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Chris Carson is a stud. He's without a doubt our best RB since Beast and a perfect fit for our offense. He hits holes with authority, can't be brought down by an arm tackle, has good ball security. By the way he's been running the ball in the preseason, he looks primed for a 1500+ yard season. My only concern about him is his health.

Rashard Penny is a different matter. Although by playing behind Carson limited his snaps last season, he didn't exactly light the world on fire. Although it's way too premature to be calling him a bust as he hasn't even started into his 2nd regular season, the fact is that he has yet to show us that he was worth the first round pick we spent on him. That's not all on him, rather it shows the fallacy of using #1 picks on running backs, save the top 5 talent like Saquan Barkley.

I keep hearing how Penny is going to be sharing more of the load with Carson this season, that Penny has shown up weighing a little less, is in great shape, and is having a very good camp, I sure haven't seen it in the first two preseason games, especially when contrasted with the stellar effort that Carson has made. Granted, the OL he played behind last Sunday sucked, but even when he does have openings, he doesn't hit holes the same way Carson does. It appears to me that barring an injury to Carson, that this season will be pretty much a repeat of last, with Penny being used as a change of pace, 3rd down back and Carson being the workhorse.

Hopefully they'll give Penny a few more snaps with the first team OL this week.

Comments?

I doubt Carson plays more than 12 or 13 games this year so we will need another RB that can carry the load.
Penny, by way of his draft position will get the first chance, but if Homer or Turner shows they can be the
guy, he may get pushed down the depth chart. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.

NorthHawk wrote:I doubt Carson plays more than 12 or 13 games this year so we will need another RB that can carry the load.
Penny, by way of his draft position will get the first chance, but if Homer or Turner shows they can be the
guy, he may get pushed down the depth chart. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.

Yea, that's my concern about Carson, too, his durability. Otherwise he's one of the top 3 RB's in the league, with only Barkley and Zeke ahead of him.

It would take Penny really falling off a cliff performance wise for him to drop to #3 on the depth chart. Doing so would be an open admission by Pete and JS that they made a huge mistake in burning a #1 pick on him. No coach or GM is going to let that happen in Year 2 of a first round pick's career. Penny will get his touches, whether he deserves them or not.

I like Penny and he will improve, but he is no CC. No doubt I agree with you guys, we need another good guy.

What a crap-shoot the NFL draft is. Years these players come from high-school to college and the draft and we get Chris Carson vs Penny.

jshawaii22 wrote:What a crap-shoot the NFL draft is. Years these players come from high-school to college and the draft and we get Chris Carson vs Penny.

Chris Carson was the 5th leading ground gainer last season yet not many people outside us 12's would be able to tell you that he was drafted in the 7th round. If a 7th round quarterback, wide receiver, or defensive end had the 5th best rating, receiving yards, or QB sacks, people would be talking their heads off at what a steal that teams got.

That just shows you how de-valued the position is.