Danny O'Neil with encouraging news about Justin Forsett:
RB Justin Forsett put a lick on LB David Hawthorne during one-on-one blitz pick-up drills. It was the kind of hit that makes you stop and take a step back, not just as an observer, but as a blitzer because that's what happened to Hawthorne. Forsett knocked Hawthorne backward into offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, no small feat since Hawthorne's got a reputation for his hitting ability.
Straight up: Hawthorne for all his spirited preseason tackling is a fringe NFL player, but he is a hitter and he is a Horned Frog. Hawthorne had five sacks his senior season and 9.5 career sacks at TCU. He played on a Gary Patterson defense that's not afraid to blitz at any time from any position. You will not see many systems that use stunts, twists and second levels blitzes as commonly as Patterson's Frogs. Hawthorne knows how to blitz. Can he do it against pro-level competition? That we don't know. So maybe Forsett blew Hawthorne up, because Hawthorne was stumbling through the lane and off-balanced. And maybe Hawthorne sliced through like a Katana blade, all squared shoulders and velocity, and Forsett put him down anyway. The point is, Forsett showed skills in pass-pro and that's huge for him becoming the kind of rounded running back that can handle a substantial role within a rushing rotation.