Tavon Austin?

[CoachO]

You've been down on TA for awhile. Understandable. Let's talk in a few weeks. Way too much talent to be shut down like he was Saturday and most of last year. The frustration will explode like the Colts game last year very soon. Hopefully in Tampa .

It's not that I'm down on him. I just don't agree with many who think they need to make him the focal point of the offense.

If and when teams try to play straight man coverage against the Rams he/they will exploit it.

That's not likely to happen with a Lovie Smith coached team. Who lived and dies with his "Tampa 2" zone scheme.

 

[jrry32]

It's not that I'm down on him. I just don't agree with many who think they need to make him the focal point of the offense.

If and when teams try to play straight man coverage against the Rams he/they will exploit it.

That's not likely to happen with a Lovie Smith coached team. Who lived and dies with his "Tampa 2" zone scheme.

I wish we had Bradford for this game. Because this would be the game to use Tavon and Cook out of the slot to attack the seam. Don't think Davis can make the throw. Not sure Hill can either.

 

[bomebadeeda]

The trick to using Tavon is not highlighting him. Use him as a decoy and then use him once they've cried wolf too much. Line up in trips and then have him go into the "bubble screen" motion but......leak one of your "blockers" out and then after a quick pump throw between the CB and the now hesitant rotating safety. Then the next time up have your other "blocker" peel back and Tavon to race down the sideline. Then go ahead and run the bubble screen to a now "focused on Tavon defense". Line him up @ tailback and then hand off on inside reverse to Bailey (once he comes back) and then use him (Tavon) on the inside reverse after you motion him away from the direction he'll eventually run in. Fake the dive handoff after the real handoff. He'll never be effective as a focal point at this level but a very effective component if used when he will be most effective.

 

[diverdown]

The trick to using Tavon is not highlighting him. Use him as a decoy and then use him once they've cried wolf too much. Line up in trips and then have him go into the "bubble screen" motion but......leak one of your "blockers" out and then after a quick pump throw between the CB and the now hesitant rotating safety. Then the next time up have your other "blocker" peel back and Tavon to race down the sideline. Then go ahead and run the bubble screen to a now "focused on Tavon defense". Line him up @ tailback and then hand off on inside reverse to Bailey (once he comes back) and then use him (Tavon) on the inside reverse after you motion him away from the direction he'll eventually run in. Fake the dive handoff after the real handoff. He'll never be effective as a focal point at this level but a very effective component if used when he will be most effective.

You just made Schotty's head hurt. No comprendo.

 

[OldRock]

While that's true, the big thing was that Patterson's 3 runs were well blocked. Here's his TD:

I apologize for the pain of watching that again. Yes, Patterson breaks two arm tackles to spring free and then makes nice moves in the open field. However, Patterson wasn't touched until he was 13 yards past the LOS. His other runs? Were similar in that the Vikings sealed the Rams defenders inside and allowed him to break containment outside which left him against DBs in space. His plays were unexpected by the Rams and well blocked. Then Patterson made the most of them. But I think Austin can do quite a bit of damage when he's given similar space or a similar seam.

Wow! It just jumped out at me watching that replay. That was Brockers with a hand on him at the five yard line. 60 yards down the field! I think we just found our new kick returner!

 

[-X-]

Line up in trips and then have him go into the "bubble screen" motion

The only bubble screen I want to see in this offense for the rest of the year better damn well be the result of some 5 year old who wandered onto the sidelines with a Super Soaker full of Palmolive. I'm so sick and tired of that shitty play, words can't even describe it anymore. Well, except those of course.

 

[Mojo Ram]

And I love the idea of putting him in the backfield, but spread the field with WRs like they did at West Virginia.

Yep.

 

[SlaterFan]

X, I am with ya on the bubble screen....so damn yesterday !....college crap

e

 

[jrry32]

The only bubble screen I want to see in this offense for the rest of the year better damn well be the result of some 5 year old who wandered onto the sidelines with a Super Soaker full of Palmolive. I'm so sick and tired of that crappy play, words can't even describe it anymore. Well, except those of course.

It works, though. The key is the situation and the blocking. We seem to fail at both. The bubble screen is honestly best utilized either as an audible or in situations such as 1st and 10 when you know the other team is going to give a decent cushion. Because if your guys block well, it's an easy 6 yards that puts you into a favorable down and distance.

Problem is that our guys don't block well.

I'll tell you this much, once teams start to respect Brian Quick...if they back off, he's a great guy for those quick screen audibles. Hit him with a quick throw when he's isolated and the guy is playing off on first and 10 and he has the size to pick up a decent amount of yardage.

 

[-X-]

It works, though. The key is the situation and the blocking. We seem to fail at both. The bubble screen is honestly best utilized either as an audible or in situations such as 1st and 10 when you know the other team is going to give a decent cushion. Because if your guys block well, it's an easy 6 yards that puts you into a favorable down and distance.

Problem is that our guys don't block well.

I'll tell you this much, once teams start to respect Brian Quick...if they back off, he's a great guy for those quick screen audibles. Hit him with a quick throw when he's isolated and the guy is playing off on first and 10 and he has the size to pick up a decent amount of yardage.

NO. MORE. BUBBLES.

 

[Penguin.]

Bubble screens work if you have an athletic offensive line, and physical tight ends / wide recievers who don't mind blocking. Ray Rice's wife can take a better beating than our offensive line, whose protection is about as flimsy as wet toilet paper. So there goes that. Tavon Austin is too small to make plays in traffic. He needs open space and one on one situations. I really hope they get rid of Schottenheimer. Goodness gracious.

 

[-X-]

 

[shaunpinney]

so you are suggesting they change the entire offensive scheme to accommodate ONE player? If they go back to those WVU tapes and want to figure out what it would take to make him as comfortable as he was there, I think they will find they would need to recruit the Oklahoma defense (or most of the Big XII defenses for that matter) to play against.

I'm not saying they change the entire offensive scheme for TA, simply look at the style of play (what made him shine) and try and integrate into our scheme - as i said in my original post "mix them in to our playbook" - maximise our assets - otherwise we run the risk of him being a totally wasted draft selection - we need to have a cohesive offense which includes a running game with Stacy, a passing game with Britt, Quick and Bailey and our trickster Austin.

I'm sorry but if Austin would have been drafted by someone like the Seahawks you can guarantee they would have tweaked their playbook to include some plays for him - as they have done for Harvin. @CoachO, I love your posts but I think you're being naïve if you think Austin should just fit in to the Rams vanilla scheme - you either adopt and adapt - or you just don't draft him in the first place. The truth of the matter that Snead and Fisher DID draft him, heck, they went up for him - so why not use him correctly - having him break out for 1 maybe 2 games a season is not acceptable in my book.

 

[CoachO]

I'm not saying they change the entire offensive scheme for TA, simply look at the style of play (what made him shine) and try and integrate into our scheme - as i said in my original post "mix them in to our playbook" - maximise our assets - otherwise we run the risk of him being a totally wasted draft selection - we need to have a cohesive offense which includes a running game with Stacy, a passing game with Britt, Quick and Bailey and our trickster Austin.

I'm sorry but if Austin would have been drafted by someone like the Seahawks you can guarantee they would have tweaked their playbook to include some plays for him - as they have done for Harvin. @CoachO, I love your posts but I think you're being naïve if you think Austin should just fit in to the Rams vanilla scheme - you either adopt and adapt - or you just don't draft him in the first place. The truth of the matter that Snead and Fisher DID draft him, heck, they went up for him - so why not use him correctly - having him break out for 1 maybe 2 games a season is not acceptable in my book.

I can tell you without a doubt, they have those "plays" in their arsenal, they just don't use them each and every game.

They run Austin on the Jet Sweep, they run him on the WR reverse, they use him out of the backfield on toss sweeps, etc. In the passing game, I thing we have beaten the topic to death. For him to be effective, they cannot simply line him up and expect him to do the same things he did at WVU. He needs others to be productive, and he will benefit from the space created.

I just think to often, people think they should design the scheme around what HE can or can't do, and that's just not gonna happen. I won't debate the draft pick, or what they did or didn't do to move up to get him. I have said many times, where a guy is drafted makes zero difference to me, or to the coaches once they step out on the practice field.

IMO, Tavon Austin is, and will be a part of this offense, but his biggest contributions should and will be in the return game. And what I witnessed yesterday from him as a punt returner, tells me there is something lacking. Whether it's a confidence issue, or he is trying to hard to force things, I surely don't know, but he muffed TWO punts.

 

[shaunpinney]

I can tell you without a doubt, they have those "plays" in their arsenal, they just don't use them each and every game.(1)

They run Austin on the Jet Sweep, they run him on the WR reverse, they use him out of the backfield on toss sweeps, etc. In the passing game, I thing we have beaten the topic to death. For him to be effective, they cannot simply line him up and expect him to do the same things he did at WVU. He needs others to be productive, and he will benefit from the space created. (2)

I just think to often, people think they should design the scheme around what HE can or can't do, and that's just not gonna happen. (3) I won't debate the draft pick, or what they did or didn't do to move up to get him. I have said many times, where a guy is drafted makes zero difference to me, or to the coaches once they step out on the practice field.

IMO, Tavon Austin is, and will be a part of this offense, but his biggest contributions should and will be in the return game. And what I witnessed yesterday from him as a punt returner, tells me there is something lacking. Whether it's a confidence issue, or he is trying to hard to force things, I surely don't know, but he muffed TWO punts. (4)

(1) Maybe they should implement them more??
(2) I do think he needs others to be productive, I think the whole team needs to pull its socks up.
(3) I don't think we need to design around him, just utilise him better. Then again if team execution was better he may have more success...
(4) it was generally a bad day at the office all round, I hope it was a one off

 

[Dxmissile]

Tavon is capable of running the full route tree and while he caught a high pct of screens in college he ran the full route tree and he did it at all levels of the field successfully.

There's no reason for him to be used in the way he's been used so far here in St. Louis. If Schottenheimer can't figure out how to use a player with his skillset, it was a wasted pick.

Exactly they are not using him as a wr and not doing so it is seriously impacting his effectiveness. As soon as he comes into the game the defense keys in on him because they know that he is getting the ball. If he is on the field more he becomes more dangerous as a weapon and decoy

 

[Dxmissile]

I can tell you without a doubt, they have those "plays" in their arsenal, they just don't use them each and every game.

They run Austin on the Jet Sweep, they run him on the WR reverse, they use him out of the backfield on toss sweeps, etc. In the passing game, I thing we have beaten the topic to death. For him to be effective, they cannot simply line him up and expect him to do the same things he did at WVU. He needs others to be productive, and he will benefit from the space created.

I just think to often, people think they should design the scheme around what HE can or can't do, and that's just not gonna happen. I won't debate the draft pick, or what they did or didn't do to move up to get him. I have said many times, where a guy is drafted makes zero difference to me, or to the coaches once they step out on the practice field.

IMO, Tavon Austin is, and will be a part of this offense, but his biggest contributions should and will be in the return game. And what I witnessed yesterday from him as a punt returner, tells me there is something lacking. Whether it's a confidence issue, or he is trying to hard to force things, I surely don't know, but he muffed TWO punts.

Or it could have been nerves with him playing in the first game he did miss games because of injuries and he showed enough last year on punt returns I'm not worried about that in the least

 

[Dxmissile]

Viking fan here and i would like to make a few points.

CP is a better receiver than given credit for. He is certainly "raw" with some of his routes (not all of them though) but the preseason showcased his improvement in his WR development. He made 2 one handed grabs with the CB drapped over him, some nice "routine catches" and blew the top off the D on a go route. I think some of the evaluation by some posters about his WR abilities are wrong and uninformed.

The key ability with CP is his vision and ability to change directions at speed. From some very subtle to the extreme. He doesn't need the OC to "create space" for him bc he can hit seams and find creases within the defense. He does very subtle changes of direction that set up the D and even talks about this in an interview.

Before the drafting of CP, I came across a web site that was comparing him to TA and some other receivers. They used film to break down misses and broken tackles and drops, etc. CP had twice as many misses and broken tackles per 100 touches. Add to that, he was playing against the SEC.

If you watch his highlights from high school, to JC, to Tn, you will see the same thing. He is one of those rare players who can reverse the field.

I actually like TA, but I think CP is more dangerous bc you don't need to "create" space for him.

But that's exactly what the Vikings do is create space for him. On his touchdown run they had in in motion on a sweep that is creating space. He did nothing as a receiver. Yes he is very dangerous at breaking tackles when he has a full head of steam going but if you stop him at the point of attack he becomes less dangerous.