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Austin will never be as good as I hoped, I fear, because of a number of factors. He has shown that he cannot bounce off a hit or even break an arm tackle. He’s too easy to bring down once contacted. He isn’t as instinctive a football player as I hoped. It takes him time to understand the offense and his role, and it’s taken him too long to adjust to the speed of the NFL. The injuries have hurt his progress, too. I don’t know if he’s “injury prone” but I underestimated how much his small stature may lead to injuries. That has nothing to do with his height, but his build and strength. Where his size does hurt is that he’s so small on the outside that most QBs are going to have a hard time seeing him and dropping the ball to him between the safety and the corner. They’re not going to try to throw high to him along the sideline.
Yet, despite all of that, he’s made some amazing plays. Just not consistently enough. I also think he’s done a good job running the ball out of the backfield, much better than I ever anticipated. He’s just more of a situational type of guy. On a wide open offense, he’d be hell to cover, but I do agree with RFL to an extent that he doesn’t really fit with this offense … not enough to justify what they gave up for him. You don’t take the type of player that we collectively described here in the Top 10, and you sure don’t trade up for him. I was excited to get him, and surprised when the Rams traded up for him. But, I think the Rams missed the boat on what he could be on this team. I’m sure they thought he could make a major impact immediately. Now, you have to game plan just to try to get him involved. This is definitely going to be a telling year as to whether Austin can take a step forward. If he doesn’t, I could see this team trading him next offseason.
i agree with a lot of that. at this point i’d say he’s a fourth wide receiver on this team at best. i do think, however, he can have a fit on this offense. a change of pace if you will. like i said you could pound a team with gurley and mason and then hit them with a change of pace running a jet sweep with austin. i could see that being effective. again. not on a regular basis but every once in awhile to keep the defense honest. and then finding him deep every now and then for a quick strike.
i think he’d be a nice contrast to the featured players on offense.
well i take comfort in the fact that laram calls gurley a luxury pick. which i take to mean he’s not necessarily a bad player but a bad pick…
haha!
i do think gurley will have a significant role in the passing game as well. he’ll make a good safety valve for foles. but i also think he’ll be able to provide some big plays there.
also hopefully quick comes back healthy. and bailey gets some chemistry going with his qb.
i also agree about the oline. they need to re-sign barksdale.
jamal lewis tore his right lateral collateral ligament in college. i don’t believe it required surgery. other ligaments are able to heal on their own. he then tore his acl his second year in the pros. but yes. lewis tore a ligament before getting drafted. not the dreaded acl tear. but it was a ligament tear.
let’s also be clear. despite advances in surgery, athletes with an acl tear are at significant risk for re-tear in the first year compared to athletes who haven’t torn their acl. that much is clear.
there are also significant long-term consequences of tearing your acl. fortunately for fans, these usually don’t surface until well after their playing career. although unfortunate for them.
