Tavon Austin disappearing from Rams offense/NFL.com

[-X-]

Pass attempts is misleading as the Rams love to get way behind from running the ball constantly and playing dink and dunk football, then are forced into throwing it 800 times a game to catch up.

I don't wanna get into a big thing about it, because clearly you're set in your belief that Fisher is out of touch with the NFL and it's uber modern ways. But if what you just said was the case, then how do you explain his time in Tennessee? Just pick a year. You'll find that the running and passing attempts are roughly the same (aka balanced) with most years heavy in pass attempts. That kind of football isn't going to disappear. That's the way to dictate the pace of the game, and it works.

 

[Thordaddy]

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. .

Sadly Wvu Tavon has like the second most dropped passes in the league, a stat which speaks for itself

If you drop the ball with that sort of frequency on any team you get the oak especially the Pats

 

[WvuIN02]

Thor: Eh, did you watch the Pats Jets game? Pats receivers dropped a TON of passes in that game and they didn't get benched. Even Brady mentioned not being so hard on rookies, because they're, well, rookies.


And X, let me give you a number.

22

That's the ranking of Brian Schottenheimer's offenses during his career in the NFL vs the rest of the league. Career mediocrity would be putting it nicely. And the fact is.....Fisher isn't running the offense, Schotty is, and he hired him....

BS is a guy whose only success has been on a team which had a stacked OL and running game + a top 3 defense to bail him out there. They sure didn't win in NY with offense. I think any reasonable fan would question why he was hired in the first place. I've love to know the answer to that, because I'm seeing a ton of weapons not being used correctly (Cook -- beast....making no impact, Givens one of the best deep threats in the league and Sam has almost the lowest yards per pass in the NFL...etc).

I think JF is a good coach, but if this continues all season I will have my doubts about the future if BS still remains.

 

[Thordaddy]

Thor: Eh, did you watch the Pats Jets game? Pats receivers dropped a TON of passes in that game and they didn't get benched. Even Brady mentioned not being so hard on rookies, because they're, well, rookies.


And X, let me give you a number.

22

That's the ranking of Brian Schottenheimer's offenses during his career in the NFL vs the rest of the league. Career mediocrity would be putting it nicely. And the fact is.....Fisher isn't running the offense, Schotty is, and he hired him....

BS is a guy whose only success has been on a team which had a stacked OL and running game + a top 3 defense to bail him out there. They sure didn't win in NY with offense. I think any reasonable fan would question why he was hired in the first place. I've love to know the answer to that, because I'm seeing a ton of weapons not being used correctly (Cook -- beast....making no impact, Givens one of the best deep threats in the league and Sam has almost the lowest yards per pass in the NFL...etc).

I think JF is a good coach, but if this continues all season I will have my doubts about the future if BS still remains.

No need to be obstreperous old boy ,YES I know the Pats are rec. poor and Brady has no alternatives and FWIW everyone knows it, none of those guys who are dropping passes came with the hype that caused the Pats to move up to select them, you need to realize Tavon has to bring the game or sit, period ,Pettis ,Givens,Kendricks, Cook all want the ball too ,if Tavon wants it and you want him to get it, he has had chances and he's muffing them so turn your ire upon the real cause of his problems ,even when he's gotten the ball he's tried to fake the best out and it ain't ACC DB's he's facing.
It's not Shotty's fault he's been so indecisive once the ball's in his hands, I 4 one would LOVE to see them run stretch plays with the munchkin and MAKE him play "one cut and go" instead of his current tendency to try to fake the whole defense simultaneously the way he could in college.

 

[Zaphod]

Again, Tavon is actually leading the league with 7 dropped passes.

Sadly, New England does hold second, fourth and seventh in that race.

So here's your more interesting statistics, the rest of the Rams receivers have done fairly well with catching the ball.

So ... knowing that there are way more consistent players on the team and knowing also that Tavon actually leads the team in targets, one could easily make the argument that Brian has tried to use the rookie too much.

 

[Thordaddy]

Again, Tavon is actually leading the league with 7 dropped passes.

Sadly, New England does hold second, fourth and seventh in that race.

So here's your more interesting statistics, the rest of the Rams receivers have done fairly well with catching the ball.

So ... knowing that there are way more consistent players on the team and knowing also that Tavon actually leads the team in targets, one could easily make the argument that Brian has tried to use the rookie too much.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dis right here.

JMO the Rams AND EVEN MORE their fan base have anointed the kid as the messiah who was supposed to transform a pedestrian offense into a juggernaut, and they've PRESSED .
The kid needs to be allowed to BE a rookie and IF he explodes on the scene and dominates fine ,but currently we have people acting as if he's our only hope and he isn't ,we've won two games AFTER deciding to de-emphasize him,we have other weapons they ARE coming to the fore we didn't sell the team to Tavon, he's a player who is struggling ,period, he'll be fine is his head is on straight OR he could go the way of I. Pead and dissociate his performance from his personal mental image and tank, hopefully he becomes a star but he ain't one yet and he hasn't EARNED the right to be extended unlimited chances,so far he's gotten a fat ass signing bonus and hasn't earned that.
The kid didn't invent the game

 

[BonifayRam]

This is what eats me up here on this Tavon Austin current situation..

The Rams move big stuff to bring in TA for Shotty.

Rams traded with Buffalo to get this WR. The Rams gave up a good amount to make this deal:

*Rams first round pick #16
*Rams second round pick#46
*Rams third round pick #71
*Rams seventh round pick #222

Rams got the following from the Bills:

Bills gave first round pick #8 (higher)
Bills gave third round pick #78 (lower)

In conclusion, when the Rams were in such a dire need of offensive weapons in this off season & secured a top 8 draft pick on the most desired offensive weapon in the 2013 draft ...& now with all that this weapon has disappeared from the present offense? Something is seriously wrong with Rams 2013 overall goal & objective plans!

 

[iced]

Thor: Eh, did you watch the Pats Jets game? Pats receivers dropped a TON of passes in that game and they didn't get benched. Even Brady mentioned not being so hard on rookies, because they're, well, rookies.


And X, let me give you a number.

22

That's the ranking of Brian Schottenheimer's offenses during his career in the NFL vs the rest of the league. Career mediocrity would be putting it nicely. And the fact is.....Fisher isn't running the offense, Schotty is, and he hired him....

BS is a guy whose only success has been on a team which had a stacked OL and running game + a top 3 defense to bail him out there. They sure didn't win in NY with offense. I think any reasonable fan would question why he was hired in the first place. I've love to know the answer to that, because I'm seeing a ton of weapons not being used correctly (Cook -- beast....making no impact, Givens one of the best deep threats in the league and Sam has almost the lowest yards per pass in the NFL...etc).

I think JF is a good coach, but if this continues all season I will have my doubts about the future if BS still remains.

Rams lead the league in dropped passes with 17+

 

[bskrilla]

This is what eats me up here on this Tavon Austin current situation..

The Rams move big stuff to bring in TA for Shotty.

Rams traded with Buffalo to get this WR. The Rams gave up a good amount to make this deal:

*Rams first round pick #16
*Rams second round pick#46
*Rams third round pick #71
*Rams seventh round pick #222

Rams got the following from the Bills:

Bills gave first round pick #8 (higher)
Bills gave third round pick #78 (lower)

In conclusion, when the Rams were in such a dire need of offensive weapons in this off season & secured a top 8 draft pick on the most desired offensive weapon in the 2013 draft ...& now with all that this weapon has disappeared from the present offense? -Something is seriously wrong with Rams 2013 overall goal & objective plans!

I have a feeling that if you put a gun to Snead and Fisher's heads and asked them when they truly expected their football team to come together and make a playoff run they would say 2014. I know fans don't like to hear it, but I get the feeling that 2013 is seen as the stepping off point.

 

[ljramsfan]

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

I have said this time and time again..SJ would have held us back this year. If we kept him, I honestly think that the Rams would not have drafted Stacy and SJ would have been on the shelf more than likely.

Back to TA. ATL traded up for Julio Jones and I dont remember him being a HUGE factor for the Falcons his first year

 

[BonifayRam]

I have a feeling that if you put a gun to Snead and Fisher's heads and asked them when they truly expected their football team to come together and make a playoff run they would say 2014. I know fans don't like to hear it, but I get the feeling that 2013 is seen as the stepping off point.

Yes, its obvious to me that the Rams building process has a bunch of shovels & dirt flying in the air & still digging footers.

 

[bskrilla]

Back to TA. ATL traded up for Julio Jones and I dont remember him being a HUGE factor for the Falcons his first year

Julio had 54 receptions for 959 yards and 8 td's his rookie year. So he definitely was a factor.

TA and Julio are completely different types though and that's not a fair comparison. Also Julio stepped into a lineup across from Roddy White and Tony Gonzales. Julio was the third most intimidating receiver for the Falcons his rookie year. That'll help you see a few more 1on1's.

 

[RamzFanz]

Again, Tavon is actually leading the league with 7 dropped passes.

Sadly, New England does hold second, fourth and seventh in that race.

So here's your more interesting statistics, the rest of the Rams receivers have done fairly well with catching the ball.

So ... knowing that there are way more consistent players on the team and knowing also that Tavon actually leads the team in targets, one could easily make the argument that Brian has tried to use the rookie too much.

Dropped balls are definitely an issue. Most of them, as I recall, were him trying to run before he secured the ball.

However, as a percentage of the number of times he was targeted, he is 106th in the league so it's not as bad as it sounds.

Cunningham, Givens, and Quick have all dropped a higher percentage of their targets than TA.

Everyone knows my opinion on TA and the play calling.

 

[bskrilla]

However, as a percentage of the number of times he was targeted, he is 106th in the league so it's not as bad as it sounds.

Cunningham, Givens, and Quick have all dropped a higher percentage of their targets than TA.

This is an important stat. Yah, the raw number of drops look bad but the drop percentage is really the only viable way to access a receivers hands.

 

[Thordaddy]

This is what eats me up here on this Tavon Austin current situation..

The Rams move big stuff to bring in TA for Shotty.

Rams traded with Buffalo to get this WR. The Rams gave up a good amount to make this deal:

*Rams first round pick #16
*Rams second round pick#46
*Rams third round pick #71
*Rams seventh round pick #222

Rams got the following from the Bills:

Bills gave first round pick #8 (higher)
Bills gave third round pick #78 (lower)

In conclusion, when the Rams were in such a dire need of offensive weapons in this off season & secured a top 8 draft pick on the most desired offensive weapon in the 2013 draft ...& now with all that this weapon has disappeared from the present offense? -Something is seriously wrong with Rams 2013 overall goal & objective plans!

I have a feeling that if you put a gun to Snead and Fisher's heads and asked them when they truly expected their football team to come together and make a playoff run they would say 2014. I know fans don't like to hear it, but I get the feeling that 2013 is seen as the stepping off point.

Yeah I think you are right except that I also think they would be OK with it and are efforting to sneak in this year, fans are impatient ,I'm still OK with what we did to get Austin , but he needs to step up and become all he was billed to be when he gets the chance or don't blame the org. and coaches if he takes a little more time, like Quick did.
I wanted desperately to draft Darren Sproles back in the day, he didn't explode on the scene either but BABY if ya knew he was gonna be what is is now and he was out there to be drafted ? SSHHHIIITT , I'm sure we'll work TA in as the season progresses, once defenses have to honor the rest of our stuff, and when he does,I think there will be opposing team's jock straps layin' all over the field I still remember how it was Hakim's second year he became all dat.
Give it time,give it time.
Deez aint Spagnulo's Rams,deez are the young guns

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY[/youtube]

 

[RamzFanz]

No need to be obstreperous old boy ,YES I know the Pats are rec. poor and Brady has no alternatives and FWIW everyone knows it, none of those guys who are dropping passes came with the hype that caused the Pats to move up to select them, you need to realize Tavon has to bring the game or sit, period ,Pettis ,Givens,Kendricks, Cook all want the ball too ,if Tavon wants it and you want him to get it, he has had chances and he's muffing them so turn your ire upon the real cause of his problems ,even when he's gotten the ball he's tried to fake the best out and it ain't ACC DB's he's facing.
It's not Shotty's fault he's been so indecisive once the ball's in his hands, I 4 one would LOVE to see them run stretch plays with the munchkin and MAKE him play "one cut and go" instead of his current tendency to try to fake the whole defense simultaneously the way he could in college.

Obstreperous - noisy and difficult to control. Good word!

TA, as a percentage of targets, has dropped the 106th most. About the same as SJ39 and Amendola for a good comparison. There are many top receivers who have dropped more as a percentage of targets.

Givens and Quick have dropped more as a percentage.

I can't agree that Tavon is indecisive. Watch his plays. When he has an opportunity he hits it and goes. When he doesn't, he dances and tries to make one. I think because people see him dance and get tackled they blame his dancing. They seem to ignore when he makes defenders go down and he creates gains that weren't there. He also does it to prevent the big hit it seems.

When he did that spin and stiff arm on the punt return he knocked the defender off and got another 12 yards yet people in the chat room were criticizing him for doing it. I don't get it. I think he just has a style most people aren't used to.

That play against the Texans where they threw it in the flat to Givens, Quick blocked his man and Long pulled over to block for Givens is exactly the kind of play TA needs. Givens got 12 yards. TA could have tore up the whole field.

Later they throw it to TA in the flat. He's all alone against 3 defenders. I don't get it. Just like I don't get the screen that gets DR 18 yards that is never called again and DR is run up the middle a half dozen times for little gain.

 

[RamFan503]

I'm not sure if they are using Tavon right or not and I'm also not sure who in reality is deciding how to use him. But one thing is that this is not anywhere close to the competition he faced while at WVU. The same amount of space in the NFL closes awfully fast and when you try to juke someone in the NFL, they are usually still there ready to hit you.

There IS a thought that maybe the Rams tried to make TA too much of the new offense too fast and it allowed defenses to stay tighter to him and not worry about other potential play makers. With virtually no running game, there wasn't a lot for defenses to get spread out by. Pretty hard to get someone the ball in space when there are no big areas of space. Now, maybe this is also due to the play calling.

I still don't understand what APPEARS to be very lack luster play calling and the inability to put what appear to be obvious play makers in position to make bigger plays. I keep hoping it is coming but honestly - nothing I see aside from a real change in methodology is going to allow it to happen. Again - maybe THAT is coming.

If we can keep up the run game and bust a few long runs, it will open up more space where TA needs to operate. Until then, I think you will still see a methodical, low-risk, and potentially low reward offense.

 

[Zaphod]

I don't know about Austin being indecisive, when you watch his punt returns, he very decisively draws defenders into blockers.

I would like to see him used as a running back more, I'm surprised they haven't. I'd love to see him run a counter play. But he's a rookie and he'll be worked into the game more over time.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I have a feeling that if you put a gun to Snead and Fisher's heads and asked them when they truly expected their football team to come together and make a playoff run they would say 2014. I know fans don't like to hear it, but I get the feeling that 2013 is seen as the stepping off point.

I completely agree.

 

[jrry32]

No need to be obstreperous old boy ,YES I know the Pats are rec. poor and Brady has no alternatives and FWIW everyone knows it, none of those guys who are dropping passes came with the hype that caused the Pats to move up to select them, you need to realize Tavon has to bring the game or sit, period ,Pettis ,Givens,Kendricks, Cook all want the ball too ,if Tavon wants it and you want him to get it, he has had chances and he's muffing them so turn your ire upon the real cause of his problems ,even when he's gotten the ball he's tried to fake the best out and it ain't ACC DB's he's facing.
It's not Shotty's fault he's been so indecisive once the ball's in his hands, I 4 one would LOVE to see them run stretch plays with the munchkin and MAKE him play "one cut and go" instead of his current tendency to try to fake the whole defense simultaneously the way he could in college.

That's exactly what he's been doing.