Chris Carson is good.

[MontanaHawk05]

Boy is he ever fun to watch. He has the vision and slipperiness of Shaun Alexander with the physical brutality of Lynch. He's a treat.

This right here. As I was scrolling through the thread the word that kept coming to mind was patience.

But the great thing is, he doesn't have too much patience. He has just the right amount. It's actually very Bell-like, even if they look different in the waiting. Too much patience looks like late Shaun, dancing in the pocket and eventually getting mown down. Bell and Carson wait only as long as they need to, then either cut or burst. It's immensely good stuff.

Exactly right. He doesn't dance around and hope. Checks if gap one isn't open and if there's no gap 2 he bust up field.

I would like to see some tape of Rawls early on, before he was injured. What I remember after the injury was a franticness that ended up hitting the wrong hole almost every time. If he could have just gotten a bit more comfortable in his reads he would have been a good back. Something happened to his confidence after the injury.

Carson has some things in common with pre-injury Rawls. One thing he doesn't have in common: he didn't let any of his three major injuries get into his head. Rawls pulled a Jeremy Lane and just let it get to him mentally.

 

[DomeHawk]

The one thing that worries me about him is this. Many times he was fighting for pointless yards with a defender wrapped around his legs. That is how he got hurt last season, he falls at these awkward angles when he gets gang tackled, it might be the reason he was always hurt at Oak State.

Exactly my thoughts, you gotta choose your battles.

So you guys would prefer to see him just go down on first contact?

I think you guys are missing the point. I can't speak for anyone else but I think we are talking about when the run is essentially over and everyone is piling on. Quite different from a "first-contact" scenario.

 

[justafan]

I didnt buy the hype last year. Im on the bandwagon now.

 

[Chapow]

The one thing that worries me about him is this. Many times he was fighting for pointless yards with a defender wrapped around his legs. That is how he got hurt last season, he falls at these awkward angles when he gets gang tackled, it might be the reason he was always hurt at Oak State.

Exactly my thoughts, you gotta choose your battles.

So you guys would prefer to see him just go down on first contact?

I think you guys are missing the point. I can't speak for anyone else but I think we are talking about when the run is essentially over and everyone is piling on. Quite different from a "first-contact" scenario.

Do we really want to ask a guy like Carson to not fight for every inch? Because I don't think we do. That fight for every inch mentality is what makes him the RB he is.

 

[pittpnthrs]

I pray he stays healthy for the next couple of years.

 

[mrt144]

Very patient. He surveys before charging forward. Besides busting through big open seams, he picks his spots as the play develops.
That coupled with his powerful run style, he is a beast!

Yah, his patience is really paying off behind this line that seemingly has their run blocking together. It's awesome to watch with hyper efficient Russ!