Tavon Austin disappearing from Rams offense/NFL.com

[EastRam]

Tavon Austin disappearing from St. Louis Rams offense

By Chris Wesseling
Around the League Writer

[www.nfl.com]

When the St. Louis Rams traded up to select Tavon Austin at No. 8 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, they had visions of Percy Harvin dancing in their heads. What they have seen through six games more closely resembles Dexter McCluster.

Austin's playing time has declined steadily over the past four games, culminating in a season-low three offensive snaps in Sunday's blowout victory over the Houston Texans.

"It's just the way the game went," coach Jeff Fisher said, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We didn't have a whole lot of plays, didn't have a lot of opportunities on offense."

Fisher's explanation checks out, as the Rams ran Austin's "11" personnel package on just seven snaps in Week 6. The approach has changed on offense the past two weeks, with Sam Bradford passing the ball just 41 percent of the time versus 71 percent in the first four games.

That said, it's abundantly clear that the coaching staff's preseason plans to showcase Austin's explosiveness and versatility have long since been ditched.

One of the least effective receivers in the NFL thus far, Austin has dropped seven passes and forced just two missed tackles while averaging a scant 6.03 yards on 28 offensive touches.

As McCluster has already discovered over the past four years, the elite tackling skills and speed of NFL linebackers make it difficult for an undersized player such as Austin to operate in traffic.

As we have discussed several times on the Around The League Podcast, Austin's size and power limitations leave the onus on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to scheme ways to get the ball in Austin's hands in space.

Whether or not Austin has reached a level in his development that will allow him to be showcased, Schottenheimer's plans for the uniquely talented player remain as hazy as the Rams' offensive identity.

Would a more advanced offensive coaching staff find a way to unlock Austin's game-breaking potential?

It's hard to say with certainty, but the evidence against this regime's ability to develop skill-position talent is piling up with 2012 second-round draft picks Isaiah Pead and Brian Quick also relegated to minor roles.

 

[WvuIN02]

That last sentence is the important one. I think if Austin ended up on a team like the Patriots or Broncos they would be finding ways to get him the ball.

I'll never understand hiring BS, as his offenses during his stint in the NFL have never ever been anything even remotely explosive or innovative. Starting to think being drafted to a guy like BS could have been the worst thing to happen to Austin. The Rams have way too many offensive weapons to have this kind of crappy production. Something needs to change if this continues for the rest of the year.

And I dont care how nice it is for Bradford to have the same OC if that OCs offense is putrid.

 

[RamFan503]

That last sentence is the important one. I think if Austin ended up on a team like the Patriots or Broncos they would be finding ways to get him the ball.

I'll never understand hiring BS, as his offenses during his stint in the NFL have never ever been anything even remotely explosive or innovative. Starting to think being drafted to a guy like BS could have been the worst thing to happen to Austin. The Rams have way too many offensive weapons to have this kind of crappy production. Something needs to change if this continues for the rest of the year.

And I dont care how nice it is for Bradford to have the same OC if that OCs offense is putrid.

This^^^

One other thing though is that Tavon needs to catch the damn ball. Oh - and our ST needs to stop screwing him with penalties every time he gets a decent return. If those two things were to have happened, we'd be talking about much different numbers for the kid. He still wouldn't be getting the types of plays he should IMO but he would be far more productive.

 

[RamzFanz]

That last sentence is the important one. I think if Austin ended up on a team like the Patriots or Broncos they would be finding ways to get him the ball.

I'll never understand hiring BS, as his offenses during his stint in the NFL have never ever been anything even remotely explosive or innovative. Starting to think being drafted to a guy like BS could have been the worst thing to happen to Austin. The Rams have way too many offensive weapons to have this kind of crappy production. Something needs to change if this continues for the rest of the year.

And I dont care how nice it is for Bradford to have the same OC if that OCs offense is putrid.

This^^^

One other thing though is that Tavon needs to catch the damn ball. Oh - and our ST needs to stop screwing him with penalties every time he gets a decent return. If those two things were to have happened, we'd be talking about much different numbers for the kid. He still wouldn't be getting the types of plays he should IMO but he would be far more productive.

I really only remember one game where he had the dropsies. I haven't looked at numbers but overall I don't remember him dropping many in all the other games.

 

[Selassie I]

Many WRs don't develop into "NFL Caliber" until their 3rd+ year. TA is 6 games into his 1st season. Expecting a rookie WR to have dramatic impact right away is a let-down waiting to happen. Some perspective here.

I'm not a huge BS fan,,, and I do think that there may be more innovative ways to involve TA that BS isn't taking advantage of ... but we can't forget that TA is a rookie. Maybe BS is doing as much with TA as TA is capable of at the present time. That has to be considered. Doesn't mean TA will not turn into a deadly weapon on offense during his NFL career.

The real threat of a run gashing by our offense will help TA. We hung his ass out to dry during the first 4 games... his First 4 games.


Any Fucking Questions ? :bign:

 

[-X-]

Maybe BS is doing as much with TA as TA is capable of at the present time. That has to be considered. Doesn't mean TA will not turn into a deadly weapon on offense during his NFL career.

The real threat of a run gashing by our offense will help TA. We hung his ass out to dry during the first 4 games... his First 4 games.


Any Fucking Questions ? :bign:

lus1:

 

[Stranger]

The real threat of a run gashing by our offense will help TA. We hung his ass out to dry during the first 4 games... his First 4 games.

Yup, and it drove me absolutely nuts. I am still only just calming down over this.

 

[tonyl711]

you have a rookie in his first 6 starts who has no running game to make the defense play the run, this kid is still learning the NFL game, did you really expect him to be much more than he is this early? I can give you a very long list of very good WRs who looked worse than TA is looking to begin their NFL carrers. if Stacey keeps running like he has the last 2 weeks you will start to see the passing game open up.

 

[HitStick]

I think if Schottt goes, which may happen, it shouldn't be that hard to find a OC who will use the same language as Schott; yet, be a little more creative.

 

[GreeneCounty]

BS SHOULD NOT BE IN THE NFL. His offensive creative ways is the 1970's

 

[Ky Ram]

I don't see Schotty going anywhere as long as we can run the rock the way Fish wants and still win games. When we get into those shootouts I think the run first philosophy Fish favors will be our undoing. We just let the other team get out in front too far before going uptempo and spread.

Having said all that, even Schotty will be able to take advantage of Tavons talents if teams have to play us as a run first team. Plenty of work to be done in the flat and on screens if we have 8 man fronts and 1 on 1 on the outside. The real loser in all this is Givens IMO. We just do not look deep enough to showcase his biggest strength.

 

[GreeneCounty]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

 

[jrry32]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

Doesn't look like it now that Stacy has emerged and SJ remains on the sideline.

 

[GreeneCounty]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

Doesn't look like it now that Stacy has emerged and SJ remains on the sideline.

jrry32 I do agree I like the sample I seen from Stacy so far. Wonder how things would of been different start of year if he played. I think his sec pedigree is gonna help him in the NFL.

 

[HitStick]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

Doesn't look like it now that Stacy has emerged and SJ remains on the sideline.

jrry32 I do agree I like the sample I seen from Stacy so far. Wonder how things would of been different start of year if he played. I think his sec pedigree is gonna help him in the NFL.

I think the Atlanta game would have been different. Dallas and San Fran we got manhandled. I don't think that would have changed much.

 

[Rabid Ram]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

Doesn't look like it now that Stacy has emerged and SJ remains on the sideline.

jrry32 I do agree I like the sample I seen from Stacy so far. Wonder how things would of been different start of year if he played. I think his sec pedigree is gonna help him in the NFL.

I think the Atlanta game would have been different. Dallas and San Fran we got manhandled. I don't think that would have changed much.

In the San Francisco game if we could have got the offense going it would have made a huuuuge difference

 

[jrry32]

Man I just think letting SJ go without a plan was a mistake.

Doesn't look like it now that Stacy has emerged and SJ remains on the sideline.

jrry32 I do agree I like the sample I seen from Stacy so far. Wonder how things would of been different start of year if he played. I think his sec pedigree is gonna help him in the NFL.

I think the Atlanta game would have been different. Dallas and San Fran we got manhandled. I don't think that would have changed much.

Early on, our defense was slowing SF down. Had our offense not been so 1-dimensional and ineffective...maybe things are different. But that's really impossible to know. We still likely lose that game in bad fashion as Sam was having just a terrible day. He was clearly off that game.

 

[Ramhusker]

Patience grasshopper! I think many here will be pleasingly shocked very soon at how TA's light comes on and this "transformed" team starts shocking the world, maybe even this week?

 

[Username]

Sorry guys, I don't care what any argument is. The Rams refusal to use Austin is ridiculous anyway you look at it. You don't take a player at #8 overall in the draft that you don't intend to play or utilize in a game.

"Well Username, what if the Rams don't use Austin but they still win?" Then it's still dumb, and they shouldn't have taken him. That's not a knock against Austin or Schotty btw. I still think Austin is an extremely talented player, and I don't really mind Schotty that much. However, if they're not a good fit, and he has no use for him, then YOU SHOULD'VE NEVER FUCKING DRAFTED HIM. How many times did I say that before the draft guys? If you're going to draft him, you better use him, and use him how he's suppose to be used. If not, then don't draft him.

 

[-X-]

Sorry guys, I don't care what any argument is. The Rams refusal to use Austin is ridiculous anyway you look at it. You don't take a player at #8 overall in the draft that you don't intend to play or utilize in a game.

"Well Username, what if the Rams don't use Austin but they still win?" Then it's still dumb, and they shouldn't have taken him. That's not a knock against Austin or Schotty btw. I still think Austin is an extremely talented player, and I don't really mind Schotty that much. However, if they're not a good fit, and he has no use for him, then YOU SHOULD'VE NEVER FUCKING DRAFTED HIM. How many times did I say that before the draft guys? If you're going to draft him, you better use him, and use him how he's suppose to be used. If not, then don't draft him.

Well, to be fair, he's just a rookie who is still getting acclimated with picking up an NFL offense and is now going against real football players on defense. We've been putting him in all the right spots. Bubble screens, quick slants, a couple of deep outs, 9's, punt returns, etc. The fact that he's not lighting up the scoreboard yet isn't really an indictment of the OC, IMO, in as much as it's just him not being able to take advantage of his opportunities ---- YET. Chrissakes, he could have had a few REALLY good returns, but laundry keeps flying everytime he gets out past the 30.

We should revisit this at the end of the year and see where he stacks up against other first round receivers.