Thoughts on Will Tukuafu (and a bit of Lynch)

I know Marshawn is being heavily discussed in other threads about extending him or not. It's business. Or we owe him. It'd be nice to find a balance in all of that

That being said, I'll keep it short. I think Marshawn is good for another two seasons after this. Something about how he's built, his training regiment, his thinking.. this guy LOVES contact and embraces it. While valuable on screens and side runs, his favorite thing to do is run up the middle. And then powering through or jump-cutting

And Turbin (also mentioned in another thread), I've always thought he was pretty good. He seems to be great at accelerating in a "downfield run" style (straight ahead) but usually finding seams more than just running into contact.

Bringnig me to Will Tukuafu.

Should take a long look at keeping this guy. I am still on my first viewing of the game (only halfway through 2nd quarter) but he seems to be solid as a fullback on running straight ahead and blocking. Besides the Lynch 3-yard td run, he seems to relish the contact to and I think this bodes well for Lynch and Turbin.


I'll see if I can have more Tukuafu comments after watching the game a few more times (still on my first time right now, only half way through the 2nd quarter)

Because I love Lynch and personally think he'll be good for two more years, what I want to say is : don't underestimate the importance of chemistry. Tukuafu could be another M-Rob (and others here have already stated Lynch possibly not trusting Coleman or others to open a hole for him?)

After Marshawn's 3-yd td run, the camera cut to the sidelines of Lynch and Tukuafu bumping fists and talking about the play. And looks like Tukuafu also trying to get some feedback from Lynch and Lynch animatedly and enthusiastically speaking back to him. I think they like each other, and if I were to guess, Lynch is savoring the thought of running right up the middle with Tukuafu helping make a path.

(the pic is during the conversation, Lynch offering him the fist bump)




btw on the 3-yd td run, looked like Tukuafu was ready to run straight ahead and then saw an edge rusher coming from his left and reached out to the side and wrapped him up. Could have possibly gotten called for a holding (?), but otherwise nice awareness.

I'll tell you this much, he (Will Tukuafu) is a giant. Made Lynch look little out there in person, during warm ups.

I second this. Lynch trusted him, which is a good thing.

Can't speak to the effectiveness of his individual plays, but I've long wondered what this offense might look like with a true power FB. It seems this team has generally favored "football players" over true FBs in that role. That might be because the team favors versatility, especially for fringe positions like FB. Tukuafu probably can't offer much as a runner, receiver, or special teams player, but his ability to play defense in a pinch may be just enough to justify his roster spot on Sundays. Definitely be interested to see how it plays out.

He's exactly the kind of weird, physical freak that tends to thrive in Pete Carroll's program.

Plus, he seems to have very good awareness and is a quick learner. I think he's going to stick. We should use him more.

The guy is physically intimidating. Just having him out on the field in front of Lynch has to make some Defenders nervous knowing they are both ready to run downhill at them.

HawkFan72":hgjdjsla said:

The guy is physically intimidating. Just having him out on the field in front of Lynch has to make some Defenders nervous knowing they are both ready to run downhill at them.

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will+lynch = defenses going jimmy graham and running away

I personally agree with your assessment that Lynch is good for another 2 years. He's showing no signs of falling off, and still seems to have enough burst to outrun LBers and run through secondaries. I'd love to see us hand him a 2 year extension, locking him up for 3 years, with not a lot of guaranteed money in the 3rd year. He'd probably like that security and so would we. He's so dynamic, I just don't see how you don't ride that horse until it's dead.

Lots have been said about Lynch's quirky personality. My theory is that Lynch gets one or two close personal friends and he's stable, if you get rid of one of them then he gets itchy. I also think that he befriended Harvin, and was upset by him getting shipped out. If Tukuafu ends up getting close to him, we could hear the end of all the "unhappiness" out of Lynch, whether it's true or not.

Tukuafu had always intrigued me when he was with the 9ers. I hope he continues to make Lynch trust him. Mostly because I would really love to see Lynch stick around another 2 years. He's still bringin' it. Seems a little faster to me personally. But with the way this front office churns through players and tries to make deals, I sadly don't see it happening. I hope I'm wrong though! :thirishdrinkers:

I just want to see more of a 285 lb FB crushing people at the line, and actually softening up a defense for Lynch.

We'll get back to thugging people with our OL and then beating them over the top like last year.

This is great. This is exactly what I wanted. Someone with a keen eye to evaluate Will Tukuafu. I am glad it is mostly positive. If this guy blends in and gains Beast's trust, it will lift our running game up another level, throw in everyone getting healthy, not only am I confident that we will make the playoffs, but we will be the NFC team to beat. A lot of "ifs" but not too far fetched.

I would like to fire Tuk through a hole created by Sweezy. That should create some space for Lynch to roam. Sweezy will move his man and Tuk can take the backer leaving Only the safety for Lynch to beast.

brimsalabim":809vww7e said:

I would like to fire Tuk through a hole created by Sweezy. That should create some space for Lynch to roam. Sweezy will move his man and Tuk can take the backer leaving Only the safety for Lynch to beast.

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That ... and really, Tuk should run a ball or two anyway just to keep the defense on their toes. All eyes are likely on Lynch whenever they're in that formation and so Russ handing to Tuk would at least keep defenses in some doubt about whom to focus on. Even faking to Tuk and then going to Lynch. Or faking to Tuk, then option to Lynch. That's a lot of focus on the backs there leading to screen pass, downfield route pass, cross route pass (well, maybe not, that's a lot of people in the middle to pass over), or QB draw.

Though let's not get too cutesy right? (see: Percy Harvin), But I see using Tuk in a way to really create some better fundamental options for the offense.

rastahawk":2w6ukk7l said:

If this guy blends in and gains Beast's trust, it will lift our running game up another level, throw in everyone getting healthy, not only am I confident that we will make the playoffs, but we will be the NFC team to beat.

>>>> A lot of "ifs" but not too far fetched. <<<<

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Perfectly stated.