Penny - Week 1

[Thepeelsessions]

https://youtu.be/PHSkvUApT2A

Not sure how to embed, so this works.


I'm not sure what a lot of you saw, but looked a lot better than his box score says. How in the world did he end up with only 8 yards on 7 carries? A lot of his runs looked like positive gains. Sweezy and Ifedi looked horrendous run blocking, so that certainly didn't help. Yes, a few times he could've bounced outside for a 1 on 1 instead of cutting back in and getting swarmed. But overall, he looked light on his feet, quick, and showed some power. He also showed soft hands and had a couple nice blocks in pass pro. And for those that are saying he looked "slooow”, you're mistaken. TJ Duckett, Fred Jackson, Eddie Lacy....That's slow. And don't refute the age difference. Slow is slow. Penny is not. Sure, he can trim down a little. He's coming off a lost slate of preseason games. Give him more than 7 carries. Let him get going. Heck, Barkley did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING outside of his 68 yard TD run. Take that away, and he ran for 38 on 15. Give Penny a break.

 

[hawknation2018]

Penny seemed to go down too easily on contact. Not explosive.

But most people expected this. He is a year away from being a positive contributor. He needs a great off-season to improve.

Fortunately, we should not have to rely on him going forward with Carson and Mike Davis (who should have been activated) both healthy.

 

[NJlargent]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

 

[hawknation2018]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

Where he was drafted is irrelevant. In college, he racked up a lot of yards through huge holes that allowed him to pick up a full head of steam before hitting contact. I instantly disregard any college highlight play of that nature because it’s not the reality of the NFL. His college team was one of the best run blocking units in the country; nine of his opponents were terrible against the run. His size/speed is intriguing, but he is still a raw product who needs time in the conditioning and weight room to maximize his potential. Right now, I would rather save the wear on his tires (which isn’t helping anyone) and instead give those carries to Carson or Mike Davis.

 

[NJlargent]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

Where he was drafted is irrelevant. In college, he racked up a lot of yards through huge holes that allowed him to pick up a full head of steam before hitting contact. I instantly disregard any college highlight play of that nature because it’s not the reality of the NFL. His college team was one of the best run blocking units in the country; nine of his opponents were terrible against the run. His size/speed is intriguing, but he is still a raw product who needs time in the conditioning and weight room to maximize his potential. Right now, I would rather save the wear on his tires (which isn’t helping anyone) and instead give those carries to Carson or Mike Davis.

I am not sure that where he was drafted is irrelevant. Part of the reason why we are"retooling" is because we have missed terribly in some recent drafts and our FA decisions have been suspect. We knew we needed to nail this draft, and knowing that, if you expend a first round pick on a RB, he should be an instant stud. Alternatively, he should have significant promise. But your post suggests he was a product of one of the best run blocking units in the country and played 9 weak teams, which makes him seem like a major gamble that is not worthy of a 1st round pick.

 

[hawknation2018]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

Where he was drafted is irrelevant. In college, he racked up a lot of yards through huge holes that allowed him to pick up a full head of steam before hitting contact. I instantly disregard any college highlight play of that nature because it’s not the reality of the NFL. His college team was one of the best run blocking units in the country; nine of his opponents were terrible against the run. His size/speed is intriguing, but he is still a raw product who needs time in the conditioning and weight room to maximize his potential. Right now, I would rather save the wear on his tires (which isn’t helping anyone) and instead give those carries to Carson or Mike Davis.

I am not sure that where he was drafted is irrelevant. Part of the reason why we are"retooling" is because we have missed terribly in some recent drafts and our FA decisions have been suspect. We knew we needed to nail this draft, and knowing that, if you expend a first round pick on a RB, he should be an instant stud. Alternatively, he should have significant promise. But your post suggests he was a product of one of the best run blocking units in the country and played 9 weak teams, which makes him seem like a major gamble that is not worthy of a 1st round pick.

Fair point, and I felt the same way at the time he was drafted.

But I do think Penny offers potential because of his size/speed; he’s just not ready yet.

They likely felt the urgency to draft a RB because of Carson and Prosise’s injury history.

I don’t want to see them force a guy into action who isn’t ready, simply because he’s a first rounder.

 

[Bobblehead]

Looks like Lacy

 

[Thepeelsessions]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

Where he was drafted is irrelevant. In college, he racked up a lot of yards through huge holes that allowed him to pick up a full head of steam before hitting contact. I instantly disregard any college highlight play of that nature because it’s not the reality of the NFL. His college team was one of the best run blocking units in the country; nine of his opponents were terrible against the run. His size/speed is intriguing, but he is still a raw product who needs time in the conditioning and weight room to maximize his potential. Right now, I would rather save the wear on his tires (which isn’t helping anyone) and instead give those carries to Carson or Mike Davis.

From what I remember about SDSUs offensive line last year, is that they were very average. One of Penny's best traits was being able to run through initial contact. He led the the entire nation, not just the FBS, in YPC (3.3 AVG) when contacted at or behind the LOS.

 

[drrew]

The people saying he looked slow are crazy, but I do have a concern (and the same thing happened in his short preseason) is that I've yet to see him really break a tackle.

He's got some speed, and he's got some wiggle, but right now he's going down way too easy.

 

[rcaido]

I thought he looked ok, seem very comfortable catching the ball...Carson just looks so violent and explosive whem he runs.

 

[hawknation2018]

He is a 1st round pick at RB. He should be contributing right away.

Where he was drafted is irrelevant. In college, he racked up a lot of yards through huge holes that allowed him to pick up a full head of steam before hitting contact. I instantly disregard any college highlight play of that nature because it’s not the reality of the NFL. His college team was one of the best run blocking units in the country; nine of his opponents were terrible against the run. His size/speed is intriguing, but he is still a raw product who needs time in the conditioning and weight room to maximize his potential. Right now, I would rather save the wear on his tires (which isn’t helping anyone) and instead give those carries to Carson or Mike Davis.

From what I remember about SDSUs offensive line last year, is that they were very average. One of Penny's best traits was being able to run through initial contact. He led the the entire nation, not just the FBS, in YPC (3.3 AVG) when contacted at or behind the LOS.

SDSU had a great run blocking OL and a great run blocking FB. They were ranked #2 in the nation in 2017 in yards blocked per snap.

Without Penny this year, their OL paved the way for 158 yards rushing by Juwan Washington against Stanford in their season opener.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I thought he looked ok, seem very comfortable catching the ball...Carson just looks so violent and explosive whem he runs.

Kinda where I'm at.

Penny looked like a rookie playing in his first game having just missed 2-3 weeks with an injury and not playing in the final pre-season game.

But I saw some good things too. Had some burst, caught the ball well, and picked up his blocking assignments.

 

[byau]

I thought he looked ok, seem very comfortable catching the ball...Carson just looks so violent and explosive whem he runs.

Kinda where I'm at.

Penny looked like a rookie playing in his first game having just missed 2-3 weeks with an injury and not playing in the final pre-season game.

But I saw some good things too. Had some burst, caught the ball well, and picked up his blocking assignments.

Great assessment ... interested to see how he'll look by midseason.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I thought he looked ok, seem very comfortable catching the ball...Carson just looks so violent and explosive whem he runs.

Kinda where I'm at.

Penny looked like a rookie playing in his first game having just missed 2-3 weeks with an injury and not playing in the final pre-season game.

But I saw some good things too. Had some burst, caught the ball well, and picked up his blocking assignments.

Penny did not have "burst". He looked sluggish off the line compared to Carson, and he was brought down by simple arm tackles. Here is the deal with running backs. If you pick them in the first round you're expecting that they contribute right away. It's a position that relies mostly on instinct, and it is a position that is notorious for being able to plug in guys that have been undrafted or picked up late in the draft.

Color me not impressed with his first effort. Will he improve? Only time will tell.

 

[sutz]

I remember at least one play where he turned a probably 1-2 yard gain into a 1 yard loss. He took the ball, and a step or two toward the line, then decided there was no room there and cut to the right.

That probably worked for him 50 times or more at SDS, but in the NFL, the outside guys are faster and more disciplined and you don't get away with that. If he'd just put his shoulder down and hit the real hole, it looked to me that he would have at least got positive yards. I'm no coach, but I would bet that Pete and Schotty and Morton will point out to him. Holes in the pros are smaller, and close faster than in almost any college games.

Like the Shaquem discussion, we're talking about a rookie here. And he missed half of our preseason IIRC. Yeah, he needs work, but I suspect he'll learn these things.