McShay on Tavon Austin

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McShay's coworker Kevin Weidl responded with "not getting out of the first round." Austin is a joystick with the ball in his hands in the open field, but did have his set of struggles when facing Kenny Vaccaro in the slot. He is the type of playmaker teams look for in the first-round, despite his less than ideal size.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/cfb/131020/tavon-austin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.rotoworld.com/player/cfb/131020/tavon-austin</a>

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Now I know why Russ Lande mocked both of them to the Rams.
Don't want Tavon to have to face Vaccaro anywhere, so just draft him. :lol:

 

[CGI_Ram]

I like this player - a lot.

I get that people would be gun shy for size reasons, but I see a freak who will cause mismatches at this level.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[iced]

I like this player - a lot.

I get that people would be gun shy for size reasons, but I see a freak who will cause mismatches at this level.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

exactly why i want him

 

[DR RAM]

McShay's coworker Kevin Weidl responded with "not getting out of the first round." Austin is a joystick with the ball in his hands in the open field, but did have his set of struggles when facing Kenny Vaccaro in the slot. He is the type of playmaker teams look for in the first-round, despite his less than ideal size.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/cfb/131020/tavon-austin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.rotoworld.com/player/cfb/131020/tavon-austin</a>

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Now I know why Russ Lande mocked both of them to the Rams.
Don't want Tavon to have to face Vaccaro anywhere, so just draft him. :lol:

One of my worries about him is if the other team gets their hands on him, like everyone played in the playoffs, then can he get away? We know that the refs won't call holding every time. The plus side of that is that if they try and fail to grab him, he's probably wide open and gone.

Did anyone see that Texas game? I can't find any video of Austin vs Vaccaro, except for the one that Vaccaro makes a tackle.

 

[Username]

The key here will be if you're willing as an offense to find creative ways to get the ball in his hands. His body may limit him in some ways, and he'll probably never be able to play outside, but he will be able to put up numbers in this league if you simply find ways to get him the ball.

Personally I don't see the Rams drafting him in the first unless Danny walks like some of us have said.

 

[Username]

I could see us going cordarrelle patterson however. He fits the bill imo of what this Rams brass looks for in a wr.

 

[iced]

I could see us going cordarrelle patterson however. He fits the bill imo of what this Rams brass looks for in a wr.

I don't see Vacarro, Warmack, or Patterson making it to #22. We may not even get a shot Warmack. Vacarro may be the better overall player at #16, but i don't see patterson getting to 22. I think Warmack is the pick if he's there at #16.

Look at who's drafting after us:

#17 Steelers - losing Mike Wallace.

#19 Giants - could lose Victor Cruz

#21 Bengals - they may want someone across from AJ Green to take the pressure off him

 

[bluecoconuts]

It's going to depend on who is where. For example if Lane Johnson or Warmack is at 16, I would draft them first. If they're not and Vaccaroo is there, then I would take him easily. If he's not there either, then I'm not sure, perhaps OLB. At 22, it would also depend, but I would not hate Austin as a selection. That's of course assuming that he works out. If he doesn't everyone and their moms will be screaming Gilyard, Avery, etc.. But worse.


But I would take him with the 22nd pick and be happy about the selection. The draft with Vaccaro at 16 and Austin at 22 was awesome. Especially if we picked up Kyle Long in the 2nd.

 

[DR RAM]

I could see us going cordarrelle patterson however. He fits the bill imo of what this Rams brass looks for in a wr.

The more I watch Patterson, the more I like him. The change of direction for someone his size, I can't really think of a comparison, but it is elite. It appears as if he'll run in the low 4.4's. He's tough, can make plays from the RB position. Return game..check. 6'3" 215 lbs.

What I like most, and why I like Justin Hunter too, is that they play more of a pro style offense than most, and have an NFL - talent wise - QB throwing to them.

 

[Username]

I could see us going cordarrelle patterson however. He fits the bill imo of what this Rams brass looks for in a wr.

The more I watch Patterson, the more I like him. The change of direction for someone his size, I can't really think of a comparison, but it is elite. It appears as if he'll run in the low 4.4's. He's tough, can make plays from the RB position. Return game..check. 6'3" 215 lbs.

What I like most, and why I like Justin Hunter too, is that they play more of a pro style offense than most, and have an NFL - talent wise - QB throwing to them.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to everyones stock at the combine. I could see Patterson sky rocketing. I could see Austin moving up some too though. Hopkins could help himself a lot too with a strong 40 time.

I feel so much more comfortable with Snead and this Rams FO. Let the board dictate what you do, and PLEASE GOD do not trade up.

 

[wolfman84]

Someone's going to have to sell me on Patterson. In the Tenn games that I've watched, I've seen him drop a lot of balls. Great size. Great speed. Decent route running. But he doesn't catch the ball with his hands well, uses his body a lot in catching, which to me equates to an incomplete pass when being closely contested by a defender. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him. Let me know if you've observed something different (and I don't mean highlight clips).

 

[DR RAM]

Someone's going to have to sell me on Patterson. In the Tenn games that I've watched, I've seen him drop a lot of balls. Great size. Great speed. Decent route running. But he doesn't catch the ball with his hands well, uses his body a lot in catching, which to me equates to an incomplete pass when being closely contested by a defender. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him. Let me know if you've observed something different (and I don't mean highlight clips).

From what I've seen, he is a bit of a body catcher, but I've seen him make hands catches as well, and it appears as if he has natural hands. Could be a coaching issue. His drops could be concentration lapses, because he's always looking for the big play, which could also be coached. I've watched more than highlight video, but wouldn't come close to saying that I know him. He's grown on me.

That being said, I'd like to hear more about Patterson as well. Anyone??

 

[jrry32]

Someone's going to have to sell me on Patterson. In the Tenn games that I've watched, I've seen him drop a lot of balls. Great size. Great speed. Decent route running. But he doesn't catch the ball with his hands well, uses his body a lot in catching, which to me equates to an incomplete pass when being closely contested by a defender. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him. Let me know if you've observed something different (and I don't mean highlight clips).

From what I've seen, he is a bit of a body catcher, but I've seen him make hands catches as well, and it appears as if he has natural hands. Could be a coaching issue. His drops could be concentration lapses, because he's always looking for the big play, which could also be coached. I've watched more than highlight video, but wouldn't come close to saying that I know him. He's grown on me.

That being said, I'd like to hear more about Patterson as well. Anyone??

I've seen a great deal of Patterson as a student at a SEC school. I'm pretty indifferent towards him. Like him better in the 2nd than the 1st but his athleticism will likely keep him in the 1st.

Had some absolutely terrible drops especially against Florida and Georgia. Dropped 2 deep balls that might have resulted in TD catches. Had 0 40+ yard catches against SEC competition and I don't think his speed is quite as good as people say it is. Some claim he's a 4.3 guy, I think he's a mid 4.4 guy. That isn't bad though.

Really raw player in terms of route running but does a nice job of shielding out the defender with his frame. That said, not physical at all and doesn't really go up and get the ball...definitely not a guy that you'd say "high-points" the football.

I have also heard a lot of questions about his intelligence and character but not sure how many are true and how many are false.
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Now, as for Tavon Austin, it pains me to do so but I kind of agree with McShay. The only guy that I've seen that can move like Austin as a WR prospect was Peter Warrick of FSU back in the day. Austin has scary movement skills, vision and burst. Also has really great top-end speed. Huge special teams threat, huge threat out of the back-field and a huge threat at WR.

I'd love if the Rams ended up with him. He's a better overall WR than people give him credit for. And whoever said he struggled against Texas is wrong. He made numerous key 3rd and 4th down catches in that game including the one he scored on over the middle.

Austin will drop some passes but he also can adjust to the football effectively, catch the ball away from his body, catch the ball in traffic and take a hit and get open with his route running. His route running needs a lot of polish but this kid is going to be quite the weapon somewhere in the NFL. His YAC skills are truly off the charts and he's very smart about avoiding hits. Never missed a game in his college career...so despite his size, he's durable.

I love Austin and hope he's a Ram.

 

[brokeu91]

Someone's going to have to sell me on Patterson. In the Tenn games that I've watched, I've seen him drop a lot of balls. Great size. Great speed. Decent route running. But he doesn't catch the ball with his hands well, uses his body a lot in catching, which to me equates to an incomplete pass when being closely contested by a defender. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him. Let me know if you've observed something different (and I don't mean highlight clips).

From what I've seen, he is a bit of a body catcher, but I've seen him make hands catches as well, and it appears as if he has natural hands. Could be a coaching issue. His drops could be concentration lapses, because he's always looking for the big play, which could also be coached. I've watched more than highlight video, but wouldn't come close to saying that I know him. He's grown on me.

That being said, I'd like to hear more about Patterson as well. Anyone??

I've seen a great deal of Patterson as a student at a SEC school. I'm pretty indifferent towards him. Like him better in the 2nd than the 1st but his athleticism will likely keep him in the 1st.

Had some absolutely terrible drops especially against Florida and Georgia. Dropped 2 deep balls that might have resulted in TD catches. Had 0 40+ yard catches against SEC competition and I don't think his speed is quite as good as people say it is. Some claim he's a 4.3 guy, I think he's a mid 4.4 guy. That isn't bad though.

Really raw player in terms of route running but does a nice job of shielding out the defender with his frame. That said, not physical at all and doesn't really go up and get the ball...definitely not a guy that you'd say "high-points" the football.

I have also heard a lot of questions about his intelligence and character but not sure how many are true and how many are false.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, as for Tavon Austin, it pains me to do so but I kind of agree with McShay. The only guy that I've seen that can move like Austin as a WR prospect was Peter Warrick of FSU back in the day. Austin has scary movement skills, vision and burst. Also has really great top-end speed. Huge special teams threat, huge threat out of the back-field and a huge threat at WR.

I'd love if the Rams ended up with him. He's a better overall WR than people give him credit for. And whoever said he struggled against Texas is wrong. He made numerous key 3rd and 4th down catches in that game including the one he scored on over the middle.

Austin will drop some passes but he also can adjust to the football effectively, catch the ball away from his body, catch the ball in traffic and take a hit and get open with his route running. His route running needs a lot of polish but this kid is going to be quite the weapon somewhere in the NFL. His YAC skills are truly off the charts and he's very smart about avoiding hits. Never missed a game in his college career...so despite his size, he's durable.

I love Austin and hope he's a Ram.

I also think Austin could be a special player, and a playmaker for us. But, I remember the last undersized super-quick productive college guy...Reggie Bush. I'm not saying that Bush is a bust, but people thought he was the next Marshall Faulk. I'm also not saying that Austin is necessarily going to be Reggie Bush, but that's who he reminds me of. Our offense, the ball control/hit you in the mouth offense, would do better with bigger WR who can block down field. Nothing against Austin, but I don't think he'll end up becoming the greatest blocker in the world.

 

[jrry32]

I also think Austin could be a special player, and a playmaker for us. But, I remember the last undersized super-quick productive college guy...Reggie Bush. I'm not saying that Bush is a bust, but people thought he was the next Marshall Faulk. I'm also not saying that Austin is necessarily going to be Reggie Bush, but that's who he reminds me of. Our offense, the ball control/hit you in the mouth offense, would do better with bigger WR who can block down field. Nothing against Austin, but I don't think he'll end up becoming the greatest blocker in the world.

Bush was a HB though. Bit of a different story because for a guy like him to operate effectively, you need to get him in space. As a WR, Austin is already operating in space.

I don't think a big WR is at all a necessity. I think it's more important to get a guy who can get open and make plays. Big or small...it doesn't matter to me.

 

[brokeu91]

I also think Austin could be a special player, and a playmaker for us. But, I remember the last undersized super-quick productive college guy...Reggie Bush. I'm not saying that Bush is a bust, but people thought he was the next Marshall Faulk. I'm also not saying that Austin is necessarily going to be Reggie Bush, but that's who he reminds me of. Our offense, the ball control/hit you in the mouth offense, would do better with bigger WR who can block down field. Nothing against Austin, but I don't think he'll end up becoming the greatest blocker in the world.

Bush was a HB though. Bit of a different story because for a guy like him to operate effectively, you need to get him in space. As a WR, Austin is already operating in space.

I don't think a big WR is at all a necessity. I think it's more important to get a guy who can get open and make plays. Big or small...it doesn't matter to me.

Fair enough. I'm not saying that Austin will not be a good player, I just don't know if he'll be a good player on our team. If the Rams do draft him, I can see them using him a lot on bubble screens or quick outs to try and make some space and let him make plays. But in the end, for this team, I'd rather have a bigger WR.

 

[jrry32]

I also think Austin could be a special player, and a playmaker for us. But, I remember the last undersized super-quick productive college guy...Reggie Bush. I'm not saying that Bush is a bust, but people thought he was the next Marshall Faulk. I'm also not saying that Austin is necessarily going to be Reggie Bush, but that's who he reminds me of. Our offense, the ball control/hit you in the mouth offense, would do better with bigger WR who can block down field. Nothing against Austin, but I don't think he'll end up becoming the greatest blocker in the world.

Bush was a HB though. Bit of a different story because for a guy like him to operate effectively, you need to get him in space. As a WR, Austin is already operating in space.

I don't think a big WR is at all a necessity. I think it's more important to get a guy who can get open and make plays. Big or small...it doesn't matter to me.

Fair enough. I'm not saying that Austin will not be a good player, I just don't know if he'll be a good player on our team. If the Rams do draft him, I can see them using him a lot on bubble screens or quick outs to try and make some space and let him make plays. But in the end, for this team, I'd rather have a bigger WR.

I feel like he'd fit our system ok. Has the speed to stretch the defense vertically and would give Sam a WR who can catch those short passes and take it to the house.

With how often we throw short, it makes sense to go after a guy who can get YAC.

Plus, him and Danny could alternate between the flanker and slot spot if we had both.

Don't forget that we do have Quick...I gotta think Snead and co. aren't ready to give up on him yet so if we do go after a big WR, imo, he's gonna have to be versatile and do some things that Quick doesn't do.

 

[DR RAM]

Someone's going to have to sell me on Patterson. In the Tenn games that I've watched, I've seen him drop a lot of balls. Great size. Great speed. Decent route running. But he doesn't catch the ball with his hands well, uses his body a lot in catching, which to me equates to an incomplete pass when being closely contested by a defender. Maybe I haven't seen enough of him. Let me know if you've observed something different (and I don't mean highlight clips).

From what I've seen, he is a bit of a body catcher, but I've seen him make hands catches as well, and it appears as if he has natural hands. Could be a coaching issue. His drops could be concentration lapses, because he's always looking for the big play, which could also be coached. I've watched more than highlight video, but wouldn't come close to saying that I know him. He's grown on me.

That being said, I'd like to hear more about Patterson as well. Anyone??

I've seen a great deal of Patterson as a student at a SEC school. I'm pretty indifferent towards him. Like him better in the 2nd than the 1st but his athleticism will likely keep him in the 1st.

Had some absolutely terrible drops especially against Florida and Georgia. Dropped 2 deep balls that might have resulted in TD catches. Had 0 40+ yard catches against SEC competition and I don't think his speed is quite as good as people say it is. Some claim he's a 4.3 guy, I think he's a mid 4.4 guy. That isn't bad though.

Really raw player in terms of route running but does a nice job of shielding out the defender with his frame. That said, [hil]not physical at all[/hil] and doesn't really go up and get the ball...definitely not a guy that you'd say "high-points" the football.

I have also heard a lot of questions about his intelligence and character but not sure how many are true and how many are false.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, as for Tavon Austin, it pains me to do so but I kind of agree with McShay. The only guy that I've seen that can move like Austin as a WR prospect was Peter Warrick of FSU back in the day. Austin has scary movement skills, vision and burst. Also has really great top-end speed. Huge special teams threat, huge threat out of the back-field and a huge threat at WR.

I'd love if the Rams ended up with him. He's a better overall WR than people give him credit for. And whoever said he struggled against Texas is wrong. He made numerous key 3rd and 4th down catches in that game including the one he scored on over the middle.

Austin will drop some passes but he also can adjust to the football effectively, catch the ball away from his body, catch the ball in traffic and take a hit and get open with his route running. His route running needs a lot of polish but this kid is going to be quite the weapon somewhere in the NFL. His YAC skills are truly off the charts and he's very smart about avoiding hits. Never missed a game in his college career...so despite his size, he's durable.

I love Austin and hope he's a Ram.

The dude had a lot of carries at running back. You ever had carries at running back in college? You have to be physical. You have to be tough. So...Austin is tougher? Debate continues.... Him and Danny will platoon? I see greater needs, and better uses.

Austin is special as far as his quickness and smoothness, but he's 5' 9". 179 lbs. Patterson is special at 6'3" 210 lbs.

Intelligence may be the factor to where he is drafted--Patterson.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[jrry32]

The dude had a lot of carries at running back. You ever had carries at running back in college? You have to be physical. You have to be tough. So...Austin is tougher? Debate continues.... Him and Danny will platoon? I see greater needs, and better uses.

Austin is special as far as his quickness and smoothness, but he's 5' 9". 179 lbs. Patterson is special at 6'3" 210 lbs.

Intelligence may be the factor to where he is drafted--Patterson.

Thanks for your insight.

Him and Danny won't "platoon". I mean that him and Danny could alternate between outside and the slot. You're not drafting Austin to put him on the bench.

Yea, Austin is a tough kid...was very durable in college too.

While Patterson is special for his size...Austin is, to be entirely blunt, better than him at it and is special for anyone who has played the game. So then the question becomes, what advantages does Patterson's size afford him? The biggest is that he can shield out defenders with his frame but the other big advantages you'd expect him to have are negated because he doesn't actually have them...by that I mean physicality and the ability to go up and get the football.

I rank Austin above Patterson. I think they're similar in what they offer but Austin is better at it.