Tavon Austin waiting patiently with Rams

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I started a thread about TA learning to catch the punts and not let so many hit the ground. While he has lost a lot of yardage to penalties he has also given away a lot by not making this simple adjustment. Half way through the season and being a specialist on returns he has to understand it is better to call a fair catch and go get the ball than let it bounce. Just show me you are learning each week and making adjustments. The skill is there.
 
blackbart said:
I started a thread about TA learning to catch the punts and not let so many hit the ground. While he has lost a lot of yardage to penalties he has also given away a lot by not making this simple adjustment. Half way through the season and being a specialist on returns he has to understand it is better to call a fair catch and go get the ball than let it bounce. Just show me you are learning each week and making adjustments. The skill is there.
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Yeah FWIW ,I think TA has been OUR RG as far as over the top expectation is concerned, and I also think we've forced him and other teams have come ready for it,in due time he can be most of what we wanted from him but after watching guys like Trendon Holliday I'd still take the 8th pick in next years draft for Tavon and never look back.
 
LumberTubs said:
During Monday night's game, Gruden was slaughtering Austin for not having broken out yet.

The fact is that he's had more than enough "breakout" moments for a rookie at this stage in his first season but the penalties have called them back (it always seems to be Darren Bates but that's probably just my mistaken impression). plus if he's getting the ball 5 yards beyond the LOS but with two defenders in his face, what the hell is he supposed to do?

Saw something on twitter earlier quoting Schotty saying he's going to be used more from this week onward so we'll see if anything changes
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I'm not sure I'd call returning a punt a breakout for a WR. One long pass for a TD being called back isn't what I'd call a "breakout", either. To me, a breakout is a huge game where it seems to "click" for the player and they start to play more consistently in subsequent games from that point on.

I do wonder how many of those penalties helped create the holes that allowed him to have such long returns. They're penalties for a reason. I'm honestly curious.
 
V3 said:
I'm not sure I'd call returning a punt a breakout for a WR. One long pass for a TD being called back isn't what I'd call a "breakout", either. To me, a breakout is a huge game where it seems to "click" for the player and they start to play more consistently in subsequent games from that point on.

I do wonder how many of those penalties helped create the holes that allowed him to have such long returns. They're penalties for a reason. I'm honestly curious.
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I saw them all, and none of them looked like they would have affected the outcome of the play.
 
I honestly never shared the same lofty expectations for the rookie wide receiver.

I'm not worried, he'll continue to improve.

People got weird on Quick too, but his role with the team continues to grow.
 
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Stranger said:
Praise the lord!
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All Tavon's big plays didn't count. It's gotta be frustrating. I believe in him. I think he'll be real good for us soon.
 
-X- said:
257 punt returns lost (and a TD) and 80 receiving yards lost (with a TD). Add those to his totals, and he doesn't look like he's so far behind. I'd like to see him in the X or Z spots a bit more because he can beat press and fly. The thing I took away from that article is this, though. ''I'm learning what it takes to be successful and I'm doing the things the coaches tell me.''
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Exactly!

I have no worries about Austin, nor should anyone. He's a rookie WR. That pretty much sums up the challenge he's got.
 
A55VA6 said:
All Tavon's big plays didn't count. It's gotta be frustrating. I believe in him. I think he'll be real good for us soon.
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That's the good thing about a guy like Tavon. There will be more. I haven't been this excited for punt returns in a long time. He can take it to the house at any given time.

We will see him get his big plays.
 
I am a little concerned about TA's psyche. I would hate to see him get down on himself or depressed and do a Pead on us. I doubt that will happen, but it's a concern of mine.
 
He's done his job on special teams but I agree that his judgement in catching punts is questionable. As a WR he had too many drops and hasn't been used in the manner a lot of us thought he'd be used. Right now he is a rotational slot WR. That is NOT what he was drafted to be FWIW. Some of it is penalties, some is pure TA, and some is the creativity of gray clay. I DO think he will win games for this team hopefully sooner vs. later. Too much talent to not make a difference IMO
 
F. Mulder said:
He's done his job on special teams but I agree that his judgement in catching punts is questionable. As a WR he had too many drops and hasn't been used in the manner a lot of us thought he'd be used. Right now he is a rotational slot WR. That is NOT what he was drafted to be FWIW. Some of it is penalties, some is pure TA, and some is the creativity of gray clay. I DO think he will win games for this team hopefully sooner vs. later. Too much talent to not make a difference IMO
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Are we sure that TA is not being coached to make those PR decisions?
 
Stranger said:
I am a little concerned about TA's psyche. I would hate to see him get down on himself or depressed and do a Pead on us. I doubt that will happen, but it's a concern of mine.
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I'm not concerned about his mentality at all. He's used to stealing the show, and that didn't happen for him right away at the highest level ... no surprise here.

I so wasn't a fan of trading up for ... yet another wide receiver that we have to wait 2-3 years to develop when, even with the UFA pick ups they still needed depth on the O line, a replacement for Finnegan and an excellent free safety to really round out this defense. I was expecting an obnoxious Prima donna who already knew everything. But every time he talks I'm pleasantly surprised and encouraged.

I still think he's a small for the roles they've given him, I mean I can't be the only one who cringes when he catches a ball a millisecond before an angry red faced linebacker takes out his aggression on him. I don't know that he's the right choice for a slot receiver and I have an eerie feeling that he's going to be plastered on a punt return some day. But I'm starting to realize that he's fast and elusive enough to take those hits the right way.

I'm still disgusted that they drafted another wide receiver while signing an expensive tight end/wide receiver in Jared Cook that can't block or catch the ball. I'm also frustrated that they drafted Pead when they seem to want to run up the middle anyway. But I'll never compare Austin to Pead. The only thing they have in common is that they play on the same team :)
 
Play calling is huge in my opinion.

I think it's rarely I see Tavon go deep - so of course defenders are gonna key in on him in the short area. If you keep them honest and send him down the field more often, they'll be forced to back off and respect his speed. Dude is like a desean jackson clone, use him as so.
 
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