- Thread starter dbair1967
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It was Turpin Time!
Dood has what I call the "air of danger." Can take it to the house every time he gets the baaaaall.
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Seems to have regressed as a player for sure. Last year at this time he was kind of one of the talks of offseason and early camp/preseason. Now he looks like a guy that we better hope doesn't lodge any meaningful snaps in real games for a while. IMO he is considerably behind Kelvin Joseph now and maybe even rookie Deron Bland (who was good last week, good this week in practice but had a few bad moments last night)
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Kinda looks like they did just that. After that PR TD he wasn't only removed, but they took his shoulder pads away.
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Watched the game last night....just some of my observations:
1) We have the makings of a really strong rookie corp again. Tyler Smith looks like the real deal for certain and had several road grader moments again last night. I think Sam Williams has obvious talent but needs some technique work and seasoning. Jalen Tolbert had a couple nice plays but kinda of messed up a TD when he didnt get his other foot down. But he is smooth. Absolutely love TE Jake Ferguson and he looks like a potential starter down the road for certain. Really solid receiver, has deceptive speed and RAC ability but is a pretty good blocker already, and should only improve as he gets bigger and more experience. I think they hit on late rd CB Daron Bland, although I didnt think he was as good last night as he was last weekend or even in joint practices this week, but he has ability for sure. They also have a really strong crop of rookie free agents again and some of them are going to make for tough roster decisions for the team.
2) Two incredibly improved 2nd yr players from last years crop, S Israel MuKuamu and DT Quinton Bohanna. Both continue to build on the impressive reports from camp and early preseason work. Mukuamu really stood out last night after reportedly a great week of work vs SD in joint practices too. Bohanna does not look like a 350-360 guy at all with how he moves, but he looks more physical this yr than last yr to me. Gained some strength and lost some baby fat in the offseason.
3) Really liking the backup RB spots, and if they are only going to keep one behind Zeke/Pollard they have a really tough decision IMO. All 3 of them (Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Aaron Shampklin) have shown ability but Davis is the guy that I think I would go with if they keep only one. If they keep 4 RB's, I think Dowdle and Davis make it and Shampklin goes to PS.
4) Obvious Kavontae Turpin was the star of the show last night and displayed electric return ability that we haven't seen the likes of since Deion was back there for us. The speed and quickness is off the charts but I am impressed at how well he fields these kicks too. Looks effortless and there's no "punt and pray" when it comes to hoping whomever we send back there just catches it. After a number of years of complete zeroes at the return position, we appear to have a true weapon there that will likely force teams to alter how they kick/punt to us.
5) I like the obvious improvement and commitment to the run game. The OL is moving people consistently and it appears McCarthy's offseason promise of being more balanced and physical is coming to fruition.
6) They still have work to do with the penalties (still too many, and Chargers notched 3 key first downs from dumb penalties by our guys) but it was better than last week. After getting nailed with 5 or 6 offensive holding calls last week I think there might have been only one last night.
7) The more physical comment just doesn't apply to our OL, our front 7 is playing more physical so far too. We basically have stuffed the run game two weeks in a row up front. Neville Gallimore has the makings of a legit front-line starter at DT as he not only has a quick first step and some pass rush ability, but he has dominated vs the run.
8) I still don't think the week one kicker is on the roster. Maher just missed from 61 yds last night and has easily made his PAT's. Hajrulluhu made his only FG attempt and like Maher hasn't missed any PATs, and both are really good on kickoffs. But I don't think they'd hesitate to make a post cut down move for another vet if someone they can trust more becomes available.
9) Will Grier is a real threat to Cooper Rush for the backup QB spot. I think Dinucci looks improved over where he was, but I think they might keep just two QB's on the team so they can go deeper at some other positions (like Turpin)
1) We have the makings of a really strong rookie corp again. Tyler Smith looks like the real deal for certain and had several road grader moments again last night. I think Sam Williams has obvious talent but needs some technique work and seasoning. Jalen Tolbert had a couple nice plays but kinda of messed up a TD when he didnt get his other foot down. But he is smooth. Absolutely love TE Jake Ferguson and he looks like a potential starter down the road for certain. Really solid receiver, has deceptive speed and RAC ability but is a pretty good blocker already, and should only improve as he gets bigger and more experience. I think they hit on late rd CB Daron Bland, although I didnt think he was as good last night as he was last weekend or even in joint practices this week, but he has ability for sure. They also have a really strong crop of rookie free agents again and some of them are going to make for tough roster decisions for the team.
2) Two incredibly improved 2nd yr players from last years crop, S Israel MuKuamu and DT Quinton Bohanna. Both continue to build on the impressive reports from camp and early preseason work. Mukuamu really stood out last night after reportedly a great week of work vs SD in joint practices too. Bohanna does not look like a 350-360 guy at all with how he moves, but he looks more physical this yr than last yr to me. Gained some strength and lost some baby fat in the offseason.
3) Really liking the backup RB spots, and if they are only going to keep one behind Zeke/Pollard they have a really tough decision IMO. All 3 of them (Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Aaron Shampklin) have shown ability but Davis is the guy that I think I would go with if they keep only one. If they keep 4 RB's, I think Dowdle and Davis make it and Shampklin goes to PS.
4) Obvious Kavontae Turpin was the star of the show last night and displayed electric return ability that we haven't seen the likes of since Deion was back there for us. The speed and quickness is off the charts but I am impressed at how well he fields these kicks too. Looks effortless and there's no "punt and pray" when it comes to hoping whomever we send back there just catches it. After a number of years of complete zeroes at the return position, we appear to have a true weapon there that will likely force teams to alter how they kick/punt to us.
5) I like the obvious improvement and commitment to the run game. The OL is moving people consistently and it appears McCarthy's offseason promise of being more balanced and physical is coming to fruition.
6) They still have work to do with the penalties (still too many, and Chargers notched 3 key first downs from dumb penalties by our guys) but it was better than last week. After getting nailed with 5 or 6 offensive holding calls last week I think there might have been only one last night.
7) The more physical comment just doesn't apply to our OL, our front 7 is playing more physical so far too. We basically have stuffed the run game two weeks in a row up front. Neville Gallimore has the makings of a legit front-line starter at DT as he not only has a quick first step and some pass rush ability, but he has dominated vs the run.
8) I still don't think the week one kicker is on the roster. Maher just missed from 61 yds last night and has easily made his PAT's. Hajrulluhu made his only FG attempt and like Maher hasn't missed any PATs, and both are really good on kickoffs. But I don't think they'd hesitate to make a post cut down move for another vet if someone they can trust more becomes available.
9) Will Grier is a real threat to Cooper Rush for the backup QB spot. I think Dinucci looks improved over where he was, but I think they might keep just two QB's on the team so they can go deeper at some other positions (like Turpin)
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I worry about Turpin being able to survive big hits, which are common on kick returns. If we could get the occasional jet sweep out of him, all the better. We had next to no pass rush last night, but it was the D-listers for the most part. Kelvin Joseph is shaping up to be another 2nd round miss. Grier is a shrimp (bad) who wears Babe's number (worse). Ball sux and we have no reliable swing tackle at the moment.
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I actually thought Joseph was ok. The one or two completions he did give up that I remember he was right on the guy. He did appear to lose one guy in coverage deep and fortunately Mukuamu made a great hit to break up the pass, but I didn't think Joseph was bad. He certainly was nowhere near as bad as Wright was IMO. Joseph was in on 4 tackles and had one PD.
Those guys you said generated no pass rush did garner 3 sacks, including rookie DE/DL Mike Tafua who was pretty active. Trysten Hill played well and had the nice strip sack/recovery and Big Cat Bryant had the other sack. DT Josiah Bronson was also interesting to me. He won't make the active roster but looks like a guy def worth a practice squad slot, he was active and had 3tackles and 2 QB knock downs.
Like kicker, I think the week one swing tackle is probably not on the roster yet. One name to remember might be former Chargers/Colts T Sam Tevi, who we brought in for a visit back in April and were reportedly interested in signing once healthy. I'm sure there will be numerous guys released or potentially traded at final cutdowns too.
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Anyone else hold their breath on those returns expecting to see a flag? In any event, Turpin could be a real good signing and add another dimension to ST and O. Hopefully KM can figure out a few plays to use him other than your typical jet sweep.
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i was waiting for the flag too .. always some kindve illegal block or whatever bullshit. turpin should prob make sure he keeps that jersey tucked in so they dont start taking his money in fines too
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It was preseason.
Guarantee we'd see the flag in real games vs Philly, Green Bay or the Rams.
theoneandonly
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Turpin is a freaky little athlete. Has the ability to stop on a dime, cut and make you miss, accelerate quickly, then has an extra gear. Dallas hasn't had a guy like that in a while. Him taking the place of somebody theoretically more valuable on returns like Cee Dee has value in itself. I agree with BB he needs to avoid hits as much as possible. A good OC would find a few mismatches to isolate Turpin occasionally in games on somebody much less athletic.
theoneandonly
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Yeah Bohanna looks different than the fat guy that got rolled regularly on the run last year. Lets hope that isnt a mirage. Could actually be a pretty good defense if they could stuff the run this year.
theoneandonly
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Better be a special teams demon or working in a warehouse beckons.
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Almost like, they don't call holding unless there's holding.