Tavon Austin .... Wow!

[den-the-coach]

Total Bust. I remember that former Rams personnel guy, Tony Softli was a contributor to 101ESPN's draft coverage before the draft, but he thought Cordarelle Patterson was a better pick.

Good Lord I remember when the Rams hired Tony Softli from the Panthers, he was supposed to be this Draft Guru with all the analytics at the time plus software & quantifiable data and the when he got to St. Louis all he had was a ruler & pencil. I could not believe they hired the guy, they thought they were getting Dirty Harry and the Rams hired Barney Fife.

 

[So Ram]

Nice. He was a great returner. I was at the game @ the Cowboys and remember that return that got called back, it was so frustrating. It was the same game our prized free agent Jake Long got put literally on his ass by Demarcus Ware.

Austin reminds me of Taysom Hill. Bust by pure QB standards but he does contribute as a role player and affect the game. Tavon was terrible as a WR but really good as a gadget guy. Just drafted too high. 3rd or 4th round would have been about right to me.

Went to a game in San Diego.Took a friend & walked to the tailgate with a 12 pack ? Great(NFL) Fans.
It was late my tickets were across the field(Rams side) It was late (4th qrt) I kept telling him he was going to take it back.
I know he heard me.Probably parallel at 30yrd line. He took it all the way to the House.Great feeling,but got called back.

Well memory was pretty good.Sort of knew how great of a return it was.Just had a feeling it wasn’t to the House,but was telling him to take it there.He was shaking his head up & down though. He was feeling it.

I Loved Tavon,especially as a Rams Fan.

Chargers 27-24 Rams (Nov 23, 2014) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the San Diego Chargers vs. St. Louis Rams NFL game, final score 27-24, from November 23, 2014 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

You have to scroll to play by play & view punt 3 & out. —I was jacked up & screaming!! Emotional game.

Tavon took it to the 5 yard line & got called back to where the hold took place.I guess it was a good call ? Just know that feeling was pretty awesome in that game. As a Ram Fan I felt I played a role in that tough loss.That could have been.

 

[LARams_1963]

Not a bust, but not worth a #8 pick. He did some OK things for us and there are plenty of first 10 pick underachievers. Like others mentioned, he's still active so....

 

[BigRamFan]

Think he had one year combined a 1,000 scrimmage yards (rushing, recieving).

Not a bust but not a home run either. The early, unnecessary contract extension what made the pick really not worth it.

FIFY

 

[Loyal]

Good Lord I remember when the Rams hired Tony Softli from the Panthers, he was supposed to be this Draft Guru with all the analytics at the time plus software & quantifiable data and the when he got to St. Louis all he had was a ruler & pencil. I could not believe they hired the guy, they thought they were getting Dirty Harry and the Rams hired Barney Fife.

Maybe, but he was right in this case, imo. Austin was a smallish athlete with great straight line speed with a small catch radius. He could not run hardly any of the routes in the route tree, even after a couple of years with the Rams. I believe Patterson was a raw, bigger receiver with more upside. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered with the subpar coaching at the time, but my aversion to getting small speedy guys started with Tavon and continues with Tutu... (I'm proud I didn't mention Creed once in that paragraph!_

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm proud I didn't mention Creed once in that paragraph!_

Creed was a class act, but I always rooted for Rocky Balboa.

 

[Selassie I]

Tavon Austin was blessed with world-class athleticism and speed. He was able to dominate in college because of it. Once a player gets a chance to play in The League... it takes a whole lot more than your physical gifts to succeed. You have to use your brain/intellect along with your physical talents... I've even heard NFL players say that the intelligence part is the MOST important ingredient to achieving success in the NFL.

Guess what? Our little buddy TA was not blessed in the intelligence department. I hate to point it out... but it's very true/obvious. Just ask Jimmy Johnson what his #1 rule is with drafting a player. DON'T DRAFT DUMB PLAYERS!. That's how he puts it. We had to be clearly aware of this before we drafted him... we HAD to be.

Look... it's sad but true... he doesn't have what it takes above the neck to really succeed at this level. And for those that are pointing out that he is still playing. Well, that's true, but he's playing for the Jags and is only playing because they were completely desperate. He wasn't on their roster until after the season started. He hasn't ever become even an average WR in this league. Not even close. He's been able to sneak his way onto teams since he's left the Rams as a return guy on special teams... and after the team sees him display his brain farts on the field... he gets relegated to the bench or worse.

Following NFL players on Instagram can be a real eye opener. Beware though, because you are likely to become extremely disappointed in some of the players you have high hopes for. This happened to me when I followed TA. It was worse than disappointment though... I actually felt sorry for the guy.

Anyway... at least he has been able to earn a phat living for himself at being a way below average player in The League.

 

[Merlin]

Tutu might well bust but in comparison to Tavon at least he has some route running ability coming in. Tavon was more of a projection as a WR from his route running to his hands.

I'm just gonna wait on him tbh. Been having this take since the draft and even though it looks bad right now (McVay's comments about him are a bad indicator) maybe he's gonna do the work. Small guys gotta be willing to work hard at the technical side to succeed in this league. So still hopeful he's one of those big year two boost types.

 

[Da-Rock]

some of you are funny... dude is a total bust...

he is a 5ft 7 160lb running back that cant catch the ball.

Strange....there are several replies here with stats and details as to why he doesn't qualify as a bust and certainly not a Poster Boy of a bust. Disappointing for sure, but how many busts get a 2nd contract with the team that drafted them?????

 

[Tano]

Tutu might well bust but in comparison to Tavon at least he has some route running ability coming in. Tavon was more of a projection as a WR from his route running to his hands.

I'm just gonna wait on him tbh. Been having this take since the draft and even though it looks bad right now (McVay's comments about him are a bad indicator) maybe he's gonna do the work. Small guys gotta be willing to work hard at the technical side to succeed in this league. So still hopeful he's one of those big year two boost types.

I hope you are right that Tutu gets a work ethic urge this summer and tries hard to become as good as possible

But I don't have high hopes because of what McVay stated.

 

[Memento]

Tavon was neither a bust nor a boom. He was definitely disappointing with tantalizing potential that he never truly realized. If he had committed to becoming the best, maybe he would've been worth that top ten pick.

Still, the fact that he's stayed in the league this long, with decent production means that he's not exactly a bust....just a major disappointment.

 

[BriansRams]

He was the 8th pick and Rams traded up from 16th to get him:
Bills got a 1 (16), 2 (46), 3 (78), 7 (222); Rams get Tavon Austin at 8 and Bills' 3 (71).
So yeah, a bust.

OUCH!! OUCH!! DAMN!! OUCH!
That's disgusting.

 

[Merlin]

I hope you are right that Tutu gets a work ethic urge this summer and tries hard to become as good as possible

But I don't have high hopes because of what McVay stated.

I'm not saying that I think he will mind you. Just hoping that he does.

 

[Tano]

I'm not saying that I think he will mind you. Just hoping that he does.

I replied to you wrong

I did not believe you thought he would do it

I was hoping that you were right in your hope that Maybe just Maybe he gets a work ethic

I hope I am stating that right lol (why can't I find the smilies that I want)

 

[Oyster]

For me, Tavon's problem was that he loved to dance around instead of just taking it upfield.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Whomever did this, well done. Brings back some good memories.


View: https://youtu.be/EJvZUVnI9dg

Not a Bust. This video shows he can play at this level.

But his draft position was too high.

 

[Oregonram]

For me, Tavon's problem was that he loved to dance around instead of just taking it upfield.

He certainly didn’t like contact…can’t say I blame him at his size

 

[1maGoh]

Nah. He was fine, contributed as much and was really good on STs. I'll never forget that Colts game. He had backups throwing him the ball the majority of his time to boot.

He had the most back breaking success on ST I've ever seen. Our offense would be choking, the game would be almost of reach, the defense would be gassed but finally make a stop. A nice drive by the offense could give the D some time to rest and maybe we could turn the game around. Then TA would return a punt for a TD and send the exhausted ass defense right back out. Every TD is good, but sometimes they were very poorly timed.

Drafted the same year as Cordarelle Patterson who is thriving with a coach who is using him correctly.

Tavon had/has his limitations.

I always felt like if an NFL coach wanted to really use him he could be effective. But I think ultimately his size would have hindered him in that sense even.

I see the way Patterson is being used by Falcons and I have no doubt Tavon could've succeeded in that sense of get the ball in his hands 10-15 times a game no matter what way.

Tavon was always an effective running back in my opinion he just did not have the body to thrive in that spot with durability.

I remember reading a scouting report on Patterson. They went on and on about what a great WR he was. Several paragraphs singing his praises and the phenomenal impact he would have in the NFL. When they listed his pros and cons, "catching" and "route running" were in the cons section. I remember wondering what that scout thought a WR's job was.

 

[So Ram]

Not a Bust. This video shows he can play at this level.

But his draft position was too high.

It wasn’t even his draft position. It was the trading up by Les Snead that was bad.Then ask Les about Brian Quick as dumber & Dumb Kenny Britt.Just going by Fisher in Hardknocks.

Mcvay has basically had the same WR group since he has been the HC.
Watkins
Cooks
Beckham
all added bonuses. OBj has the spot light on him now.

Tavon & Bailey. Then along with T. Mason.. sad part of The Rams history,but Tavon has always had the biggest heart pound 4 pound.

 

[So Ram]

He certainly didn’t like contact…can’t say I blame him at his size

I don’t think he had great leg strength.Fast as heck,but went down like a Nat.:; He could never break a tackle.