Fade":p5r3ds09 said:
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.