TST: Austin compares to Bengals' Hawkins?

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CGI_Ram

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Pretty good piece and interesting video at the end.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2013/6/27/4471678/tavon-is-that-you" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2013/6/27/ ... s-that-you</a>

Andrew_Hawkins_Cincinnati_Bengals_v_Washington_z3DWs-_MsmUx_medium.jpg


By BlueRambo on Jun 27 2013, 4:36p

As you're about to bare witness to, I Do Not Do A Lot Of Writing. However, I feel this is thought worth sharing with my fellow TSTers....

Alright, its late June and I 'm still trying to come to terms with my addiction to Rams football. This offseason has been a particularly exciting time to be a Rams fan with all of our recent acquisitions... Alec Ogletree, Jared Cook, Jake Long, and Stedman Bailey, along with the growth of Brian Quick (Please check out my fanpost link concerning him), Chris Givens, Michael Brockers, and Isaiah Pead, I think any football fan would understand why we as Rams fans are so amped for the season to start.

This offseason I've spent countless hours on youtube trying to figure out how our young players will grow into their roles and what the future may hold for our rookies. At this point in the offseason we've all seen the highlights a thousand times.... So, to help get my Rams fix I've been scouring in the internetzzz for comparisons in relation to our rookies and current NFL players.

So of course the guy who fascinates me most is our number one pick, Tavon Austin... I've look through many a highlight video of Percy Harvin and I do see some similarities in their play, but to me, Percy Harvin's size and strength separate the two players significantly.

It seems like people take for granted how strong Percy Harvin actually is. I've seen him put many defenders on their back side with his power. He usually falls over the defender in doing so, but that is a characteristic Tavon Austin does not possess.... It his power and running style (he leans forward when he runs) that allows him to consistently run through would be tacklers if he is not wrapped up properly... Tavon, by nature of slight frame, avoids this contact. This isnt necessarily a bad thing, It's just his style, and he is more than capable of making defenders miss or look downright silly while trying to tackle him...

Because of this distinction, I've spent countless more hours pondering a more adequate comparison.... Recently, Ive began to explore former Ram and current Bengals WR Andrew Hawkins. Hawkins is listed on at 5'7 180 lbs on his espn stats page... I couldnt find an official combine 40 time but when i googled it, his 40 time came back at -------drum roll, please---- 4.34 seconds. The exact same time Tavon Austin ran at the NFL Combine back in February.... His stats aren't really that impressive, espn's stats read as follows:

REC TGTS YDS AVG LNG TD FD ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
2012 Regular Season 51 80 533 10.5 59 4 24 6 30 5.0 11 0 1 0

He's 27 years old and has a lot of wiggle in his game.... Tavon, being a former RB, has better vision imo, and plays a little more under control. Cant really speak with any certainty about his hand, I do know Tavon's are immaculate... Also, Tavon has a knack for setting defenders and blockers up, which is something that I didnt see a lot of in the highlight video of Hawkins I'm about to show you guys.... So in short, I think he's a poor mans Tavon Austin, but all this is just my Rams Bias speaking on behalf of me, in actuality, we've never seen Tavon play in a snap in the NFL....

As promised, check out this highlight video of Tavon's look alike.....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x04xQ8fLANI[/youtube]

So, my question to you guys is: does Tavon Austin surpass Andrew Hawkins 51 receptions for 533 yds in his rookie campaign?
 

Lesson

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The Rams had Hawkins under contract in 2011. Once the lockout ended, he was waived.

Granted, Amendola was there, and Pettis and Salas were both drafted.
 

fastcat

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Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?

Not suprising we cut him... For some reason spags and devanney didn't like speed. We probably fielded the slowest NFL team this century in 2010 and 11. And he is fast, but I agree Austin is quicker.

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CGI_Ram

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Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?

We had to make room for Dominique Curry and Nick Miller :nono: .
 

-X-

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CGI_Ram said:
Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?

We had to make room for Dominique Curry and Nick Miller :nono: .
I liked Big Dome. He was a special teams ACE, baby!
And Nick Miller? What's not to like about Nick the Quick?

[nfl]09000d5d8247f887[/nfl]
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8247f887/Miller-punt-return-TD" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... -return-TD</a>
 

CGI_Ram

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X said:
CGI_Ram said:
Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?

We had to make room for Dominique Curry and Nick Miller :nono: .
I liked Big Dome. He was a special teams ACE, baby!
And Nick Miller? What's not to like about Nick the Quick?

Neither one is in the league anymore :idk: ?

Okay, that's not completely true. Nick is with Philly. Still.
 

-X-

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CGI_Ram said:
X said:
CGI_Ram said:
Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?

We had to make room for Dominique Curry and Nick Miller :nono: .
I liked Big Dome. He was a special teams ACE, baby!
And Nick Miller? What's not to like about Nick the Quick?

Neither one is in the league anymore :idk: ?

Okay, that's not completely true. Nick is with Philly. Still.
I know. I was being fairly facetious there, but still. I love all my Rams when they're Rams.
Unless they're saboteur-Rams. In which case I don't love them.
 

WvuIN02

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I watched the video, and he is no Tavon. Austin has quicks that I haven't seen since Barry Sanders. The difference is he gets from 0-100 faster than anyone I have ever seen and this guy just doesn't have that kind of explosion. Love Hawkins story though, good to see one of the non thugs made it with hard work and determination.
 

A55VA6

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WvuIN02 said:
I watched the video, and he is no Tavon. Austin has quicks that I haven't seen since Barry Sanders. The difference is he gets from 0-100 faster than anyone I have ever seen and this guy just doesn't have that kind of explosion. Love Hawkins story though, good to see one of the non thugs made it with hard work and determination.

I agree. Tavon is seriously the quickest player I've seen. Hawkins has some quickness and speed, but to Tavon it's unmatched. Todd McShay said it the best:
 

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Stranger

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I'm just soooo excited about seeing this kid in a Rams uni. The anticipation is killing me.
 

Ram Quixote

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Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?
They also released Avery. You can see McD's hand in this. Taller receivers fit his scheme, not the smurf-type receivers.
 

jrry32

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Tavon Austin is Tavon Austin. He's an extremely unique and rare talent. And I expect huge things from him.
 

CGI_Ram

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Hawkins shows smaller players can be productive at WR... which is the knock on Austin. So I see the comparison there.

Not knocking Hawkins, but Austin is on a different level athletically. Like others have said; he's bringing to the field something the NFL hasn't seen before at the position.

And... I REALLY like that the Rams have a couple of players that could give big CB's fits. While everyone in the league beefs up at CB... we have some counter weapons.
 

Lesson

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Ram Quixote said:
Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?
They also released Avery. You can see McD's hand in this. Taller receivers fit his scheme, not the smurf-type receivers.

Avery was released because he didn't play ST. Hawkins was never given a shot, so it's not exactly the samething.
 

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Lesson said:
Ram Quixote said:
Stranger said:
WOW. and we released this guy?
They also released Avery. You can see McD's hand in this. Taller receivers fit his scheme, not the smurf-type receivers.

Avery was released because he didn't play ST. Hawkins was never given a shot, so it's not exactly the samething.
That's partially the reasoning, but McDaniels absolutely wanted taller receivers. The taller the better. The rationale being, he wanted guys who could go up and catch contested balls easier than a shorter receiver could. It went hand-in-hand with his "chuck it downfield" philosophy.
 

HitStick

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I think Tavon is a more ''electric'' and constiant version of T.Y. Hilton. I think his rookies year will be similar but because of Tavons quickness and vision, he will have more big plays.

<a class="postlink" href="https://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=wAdgz8tGpDw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_ur ... Adgz8tGpDw</a>

It really hard is to compare him with anyone. He is a one of a kind athlete.
 

fastcat

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HitStick said:
I think Tavon is a more ''electric'' and constiant version of T.Y. Hilton. I think his rookies year will be similar but because of Tavons quickness and vision, he will have more big plays.

<a class="postlink" href="https://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=wAdgz8tGpDw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_ur ... Adgz8tGpDw</a>

It really hard is to compare him with anyone. He is a one of a kind athlete.

I can't wait to see Austin in action... At 1:30 thru 1:55 of that video, I have no doubt Austin scores on both of those plays!! Now I'm gonna go watch tavon's highlights on YouTube till I fall asleep, Lmao.

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