Article: McVay wants to develop Tavon as a WR.

[ReekofRams]

No question TA is a great threat with the ball however, getting the ball into his hands is the issue. Too short to be a deep threat, put him in the backfield and the defense KNOWS he's getting the ball. IMO he's a slot receiver and nothing else other than maybe a punt returner. Understood he can't handle an end over end kickoff but a punt is a little more tame.

I think there may have been a little there I could agree with, but not the rest.

First, height has very little to being a deep threat if you're fast enough to run right by the defender.

Second, when Tavon was in the backfield they rarely gave him the ball, sing him more as a decoy.

Third, before coming to the Rams he was very adept at catching kick offs as well as punts. I'll agree that Tavon is better at receiving punts, but he's also good, or at least he was, at receiving kick offs.

Fourth, just because you're short and fast does not make you a good slot reveiver, which is why at times even a tight end sometimes plays the slot.

 

[ReekofRams]

This is why I keep saying and saying that he's not a fit for this regime. Said it after McVay was hired. Suggested they trade him while he still had value for that reason too. Nothing has changed. This offense requires precise routes of exact depth, which is why it does as well as it does statistically, and if the QB cannot trust the dude to not round things off or adjust his route due to someone sitting on it, or whatever else, he's not the guy you can trust to make the play when you need it.

He was never a fit and that's not going to change. It's not hate or anything like that, it's just the truth IMO.

Apparently you didn't read what I actually posted, but what I'm saying is Tavon has a butt load of talent and has never been able to display it. So if Coach McVay thinks he can work with him maybe we might be surprised with the results this year. And then again, maybe we won't.

 

[1maGoh]

And? His cutting ability is exactly why he was sought after coming out of the draft - and not just by Fisher. The idea that it was his straight line speed is not even close to reality. He had burst but lacked long speed. It was his ability to make yards by cutting and juking. His nickname in college wasn't Houdini because he outran people. In fact, he gets caught from behind quite a bit. Houdini comes from the thinking you have him boxed in and in the blink of an eye he escapes. To ignore that ankle breaking cutting ability is to ignore practically his whole game. Hell - I think there are still ankles on the field in Oklahoma.

Tavon is fast but it has always been about what he does when he gets the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, that cutting ability hasn't translated to well run routes and being on spot with timing.

Must be a difference in vocabulary.

When you say cuts, I think cutting in route running. He isn't doing that.

What I heard you say above was that when you say cuts, you're referring to his ability to juke and fake people out after a route has been run. That he can do, and he does well. It's less effective in the NFL usually because people are better athletes and more disciplined, but it still works enough to be valuable.

 

[Mackeyser]

And? His cutting ability is exactly why he was sought after coming out of the draft - and not just by Fisher. The idea that it was his straight line speed is not even close to reality. He had burst but lacked long speed. It was his ability to make yards by cutting and juking. His nickname in college wasn't Houdini because he outran people. In fact, he gets caught from behind quite a bit. Houdini comes from the thinking you have him boxed in and in the blink of an eye he escapes. To ignore that ankle breaking cutting ability is to ignore practically his whole game. Hell - I think there are still ankles on the field in Oklahoma.

Tavon is fast but it has always been about what he does when he gets the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, that cutting ability hasn't translated to well run routes and being on spot with timing.

I agree.

That said, I think the reason his change of direction hasn't translated is because McVay had so much on his plate that he really didn't have the bandwidth to get Tavon coached up and instead just used what he had. AND he wasn't healthy and that wrist only got worse as the season wore on. AND, as others have pointed out, no one got better on offense under Fisher.

I think with a full off-season to work on technique/skill acquisition, Tavon can be more than he's been.

Also, can the young man get credit for basically taking a pay cut in order to prove himself?

Yeah, he might have been cut, but he chose to take the reduction to stay and improve even in a market where receivers are getting broke off. All it would have taken is one team willing to pay him and he could have made a business decision to get that money.

Instead, he's committed to learning and contributing to this offense any way he can.

With all the bellyaching about guys only caring about getting paid, Tavon Austin did the opposite.

It's refreshing. Thought he should get a shout out for that.

 

[FarNorth]

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I agree.

That said, I think the reason his change of direction hasn't translated is because McVay had so much on his plate that he really didn't have the bandwidth to get Tavon coached up and instead just used what he had. AND he wasn't healthy and that wrist only got worse as the season wore on. AND, as others have pointed out, no one got better on offense under Fisher.

I think with a full off-season to work on technique/skill acquisition, Tavon can be more than he's been.

Also, can the young man get credit for basically taking a pay cut in order to prove himself?

Yeah, he might have been cut, but he chose to take the reduction to stay and improve even in a market where receivers are getting broke off. All it would have taken is one team willing to pay him and he could have made a business decision to get that money.

Instead, he's committed to learning and contributing to this offense any way he can.

With all the bellyaching about guys only caring about getting paid, Tavon Austin did the opposite.

It's refreshing. Thought he should get a shout out for that.

Excellent post. Not to place blame, and not to say in any way that the players shouldn't have stepped up more, but I also think the coaching staff didn't quite get it done last year with either Austin or Watkins. Let's hope it may be different this year with so much already in place with the offense.

 

[RamFan503]

Must be a difference in vocabulary.

When you say cuts, I think cutting in route running. He isn't doing that.

What I heard you say above was that when you say cuts, you're referring to his ability to juke and fake people out after a route has been run. That he can do, and he does well. It's less effective in the NFL usually because people are better athletes and more disciplined, but it still works enough to be valuable.

Maybe so. But when you are talking about routes, cutting isn't a term I have really heard much. He obviously can cut on a dime but he doesn't seem to be able to translate that ability to route running before the catch. I think probably because he is more of an instinctive runner than he is a route runner. It's not entirely uncommon. When you think of him rounding off routes, it certainly isn't because he can't make a sharp turn. Is it that he is thinking too much about getting to a spot? I really don't know. Hell - I think if the coaches even knew they would have been either doing some serious work there or let him go a long time ago.

Route running or not, the guy needs space to be Houdini. That space is always harder to come by in the NFL on any kind of regular basis. Who knows. Maybe the addition of Cooks and some other guys getting more experience allows us to get him that space. I am not going into this season expecting much from him. But I'll tell you. If either he or the coaches figure out this enigma that is TA, it will be enormously entertaining.

 

[RamFan503]

Now just who is the Queen on this chess board?

Dunno but I hope she has a raft or canoe or sumptin'

 

[DR RAM]

Tavon, to me, and many here is this...

polarizing.

And also a

hot button topic.

 

[ReekofRams]

I agree.

That said, I think the reason his change of direction hasn't translated is because McVay had so much on his plate that he really didn't have the bandwidth to get Tavon coached up and instead just used what he had. AND he wasn't healthy and that wrist only got worse as the season wore on. AND, as others have pointed out, no one got better on offense under Fisher.

I think with a full off-season to work on technique/skill acquisition, Tavon can be more than he's been.

Also, can the young man get credit for basically taking a pay cut in order to prove himself?

Yeah, he might have been cut, but he chose to take the reduction to stay and improve even in a market where receivers are getting broke off. All it would have taken is one team willing to pay him and he could have made a business decision to get that money.

Instead, he's committed to learning and contributing to this offense any way he can.

With all the bellyaching about guys only caring about getting paid, Tavon Austin did the opposite.

It's refreshing. Thought he should get a shout out for that.

I tried to say this earlier, but I didn't do it near as well or as artistically as you did.:notworthy:

 

[Ram65]

I'm going to let McVay use this training camp to give TA one last op to an asset as a WR. Can't hurt and could result in TA making some big plays. I know he can run some deep routes, bubble screens and some drag crossing routes. Him and Cooks on the field at the same time should be interesting.

 

[Legatron4]

Can’t Tavon just watch tape of Tyreek Hill and emulate what he does? They’re almost identical as players.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

It takes a lot more than speed and cutting ability to be a great receiver.

 

[-X-]

Well, I for one think it's a fantastic idea. It's not that I think he's fast and should run 9's all day. Anyone can do that. I'd really like to see him get the ball in soft intermediate zones and let him do his gazelle/jackrabbit thing. I mean, let's be honest. The dude is ridiculously elusive when given a cushion. Now, whether or not he can emulate a sponge and soak up the knowledge necessary to elevate his route-running is entirely up to him. I'm a little skeptical, but hopeful nonetheless.

This is also what Isaac Bruce told everyone should happen to Tavon after year 1. He didn't want to see him get pigeon-holed into a gadget player, and said that Tavon should focus ALL of his energy into honing his craft before becoming a gadget player was an irreversible destiny.

 

[Merlin]

Apparently you didn't read what I actually posted, but what I'm saying is Tavon has a butt load of talent and has never been able to display it. So if Coach McVay thinks he can work with him maybe we might be surprised with the results this year. And then again, maybe we won't.

Oh I read what you were saying. And I've seen that exact argument over and over and over with the same results.

Tell me how all that hope works out for you. I'm gonna trust the empirical evidence on this one, and if I'm proven wrong will be very happy.

 

[Soul Surfer]

the Tavon show is all but gone.

You mean that one game he had against Indianapolis?

Yeah, that's BEEN gone.