Tavon Austin is an interesting player...

[Rams43]

Check out his stats. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/15786/tavon-austin

Might be the most overrated player on the team.

Not the best RB, that's for sure. Not with Gurley back there.

Not the best WR, either. Those are mediocre numbers, fellas.

He's a middle of the road PR, too. At best.

Yet he's treated like he's the Second Coming by so many.

I think he's a fine gadget player. A Swiss Army knife that does several things well. But not any one thing at a near Pro Bowl level. Not one. I know that they've already exercised his 5th year option, but at $12 million I wonder if we're getting full value.

Not a totally wasted #8 overall, I guess. But in a do over I would certainly go in a different direction. Hardly a beast on O.

I predict that Cooper will outplay Austin in a WR capacity this year by mid season. And will largely be able to replace his "gadget-ability" as well. Reportedly, Cooper already has a better handle on the playbook and O concepts before his first CAMP than Austin did after 2 full seasons.

My candidate for Mr Overrated as runner up is GZ, btw.

Check these stats out. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/14993/greg-zuerlein

Note the downward trend since '13.

Note also the 5 of 8 between 40-49 yards last year.

A case could be made that GZ cost us 2-3 games last year. We can do better. Yet Fisher has not brought in credible competition for GZ. Is he concerned about GZ's psyche? Kinda like he apparently was with Bradford?

Just wanted to get my frustrations regarding these two overrated (IMO) players off my chest.

Oops! How could I forget Jeff Fisher in this little rant? He just might be at the head of the Mr Overrated competition all by himself. Lol.

 

[den-the-coach]

Concur about Greg Zuerlein BTW, @jrry32 made some valid points that Fisher asks quite a bit of him kicking long field goals which does play into his confidence, but I don't understand why when Fisher stated that there would be legitimate competition for Zuerlein this season the Rams chose not to sign the likes of Connor Barth, Garrett Hartely or even Zach Hocker who they had in for a cup of coffee last year. No, they bring in Taylor Bertolet who when you read is bio seems quite a bit like Greg Zuerlein.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Check out his stats. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/15786/tavon-austin

Might be the most overrated player on the team.

Not the best RB, that's for sure. Not with Gurley back there.

Not the best WR, either. Those are mediocre numbers, fellas.

He's a middle of the road PR, too. At best.

Yet he's treated like he's the Second Coming by so many.

I think he's a fine gadget player. A Swiss Army knife that does several things well. But not any one thing at a near Pro Bowl level. Not one. I know that they've already exercised his 5th year option, but at $12 million I wonder if we're getting full value.

Not a totally wasted #8 overall, I guess. But in a do over I would certainly go in a different direction. Hardly a beast on O.

I predict that Cooper will outplay Austin in a WR capacity this year by mid season. And will largely be able to replace his "gadget-ability" as well. Reportedly, Cooper already has a better handle on the playbook and O concepts before his first CAMP than Austin did after 2 full seasons.

My candidate for Mr Overrated as runner up is GZ, btw.

Check these stats out. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/14993/greg-zuerlein

Note the downward trend since '13.

Note also the 5 of 8 between 40-49 yards last year.

A case could be made that GZ cost us 2-3 games last year. We can do better. Yet Fisher has not brought in credible competition for GZ. Is he concerned about GZ's psyche? Kinda like he apparently was with Bradford?

Just wanted to get my frustrations regarding these two overrated (IMO) players off my chest.

Oops! How could I forget Jeff Fisher in this little rant? He just might be at the head of the Mr Overrated competition all by himself. Lol.

He's an exciting player to watch, but I doubt you'll get much of an argument from very many fans on his value and production.

Hopefully, he turns in better production this year as a wr.
At 12 mill a year, I would like to see 70received and around 900 yds in addition to his rushing yds.
That's not to much to ask imo.

I do move to the edge of my seat when he gets the ball.

 

[JackDRams]

Your post about TA is rediculous. I guess the multiple returns for TDs called back are his fault. In that case, he is a shit returner. And if it's "reported" that Cooper has a better feel for the playbook now then TA after two years, you better post this so called report otherwise nobody can take this garbage seriously. TA is the definition of electric. Any time the ball is in his hands, whether it be as a receiver or running back, it has a chance to go to the house. How many scores did he have last year? 10 on 141 touches. Gurley had 10 on 250 touches. The team asks Tavon to do it all. Meanwhile he hasn't had a QB worth a damn. Gimme a break. Drops mic.

 

[Loyal]

He's an exciting player to watch, but I doubt you'll get much of an argument from very many fans on his value and production.

Hopefully, he turns in better production this year as a wr.
At 12 mill a year, I would like to see 70received and around 900 yds in addition to his rushing yds.
That's not to much to ask imo.

I do move to the edge of my seat when he gets the ball.

This is the quality that increases his value, imo..Looking at dry stats is just a part of the story. When you see almost any other WR catch a ball, they make a few yards or more, you think "that's nice".....

When Austin gets the ball, it's almost "Anything Can Happen" time. Overrated? I guess we'll find out when an actual franchise QB is serving up the ball,after Goff gets a few games under his belt.

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Definitely think all the bum ass QB play and schemeing we've had in past years plays into Tavons production. Shit remember when Shotty didn't even have him targeted/involved in the game the whole year almost, that shit was ridiculous. I think we have failed to develop and get him involved more than he has failed us.

 

[…..]

I've not been the biggest Tavon supporter, but even I can recognize that stats do nothing to support his actual value to the offense.

 

[Roman Snow]

TA is underrated. When I saw the PR "average at best" comment I laughed. What, is this personal? He is the second most exciting weapon on our team. I think he will be able to shine in Groh's offense.

 

[StealYoGurley]

GZ ill agree with you 100% even though he is asked to kick longer field goals than most he is terribly inconsistent and his game really falls off kicking outside or on grass (scary considering we now play outside on grass at home).

As for Tavon How is he overrated? I don't think anyone has ever called him more than the second best offensive weapon on this team. Take Tavon out of this offense last year and you could potentially have the worst offense of all time.

Cooper replacing Tavon? No way! No one is scared of Coopers speed around the edge and they don't even play the same position. Tavon hasn't played extensively in the slot since the failed experiment that was his rookie year. Tavon just going in motion opened things up for Gurley and the whole offense because all eyes are always on him.

You point out Tavon's mediocre stats, but ignore his good ones. He was near the top of the league in yards after the catch and broken tackles by a WR thats amazing considering how little he got the ball compared to top guys and when you consider how few offensive plays the rams had compared to the rest of the league

I also think the coaches in the league would disagree. After Tavon had a pretty good first game against the cards they made an adjustment and had Patrick Peterson shadow him.

Is Tavon a clear number one guy? Probably not, but he definitely more than just a gadget WR and is an offensive weapon teams always have to gameplan for. Even if you do he is beating you around the edge 9/10 a trait many guys in the league don't have.

 

[Merlin]

This opens some interesting discussion 43.

First off going back I don't think Tavon was a good "fit" for a power offense. Best spot for him to land out of the draft would have been Philly where Kelly would have simplified things for him and put him in space in that spread, pass-happy attack. Or Green Bay, where he'd be just another receiver and have Rodgers dropping dimes right into his hands. On either of those rosters he'd be a star right now instead of a guy on the threshold of stardom. Fit is so important with picks, and then you have that rawness too, which is also fit but does it make sense to take a guy who will need 3 years to develop in round 1 when the contract is for only 5 years? IMO Snead learned valuable lessons as GM from the Tavon and Quick picks.

Secondly, I don't think it's fair to call him overrated. Nobody talks about him like he's a dominating receiver, either on the boards here or in the media. The spin is usually that he's a unique weapon that the Rams' staff has been unable to utilize correctly and as tired as that take is I think it's one I agree with. And this is why I posted before the Rams moved up for Goff that I thought they might package him in trade to move up. Not questioning how the trade went down, mind you, as I am very happy they got Goff. But had they packaged Tavon in there they would have been able to keep some of those picks and use them on more valued receivers in the draft, guys like Shepherd from Oklahoma or Boyd, etc.

Going forward one of my biggest hopes is that Tavon finally lives up to his rare talent level this season. And if/when he does it will demonstrate what many of us have been saying all along: Fisher's OC hires have been a steaming pile of excrement with the Rams. It's just gonna come down to whether Boras and Groh are up to snuff to compete at this level as teachers and engineers of scheme. Given that, the kid is going to have a great season in this offense.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Please explain how GZ may have cost 2-3 games last year

 

[OldSchool]

Please explain how GZ may have cost 2-3 games last year

Any games that you can claim were lost by GZ will end up coming back and have been lost by the Offense/QB/OC.

As for the Tavon being over rated I'm on record as having not liked the pick from the get go. He's that gimmick type player that you don't want the other team having and beating you with. But he in no way shape or form IMO deserves #1 WR money that he's likely to command next off season.

 

[RamFan503]

I predict that Cooper will outplay Austin in a WR capacity this year by mid season. And will largely be able to replace his "gadget-ability" as well. Reportedly, Cooper already has a better handle on the playbook and O concepts before his first CAMP than Austin did after 2 full seasons.

So who would say this even if true? Reportedly? To who from whom? This is an assumption by some simply because Fisher made a simple, non-specific comment about how Cooper is picking up the playbook. Great on Cooper but let's not make this big of a conclusion jump.

You really can't look at all the big returns that have been called back, and even a couple big plays that were called back, the throws that sailed out of bounds when he had his man beat like a drum, and simply cite stats to demonstrate the value of a player like TA. It is obvious to anyone watching that when the ball is in his hands, there is a WooHoo! moment from Rams fans and an Oh SHIT! moment from opposing fans and coaches. Add to that the plays that TA can open up for Gurley and others simply from him being on the field and running by the QB. He absolutely has to be accounted for. That carries a value no stat can measure. Do I wish his stats were better? Absolutely. Do I put that all on TA? Absolutely not.

Now GZ? Seems to me the dude just needs to get his head straight. If you watch him in warm ups VS the other team's kicker, it is really night and day as far as whacking the ball. Problem is of course that none of that matters if it sails right or left. I really do think his decline is mental and if he can overcome that, he has the ability to be a great one.

Fisher? I have mixed emotions on Jeff. I like the way he and Snead have built the team. I don't like some of the coaching decisions and never liked the hiring of Schotty. I was lukewarm on the Fisher hiring from the beginning but saw him as likely the best candidate actually available at the time. Unfortunately, despite the lack of winning seasons and playoff appearances, I still see it that way. I'm just hoping that he has finished the build that will be a model of winning and sustainability. I'm tired of rebuilding.

 

[Rams43]

Your post about TA is rediculous. I guess the multiple returns for TDs called back are his fault. In that case, he is a crap returner. And if it's "reported" that Cooper has a better feel for the playbook now then TA after two years, you better post this so called report otherwise nobody can take this garbage seriously. TA is the definition of electric. Any time the ball is in his hands, whether it be as a receiver or running back, it has a chance to go to the house. How many scores did he have last year? 10 on 141 touches. Gurley had 10 on 250 touches. The team asks Tavon to do it all. Meanwhile he hasn't had a QB worth a damn. Gimme a break. Drops mic.

Are you Tavon's agent, Jack? Lol.

And "garbage"? Pretty harsh, man. I assumed that posters have been keeping up with the beat reports coming out of OTA's. Sorry if you missed them. But that's your problem, not mine. Might be worth your time to research before attacking someone of posting "garbage".

Austin has been most effective when running "trick plays" such as sweeps and reverses. Not as a PR. He's barely league average there. Not as a WR. He's been mediocre as a WR.

Look, your post demonstrates exactly why I consider Austin to be most overrated. Your opinion of him far exceeds his actual production. Two preceding OC's struggled to come up with trick plays for Austin to try to justify that lofty pick status. Took them 3 damned years and 3 OC's to even come close. Austin's not been the most "football smart" player the Rams have ever had, either. Might be part of the problem. I dunno...

I don't think he's worth anywhere near the $12 million he's gonna get in '17.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Rams43]

TA is underrated. When I saw the PR "average at best" comment I laughed. What, is this personal? He is the second most exciting weapon on our team. I think he will be able to shine in Groh's offense.

Check out these punt return stats, Roman.

http://www.footballdb.com/stats/stats.html?mode=PR

Tavon was ranked 13th last year.

Sometimes perception is very different from reality. Tavon is such a case.

 

[OldSchool]

Check out these punt return stats, Roman.

http://www.footballdb.com/stats/stats.html?mode=PR

Tavon was ranked 13th last year.

Sometimes perception is very different from reality. Tavon is such a case.

That's in pure yards, when you go by yards per return he drops to 18th and that's with the 75 yard TD. Last year he was very average on returns.

 

[Rams43]

GZ ill agree with you 100% even though he is asked to kick longer field goals than most he is terribly inconsistent and his game really falls off kicking outside or on grass (scary considering we now play outside on grass at home).

As for Tavon How is he overrated? I don't think anyone has ever called him more than the second best offensive weapon on this team. Take Tavon out of this offense last year and you could potentially have the worst offense of all time.

Cooper replacing Tavon? No way! No one is scared of Coopers speed around the edge and they don't even play the same position. Tavon hasn't played extensively in the slot since the failed experiment that was his rookie year. Tavon just going in motion opened things up for Gurley and the whole offense because all eyes are always on him.

You point out Tavon's mediocre stats, but ignore his good ones. He was near the top of the league in yards after the catch and broken tackles by a WR thats amazing considering how little he got the ball compared to top guys and when you consider how few offensive plays the rams had compared to the rest of the league

I also think the coaches in the league would disagree. After Tavon had a pretty good first game against the cards they made an adjustment and had Patrick Peterson shadow him.

Is Tavon a clear number one guy? Probably not, but he definitely more than just a gadget WR and is an offensive weapon teams always have to gameplan for. Even if you do he is beating you around the edge 9/10 a trait many guys in the league don't have.

Here's the thing SYG.

Being the second best O weapon on the '15 O is faint praise, indeed. Like being the second tallest Pygmy.

As to Cooper? We'll see. Too early to call just yet.

But I like him as a PR and WR better than Austin already. Better hands, better route breaks, better knowledge of playbook, better knowledge of what the O play is designed to do, taller, bigger catch radius...

Mark my words. Cooper is gonna raise some eyebrows on a formerly WR pathetic corps.

I will say that our former QB situation didn't exactly help Austin, though. Or anyone else, for that matter..

 

[LACHAMP46]

I feel what @Rams43 is saying. 43 feels that the #8 pick, moved up for...extra players...should be contributing more...esp. for $12 million a year....

Tavon is in a prove it type year...we added 3 basically pure slot wrs....he better get it going. With better QB play, I think he'll have a much better ypc #.....and maybe the same number of catches in less targets....

Reminds me a lil of Quick...they added 3 pure outside receivers....he really better get it going....

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Any games that you can claim were lost by GZ will end up coming back and have been lost by the Offense/QB/OC.

As for the Tavon being over rated I'm on record as having not liked the pick from the get go. He's that gimmick type player that you don't want the other team having and beating you with. But he in no way shape or form IMO deserves #1 WR money that he's likely to command next off season.

It's just amazing to me some of the baseless drivel that is suggested here... 2-3 huh? well I guess if I was going post something this damning I would take a peek at games that had missed kicks that were actually close enough to blame on the kicker, and--- there are three;

He did go 0-1 vs the Ravens, yeah you know that 52 yarder into the wind, oh and the great Justin Tuck also missed. a 51 yarder in that game

Then there is that 48 yarder he missed in the 4th quarter of the OT loss vs Minny, I get it...lets just conveniently forget he went 4-5 that game including a 61 yarder AND a rousing clutch 53 yarder to send the game into OT as regular time was drawing near...outdoors on a blustery fall Minnesota afternoon (OUTDOORS) yep he lost that one for us

Then we have the final game at SF, he did miss a 43 yarder and had that blocked kick in the end, I'm not hanging that loss on him

Fire away OP man, I'm looking for some insight I may have missed...respectively

 

[Faceplant]

Will people ever stop bitching about Tavon because of where he was drafted?? Blame Teflon Les for that if it bothers you. He has great hair I hear.

As for Tavon. The dude is one of the only reasons the Rams had any semblance of offense last year. Lolz at these "Stats". Such a lame way to attack a player like Tavon. Oh, so he is not the top WR, RB AND PR in the league??? Shocker. That player has never existed. Who else is even mediocre all three categories??? Nobody, because Austin is the only weapon of his kind in the league.

 

[RamFan503]

Austin has been most effective when running "trick plays" such as sweeps and reverses. Not as a PR. He's barely league average there. Not as a WR. He's been mediocre as a WR.

So compare him to the other receivers taken in that draft. Most people had Patterson as the other top WR. Some had Hopkins. If you want to compare straight stats as far as overall yardage and scoring, TA stacks up against anyone in that draft. Hopkins is more of a straight up receiver - for sure. But even with AP in the backfield, Patterson has been less than impressive for all but portions of his rookie season. He is going backward while TA is going forward.

People want to call TA a slot receiver or say we did not get a top receiver after moving up to 8 to get him. Sorry folks. We didn't move up to get a RECEIVER. We moved up to get a WEAPON. And that weapon has scored more and racked up more yards than any "receiver" in that draft except for Hopkins and they are tied n TDs and TA has only 200 yards less. If you were to add back in the nullified plays, he is ahead in both categories. And this on a completely incompetent offensive unit.

So while he may be over rated by some and may not have the dream stats many have wanted out of him, he has been anything but a wasted pick. You can't just compartmentalize his value and I'm sorry but his plays haven't been "trick" plays. An end around is not a trick play. A screen pass is not a trick play. A crossing route is not a trick play. Schotty running him up the gut behind a line that couldn't block DAMN sure was not a trick play. He has actually had very few trick plays and probably the biggest trick play was when he drew the entire coverage team to his side allowing Sted to score untouched.

I'd add that punters are very aware of TA when he is on the field. Most will give up distance for pinning him to the sideline or flat out kicking it out of bounds. That is a return stat that will never show on a line but what is that worth to a team?

Oh - and as small as he is, he is still a very willing and very effective blocker - another category that rarely gets any mention but I guarantee you the coaches notice.