Inversion and Ellipsis

Inversion and Ellipsis

The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.

http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm

According to Turner and Sponsel's rendition of these theories, polygynous headmen in foraging societies were biologically fitter than coddled Westerners because they possessed “dominant genes” for “innate ability” that were selected when the headmen engaged in violent competition for wives. Neel believed, said Turner and Sponsel, that “democracy, with its free breeding for the masses and its sentimental supports for the weak,” is a mistake. They reasoned, “The political implication of this fascistic eugenics is clearly that society should be reorganized into small breeding isolates in which genetically superior males could emerge into dominance, eliminating or subordinating the male losers in the competition for leadership and women, and amassing harems of brood females.”

The accusations against Chagnon were just as lurid.

I'd like ask two questions regarding this passage.

First, about the location of the underlined 'said'.
Is it OK that I re-inverse and put 'said' after 'Turner and Sponsel'?

Second, the underlined 'just as lurid' can be paraphrased adding 'as-phrase' after 'lurid'.
I did it myself as follows:
The accusations against Chagnon were just as lurid (as against Neel).
Is it right?

Regards.