DJ not “special” anymore?

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This. This is the good stuff. The king of thing 4-12 seasons are made of. People passionately debating whether player X can be the 5th best player on a playoff team, even if he might be the best player on the Cards RIGHT NOW.

I need more of this.

Lol. What else are we gonna y’all about? We’ve pretty much completed lambasting the coaching staff, gm, killing all the players, and writing off the season. Heck we’ve also already determined who is going to draft before us and discussed potential draft picks. What’s left? Discussing where the players golf in the offseason?

 

[Arz101]

I am in awe of the excitement most on this board are feeling just because the team did not get embarrassed #asexpected. No wonder M. Bidwill has the easiest job in this town.

This. This is the good stuff. The king of thing 4-12 seasons are made of. People passionately debating whether player X can be the 5th best player on a playoff team, even if he might be the best player on the Cards RIGHT NOW.

I need more of this.

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

 

[Big D]

I have a few thoughts on this:

I think it’s important to keep in mind the knee injury DJ31 suffered in the last game of the 2016 season. It was “just” an MCL but when you actually watch the replay it looked pretty bad though it didn’t require surgery.

Then he gets hurt again and only plays a half of football in 2017. I just feel like either these things are starting to add up... OR he is still physically finding his way back.

It’s also been talked about how Carson used to spend a ton of extra time with Johnson going over plays/assignments and making sure he knew the offense and reads. I’m not saying that David isn’t a smart player but he did have his struggles early on in the new system and not being 100% confident in what you are doing will make anyone a start to be a little bit hesitant and not look as dynamic.

David has looked better the last couple of weeks in the new, new offense (which is more like the old offense) so I’m hopeful it’s a sign of him feeling better both mentally as well as physically, not to mention the ways in which he is being used seem to have improved.

Hopefully these are all signs that he will again be the guy we saw 2 seasons ago and age and the wear and tear have not set in quite yet.

 

[Russ Smith]

even on a day like today where he was virtually our entire offense I watched what looked like a sluggish player.

He’s still a very good receiver. And he ran hard. But I don’t see him making anyone miss anymore and he never runs away from anyone any longer. His jump cuts used to be lethal. Can’t recall the last time I saw those work. And he used to have a second gear. Now he’s routinely getting tackled from behind by linebackers.

I’m not saying he’s bad. I believe he’s still above average. But he’s no longer a homerun threat. He’s not the super stud we all believed he was on his was to being (and actually was for a fleeting season and a half). It saddens me greatly.

Yeah best game of the year but yeah I don't know how it finished but at one point even the announcer said and yet no run longer than 7 yard today. Shortly after he had a 10 yard run where it sure looked to me if he'd cut left he might have gone MUCH further but he just put his head down and plowed forward.

Doesn't seem to have the acceleration he used to which makes no sense since his injury was a wrist not a leg

 

[PJ1]

Wow. I was thinking the same thing watching the game today. DJ coasts but does not accelerate like he used to when he was in open field. Maybe it is the amount of time he was out but if I didn't know better I would think he was coming back from a leg injury. Glad he had a good game today and am thinking he needs some time.

 

[moklerman]

Someone else already pointed it out but Gurley is a good example of how a bad offense, rookie QB and bad coaching can make an elite RB look pedestrian. I'd reserve judgement until things around DJ improve. Sure, he may not be making plays out in the open on those rare opportunities that they arise but even RB's get out of rhythm. Is it more reasonable to assume that DJ's lost "it" or that a terrible offense is bringing him down a little?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Thank you Big D, Russ, Pj1, and mokler. You guys got what I’m asking. I’m hoping Big D and Mokler are the reasoning. As long as it’s not physical I’m confident with overall improvement of the team (including coaching) we can see a return. But if it’s physical we might just have a good cog verses a centerpiece for our offense, which is less than I had hoped for/expected . . . particularly in light of the extension.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Thank you Big D, Russ, Pj1, and mokler. You guys got what I’m asking. I’m hoping Big D and Mokler are the reasoning. As long as it’s not physical I’m confident with overall improvement of the team (including coaching) we can see a return. But if it’s physical we might just have a good cog verses a centerpiece for our offense, which is less than I had hoped for/expected . . . particularly in light of the extension.

Moron #2 here... I'm in the middle... with you on not seeing the BURST/HOF Wiggle we did those first two years, but also with the others hoping we're seeing a Gurley/Melvin Gordon situation where there's no room to run, terrible play-calling and he can't just get in a groove and it improves next year.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Someone else already pointed it out but Gurley is a good example of how a bad offense, rookie QB and bad coaching can make an elite RB look pedestrian. I'd reserve judgement until things around DJ improve. Sure, he may not be making plays out in the open on those rare opportunities that they arise but even RB's get out of rhythm. Is it more reasonable to assume that DJ's lost "it" or that a terrible offense is bringing him down a little?

Melvin Gordon is another example of this. And surprise, surprise... it was McCoy who made him look like a bust in SD.

 

[cardpa]

I get what Ouchie is saying. I watched just the highlights and the same thought came to my mind. He isn't running with the same abandon he had before. K( pointed out that KC is allowing over 5 YPC and one would think that a RB would have at least on e or two runs that would be for 15-20 yds. in a game with that kind of high YPC allowed. And Cox just demolished Prescott on the first play of the third quarter. NICE!

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Melvin Gordon is another example of this. And surprise, surprise... it was McCoy who made him look like a bust in SD.

Just going to beat on my dead horse a little more... Gurley was 22 during his 'down' season in 2016. Gordon was 22 and 23 during his seasons with McCoy and had a breakout last season at 24.

DJ came into the league at 24 and set it on fire. This is his age 27 season. His situation is not comparable to theirs as much as we would like it to be. My eyeballs tell me he has slowed down a little bit. He' still an effective back but the wiggle and explosiveness are not the same.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Just going to beat on my dead horse a little more... Gurley was 22 during his 'down' season in 2016. Gordon was 22 and 23 during his seasons with McCoy and had a breakout last season at 24.

DJ came into the league at 24 and set it on fire. This is his age 27 season. His situation is not comparable to theirs as much as we would like it to be. My eyeballs tell me he has slowed down a little bit. He' still an effective back but the wiggle and explosiveness are not the same.

I'm not going to disagree. I'm just hoping the Gurley/Gordon thing is what's going on.

 

[Buckybird]

Just going to beat on my dead horse a little more... Gurley was 22 during his 'down' season in 2016. Gordon was 22 and 23 during his seasons with McCoy and had a breakout last season at 24.

DJ came into the league at 24 and set it on fire. This is his age 27 season. His situation is not comparable to theirs as much as we would like it to be. My eyeballs tell me he has slowed down a little bit. He' still an effective back but the wiggle and explosiveness are not the same.

You get your head pounded in & your body abused for a half year behind an atrocious Oline & you aren’t going run the same way either. That & the horrific scheme McCoy was running have been a huge factor in how hard #31 is running & performaning imo.

I think Leftwich has given him back some of his confidence

 

[oaken1]

Its possible he has seen whats going on....and he just wants to survive the season... I also noticed he nose dives into the pile instead of jump stepping to the left and skirting it...
Looks like a choice to me.

Dude got paid.

 

[nashman]

Could be as above stated, got paid and not wanting to risk serious injury for a team going nowhere? Either way I think he has looked 1000 times better with Leftwich calling plays and think he’s earned some patience from the fans. He did keep his mouth shut and just ran the putrid O that McCoy was running and bashed his head over and over...

 

[Timm Rosenbach]

Could be as above stated, got paid and not wanting to risk serious injury for a team going nowhere? Either way I think he has looked 1000 times better with Leftwich calling plays and think he’s earned some patience from the fans. He did keep his mouth shut and just ran the putrid O that McCoy was running and bashed his head over and over...

Now that the season is effectively over I am actually glad that McCoy used Chase Edmonds ad nauseum. Less wear and tear on DJ

 

[cardpa]

You get your head pounded in & your body abused for a half year behind an atrocious Oline & you aren’t going run the same way either. That & the horrific scheme McCoy was running have been a huge factor in how hard #31 is running & performaning imo.

I think Leftwich has given him back some of his confidence

I agree this may very well have something to do with it, however in my limited view of it, the times I saw it most was when he got to the second level or got out on the perimeter, he didn't show the same elusiveness he had shown in 2016. It appeared he was tip toeing instead on accelerating and appeared he was looking to avoid contact. This is the best way I can describe it. Bottom line is he doesn't look like the DJ of 2016.

 

[cardncubfan]

Could be he knows we aren't going anywhere this year so he's just trying to save himself & not get hurt.

 

[MadCardDisease]

even on a day like today where he was virtually our entire offense I watched what looked like a sluggish player.

He’s still a very good receiver. And he ran hard. But I don’t see him making anyone miss anymore and he never runs away from anyone any longer. His jump cuts used to be lethal. Can’t recall the last time I saw those work. And he used to have a second gear. Now he’s routinely getting tackled from behind by linebackers.

I’m not saying he’s bad. I believe he’s still above average. But he’s no longer a homerun threat. He’s not the super stud we all believed he was on his was to being (and actually was for a fleeting season and a half). It saddens me greatly.

David Johnson is getting very little help from his OL. He had a horrible OC that didn't know how to use him and constantly ran him directly into a 9 man front. Yet all of this David Johnson can't make anyone miss anymore is BS!

Go here and see DJ make 3 defenders look like fools:

3rd And 2

 

[kerouac9]

DJ looked fine to me in this game. He doesn't look like the DJ of 2016, but it's not reasonable to expect someone to repeat or improve upon their career performance every year. Some regression was likely.

 

[dylanbw]

David Johnson is getting very little help from his OL. He had a horrible OC that didn't know how to use him and constantly ran him directly into a 9 man front. Yet all of this David Johnson can't make anyone miss anymore is BS!

Go here and see DJ make 3 defenders look like fools:

3rd And 2

Yeah, this is how I see the DJ situation. I agree with Russ that DJ did appear to miss one very good cutback opportunity, but overall I consider this entire thread Much Ado About Nothing.

 

[pmacLean]

I think this thread is crazy.

With even a mediocre line we would have beaten KC.

The 2016 O-line
Veldheer
Iupati
Shipley
Watford
Humphries

Veldheer and Iupati were very expensive mediocre
Shipley - never anything but mediocre - ever
Watford and Humphries - mediocre

Veldheer, Iupati and Humphries occasionally played better than mediocre

And look back on what DJ did with that. The line now looks up on 'steady' mediocre as a lofty goal just beyond it's reach. This is all on Keim. And please spare me the injury excuse. There was no depth behind a starting front that struggled to approach mediocrity. That is on Keim and no one else and he really needs to go.

 

[Ronin]

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[Arz101]

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I really want to know what most of these players are telling their friends and family about this coaching staff.

 

[splitsecond]

Yeah but I’m talking when he’s in space. In the past when in space he was breaking ankles, tearing through contact and running away from defenders, even defensive backs. Now I see him routinely being tackled by the nearest first defender and being caught from behind by linebackers. It’s that last part, the sudden loss of an additional gear that really leapt off the screen to me today. A few times he got caught from behind so i rewound to see who caught him and repeatedly it was linebackers and even a d lineman a couple times. That stood out as a stark contrast to what we expect from DJ.

Oh, and Andre Smith sucks. I can’t type that enough.

Honestly I think he is holding back the extra gear because he knows this year is lost and he doesn't want another injury.