Who the hell is David Johnson and why is he scoring all the Cardinals' touchdowns?
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WildBB
Yogi n da Bear
Keep em coming Gale.....er DJ! 
RugbyMuffin
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+1.
So obvious even we can agree on it.
The scariest thing, is he makes it look effortless and easy.
Love him. runs like a gazelle. Floats like a dementor.
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Herschel Walker 2.
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I"m still not sure what he is though. He's not a tradition RB I don't get the impression you can line him up and give him 20 carries a game and really know what to expect yet.
As the article says he runs really upright, he's running with more power than I expected, but he's taking some real big hits(and delivering some). If he plays more and continues that you would expect it to eventually take its toll on him. He still reminds me quite a bit of Johnny Johnson just quite a bit faster.
He's a freakish talent I'm just not sure if you try and turn him into a #1 RB or just use him as a multi dimensional guy.
I do disagree about the ball security comment, he has a tendency to be a bit loose with the ball, I remember he fumbled at least once in the preseason and had the fumble in the Rams game. He seems to be learning to cover it up now in traffic but like most young RB's he's not there yet.
He's been pretty amazing so far.
And I heard we wants to be a Cardinal.
CardsSunsDbacks
Not So Skeptical
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Your #1 RB can also be a multi dimensional player as well. The only thing that is yet to be seen IMO is whether or not he can physically handle 20+ carries per game, but he has clearly demonstrated at this point that he can run effectively in any situation (between and outside the tackles and out on the perimeter).
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I guess what I mean by that is we're using him in certain situations and he's been quite effective in those situations. Like Ellington as a rookie.
What separates a #1 RB from that is the ability to flourish in all situations even when flourish means put your head down and take a 1 yard gain instead of trying to break it outside and take a 5 yard loss. That's what has impressed me with CJ this year.
It's nitpicking at this point but he's been MUCH more effective in the 2nd half than the first half in part because defenses get tired and because we're able to scheme him into certain plays where we can take advantage of a matchup or something we've seen after looking at the first half.
9 carries for 19 yards in the first half, 9 for 72(!) in the 2nd half. CJ on the other hand is averaging 5.8 YPC in the first half.
I love the kid I just don't know yet if I think he's an everydown RB or not. The problem Ellington has is grinding out the tough yards, he always wants to bust the big run and takes losses as a result of trying to. DJ has gotten better at that, in the preseason he was doing that quite a bit too now less dancing more pushing forward. Will he do that if he's getting 20 carries a game is anybodys guess.
He's been terrific so far, 6 Td's in such limited usage is mind boggling.
Buckybird
Hoist the Lombardi Trophy
Yep this kid has star potential!!! He was my 2nd rated RB in this draft after that dude named Gurley
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
Gotta say, for his first 5 games in the NFL, the kid has demonstrated tremendous skill and physical ability. Like Russ, I'm still not sure what exactly we have here. That said, my expectation would be that over time, he will continue to be coached up and refined in terms of his style and skills...
He's fast for sure, but is he quick? I'm not sure and frankly, that would concern me as to his ability to be a fulltime #1 RB.
He's tremendous out of the backfield and clearly, there isn't a linebacker, or many safeties for that matter, that can stick with him.
Just still not entirely sold on him being a true, #1 RB in the NFL... But man I love what I see so far!!
He's fast for sure, but is he quick? I'm not sure and frankly, that would concern me as to his ability to be a fulltime #1 RB.
He's tremendous out of the backfield and clearly, there isn't a linebacker, or many safeties for that matter, that can stick with him.
Just still not entirely sold on him being a true, #1 RB in the NFL... But man I love what I see so far!!
OP
OP
crisper57
Open the Roof!
Did you have him rated as 99/100?
BTW, where is SMEL? He has to be loving this run game!
Catfish
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Hey Cheezy One--------for my money he seems much more like Marcus Allen than he does like Hershel Walker. Runs upright, gets into the end zone. has the extra gear, seldom allows tacklers to make a big hit on him. He always seems to find a way to mitigate a big hit by shifting ever so slightly yet still going forward to get positive yards.
Stout
Hold onto the ball, Murray!
His play means we won't have to pay CJ a bunch of money to keep him.
kerouac9
Klowned by Keim
Keep in mind that we were feeling pretty good about Andre Ellington at this point in his career, as well.
Best Cards rookie RB since what, Tim Hightower? Ron Moore?
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So far the biggest difference between him and Herschel is he doesn't have the bad habit of turning his back when he sees contact coming like Walker did.
I don't agree on the avoiding hits thing, he's only had 18 carries but on several of them he's wound up getting hit hard. I'm pleased with how hard he runs, that wasn't his rep coming in, and in his first preseason game he was dancing too much, but he is taking some big hits IMO.
That's why I compare him to Johnny Johnson, had a terrific start to his career but fell off quickly because of back problems connected to all the big hits he took. Hopefully DJ doesn't have that issue, he's a pretty special talent.
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That's the thing, Ellington WAS a steal, and is a good player, he's just not an everydown RB and we found that out last year. We don't know yet on DJ, too early to tell, but he's much bigger and stronger than Ellington. My whole concern is the way he runs he's going to take lots of big hits if he doesn't learn to get lower.
Right now we're really using him perfectly, I think next year the temptation will be to make him the primary RB unless Chris JOhnson is still here, so we'll find out then.
kerouac9
Klowned by Keim
Just a reminder that Andre Ellington averaged 7.04 yards per carry (25 att) and 9.82 yards per reception (17 rec) with 2 TDs through five games of his rookie season.
There's a ton of reasons why a lot of backs are exceptional in situational roles (where they'll excel because teams have less tape on them and they're being put in positions that best fit their skill set without the wear and tear of playing every down).
David Johnson is averaging 2 fewer YPC (18 attempts) and his receiving total is skewed by a small sample size (9 rec with a 55 yarder mixed in).
jbeecham
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I still want DJ to protect the ball better when the hit is coming & make sure he has the ball in the correct arm. That was the mistake when he fumbled the kickoff against the Rams.
GatorAZ
feed hopkins
LOL
If he lives up to half of these expectations we're in good shape.
If he lives up to half of these expectations we're in good shape.
I still do, seems most have written him off.
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