For a second consecutive June, Chuck & Buck in the Morning are delivering for you a daily feature segment called "The One Series". One Seahawks insider/analyst/writer joins us each day to break down one key Seahawk player for one entire interview.
This blog is dedicated to my "One Big Takeaway" from each entry of the "One Series". Our own KJR host & Fox 13 reporter Ian Furness joined us for the "One Series" and his player of choice for evaluation was RB Rashaad Penny.
It took three-and-a-half seasons, but Rashaad Penny finally gave us evidence in the second half of last year supporting why the Seahawks made him a first round draft pick in 2018. Penny exploded for 671 yards over the last five games of the season, and the Seahawks rewarded him with a one-year deal. Why not a longer deal? And where were all the other suitors for a player who couldn't have finished the season on a stronger note? Simply put: Injuries. Unavailability. Three-plus years spent mostly in street clothes. So, why would Ian Furness, or anyone else, expect things to be any different going forward? That's what Bucky & I aimed to find out...
Furness on Penny's 2021 finish. "At the end of the season, especially the last two weeks, (the Seahawks) went heavy and hard with him in terms of attempts. They went 25 & 23 attempts back-to-back. It was almost like, 'We're going to run this thing into the ground and see if it survives'. And it did, for the first time in his career he ended a year productive and healthy."
Furness on his own soft spot for Penny: "I root for him hard. I've never known an athlete that wanted to be hurt. And it's been really hard on this young guy. He's worked his ass off to get back to where he is right now."
Furness on Penny's playmaking ability: "He's a breakaway threat. I love Chris Carson, but the 10 or 12 yards Carson is going to get you, well, that could be a 30, 40, 50, 60 yard run from Rashaad Penny. You gotta have big-time playmakers in the NFL."
** To Ian's point: During that impressive 5-game stretch to close 2021, Penny compiled 7 carries of 25 yards or more & scored 6 touchdowns.
But... My "One Big Takeaway" from Ian's "One Series" analysis of Rashaad Penny was his reaction to my question about why we should believe that the RB can stay healthy for 17 games? "I would say he's more unlucky than injury-prone," said Furness. "Because of what I saw at the end of the year, knowing what he did in the weight room, talking to his teammates, this might be (his big breakout season). This might be a steal of a 1-year contract."