I'm liking David Johnson

[WildBB]

It's early, but I like what I see. He's throwing some stiff arms and running hard. He's a natural catching. He's a weapon.

 

[CardsFan88]

He looks like Beanie Wells....

except he doesn't look like he's running on a slip and slide.

...and believe me, that IS a massive difference.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

So far so good.

He started out shaky and then he got going. Nice hands out of the backfield and running hard.

 

[Shane]

I'd say that's a good comparison with his writing style the way he looks beanie Wells without all the slipping and easy leg takedowns...

It's early but I really like what I see so far looks good against the Chargers ones too

 

[Shaggy]

I am happy he is on our side. He looked really good and made some good moves outside and inside to get those extra yards. Loved those stiff arms to. I bet its going to be tough to see who stays on as RB.

Ellington
C Johnson
D Johnson
Williams
Taylor
Hughes
Grice

What's the number of RBs they want to keep, 5?

I am pretty disappointed that we aren't seeing much of Paul Lasike. Is he injured?

 

[TJ]

Very encouraging performance. After he stopped trying to make Barry Sanders moves in the backfield, he looked very fluid and ran with power. Plus, he has very good hands, too.

 

[D-Dogg]

5ypc. Strong runs. Solid.

 

[jbeecham]

DJ was great tonight after those 1st 2 jittery runs. I wouldn't compare him to Beanie because Beanie would just run people over & knock their helmet off. DJ would rather run away from you while giving you a strong stiff arm in your grill to gain a few extra yards. Beanie also wasn't the best at catching the ball out of the backfield. DJ looks like he'll be a solid pass catching threat. Hopefully he secures the ball better when he's fighting for those extra yards because 1st string defenses are going to gang tackle him & strip that ball out.

Can't wait to see how he does in the next game, but he already looks like he's solidified his position in the top 3 RBs. It'll be interesting to see how many RBs we keep & who wins those spots. I still like Kerwynn Williams, but he's redundant with Ellington, Chris Johnson & David Johnson... Kerwynn was our only RB to have 2 100yd games last season though (but isn't great at catching the ball). I would expect Hughes to make it as a short yardage/goalline back, but who knows. Stephan Taylor is an average/below average RB, but he does well on blitz pickup & special teams & he can catch the ball out of the backfield a little. Grice hasn't been healthy until tonight's game and he was up & down... inconsistency was pretty much his MO last season so I don't see any way he makes the team. I don't know what to make of Lasike... he's basically a FB/short yardage guy... he likes to hit people & is good at it, but I don't know if that's enough to even consider him over Hughes.

 

[SeattleCard]

I thought he looked great. Awesome stiff arm. Yes, a little bit like beanie but more athletic.

 

[sunsfan88]

Charger fan here, was very impressed by Johnson. Chargers do have a sorry run defense but regardless, Johnson played fantastic imo.

 

[NashDishesDimes]

Just weird, hes big but he doesnt play big, no identity to me. Im usually an optimist but i just dont understand this guys game. The runs he had tonight included a couple of good stiff arms but mostly just seemed to be some good holes he was running through by John Coop.

Best RB on the roster = Kerwyn and CJ

 

[Garthshort]

Based on very limited PT I'm saying that DJ, should be our starting RB. And naturally I'm making the assumption, that he can continue to perform at the level he exhibited, last night. It's the size difference between DJ and AE, that has drawn me to make such an outlandish statement. AE should play in obvious passing situations, as we KNOW what he can do as a pass catcher. But at 225 lbs., DJ is more suited for about 20 carries a game, while AE falls into the ten CPG category. But I know that DJ will have to perform in a similar manner in the next two PS games.

 

[BigRedRage]

Just weird, hes big but he doesnt play big, no identity to me. Im usually an optimist but i just dont understand this guys game. The runs he had tonight included a couple of good stiff arms but mostly just seemed to be some good holes he was running through by John Coop.

Best RB on the roster = Kerwyn and CJ

Lol @ kerwynn and cj being the best on the roster

Based on very limited PT I'm saying that DJ, should be our starting RB. And naturally I'm making the assumption, that he can continue to perform at the level he exhibited, last night. It's the size difference between DJ and AE, that has drawn me to make such an outlandish statement. AE should play in obvious passing situations, as we KNOW what he can do as a pass catcher. But at 225 lbs., DJ is more suited for about 20 carries a game, while AE falls into the ten CPG category. But I know that DJ will have to perform in a similar manner in the next two PS games.

Wow a few snaps in and you've already benched Ellington?

Sent from my XT1056 using Tapatalk

 

[LittleDavis]

I was impressed with his ability to run laterally...that is something Beanie didn't have. Beanie had small calves and tight hips.

He showed nice power to turn a 1-2 yard run into a 4 yarder. I think CJ will be a very interesting compliment to DJ...AE will soon be relegated to a situational RB and I think he will be moved around a bit. AE was great when we had Mendenhall but he will not carry the load like DJ and CJ will.

 

[Cardiac]

He looks like Beanie Wells....

except he doesn't look like he's running on a slip and slide.

...and believe me, that IS a massive difference.

Agreed.

I'd say that's a good comparison with his writing style the way he looks beanie Wells without all the slipping and easy leg takedowns...

It's early but I really like what I see so far looks good against the Chargers ones too

Mostly agree but I haven't seen any of their poems yet,

 

[football karma]

He reminds me of Eddie George / Robert Smith (ex Ohio St and Vikings )

Cut high, kind of a long strider - and while can be physical, not the central part of their style

I get that at 225, we expect the guy to be a punishing power back -- but he isn't and likely never will be. I'm ok with that

I remember OJ Anderson-- a big back who had a similar style -- could be physical, but relied on moves and speed instead.

 

[Russ Smith]

I haven't read the whole thread but I'm surprised people are not comparing him to ex Card Johnny Johnson. He runs upright like JJ did, good receiver etc. JJ's career was cut short by 2 things, back problems in part because he ran too upright and took lots of big hits, and lost his desire to play(he was an interesting guy).

David was impressive last night after getting his feet wet.

 

[Snakester]

I was very impressed with DJ. He made running look easy. Its nice to see a RB that isn't arm tackled easy like most of our backs. I believe we will finally have a good running game this year. Having Johnson & Johnson with Ellington is going to give us an exciting running game as well as help Carson Palmer out immensely.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The kid looked great out there. Loved that he wasn't easily taken down. It looked like he was wrapped up a few times but he was able to slip free or break free and gain positive yards.

 

[Garthshort]

I guess we can say that Johnson & Johnson bring more than a band aid to our running game.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

The kid looked great out there. Loved that he wasn't easily taken down. It looked like he was wrapped up a few times but he was able to slip free or break free and gain positive yards.

+1

Really liked what I saw in him once he got his feet wet. Looked like he was in control and not panicking.

 

[WildBB]

We should see more of what he can do in Oakland with the 1st unit. Looking forward to it.

Only question right now is going to be his ball security if teams know he likes to throw the one hand around. But he'll learn when do that and where on the field.

Also the OL was run blocking pretty well last night. Lets hope it's a trend. Not so much with the pass blocking early on.

 

[Mitch]

I find it funny that BA got all over the dancing thing with Johnson, because if you watch his tapes at Northern Iowa, he has always danced around and through holes, (he runs on tippy-toes, that has always been his style---he ran that exact way at the Senior Bowl where there too he was productive) but then he has always stopped the dancing at times when he smells the home run. His play last night was just what you see on tape from him, except that he looked a little more powerful last night and more willing to play physically than he did in college.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

He looks like Beanie Wells....

except he doesn't look like he's running on a slip and slide.

...and believe me, that IS a massive difference.

The only ways that he looks like Beanie to me is size and the stiff arm. Otherwise they couldn't be more different to me.

 

[iRobot]

DJ is country strong. Those stiff arms were a thing of beauty vs those DBs and at times smaller linebackers. Like seeing that a lot!

I think if he got 20 carries a game, we would quite often have a 100 yd rusher in a game.

Plus when Iupati returns and Massie or Humphries (if he can get his head out of his ass) takes over at RT, it'll be really interesting to see how the run game develops.