Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Banks & others on Tavon Austin
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August 5, 2015 at 1:49 pm #28143
znModeratorIn reloaded Rams offense, it’s time for Tavon Austin to live up to the hype
By Don Banks
http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/08/05/tavon-austin-rams-training-camp-jeff-fisher-nick-foles
EARTH CITY, Mo. — If Nick Foles really is the answer at quarterback for the Rams this season, then the questions about Tavon Austin’s production might finally cease. See how that works? Shore up the Rams’ long-standing issues at the game’s most critical position, and the ripple effect promises to lead in a lot of different positive directions.
That’s the plan at least in St. Louis, where arguably no one stands to benefit more from Foles’s arrival than Austin, the undersized receiver-return specialist whose play has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that came with the Rams trading up to select him eighth overall in the 2013 draft, making him the first receiver taken.
Austin hears the steady background noise as he enters his pivotal third NFL season. He knows it’s time to show more than flashes of the tantalizing and versatile skill set that made him a top 10 pick. But he also realizes his first two years in the NFL featured four different Rams quarterbacks throwing to him, and 25 of those 32 games were started by the likes of career backups Kellen Clemens (nine), Shaun Hill (eight) and Austin Davis (eight). Sam Bradford, the Rams’ oft-injured franchise passer, played just seven games with Austin, losing most of the past two years to season-ending ACL tears. That most definitely was not the plan.
But enter Foles, the former Eagles starter who was traded to St. Louis in exchange for Bradford, and add in the elevation of Rams quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti to offensive coordinator in place of the departed Brian Schottenheimer, and there’s hope that a new quarterback and new play-caller will translate to a dramatically new level of playmaking impact by Austin. Sounds like a plausible preseason storyline, but only time will tell if it comes to pass.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that his production level should increase,” fourth-year Rams coach Jeff Fisher says following the first full-pads practice of training camp at the team’s suburban St. Louis complex. “I think one of the key things for us as we move forward is Nick and the fact that he’s 6’5″ and can see Tavon and get the ball to him. That was the plan with Sam [Bradford is 6’4″], but it didn’t happen. He didn’t really have Sam throwing him the ball for two years.
“This has nothing to do with Tavon. It’s not a reflection on what he’s done. Tavon has done everything he possibly can. He’s in great shape, and he’s highly talented and a passionate teammate. This has been more about the circumstances of our situation. This potentially could be a breakout year for him. Because he’s got the potential to win outside and inside.”
So the long and short of it in St. Louis seems to be that Foles’ height and vision could be the difference-making element to bring out the best in the 5’8″ Austin, in a way that the 6’2″ Austin and 6’2″ Clemens couldn’t. (Hill is 6’5″, but I digress.) Fisher and Rams general manager Les Snead both made the point to me that Foles’s size could prove very beneficial to Austin, and in theory, I get that. But a simple sense of quarterback stability combined with the balancing threat of an improved running game led by Todd Gurley might truly be the key to getting Austin the ball in space, thus unlocking his big-play potential.
It doesn’t hurt that Austin senses the urgency of his situation, after his production dropped noticeably in 2014, with his receptions falling from 40 in ’13 to 31 last year and corresponding dips in receiving yardage (418 to 242), touchdown catches (four to zero) and targets (69 to 44). Though he also contributed as both a rusher (36 carries for 224 yards and two scores) and a punt returner (35 for 391 yards, one touchdown and an 11.2 average), Austin has to become far more than a return specialist and gadget-play threat if the Rams are to get enough return on the investment of trading up to No. 8 to land him.
“It can kind of get to you,” Austin said of the bust chatter that surrounds his first two seasons in St. Louis. “But anybody who really knows football, they kind of know what’s going on. I’ve been through four or five quarterbacks in the past two years, and that’s not making excuses. But I’ve had my glimpses, and had my times when I came on. And I had my times when I wasn’t playing too much. For the most part, it’s out of my hands. All I can do is come in and work hard and hope my number is called.”
It’s early in the process, but Cignetti is said to have a better feel than Schottenheimer ever did for how to best utilize Austin’s speed and elusiveness, and will more fully integrate him into the scheme. The new offensive coordinator has also lauded Austin’s focus and commitment this off-season, pointing out how much his strong classroom work has translated to the practice field. In the opening days of camp, at least, Foles and Austin seem to have an emerging connection, with the new quarterback looking early and often for him, especially when he lines up in the slot.
“I’ve been making some good plays out here and that started in OTAs,” Austin says. “I basically stayed here the whole off-season and didn’t really go anywhere. I stayed here and worked out with the trainers, put a couple pounds on me and got a little bigger [he’s listed at 176 pounds]. I think if Nick stays healthy and I stay healthy, we’re going to go from there and make some plays.”
Fisher promises more creativity in how the Rams use Austin, with or without the ball in his hands.
“I think you’ll see more of an attempt to either get the ball to him in space as a runner, as an outside runner, as an underneath receiver, as a deep receiver and also, unfortunately for his case, as a decoy,” he says. “Because people react to him, defenses react, when he’s in the game. People are really concerned about him on offense. Opponents don’t want the ball in his hands. And we do have other options this year. We only have one ball.”
Todd Gurley is just happy to be back in pads and on the fieldFrom St. Louis Rams training camp in Earth City, MO Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks talks with running back Todd Gurley about his recovery from an ACL tear and his transition to the NFL.
The off-season theme in St. Louis has been that the Rams, in a bit of a throwback to Fisher teams of old, will largely try to ride a talented defense that returns 11 starters and a Gurley-led running game to success this season, with the firm belief that the former Georgia rusher will be one of the NFL’s next superstars once he’s fully recovered from last November’s ACL surgery. But this is still today’s NFL, and you’ve got to throw the ball to build a lead, in order to put games away with the running game and defense.
“We can’t wait until Gurley comes, because it’ll definitely take a load off of us,” Austin says. “But one thing we know, we can’t run the football all day, because you’ve definitely got to pass it at some point. Short passes or deep passes, it’s not going to be like last year or the year before, when they played nine in the box on us. They can’t do that no more.”
With the Rams largely in survival mode on offense the past two seasons, starting a backup quarterback so often, Austin’s development as a playmaking threat has been anything but a front-burner issue. But his time appears to have arrived, and St. Louis can’t afford the luxury of not getting more production out of the former West Virginia star.
“When you’re playing your backup quarterback, you get into the mode of being less willing to be really creative and you’re just trying to figure out how are we going to win the game?” Snead said. “So all those storms, all the adversity probably limited his production. Is that the whole story? No. I mean, he’s got to do his part.
“But I tell him, ‘Just play.’ He can feel the pressure of, ‘Okay, I should be producing more.’ Sometimes you want him to just relax, because he’s trying to live up to the standards and expectations. So you’ve got to just let him go. He’s hungry to succeed. The guy is like that Kentucky Derby horse. Man, he’s at the gate and ready to go, ready to break. He wants it so bad.”
And the Rams badly need him to be the force they drafted. This NFL season promises to be a unique one in St. Louis, in almost any scenario. Relocation issues aside, if the Rams are to make a move this year in the NFC West standings, it’s time Austin finally provides more answers than questions.
August 5, 2015 at 1:51 pm #28144
AgamemnonParticipantMy 2 biggest concerns for the Rams are who is Nick Foles and who is Tavon Austin. Because they can have the biggest affect on the Rams winning games. imo I like everything else.
AgamemnonAugust 5, 2015 at 4:34 pm #28148znModeratorJeff Fisher: Tavon Austin poised for ‘breakout year’
By Chris Wesseling
After two years as an afterthought in the Rams’ offense, former No. 8 overall pick Tavon Austin is being prepped for a featured role in 2015.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that his production level should increase,” coach Jeff Fisher said this week, via SI.com’s Don Banks.
The party line is that Nick Foles’ height (6-foot-5) will allow him to quickly find Austin in crowded spaces after a litany of backup quarterbacks failed to get him the ball in previous seasons.
“This has nothing to do with Tavon. It’s not a reflection on what he’s done,” Fisher added. “Tavon has done everything he possibly can. He’s in great shape, and he’s highly talented and a passionate teammate. This has been more about the circumstances of our situation. This potentially could be a breakout year for him. Because he’s got the potential to win outside and inside.”
That explanation ignores the fact that Austin initially struggled to master the Rams’ playbook, has played just 50 percent of the snaps, hasn’t flashed the power to break arm tackles and was ill-suited for Brian Schottenheimer’s paint-by-numbers offense.
The Rams believe they have solutions to all of those issues.
New coordinator Frank Cignetti noted in June that Austin has been better in the classroom, resulting in improved route running. Austin has also added muscle in an effort to power through tackles after the catch.
There’s optimism in St. Louis, per Banks, that Cignetti has a better idea of how to get the ball to Austin in space, allowing the running back/receiver hybrid to unleash his speed and elusiveness.
General manager Les Snead attributes Austin’s disappointing production thus far to an offense that was necessarily scaled back to compensate for the loss of Sam Bradford.
“When you’re playing your backup quarterback, you get into the mode of being less willing to be really creative and you’re just trying to figure out, ‘How are we going to win the game?'” Snead explained. “So all those storms, all the adversity probably limited his production. Is that the whole story? No. I mean, he’s got to do his part.”
For all of the preseason hope, the Rams’ rebuilt offensive line is untested and Foles’ subpar ball placement inside the numbers cost him his job in Philadelphia.
If Austin is going to make good on Fisher’s prediction of a breakout year, he has to first convince Cignetti to showcase the alleged difference-making talent that inspired the Rams to surrender four draft picks for his rights.
August 5, 2015 at 4:35 pm #28149znModeratorRams think Tavon Austin can have a “breakout year”
josh Alper
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/05/rams-think-tavon-austin-can-have-a-breakout-year/
Last year’s rookie class of wide receivers was as good or better than any the league has seen, but the first receiver taken in the 2013 draft hasn’t had the same kind of success.
Tavon Austin has 71 catches for 660 yards through his first two seasons with the Rams, but the team doesn’t think Austin’s been wholly responsible for his low production. Sam Bradford’s torn ACLs have left the Rams with backup quarterbacks for most of Austin’s time, something the team feels has stifled their creativity on offense as a whole.
Nick Foles is in town now and Austin told Don Banks of SI.com that he thinks they’ll “make some plays” this year. Coach Jeff Fisher believes Foles’s height (he’s 6’5″) will help Austin tap into what the team hasn’t been able to access thus far.
“This has nothing to do with Tavon,” Fisher said. “It’s not a reflection on what he’s done. Tavon has done everything he possibly can. He’s in great shape, and he’s highly talented and a passionate teammate. This has been more about the circumstances of our situation. This potentially could be a breakout year for him. Because he’s got the potential to win outside and inside.”
General Manager Les Snead agrees with Fisher and compares Austin to a thoroughbred “ready to break” from the gates. The Rams offense needs that kind of threat and Austin needs to make that break to prove his quiet first two years have been a result of circumstances.
August 5, 2015 at 5:53 pm #28150
rflParticipantNot buying it. At all.
I do not see where he fits in the offense. I see us setting out to balance our RB production with 3 quality TEs and 4 pretty good WRs and I just don’t get where the touches will come from.
And, I have never seen any indication that he really has anything special to offer.
Now, usually I want to be wrong about negative expectations of Rams. Not sure I want to be wrong about Tavon. I don’t know whose production I’d be willing to sacrifice to Tavon. I don’t hate the guy. I just don’t have any idea how he fits in or what he has to offer.
By virtue of the absurd ...
August 5, 2015 at 7:34 pm #28163AgamemnonParticipant😉
AgamemnonAugust 6, 2015 at 9:50 am #28181znModeratorTipsheet: This must be Tavon Time for Rams
Jeff Gordon
Brian Schottenheimer can’t take the fall for Tavon Austin any more. The former Rams offensive coordinator is at the University of Georgia now, facing a whole different sort of professional pressure.
Frank Cignetti moved over to the Rams hot seat for this season and made some changes in the run-oriented attack. Nick Foles arrived to play quarterback, bringing a long arm and more height to the position.
Will these changes spur a breakout season from Austin? SI.com columnist Don Banks explored that topic:
If Nick Foles really is the answer at quarterback for the Rams this season, then the questions about Tavon Austin’s production might finally cease. See how that works? Shore up the Rams’ long-standing issues at the game’s most critical position, and the ripple effect promises to lead in a lot of different positive directions.
That’s the plan at least in St. Louis, where arguably no one stands to benefit more from Foles’s arrival than Austin, the undersized receiver-return specialist whose play has yet to live up to the lofty expectations that came with the Rams trading up to select him eighth overall in the 2013 draft, making him the first receiver taken.
Austin hears the steady background noise as he enters his pivotal third NFL season. He knows it’s time to show more than flashes of the tantalizing and versatile skill set that made him a top 10 pick. But he also realizes his first two years in the NFL featured four different Rams quarterbacks throwing to him, and 25 of those 32 games were started by the likes of career backups Kellen Clemens (nine), Shaun Hill (eight) and Austin Davis (eight). Sam Bradford, the Rams’ oft-injured franchise passer, played just seven games with Austin, losing most of the past two years to season-ending ACL tears. That most definitely was not the plan.
But enter Foles, the former Eagles starter who was traded to St. Louis in exchange for Bradford, and add in the elevation of Rams quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti to offensive coordinator in place of the departed Brian Schottenheimer, and there’s hope that a new quarterback and new play-caller will translate to a dramatically new level of playmaking impact by Austin. Sounds like a plausible preseason storyline, but only time will tell if it comes to pass.
Yes, well, because it’s up to Austin to prove he really is an impact player. Thus far he has been an eighth-overall pick playing like a third- or fourth-round selection.
Fans and experts alike blamed Schottenheimer for failing to utilize Austin correctly, but there is no evidence that Tavon can actually get separation against NFL defenses.
Did Rams quarterbacks fail to spot him because he is short? Or as it the fact he was seldom open?
Much of his activity to this point has come on swing passes, sweeps, slant passes, runs up the middle and the occasional ill-advised fade pass toward the end zone corner. He took a step back in Year 2, struggling to do what he is supposed to do best — make defenders miss in the open field.
And what about his route-running? The transition from college to the pro game these days can be very hard for receivers not trained to run precise NFL-style patterns.
So we’ll see about Austin. He appears to be healthy again, back to full speed. He is working hard and saying all the right things in his interviews.
There are no excuses now. It’s time to produce.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering how much gas is left in the Cardinal bullpen for today’s game:
Are you surprised that Bill Belichick has even heard of Snoop Dogg?
Should NFL players issue spoiler alerts while discussing “Game of Thrones” in their locker room?
What’s more entertaining than dog surfing?
WHAT OTHERS ARE WRITING
Here are sports takes from some of our favorite scribes:
Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com: “The 2014 Cardinals were an 11-5 team that outscored their opposition by a mere 11 points. There have been 88 other 11-5 teams since the league went to the 16-game schedule, and 86 of those 88 teams posted a better point differential than these Cardinals. Head coach Bruce Arians is very familiar with one of those two other teams, since he was at the helm for most of its stunning season as the interim head coach of the 2012 Colts. They kept their 11-win stretch up despite a variety of numerical indicators suggesting they would decline. The other example, the 2004 Falcons, dropped off from 11-5 to 8-8 the following year. Different paths! The 11-point differential suggests the Cardinals were basically about average. The Pythagorean expectation has them playing at the level of an 8.3-win team last season. That gap between their actual win total and their expected win total, 2.7 wins, is the largest in football. No other team had a gap of two wins or more, with the Bengals in second at 1.9 wins.”
Mike Tanier, Bleacher Report: “The Eagles’ offseason was so tumultuous that some of the stranger details were easy to forget. Frank Gore agreed to contract terms then backed away to sign with the Colts instead. (DeMarco) Murray and Ryan Mathews arrived at Eagles headquarters at the same time to apply for the same job; both were hired. Also, there were nonstop rumors about a Marcus Mariota trade. And then (Tim) Tebow. The final haul was heavy on players coming off major injuries (Sam Bradford, Kiko Alonso), players with hefty price tags (Bradford, Murray, Byron Maxwell), (Chip) Kelly’s former Oregon players (Alonso, Walter Thurmond), major risks and baffling questions. The Eagles’ offseason transactions flew in the face of both conventional wisdom and the football management survival instinct. A new coach on a rebuilding team might swap quarterbacks, running backs, and much more to jump-start his regime. But coaches of 10-win teams are hardwired to keep the team intact for 10 more wins so everyone stays employed. Gamble big and lose big, and the house goes on the market, the kids get pulled out of school, and everyone’s careers go (at best) sideways.”
MEGAPHONE
“Franchise quarterbacks hit the free-agent market? Name one. Unless they have an injury. So it’s going to be an onus on our scouting staff to find a guy in the lower first round, second or third round. We accept that challenge. It’s where we are, and it’s been good that we have enough talent around that we’re in that situation, but it’s not an easy answer. There isn’t.”
Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley, to WGR radio
August 6, 2015 at 9:52 am #28182znModeratorFans and experts alike blamed Schottenheimer for failing to utilize Austin correctly, but there is no evidence that Tavon can actually get separation against NFL defenses.
Did Rams quarterbacks fail to spot him because he is short? Or as it the fact he was seldom open?
That’s my view too.
My view was always this. That Schott used Austin the ways Austin actually was useable.
If Cigz is going to get more from Austin, Austin has to be able to DO more.
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