jamescasey1124":cw85g5ay said:
bigskydoc":cw85g5ay said:
Do NFL defenses say, "hey, that's the late round rookie in the backfield. Let's dial it down a bit for him?" No? Then why take it easy rating him because of those reasons?
He was objectively awful. Timid. Went down easy. He was absolutely atrocious near the goal line including his worst read, of several bad reads, of the game, when he tried to bounce it outside, instead of trusting and following his blockers, and lost big yardage.
He missed the play call on multiple occasions, including 2 which resulted in big hits on Russ (one missed pass pro assignment, one at the goal line that forced Russ to try and run for it himself.
He had Christine Michael's head, without his speed, and, thankfully without his fumbling problem.
Is it possible that Pete's primary instruction to him was, "don't get hurt?" Possibly, and that would explain a lot. But that doesn't sound like Pete.
Negative. Timid? I'm tired of hearing this word. I highly doubt he is scared. You would be out there, but not him. He is fine. He missed exactly no blocks that got russ killed. Russ did that to himself twice today which is unusual. They play at the goal line where russ took off was because it was a missed call not missed pass pro. He was literally blocking his guy while russ was trying to hand him the ball. He doesnt hit the hole immediately, but he will. The rb coach needs to stress gap schemes on certain types of runs with him. So then he knows exactly where to go. Not bad for a reciever though.
Cyrus12":cw85g5ay said:
doesn't look like a guy that can run between the tackles but has the ability to be that 3rd down and long back. Played better in the 2nd half for sure
BigSkyDoc is being a little harsh on Dallas, given the circumstances, but in absolute terms, it's certainly a fair critique.
Right now, he is struggling to catch up to the pro game, in terms of the offense, the adjustments, the speed of the game, the reads, the chemistry with Russell. Dallas is a *developmental* prospect who has been forced into a starting role earlier than Pete or anyone, really, intended. Compound that with the limited training camp, no preseason games, and overall Covid impact on a raw rookie's development, and it's not a huge surprise he'd have struggles.
DeeJay Dallas is my adopt-a-rookie. He did about like I expected. Honestly, I was hoping he would pick up the mental part of the game faster, but it just shows how impressive Travis Homer was to come in as a rookie 6th rounder, albeit late in the season, and play like a veteran.
First off, Dallas actually IS good at running between the tackles, if you watch his college film. He flashed promises of that on a couple plays, but you had to be looking for it.
Dallas cost us the Arizona game last week by missing blitz pickup blocks. So there's that. That was his 1st preseason game, but just a brief cameo, really. Today was the remainder of his first preseason game plus his full 2nd preseason game. He made more rookie mistakes today, but that's an unfortunate reality for an NFL player thrown into this situation, that they need to play and make mistakes and learn.
Now that Dallas has had some NFL-speed reps, he'll understand the film sessions and reads better and make rapid mental progress. This dude is a converted QB and a smart guy; thankfully, he's no Christine Michael. He's a better inside runner than Travis Homer. He will develop a feel for where the holes are and how to run, and we'll see a night-and-day different, improved back in a few games, especially if he keeps getting reps. Right now, he's just trying to not screw up. With more reps, and as the game slows down, he won't have to think so much about basic stuff, and can just play.
Today, DeeJay Dallas got the job done. Not brilliant, but good enough, and with lots of upside still to be realized. He's already showing he's a good receiver, he will catch on and be a good blocker soon, and he is a good runner inside the tackles as well. He's not Chris Carson in the running game, but then, who else is?
