re: Rankins presence is already being felt

quote:

---

The praise was strong for Steph his rookie year too.

---

Meh. Anthony made a lot of tackles. Anyone paying attention could see that, while he would occasionally make an explosive play in the backfield, he was absolute garbage in coverage. Tackles don't necessarily mean a player made a good play so much as they had an opportunity to make a play. The DL is clearly playing better with Rankins and he's making things happen. Has shown good moves (has had at least one sweet spin move play), strength, and quickness. For a rookie coming off of a semi-serious injury, he's been fantastic. I had a hunch that Onyemata (who has been solid in his own right considering how raw he is) would end up being better than Rankins. That may yet happen, but Rankins has been better than I expected.