DMN Blog: Miles Austin Update/'Boys practicing Felix/Marion on-field package

[theogt]

Not sure why it is so confusing but Miles Austin got on the field, he simply didn't look like an NFL WR when he did.

He looked like an NFL receiver with the separation he was getting.

As has been stated countless times, his ONLY problem was his hands/body control. But that is 100% teachable, and it appears Ray Sherman might have done the trick in that regard.

So, if you can fix that single problem, he absolutely "looks the part" of a dominant NFL receiver.

 

[theogt]

Romo sounds like Austin? hahahahahahaha.

Romo did not have a single pass attempt until his 3rd season and he went to the Pro Bowl. If you can play you can play.

Guess you are right Austin is Pro Bowl BOUND!!!! WOO HOOOO!!!!!

good grief.
lack common sense much?

Actually, Tony didn't play until his fourth season.

Facts. They elude you.

 

[jterrell]

Crayton first two years of playing

2004 12 rec 162 yds 13.5 avg 39T 1td
2005 22 rec 341 yds 15.5 avg 63T 2td



Hurds first two years of playing

2006 5 rec 75 yds 15.0 avg 33L 0td
2007 19 rec 314 yds 16.5 avg 51T 1td



Austin

2006 --------------------------------
2007 5 rec 76 yds 15.2 avg 35L 0td

How did the slow, super small school undrafted Crayton possibly manage 34 receptions in his first two seasons... that is impossible. We all know Wrs are not allowed to get a catch for 2 years....

 

[theogt]

How did the slow, super small school undrafted Crayton possibly manage 34 receptions in his first two seasons... that is impossible. We all know Wrs are not allowed to get a catch for 2 years....

It is well documented that Hurd was much more polished coming out of college. We're talking about the potential, though, and early production (limited as both are) is pretty much irrelevant.

 

[Disturbed]

We keep hearing about the speed and possible upside of Austin and Stanback, but that is all it has been is talk... I certainly hope that Austin has learned to catch and Stanback can stay healthy this year.

If either of them can actually contribute as a WR this year it will be great...and I would like to hear more about Jefferson and Amendola. I really don't care who steps up to play as long as they consistently produce when we need them.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I would love it if Austin is able to get it this year and start to really contribute with that speed he has.

Look, people, everyone is going to try and upgrade positions if they believe it will help them. Even if the coaching staff has a great deal of faith in the guys they have, to get it done, do you think they'd turn their noses up at the shot to add a Johnson, Boldin, or Williams to the mix anyway? If you do then you're an idiot, honestly.

The fact that the Cowboys would like to upgrade their WR is not exactly earth shattering news. Of course they would. But then again so would 3/4 of the league. You can't be 3-5 stacked at every single position on the team. It just doesn't work that way in the NFL.

We'll be fine and I bet that all our WR's, that so many hate on, will contribute even more than they have in the past.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I usually agree with JT, but I don't get the venom for Austin... I wouldn't say that he "didn't look like an NFL WR" at all. Actually, I thought he did everything pretty well except catch the ball in the Washington game. But that entire day was a disaster anyway.

Now obviously, a WR has to catch the ball. If he shows he can't do that this year, then you have to start thinking that that's probably all he'll ever be. But I wouldn't judge him off last year, which was his first to be given any chance to play WR. As tiny a college as he came from, you can't expect him to not to need some development. But he does have quite a bit of upside.

 

[joseephuss]

T.O. was hurt and missed games.

Not sure why it is so confusing but Miles Austin got on the field, he simply didn't look like an NFL WR when he did.

He did look great running past DBs and drew two PI calls but when asked to run anything other than a fly he had horrid form, had to turn his body around to look for the ball and had balls whizz right by him as he was unaware until too late to catch them.

There is nothing confusing about it. Austin did see some playing time. Some does not mean a lot. He was not even active for every game the last two years. In 2006 the only reason he was active is because Tyson Thompson got hurt and Austin came in as the kick returner. He was not expected to or even put in a position to catch passes. And last year he saw more playing time at wide receiver, but not a lot. Plus why throw to him when the other primary targets were getting open?

Patrick Crayton saw a lot more playing time when he was a rookie and during his second year. Not just more playing time, but more involvement in the offense.

I don't know if Austin is going to be great. If he does great. The guy is a project. Since when are project expected to put up big numbers immediately? He may not pan out. Heck, he probably wont. I just don't think him being limited to 5 catches last year was much of a surprise. It was more than I thought the 6th or 7th option in the passing game was going to get. I don't know why anyone would expect more.

I am also not going to judge Austin solely on what he did in the final regular season game of the year. Austin did not look good that game and neither did anyone else. The whole team mailed that game in that day.

 

[InmanRoshi]

It's funny .... most fans get excited when a project WR on their team is 6'3" and runs a 4.3 and is continually getting better, but for the Cowboys fans he's already got one strike against him because "he's another Randal Williams".

So I guess now the Cowboys must avoid all WR's who are 6'3" and run a 4.3, because it's much more important to not be reminded of Randall Williams than it is to actually have physically talented prospects.

We'd rather keep a lesser talented player who also hasn't produced, because at least he doesn't remind us of Randall Williams.

That's the most important thing here in the grand scheme of things ... Randall Williams.

 

[InmanRoshi]

We keep hearing about the speed and possible upside of Austin and Stanback, but that is all it has been is talk... I certainly hope that Austin has learned to catch and Stanback can stay healthy this year.

If either of them can actually contribute as a WR this year it will be great...and I would like to hear more about Jefferson and Amendola. I really don't care who steps up to play as long as they consistently produce when we need them.

Yeah, but how much longer do we have to wait for Amendola to make an impact? Ever since April that's all we've heard about ... Amendola this and Amendola that, but he's still not making the impact right now in games.

Is this another Stanback situation where we're going to have to wait for an entire 12 months for him to do something? We're already in month 2! It's time for Amendola to step up. I'm tired of the hype.

 

[Disturbed]

Yeah, but how much longer do we have to wait for Amendola to make an impact? Ever since April that's all we've heard about ... Amendola this and Amendola that, but he's still not making the impact right now in games.

Is this another Stanback situation where we're going to have to wait for an entire 12 months for him to do something? We're already in month 2! It's time for Amendola to step up. I'm tired of the hype.

Sarcasm noted...good one. :laugh2:

 

[TellerMorrow34]

It's funny .... most fans get excited when a project WR on their team is 6'3" and runs a 4.3 and is continually getting better, but for the Cowboys fans he's already got one strike against him because "he's another Randal Williams".

So I guess now the Cowboys must avoid all WR's who are 6'3" and run a 4.3, because it's much more important to not be reminded of Randall Williams than it is to actually have physically talented prospects.

We'd rather keep a lesser talented player who also hasn't produced, because at least he doesn't remind us of Randall Williams.

That's the most important thing here in the grand scheme of things ... Randall Williams.

:laugh2:

That one made me honestly burst out laughing in my office.

 

[DallasFanSince86]

It's funny .... most fans get excited when a project WR on their team is 6'3" and runs a 4.3 and is continually getting better, but for the Cowboys fans he's already got one strike against him because "he's another Randal Williams".

So I guess now the Cowboys must avoid all WR's who are 6'3" and run a 4.3, because it's much more important to not be reminded of Randall Williams than it is to actually have physically talented prospects.

We'd rather keep a lesser talented player who also hasn't produced, because at least he doesn't remind us of Randall Williams.

That's the most important thing here in the grand scheme of things ... Randall Williams.

Yeah, but how much longer do we have to wait for Amendola to make an impact? Ever since April that's all we've heard about ... Amendola this and Amendola that, but he's still not making the impact right now in games.

Is this another Stanback situation where we're going to have to wait for an entire 12 months for him to do something? We're already in month 2! It's time for Amendola to step up. I'm tired of the hype.

:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

 

[theogt]

Yeah, but how much longer do we have to wait for Amendola to make an impact? Ever since April that's all we've heard about ... Amendola this and Amendola that, but he's still not making the impact right now in games.

Is this another Stanback situation where we're going to have to wait for an entire 12 months for him to do something? We're already in month 2! It's time for Amendola to step up. I'm tired of the hype.

Really? I haven't heard much at all about the guy since that rookie mini-camp.

You've taken this over-exaggerating 14 year old girl routine to a new level.

Do you ever actually drop the act and just talk football? Seriously, it's annoying at times.

 

[DFWJC]

"Hands" is a technique like anything else that can certainly be taught.
.

Ask Troy Williamson and the Jacksonville staff and they would agree with theogt---sounds like a rap lyric.

Anyway, he worked on "hands" drills in the offseason and during OTAs and acording to reports over there htis guy has ZERO drops so far in all of the practices. Of course, games are entirely different, but you get the point.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Jones was the 3rd/4th receiver on that team, not the 4th/5th receiver like Austin was in Dallas. I would also expect better numbers from that position since the Jags tight end, Mercedes Lewis only contributed 37 receptions, 391 yards and 2 TDs. When the tight end is contributing 96 receptions, 1145 yards and 7 TDs like Witten did for Dallas then there are not many more passes left to go to the 4th wide receiver on the team.

Historically, the Jags have been a heavily run oriented offense. While you may expect better numbers from the position, that number (whatever it may be) is directly corrilated to how many attempts are made in the passing game. The Jags don't run nearly as much 3 WR sets as alot of teams in the NFL. With the addition of Jone Drew, to go with Taylor there running game is really the focal point of there offense IMO. You look at how they use there TE position and you think that maybe they don't use it much but really, you have to look at Lewis and Jones Drew. The Jags use Jones Drew in there short to intermediate passing game a great deal. Really, in that offense, the 4th WR sees very little action because they are not the 4th option on the field, when they run a three WR set. Typically, it's one of the WRs, Jones Drew or Lewis. Add that to the fact that they don't throw the ball as much as most teams in the NFL and you can easily see why the 3rd or 4th WR in the Jags offense doesn't really produce big numbers. Just not there style of offense.

 

[Idgit]

It is well documented that Hurd was much more polished coming out of college. We're talking about the potential, though, and early production (limited as both are) is pretty much irrelevant.

It's not just polish. There are instincts and a feel for the game that Sam Hurd has that aren't easy to just pick up. I recall TO saying in his first year that Sam also has the right attitude about digesting everything he can, eating right, and working hard, too. On another team, I think Sam would be pushing hard for a starting job and would be a decent complimentary receiver.

"He [Stanback] worked his butt off this off-season and it shows," Romo said. "I think that the young guys are doing a really good job - Miles, Sam. Sam's been good for a long time here; people just don't realize. His production value has been real high. Miles has a lot of ability, and he's done a good job this week as well. I don't doubt that a lot of those guys are going to rotate a little bit and see time in different spots."

​

I really like all of the WRs on this team. If TG can't make it back, I'd be perfectly comfortable heading into the season with what we've got on the roster today.

 

[joseephuss]

Historically, the Jags have been a heavily run oriented offense. While you may expect better numbers from the position, that number (whatever it may be) is directly corrilated to how many attempts are made in the passing game. The Jags don't run nearly as much 3 WR sets as alot of teams in the NFL. With the addition of Jone Drew, to go with Taylor there running game is really the focal point of there offense IMO. You look at how they use there TE position and you think that maybe they don't use it much but really, you have to look at Lewis and Jones Drew. The Jags use Jones Drew in there short to intermediate passing game a great deal. Really, in that offense, the 4th WR sees very little action because they are not the 4th option on the field, when they run a three WR set. Typically, it's one of the WRs, Jones Drew or Lewis. Add that to the fact that they don't throw the ball as much as most teams in the NFL and you can easily see why the 3rd or 4th WR in the Jags offense doesn't really produce big numbers. Just not there style of offense.

I am sorry. My intent did look unclear. I was not talking about that Matt Jones should have more receptions than he did produce last season for the Jags. It was that he should have more receptions than Miles Austin. That does not surprise me.

Sure the Jags did not throw it that much, but when they did they do try to get Matt Jones involved in the game more than Dallas tries to get Miles Austin involved. Jones should have more catches than Austin because he has more opportunities based on how both teams run their offenses and the personnel that each team employs. If Matt Jones had been in Dallas last season he too would probably only produced 5 receptions like Miles Austin did.

When you have TO, Witten, Crayton and Barber as the clear top 4 receiving options there aren't many balls left.

Matt Jones finished 6th in receptions last year for Jax. The five guys in front of him totaled 204 receptions. That is 43.5% of the 469 pass attempts and 70.8% of the 288 pass completions that Jacksonville had last year. That left 29.2%(84 completions) of the pass completions left to go around for the Jags.

Miles Austin finished 9th in receptions last year for Dallas. The top five guys in Dallas(TO, Witten, Crayton, Barber & Julius Jones) had 294 receptions. That is 55.4% of the 531 pass attempts and 86.0% of the 342 pass completions. That left 14%(48) of the pass completions left to go around for Dallas.

The thing that is surprising about Matt Jones is that he only averages 13.8 yards per reception for his career. That is a low number for a guy that is supposed to be a great combination of size and speed.

I am not anti-Matt Jones. I am anti-trading a pick to get Matt Jones. I don't see the value in doing that. Matt Jones would not be an impact in Dallas, nor would he save the team if TO got injured.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I am sorry. My intent did look unclear. I was not talking about that Matt Jones should have more receptions than he did produce last season for the Jags. It was that he should have more receptions than Miles Austin. That does not surprise me.

Sure the Jags did not throw it that much, but when they did they do try to get Matt Jones involved in the game more than Dallas tries to get Miles Austin involved. Jones should have more catches than Austin because he has more opportunities based on how both teams run their offenses and the personnel that each team employs. If Matt Jones had been in Dallas last season he too would probably only produced 5 receptions like Miles Austin did.

When you have TO, Witten, Crayton and Barber as the clear top 4 receiving options there aren't many balls left.

Matt Jones finished 6th in receptions last year for Jax. The five guys in front of him totaled 204 receptions. That is 43.5% of the 469 pass attempts and 70.8% of the 288 pass completions that Jacksonville had last year. That left 29.2%(84 completions) of the pass completions left to go around for the Jags.

Miles Austin finished 9th in receptions last year for Dallas. The top five guys in Dallas(TO, Witten, Crayton, Barber & Julius Jones) had 294 receptions. That is 55.4% of the 531 pass attempts and 86.0% of the 342 pass completions. That left 14%(48) of the pass completions left to go around for Dallas.

The thing that is surprising about Matt Jones is that he only averages 13.8 yards per reception for his career. That is a low number for a guy that is supposed to be a great combination of size and speed.

I am not anti-Matt Jones. I am anti-trading a pick to get Matt Jones. I don't see the value in doing that. Matt Jones would not be an impact in Dallas, nor would he save the team if TO got injured.

I think the reason Jones averages fewer yards is the patterns he runs within the offense. I don't know if it's because he doesn't run deep patterns well, he doesn't catch deep balls well or if the offense is simply designed to use the short to intermediate passing game as the staple. If you look at there passing game, only Williams had a decent AYPC with 16.6. I believe this is because they have Garrard throw to a spot, as opposed to having him read the defense and influence the safety to try and take you deep. The Jags really try to limit what Garrard has to deal with in his reads as much as possible. That's why you see him throw a lot of sideline stop patterns, outs and jump balls to the sideline. In those kinds of routes, you don't go vertical often and you don't get much YAC. It might be more of a result of how they are trying to develope Garrard in that offense but I don't know for sure. Could also be that Jones just doesn't catch the long ball well.

I don't know that you can draw conclusions based on % of available passes thrown. To many variables involved. How many games were players active, injured, what option were they in the plays they were on the field for, where are they on the depth chart, just a lot of stuff that kinda makes that a very difficult read IMO.

To me, at the end of the day, the guy is worth the gamble if we have no other options at WR. If he doesn't beat out the other guys on the team, then so be it. Hurd, Stanback, Austin, any WR not named TO or Crayton has to prove they can play in the NFL. Same can be said for Jones IMO. I'm fine with the compatition and who ever works out best is who we go with.

Don't know that this is in our plans but if it were, I would not mind that. We need another WR IMO. If it's somebody who steps up or somebody we bring in, doesn't matter to me. We just need to find that other player.

 

[InmanRoshi]

People just completely overlook or ignore special teams, but I'm pretty sure the Cowboys aren't ... especially as bad as their special teams were last year, and especially after losing their best special teams player in free agency. It's going to play a huge factor in who we keep on the roster as our 4th and 5th WR. Austin was a Top 10 NFL kick returner last year. Sam Hurd is probably one of our top 5 coverage guys. That gives them a significant leg up as far as keeping a roster spot. Stanback and Amandola are at a huge disadvantage if they can't find a role on the starting special team units. Without one, even if one of them gets stashed away on the roster, they'll have a hard time ever getting activated for games.