Austin vs. Brown

[Dodgersrf]

brown is a much more polished route runner then Ta so i woud think most of that stuff want work. Brown also plays like hes over 6foot tall. Ta is what he is a gadget player. Now i would like to see Bailey more involved

Most certainly. This is Browns 5th year and it shows. He had decent campaigns his 2nd and 3rd year, but last year he really turned it on.

I would like Bailey in the Z as well. I want to see some flash out there. No knock on Britt, but we have Quick on the other side.
I hope these guys can develop.

 

[V3]

Brown is at the most 5'10. 185. Not big by any means.
I don't think Steve Smith is much bigger than TA either. ( I may be way off on that).

Every year we here that guys can't play certain positions because of there size. Yet every year guys do.
London Fletcher for example. Another guy that was too small to play MLB.

The intangibles between TA and Brown are similar.I just don't see the knock against him playing outside.

TA isn't anything like Steve Smith, IMO. Steve Smith is built like a RB and is more explosive than TA. Smith has a vertical of 38.5" while Austin was only 32". That's a big difference. I can't find Smith's arm length but I want to say it's longer as well. Those play a significant role in Smith being able to go deep and fight for jump balls.

 

[V3]

Hes never going to be the traditional wr that everyone wants. were going through the same thing seattle wasgoing through with harvin. its hard to incorparte him into tne offense without making him the focal point. Imo he was overdrafted. Hes going to start making bigg poays but to expect Brown numbers i think is ludacri

That's my point. The Rams can't afford misses like that, especially when they involve two premium picks. I'm not saying he's a bust but he isn't what they thought he was and it set the Rams back quite a bit, IMO.

 

[Irish]

For a guy with good speed, he is not good at all at getting behind defenders.

Whenever he does run vertical routes, corners have no trouble going step for step with him, which shows he has a terrible release off the line of scrimmage. Him getting the ball short has less to do with play calling and more to do with him not being worth throwing to on deep passes due to lack of any real separation.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Umm....really?

Ben Roethlisberger and his 2 SB rings vs any Rams QB Austin has had.....the comparison needs to stop there.

Look what Watkins was doing with Manuel, suddenly Orton steps in and he puts up huge numbers. NFL players and their stats do not exist in a vacuum. Tavon has elite top end speed, yet everything he gets is within 5-10 yards, whereas Brown is one of the best deep threats in the NFL, especially after the catch. Even within the ranks of NFL players, you can go a step further. Emmanuel Sanders career was lackluster in Pittsburgh, and he is a much better player suddenly with Manning....and Ben will likely be a HoF QB, but Manning is on his own level.

Would Steve Young have gone to the HoF if he got stuck on that Bucs team he started with? Talent in the NFL around you seems to have an exponential factor in the success of individuals, but its a team sport and thats what makes it great.

Seems like Sam was giving Austin every possible opportunity last year until it became obvious he couldn't handle that role...he's not ready, not sure if he'll ever be...I hope....and really the comparisons to Brown, TY, Cruz, Welker...anybody, need to stop until he shows/demonstrates elite HANDS to go with ELITE Speed....let alone route running & football IQ......

 

[Dodgersrf]

Seems like Sam was giving Austin every possible opportunity last year until it became obvious he couldn't handle that role...he's not ready, not sure if he'll ever be...I hope....and really the comparisons to Brown, TY, Cruz, Welker...anybody, need to stop until he shows/demonstrates elite HANDS to go with ELITE Speed....let alone route running & football IQ......

I'm not comparing Brown to TA as whom they currently are as players.
I'm talking about intangibles. Similar skill sets.

I feel like the organization as a whole are forcing him on the field with gadgets, when he really needs to work on his route running.

Yes. I think in time he could be a good route runner and play in packages similar to Brown. I have a very hard time thinking we gave up a first and 2nd rnd pick for a few trick plays a game.

 

[LACHAMP46]

I have a very hard time thinking we gave up a first and 2nd rnd pick for a few trick plays a game.

Check out the history of prominent slot wrs in the NFL...Really check the draft slots (if they were drafted at all)....Yes, we did draft a slot wr with the #8 overall selection.....

 

[WvuIN02]

Check out the history of prominent slot wrs in the NFL...Really check the draft slots (if they were drafted at all)....Yes, we did draft a slot wr with the #8 overall selection.....

You couldnt be more wrong. Dasean Jackson isnt a slot receiver, but that's how the Rams have decided Tavon is going to be used. If you drafted him to be a slot, then that is an issue with the team not the player. He was never that in college, he was always a deep threat on the outside that could at times line up in the slot to do different things. Against the Colts last year he got to go deep, and you saw the results. I dont care if its man or zone, his speed would dictate most corners would need help covering him deep. I cant count the number of times he got long pass plays in college. The Rams are trying to smash a square peg into a round hole and its not going to work. If that's the idea, then yes, its a wasted pick.

 

[RaminExile]

I get that TA hasn't performed to the level we expected - so we're not going to do this....BUT....for what its worth, I think that to get the best out of Austin we need to build our game around him. The guy's a swiss army knife. He can (or should be able) to do anything - run deep seams, go routes, digs, hook routes etc on the outside - then next play move him to the slot and have him run a drag route. Use the same formation and run a jet sweep next play with him etc. Wear the defence out with him - then go empty set and then motion him into the backfield and use him as a running back against hopefully a nickel defence. Then run the end around with him or a fake end around. Then put him back outside again. He needs to be touching the ball 15 times a game (not counting special teams) for me to get the best out of him. 7 targets in the passing game and 7/8 rushes from him every game.

We've committed to a run first play action offence but there's no reason why we cant go gun and run as well. Mix it up a little to keep teams even more off balance. You might even be able to run a bit of a pistol style offense or even the option with Austin Davis in as well.

Like I say - it wont happen that way but if we want to see the guy we saw at WVU then that's how we have to use him.

 

[jrry32]

Usually because he's not that open. He's still not a good route runner, IMO. It looks like he doesn't run full speed on many of his routes, too. Might be wrong on that one. I've just noticed a few times that it looked that way.

That's how you're supposed to do it. The key to it is, though, utilizing the changing of speed to better sell your routes and throw defenders off. But typically, when a WR is running routes slower than he should, it's because he's still learning the route tree and is trying to make sure he gets proper depth and runs it the right way. Which means he's still developing.

But WRs don't run their routes at 100% speed. That's why they say you "explode" out of a break. When you come out of the break, you accelerate up to speed. If you tried to run a route at full speed, it would take you too long to gear down and cut.

That's not something I like to hear about a player the Rams used the 8th pick as well as their 2nd rounder on.

Well, it's something you'll have to accept. People weren't too happy about Greg Robinson needing time either. Same with Brian Quick.

And they didn't use the 8th pick and a 2nd on Austin. They used the 2nd to move up to the 8th pick. They either used the 8th pick on Austin or the 16th pick and the 2nd on Austin. You're combining the price they paid with the pick they used here.

Small WRs usually develop slowly. They typically take the 3+ years.

For a guy with good speed, he is not good at all at getting behind defenders.

Whenever he does run vertical routes, corners have no trouble going step for step with him, which shows he has a terrible release off the line of scrimmage. Him getting the ball short has less to do with play calling and more to do with him not being worth throwing to on deep passes due to lack of any real separation.

No. You're incorrect.

 

[LACHAMP46]

You couldnt be more wrong. Dasean Jackson isnt a slot receiver, but that's how the Rams have decided Tavon is going to be used. If you drafted him to be a slot, then that is an issue with the team not the player. He was never that in college, he was always a deep threat on the outside that could at times line up in the slot to do different things. Against the Colts last year he got to go deep, and you saw the results. I dont care if its man or zone, his speed would dictate most corners would need help covering him deep. I cant count the number of times he got long pass plays in college. The Rams are trying to smash a square peg into a round hole and its not going to work. If that's the idea, then yes, its a wasted pick.

Desean Jackson, really? D-Jack was a deep threat primarily in college...he ran a lot of the route tree while Tavon caught over 70% of his passes within 5 yards of the LOS....He had over 6 targets a game last year for the first 6-7 games, and had the highest drop %....
Granted, we don't have a cannon arm QB right now that can really air it out and stretch the field to Tavon, but he needs to get better running the routes he gets. Spanish II is really hard for some...
He was drafted to replace Danny A. I thought everybody knew that...I figured Tavon knew this as well....Danny caught some deep ones, but was primarily used in the seams and intermediate range...