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Practice Report 10/7: Austin's Progression, Focusing on Green Bay
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-107-Austins-Progression-Focusing-on-Green-Bay/7474f027-dd09-4324-a9b3-b45702bc6712
Having been nominated for multiple accolades in the aftermath of his 146-yard performance at Arizona, Todd Gurley was the undisputed break-out player from Sunday’s contest in Arizona. Because of that, perhaps lost in the shuffle was wide receiver Tavon Austin’s outstanding game.
Austin caught six passes for 96 yards with two touchdowns, adding two carries for 20 yards. The West Virginia product ran end arounds, caught balls over the middle, and even went deep to make a grab on a Nick Foles pass. The performance highlighted nearly all of Austin’s strengths on the football field.
“We’ve said it all off season and camp, Tavon Austin’s a complete player,” offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said on Wednesday. “He’s a great route runner -- whether it’s taking the top off or running intermediate routes, short routes. He has a unique skill set where we can get him touches on the perimeter. He’s doing a great job. I’m very impressed with his play and his preparation.”
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity that I have,” Austin said. “I’m thankful for how ‘Cig' and the coaching staff is trying to find ways to get me the ball. So I’m just going to keep on pushing. Keep on doing what I’m doing and need to do, and hopefully keep making plays.”
There were a few instances where Austin and Gurley were able to make plays because of the different skills both bring -- most notably on Gurley’s 52-yard run in the fourth quarter. That long run was set up by an Austin end around the play before.
“I think you have two players that have unique skill sets,” Cignetti said of Austin and Gurley. “We’re just going to continue to try to put Tavon in position to make plays.”
Austin said it’s not just Gurley, as the Rams have plenty of talent in their backfield.
“I can play off of anybody, to be honest,” Austin said. “We’ve got a one-two duo because we’ve got so many great players on this team. So we’re going to keep pushing forward with whoever is back there for us.”
STAYING FOCUSED FOR GREEN BAY
Austin also mentioned Wednesday the mindset the Rams have to keep when preparing for Green Bay this week. Austin said when the team beat Seattle in Week 1, it went through the next week a little too high.
“We kind of forgot about, this is the NFL and there are some great teams in this league,” Austin said. “So right now, we’re focused like we lost the last game. We’re grinding every day. We’re just ready to keep putting a couple more days together and get it done on Sunday.”
It’s part of the process of learning how to win consistently. Austin said the team gained plenty from going through the experience of Week 1 and Week 2.
“We learned a lot,” Austin said. “Basically, you learned this is the NFL. There are great teams. Any team can be beaten on any day. That’s the mindset that we have today.”
The wide receiver alluded to linebacker James Laurinaitis explaining how the mental side of the game can impact not only the practice week, but also the performance on Sunday. The middle linebacker said it’s a matter of working consistently as an individual.
“I asked [the team] to just look at themselves in the mirror and make sure you're preparing as hard as you were last week,” Laurinaitis said. “It's really easy to prepare and be upset after a close loss, [but] are you preparing the same way after a big win on the road?”
“I think we are,” Laurinaitis continued. “I get the sense that we are. We're practicing really hard, like we did last week, but we'll see. We just want to make sure preparation's the same despite all the feel-good about the win.”
As Austin put it, going up against a 4-0 team with arguably the league’s best quarterback is motivation enough to keep the team focused.
“We know that if we slip at any time, it’ll be a problem,” Austin said. “We’re definitely working hard. We know what we’ve got in front of us. We know that they’re a great team. We’re just going to come in there, try to do our best, and try to come up with a win.”
GET UP OFFA THAT THING
With a loud Green Bay crowd expected at Lambeau Field on Sunday, head coach Jeff Fisher has implemented music at practice in order to get the team used to dealing with noise and distractions.
“We’re just kind of substituting crowd noise for a little bit of music and get them to focus a little bit,” Fisher said. “It’s been good, and rather than turn it off when the defense goes on the field, we just left it on. The defense can communicate through it too. So, it worked for us last week.”
Both offensive and defensive players recognize the benefits of having the tunes on during the sessions.
“I think it’s great for us just having distractions,” Foles said. “I’m a big guy on making it hostile at practice as much as possible in the sense of making guys distracted by hearing the music, making it loud for communication purposes. We have to over-communicate in the huddle. We have to over-communicate at the line.”
“Guys have to really pay attention to the play because at first you want to dance to it,” Foles continued. “Guys want to enjoy it, but you realize you’ve got to hear the play call, you’ve got to play. It’s sort of getting you as ready as possible to step into the game and having all of the crowd noise, having all of the adrenaline. You get it a little bit in practice so you can be better prepared for the game.”
Laurinaitis said when he was in college at Ohio State, then-head coach Jim Tressel would utilize a similar method of loud music mixed with white noise.
“It forces you to communicate in those situations,” Laurinaitis said. “You don't want the first time going into Lambeau and it's third down and the first time these guys are going silent count all week is on Sunday. So it forces us to get through those things during the week, so it's not a surprise on the weekend.”
One other element the team is using to simulate noise is an air horn for the defensive line. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the best in the business in drawing players offsides with his hard count. And so the Rams have been using an air horn at the line of scrimmage just to do something a little extra in preparation for it.
“That’s just a message to the D-line on the hard count. No one uses the hard count better than Aaron,” Fisher said. “And everybody week after week, you’ll read clips and things and all the defensives work against it. ‘We were ready for it.’ He pulls them offsides two or three times a game. So, I woke them up in their meeting room this morning with the horn, just to send a message.”
INJURY REPORT
On Wednesday’s injury report, both running back Chase Reynolds (knee) and Eugene Sims (knee) were back for a full practice.
Only safety Maurice Alexander (groin) and linebacker Alec Ogletree (ankle) did not participate.
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-107-Austins-Progression-Focusing-on-Green-Bay/7474f027-dd09-4324-a9b3-b45702bc6712
Having been nominated for multiple accolades in the aftermath of his 146-yard performance at Arizona, Todd Gurley was the undisputed break-out player from Sunday’s contest in Arizona. Because of that, perhaps lost in the shuffle was wide receiver Tavon Austin’s outstanding game.
Austin caught six passes for 96 yards with two touchdowns, adding two carries for 20 yards. The West Virginia product ran end arounds, caught balls over the middle, and even went deep to make a grab on a Nick Foles pass. The performance highlighted nearly all of Austin’s strengths on the football field.
“We’ve said it all off season and camp, Tavon Austin’s a complete player,” offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said on Wednesday. “He’s a great route runner -- whether it’s taking the top off or running intermediate routes, short routes. He has a unique skill set where we can get him touches on the perimeter. He’s doing a great job. I’m very impressed with his play and his preparation.”
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity that I have,” Austin said. “I’m thankful for how ‘Cig' and the coaching staff is trying to find ways to get me the ball. So I’m just going to keep on pushing. Keep on doing what I’m doing and need to do, and hopefully keep making plays.”
There were a few instances where Austin and Gurley were able to make plays because of the different skills both bring -- most notably on Gurley’s 52-yard run in the fourth quarter. That long run was set up by an Austin end around the play before.
“I think you have two players that have unique skill sets,” Cignetti said of Austin and Gurley. “We’re just going to continue to try to put Tavon in position to make plays.”
Austin said it’s not just Gurley, as the Rams have plenty of talent in their backfield.
“I can play off of anybody, to be honest,” Austin said. “We’ve got a one-two duo because we’ve got so many great players on this team. So we’re going to keep pushing forward with whoever is back there for us.”
STAYING FOCUSED FOR GREEN BAY
Austin also mentioned Wednesday the mindset the Rams have to keep when preparing for Green Bay this week. Austin said when the team beat Seattle in Week 1, it went through the next week a little too high.
“We kind of forgot about, this is the NFL and there are some great teams in this league,” Austin said. “So right now, we’re focused like we lost the last game. We’re grinding every day. We’re just ready to keep putting a couple more days together and get it done on Sunday.”
It’s part of the process of learning how to win consistently. Austin said the team gained plenty from going through the experience of Week 1 and Week 2.
“We learned a lot,” Austin said. “Basically, you learned this is the NFL. There are great teams. Any team can be beaten on any day. That’s the mindset that we have today.”
The wide receiver alluded to linebacker James Laurinaitis explaining how the mental side of the game can impact not only the practice week, but also the performance on Sunday. The middle linebacker said it’s a matter of working consistently as an individual.
“I asked [the team] to just look at themselves in the mirror and make sure you're preparing as hard as you were last week,” Laurinaitis said. “It's really easy to prepare and be upset after a close loss, [but] are you preparing the same way after a big win on the road?”
“I think we are,” Laurinaitis continued. “I get the sense that we are. We're practicing really hard, like we did last week, but we'll see. We just want to make sure preparation's the same despite all the feel-good about the win.”
As Austin put it, going up against a 4-0 team with arguably the league’s best quarterback is motivation enough to keep the team focused.
“We know that if we slip at any time, it’ll be a problem,” Austin said. “We’re definitely working hard. We know what we’ve got in front of us. We know that they’re a great team. We’re just going to come in there, try to do our best, and try to come up with a win.”
GET UP OFFA THAT THING
With a loud Green Bay crowd expected at Lambeau Field on Sunday, head coach Jeff Fisher has implemented music at practice in order to get the team used to dealing with noise and distractions.
“We’re just kind of substituting crowd noise for a little bit of music and get them to focus a little bit,” Fisher said. “It’s been good, and rather than turn it off when the defense goes on the field, we just left it on. The defense can communicate through it too. So, it worked for us last week.”
Both offensive and defensive players recognize the benefits of having the tunes on during the sessions.
“I think it’s great for us just having distractions,” Foles said. “I’m a big guy on making it hostile at practice as much as possible in the sense of making guys distracted by hearing the music, making it loud for communication purposes. We have to over-communicate in the huddle. We have to over-communicate at the line.”
“Guys have to really pay attention to the play because at first you want to dance to it,” Foles continued. “Guys want to enjoy it, but you realize you’ve got to hear the play call, you’ve got to play. It’s sort of getting you as ready as possible to step into the game and having all of the crowd noise, having all of the adrenaline. You get it a little bit in practice so you can be better prepared for the game.”
Laurinaitis said when he was in college at Ohio State, then-head coach Jim Tressel would utilize a similar method of loud music mixed with white noise.
“It forces you to communicate in those situations,” Laurinaitis said. “You don't want the first time going into Lambeau and it's third down and the first time these guys are going silent count all week is on Sunday. So it forces us to get through those things during the week, so it's not a surprise on the weekend.”
One other element the team is using to simulate noise is an air horn for the defensive line. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the best in the business in drawing players offsides with his hard count. And so the Rams have been using an air horn at the line of scrimmage just to do something a little extra in preparation for it.
“That’s just a message to the D-line on the hard count. No one uses the hard count better than Aaron,” Fisher said. “And everybody week after week, you’ll read clips and things and all the defensives work against it. ‘We were ready for it.’ He pulls them offsides two or three times a game. So, I woke them up in their meeting room this morning with the horn, just to send a message.”
INJURY REPORT
On Wednesday’s injury report, both running back Chase Reynolds (knee) and Eugene Sims (knee) were back for a full practice.
Only safety Maurice Alexander (groin) and linebacker Alec Ogletree (ankle) did not participate.
