Tavon Austin Realistic Expectations

[Roadtrip635]

They need to have him moving before the snap to avoid getting jammed and get the ball in his hands up the field to avoid the losses. Sounds like a perfect candidate for crossing patterns.

Motion would definitely help, but it's one of those things we haven't seen much of, from WRs at least, from our offense in the past.

 

[Them]

...Well Roadtrip since you put it like that....lol...it is hard to look off those 20 plus fumbles of Austin's.
I understand. The coaches just need to tell him..."Don't Do That!"...

 

[DasSchnitzel]

Only once in Austin's 5 year career did he average more yards/punt return than Switzer did last year, but he also had 1TD and 5 fumbles that year too.

Switzer was traded for another player at a position of need and there's at least as much to like about that acquisition as there ever was Switzer. I don't say that as a Switzer hater, I wanted him to do well here.

So, if you're trying to say it was a bad pair of moves because Switzer averaged 1 yard better on PR than Austin usually does (never been more than 1.2 yards below Switzer's average, except for last season), then you have to include all aspects of the Switzer move. Right now I'd definitely rather have Austin + Ward instead of Switzer + 192nd pick.

In terms of Switzer vs. Austin on PR and nothing else, I think I'd pick Switzer, partly because of age, but I don't trust him with the ball either.

Overall I'm happy with it. I think Switzer was redundant of offense.

 

[CATCH17]

By the time this offseason is over I think we’ll have ourselves convinced that Tavon Austin is a top 5 NFL Wide Receiver.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Switzer was traded for another player at a position of need and there's at least as much to like about that acquisition as there ever was Switzer. I don't say that as a Switzer hater, I wanted him to do well here.

So, if you're trying to say it was a bad pair of moves because Switzer averaged 1 yard better on PR than Austin usually does (never been more than 1.2 yards below Switzer's average, except for last season), then you have to include all aspects of the Switzer move. Right now I'd definitely rather have Austin + Ward instead of Switzer + 192nd pick.

In terms of Switzer vs. Austin on PR and nothing else, I think I'd pick Switzer, partly because of age, but I don't trust him with the ball either.

Overall I'm happy with it. I think Switzer was redundant of offense.

I wasn't criticizing the Switzer trade at all, just making a point about perception. The perception by many was that Switzer was not a great punt returner and that Tavon is. People still rag on his one fumble, but somehow overlook Tavon's excessive amount over the course of 5 years and still want him returning punts. They can't look past his speed and look at his actual production.

 

[DasSchnitzel]

I wasn't criticizing the Switzer trade at all, just making a point about perception. The perception by many was that Switzer was not a great punt returner and that Tavon is. People still rag on his one fumble, but somehow overlook Tavon's excessive amount over the course of 5 years and still want him returning punts. They can't look past his speed and look at his actual production.

Gotcha. Personally, I don't trust either of them.

 

[cern]

my hopes are high. expectations, not so much. but I love a fairy tale ending.

 

[rpntex]

People who are looking at Austins value simply in terms of targets, catches, rushes, etc., are completely missing the boat. He is one of those players that will have a huge impact on plays when he doesn’t have the ball, as well as when he does.

Lucky Whitehead didn’t do much while here if you look strictly at his numbers. People who truly understand the game, however, will tell you that the impact he had on the offense was significant, especially when he didn’t get the ball. A couple of big plays on jet sweeps created the ability to paralyze defenses on play action off of it, thus opening up space between the tackles for Zeke Elliot. It froze linebackers, allowing Prescott an extra second or two in the pocket on play action passes. All of that coming off of a the FAKE.

Austin is a better and more talented version of Lucky Whitehead. If used in the same manner, the yardage he will create for Dak and Zeke will not be quantifiable.

As for when he does get the ball, I would look for two or 3 carries per game – most likely out of a jet sweep look – and 2 to 4 receptions per game, mostly on screens and plays when he is in space. Tack on some realistic return yardage, in addition to the aforementioned impact he’ll have on the play action game, and you have a very significant contribution, most of which can’t be measured in numbers.

 

[Ren]

Forgot we traded for him to be honest. Guess that pretty much sums up my expectations.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Tavon Austin has long been one of my irrational NFL man-crushes, so it's a little hard to separate the reality here from my own bias.

But as I see it

-Jeff Fisher kills careers, full stop. Nick Foles, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff - all of them looked like completely different players once Fisher was gone. Most of Austin's career has been spent in a Rams offense that virtually no player ever succeeded in. And despite that, he still had his moments. 10 TDs in 2015 between running, receiving, and returning, that's quite a feat.

-Austin got buried on the Rams because Gurley could do all the slick receiving work he could and more (seriously - Gurley is a hell of a receiver), they have an All-Pro returner in Pharoh Cooper, and despite his speed, Austin's not a lid lifter. McVay knew that. He traded a 2nd for a 1 year rental on Watkins and a 1st for a 1 year rental on Cooks to be his deep threats even with Austin on the roster. So Tavon was pretty much the odd man out.

-Despite that, I think we have a plan to use him the way he should be used. Linehan has long wanted another Lance Dunbar - he used Dunbar heavily whenever he was healthy, we always poked around those small shifty backs in draft season (this year it was Nyheim Hines, last year we were this close to drafting Donnell Pumphrey), and he even tried to shoehorn Ryan Switzer into that role. We don't always use our players very creatively, but I think Linehan legitimately has some plans for a Reggie Bush style receiving back.

-We're gonna feed Austin dumpoffs in the backfield, end-arounds, PRs, KRs, and let him do his thing in the open field. I don't think we're going to force him to be a WR, he's never succeeded at that and I don't think he's the kind of sharp route runner that Dak likes anyway. But he's going to get 5-10 touches a game in space, and he's proven he can crack some of those for scores when he gets the opportunity.

-I'm buying the hype, and I think he's going to have a role from Week 1 as a combination Lucky/Dunbar.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Gotcha. Personally, I don't trust either of them.

I've said it in other threads, if we use Austin on PR and if/when he fumbles, I put the blame on the coaches not on Austin. Put your players in position to succeed, don't make them do things they obviously struggle doing.

 

[rynochop]

35 catches 565 yards 6 tds
45 rushes 335 yards 1 TD
30 kick returns for 25 yards per and 2 TDs
20 punt returns for 300 yards, losses job after 5th fumble

He should go in the 6th round trade hall of fame if he gets that

 

[Sarge]

I honestly have no expectations out of Austin. It will be really interesting to see how much they use him. We shall see.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Tavon Austin has long been one of my irrational NFL man-crushes, so it's a little hard to separate the reality here from my own bias.

But as I see it

-Jeff Fisher kills careers, full stop. Nick Foles, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff - all of them looked like completely different players once Fisher was gone. Most of Austin's career has been spent in a Rams offense that virtually no player ever succeeded in. And despite that, he still had his moments. 10 TDs in 2015 between running, receiving, and returning, that's quite a feat.

-Austin got buried on the Rams because Gurley could do all the slick receiving work he could and more (seriously - Gurley is a hell of a receiver), they have an All-Pro returner in Pharoh Cooper, and despite his speed, Austin's not a lid lifter. McVay knew that. He traded a 2nd for a 1 year rental on Watkins and a 1st for a 1 year rental on Cooks to be his deep threats even with Austin on the roster. So Tavon was pretty much the odd man out.

-Despite that, I think we have a plan to use him the way he should be used. Linehan has long wanted another Lance Dunbar - he used Dunbar heavily whenever he was healthy, we always poked around those small shifty backs in draft season (this year it was Nyheim Hines I think), and he even tried to shoehorn Ryan Switzer into that role. We don't always use our players very creatively, but I think Linehan legitimately has some plans for a Reggie Bush style receiving back.

-We're gonna feed Austin dumpoffs in the backfield, end-arounds, PRs, KRs, and let him do his thing in the open field. I don't think we're going to force him to be a WR, he's never succeeded at that and I don't think he's the kind of sharp route runner that Dak likes anyway. But he's going to get 5-10 touches a game in space, and he's proven he can crack some of those for scores when he gets the opportunity.

-I'm buying the hype, and I think he's going to have a role from Week 1 as a combination Lucky/Dunbar.

The question I keep asking is why don't we get Zeke more involved in the passing game? He was genuinely touted as being a 3 down back and has already proved in this league what he can do with the ball in his hands. He's shown to have pretty good hands, but it's hard to tell when he only gets 2 passes a game. I always thought the reason of having a "3rd down back" was that the starting RB wasn't much of a pass catcher. I really think he would be even more productive and threat if incorporated more in the passing game and not just as the emergency outlet guy standing next to the sideline that they have him doing much too often. He's better at blitz pickups than Dunbar or Tavon. Why haven't we dusted off some of those Linehan Reggie Bush plays?

Tavon doesn't scare defenses nearly as much as we would like to think he does, but Zeke certainly does.

 

[beware_d-ware]

The question I keep asking is why don't we get Zeke more involved in the passing game? He was genuinely touted as being a 3 down back and has already proved in this league what he can do with the ball in his hands. He's shown to have pretty good hands, but it's hard to tell when he only gets 2 passes a game. I always thought the reason of having a "3rd down back" was that the starting RB wasn't much of a pass catcher. I really think he would be even more productive and threat if incorporated more in the passing game and not just as the emergency outlet guy standing next to the sideline that they have him doing much too often. He's better at blitz pickups than Dunbar or Tavon. Why haven't we dusted off some of those Linehan Reggie Bush plays?

Tavon doesn't scare defenses nearly as much as we would like to think he does, but Zeke certainly does.

Man, that's the frustrating thing for me too. Zeke is a such a good receiver every time we feed him the ball, but he gets like 2 catches per game.

I think part of it is that the staff tries to keep him on a pitch count so they don't end his career early like Murray, and part of it is he's so good in blitz pickup that it's tough to send him out on passing routes. But that's just me guessing.

I don't see any reason why he couldn't catch 60+ passes a season if we wanted him to.

 

[John813]

Conservatively, I'm expecting him to break the records for receptions in a year, yards and td catches in a single season.

Like most, I'm lowering my expectations for him.

 

[DasSchnitzel]

I've said it in other threads, if we use Austin on PR and if/when he fumbles, I put the blame on the coaches not on Austin. Put your players in position to succeed, don't make them do things they obviously struggle doing.

I think they're going to look at lots of these guys for PR duties between now and week 1. I don't think Austin is a shoe-in for the role. Sounds like you don't think he should be, either.

I think Gallup might be the dark-horse candidate for PR duties. Pun absolutely intended.

 

[DasSchnitzel]

The question I keep asking is why don't we get Zeke more involved in the passing game? He was genuinely touted as being a 3 down back and has already proved in this league what he can do with the ball in his hands. He's shown to have pretty good hands, but it's hard to tell when he only gets 2 passes a game. I always thought the reason of having a "3rd down back" was that the starting RB wasn't much of a pass catcher. I really think he would be even more productive and threat if incorporated more in the passing game and not just as the emergency outlet guy standing next to the sideline that they have him doing much too often. He's better at blitz pickups than Dunbar or Tavon. Why haven't we dusted off some of those Linehan Reggie Bush plays?

Tavon doesn't scare defenses nearly as much as we would like to think he does, but Zeke certainly does.

Personally I think the changing of the guard in terms of pass catching options is the front office becoming cognizant of how they should be using players like Zeke and Dak.

If Zeke still remains uninvolved as this year progresses then idk man, Dallas so it goes

 

[ItzKelz]

David Irving was on the practice squad for another team. My point is what a player did or did not do for another team doesn't mean a lot for said players new team. Sure i have concerns about his fumbles but if he doesn't have fumbles issues for us then who cares. The kid had talent and if our team can maximize it then I'm good.

 

[ShiningStar]

Keep it low, but i am glad we got him for a 6th. Still a steal.