physical talent is blatant. If he applies himself, he doesn't have any meaningful limitations. Not unlike Carson, but different.

I agree with this assessment, it was clear to me he has a burst our other backs do not possess. I am excited to see how he grows.

 

[ducks41468]

He looked too bulky. Whether it's muscle or fat 236 seems like too high of a weight to be as dynamic as we need him to be, though that's a concern about all of our RB's. We seem to have guys who are good at getting 3-4 yards a pop but not much beyond that, which is still an improvement over last year.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I thought he was the fastest back we had. Control of gears is evident with him and he has more than two. He's somewhat playing like a rookie where he's continually bouncing outside, but that will change. The physical talent is blatant. If he applies himself, he doesn't have any meaningful limitations. Not unlike Carson, but different.

I agree with this assessment, it was clear to me he has a burst our other backs do not possess. I am excited to see how he grows.

Highly disagree with this. He looked slower and he didn't get up to speed as quick as Carson did. He looked notably slower off the line than he did in college. Does this mean he will be like that during the season? No, he is playing well above his college weight. 10-15 pounds could easily be shed come September. That being said, in this particular game he did NOT have the same kind of burst, or game speed that Carson was demonstrating.

He looked smoother than Carson for sure, but that is not the same thing as burst.

 

[Thepeelsessions]

I found it very strange how the local media wasn't covering Penny, or not saying anything about him really. Outside of Penny gaining weight. It was just Carson this, and Carson that. This 1st rd pick is the least covered 1st rd pick through training camp I can ever recall. Now we know why.

Carson just didn't win the competition this off-season. He beat Penny into submission. He beat him bad.

Chris Carson took no prisoners.

This is so true! I've thought the same exact this this whole off-season or OTAs and TC. Hearing John and Pete talk about how they would've taken him at 18, but were able to move down and still get him, shooting down a potential intriguing offer for him, saying how they see him as a three down back that can do everything, and so on and so forth. Then barely a word on him. It's so weird. It's obvious Pete has a crazy affinity for Carson, but it's not like Carson took the league by storm last year. Don't get me wrong, I was pro Carson all TC and going into the season. But he wasn't particularly fast or shifty. He showed good hands, pass blocking, and a bulldozers mentality. Is Carson really THAT much better than last season that anything that Penny is doing is just moot, or is Penny just not standing out at all?

 

[Spin Doctor]

I found it very strange how the local media wasn't covering Penny, or not saying anything about him really. Outside of Penny gaining weight. It was just Carson this, and Carson that. This 1st rd pick is the least covered 1st rd pick through training camp I can ever recall. Now we know why.

Carson just didn't win the competition this off-season. He beat Penny into submission. He beat him bad.

Chris Carson took no prisoners.

This is so true! I've thought the same exact this this whole off-season or OTAs and TC. Hearing John and Pete talk about how they would've taken him at 18, but were able to move down and still get him, shooting down a potential intriguing offer for him, saying how they see him as a three down back that can do everything, and so on and so forth. Then barely a word on him. It's so weird. It's obvious Pete has a crazy affinity for Carson, but it's not like Carson took the league by storm last year. Don't get me wrong, I was pro Carson all TC and going into the season. But he wasn't particularly fast or shifty. He showed good hands, pass blocking, and a bulldozers mentality. Is Carson really THAT much better than last season that anything that Penny is doing is just moot, or is Penny just not standing out at all?

Carson was pretty dang good considering the line he was playing with. He showed the ability to turn what seemed like negative plays into small gains. He was clearly our best running back by a pretty good margin last season.

 

[Thepeelsessions]

I found it very strange how the local media wasn't covering Penny, or not saying anything about him really. Outside of Penny gaining weight. It was just Carson this, and Carson that. This 1st rd pick is the least covered 1st rd pick through training camp I can ever recall. Now we know why.

Carson just didn't win the competition this off-season. He beat Penny into submission. He beat him bad.

Chris Carson took no prisoners.

This is so true! I've thought the same exact this this whole off-season or OTAs and TC. Hearing John and Pete talk about how they would've taken him at 18, but were able to move down and still get him, shooting down a potential intriguing offer for him, saying how they see him as a three down back that can do everything, and so on and so forth. Then barely a word on him. It's so weird. It's obvious Pete has a crazy affinity for Carson, but it's not like Carson took the league by storm last year. Don't get me wrong, I was pro Carson all TC and going into the season. But he wasn't particularly fast or shifty. He showed good hands, pass blocking, and a bulldozers mentality. Is Carson really THAT much better than last season that anything that Penny is doing is just moot, or is Penny just not standing out at all?

Carson was pretty dang good considering the line he was playing with. He showed the ability to turn what seemed like negative plays into small gains. He was clearly our best running back by a pretty good margin last season.

Agreed, but that's not saying a lot. The RB group last year was the worst I've ever seen, no contest. Carson only managed a 4.2 YPC average. Considering what Rawls and Lacy did, that 4.2 seemed like 7.5.

 

[ImTheScientist]

So that begs the question, and I know it's really early to jump to conclusions, but does it seem like he was a wasted pick considering all the other holes this team had? Penny was hands down my favorite RB in this class, pre-draft. With how much John and Pete seemed to love Carson last year, it was kind of a shock when they took Penny with their first pick. I was pumped though. But hearing how great Carson is looking, and the fact that Penny isn't really making it a competition up to this point, and hearing how "meh" he looked tonight, it's kind of a bummer.

You could tell he is special. He had a few plays where he was hit deep in the backfield. Someone at 236lbs shouldn't be able to move like that. On two runs he danced a bit where he would have been better off making one cut and go. It was his first game so people need to chill. A lot of respondents to this post are not open minded and you are suffering from the same issue Russell had his rookie year.....more than half the board was certain Flynn was the man.

Carson had two good runs but he had a huge hole on one and the other he made a guy miss...good run. Carson is a bit like Tim Hightower in my mind. He is a JAG, fans love him (so I know people are gonna hate on me for this), and I don't think he can sustain his running style....has never shown he can.

Blocking was visibly improved over last year, but still has a ways to go. Again....first game so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I thought he was the fastest back we had. Control of gears is evident with him and he has more than two. He's somewhat playing like a rookie where he's continually bouncing outside, but that will change. The physical talent is blatant. If he applies himself, he doesn't have any meaningful limitations. Not unlike Carson, but different.

I agree with this assessment, it was clear to me he has a burst our other backs do not possess. I am excited to see how he grows.

I agree with this. Not that I dislike Carson...he is just a Tim Hightower type. Teams need those guys too but not special by any means.

 

[Seymour]

So that begs the question, and I know it's really early to jump to conclusions, but does it seem like he was a wasted pick considering all the other holes this team had? Penny was hands down my favorite RB in this class, pre-draft. With how much John and Pete seemed to love Carson last year, it was kind of a shock when they took Penny with their first pick. I was pumped though. But hearing how great Carson is looking, and the fact that Penny isn't really making it a competition up to this point, and hearing how "meh" he looked tonight, it's kind of a bummer.

What puzzled or bothered me the most was how or why Penny allowed himself to gain 16 lbs between combine and now.

Very puzzling if this is true and could be a bit of a flag. I also agree he looked meh.

 

[ImTheScientist]

So that begs the question, and I know it's really early to jump to conclusions, but does it seem like he was a wasted pick considering all the other holes this team had? Penny was hands down my favorite RB in this class, pre-draft. With how much John and Pete seemed to love Carson last year, it was kind of a shock when they took Penny with their first pick. I was pumped though. But hearing how great Carson is looking, and the fact that Penny isn't really making it a competition up to this point, and hearing how "meh" he looked tonight, it's kind of a bummer.

What puzzled or bothered me the most was how or why Penny allowed himself to gain 16 lbs between combine and now.

Very puzzling if this is true and could be a bit of a flag. I also agree he looked meh.

Players often do this to run faster 40 times. Its pretty common practice actually. Thats why game tape is more important than the underwear olympics.

 

[truehawksfan]

I wish PC never said anything about his weight, because everyone is spinning it to make a point.

Let me put this back to why PC said this.After the mock game, where Penny ran for 57 yards for a TD -keep in mind he outran DBs with his KrispyKreme filled belly, PC said he did this weighing 236 Ibs.

It was a compliment.

At the NFL Combine, he weighted 220lbs. We all know, players train for the combine, which means they do a lot conditioning drills to maximize their performance. They typically drop weight too. so that doesn't mean he showed up at his playing/listed weight.

Ex. Fluker is listed at 345lbs. Really? We all know he's pushing 360. It's probable Penny played over his listed weight 220 at SDSU.

And, no one who attended TC said anything about his weight, looking slow, sluggish, etc. It's now an issue because people are creating their own narrative based on what PC said.

Go to YouTube and look for Seahawks 360 Running Backs Gaunlet. I would embed the video, but don't know how. And tell me if he looks like the pot bellied RB.

 

[toffee]

I wish PC never said anything about his weight, because everyone is spinning it to make a point.

Let me put this back to why PC said this.After the mock game, where Penny ran for 57 yards for a TD -keep in mind he outran DBs with his KrispyKreme filled belly, PC said he did this weighing 236 Ibs.

It was a compliment.

At the NFL Combine, he weighted 220lbs. We all know, players train for the combine, which means they do a lot conditioning drills to maximize their performance. They typically drop weight too. so that doesn't mean he showed up at his playing/listed weight.

Ex. Fluker is listed at 345lbs. Really? We all know he's pushing 360. It's probable Penny played over his listed weight 220 at SDSU.

And, no one who attended TC said anything about his weight, looking slow, sluggish, etc. It's now an issue because people are creating their own narrative based on what PC said.

Go to YouTube and look for Seahawks 360 Running Backs Gaunlet. I would embed the video, but don't know how. And tell me if he looks like the pot bellied RB.

It was accumulation of facts that are leading 12s. The lack of coverage by Pete and media over the camp period on Penny, very strange considering he was their prized rookie. The overwhelming praise and coverage on Carson, especially Carson's conditioning. Pete's mentioning of Penny's weight after mock game. Penny's meh game last night.

If Penny broke free a few tackles and gain good yardage last night, all the fat talk won't start, in fact, we will be praising his power by adding weight.

 

[Ozzy]

Maybe I watched a different game but Penny looked like the most talented back we have. That's not a slight against Carson who looked good too. Penny looked quick, explosive and overall did pretty well for his first NFL action. He didn't leave many yards on the field and created for himself. I can't see how anyone thought Carson looked "incredible" and Penny looked "average". I could be way off base for sure and I was against taking a running back in the first round but that's what I saw. I feel confident the running game will be much better this year all around which is a good thing.

 

[twisted_steel2]

I thought he looked good. He didn't have the advantage of playing behind the 1st oline most of the time like Carson.

Two plays really stuck out to me, where he easily evaded multiple two tacklers. Looks smooth and comfortable getting around the corner.

Plus I'm not looking to compare Carson and Penny, the who is better game. I think it's going to be a 1-2 punch, alternating type deal this year. I just want to see a better running game, overall.

 

[King Dog]

"Let me put this back to why PC said this.After the mock game, where Penny ran for 57 yards for a TD -keep in mind he outran DBs with his KrispyKreme filled belly, PC said he did this weighing 236 Ibs. "

KrspyKreme filled belly made me lol

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

He's a rookie in his first ever NFL game so i'll cut him some slack. Looks like he needs to lose 10lbs though. Thought he blocked well in the first TD drive.

I thought Mike Davis looked good against the second stringers though.

 

[drrew]

Here is every time he handled the ball. I thought he looked good, the second and third carries in particular he created positive yardage out of essentially nothing. I'd like to see an ability to break more tackles or get more yardage after contact, but all in all, I thought it was a very positive start.

My only disappointment was on the two check down receptions, where he couldn't seem to wriggle free or move the defender to try and get the extra couple yards.


[youtube]www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhY0vmb-8bA[/youtube]