Tavon playing his heart out

[Robocop]

plenty of us here have had some doubts wether Tavon was worth the trade up pick and there still may be some doubters. but it's been obvious now it's Tavon and Gurely trying to do anything and right now the line is too embarrassing to even help Gurely in the smallest. but every week I see Tavon trying to give it his all even if it backfires sometimes. never question this guys drive to win or his ability to be explosive even the analyst expressed their views Tavon would be great with any consistent QB and sideline WR help to take pressure off him. but right now you give this kid an extension or resign him or whatever in the future cus if this offense EVER gets off the ground it will be Tavon creating the surge with his explosive plays then Gurley pounding up the middle. A decent QB and extra Oline help. Austin better be a Ram a few years from now

 

[Ramlock]

plenty of us here have had some doubts wether Tavon was worth the trade up pick and there still may be some doubters. but it's been obvious now it's Tavon and Gurely trying to do anything and right now the line is too embarrassing to even help Gurely in the smallest. but every week I see Tavon trying to give it his all even if it backfires sometimes. never question this guys drive to win or his ability to be explosive even the analyst expressed their views Tavon would be great with any consistent QB and sideline WR help to take pressure off him. but right now you give this kid an extension or resign him or whatever in the future cus if this offense EVER gets off the ground it will be Tavon creating the surge with his explosive plays then Gurley pounding up the middle. A decent QB and extra Oline help. Austin better be a Ram a few years from now

Exactly why Fish told the media to kiss his ass

Players are playing hard

 

[HometownBoy]

Imagine if him and Gurley had a team around them, they'd be doing so much better we'd barely recognize them.

 

[LorenzoTheLimner]

Lack of OL experience and QB is killing us!!!

 

[CGI_Ram]

I am an Austin fan. He is a unique weapon. Big play talent.

No question teams are game planning to stop Gurley and Austin, 1 and 2.

 

[jap]

I am an Austin fan. He is a unique weapon. Big play talent.

No question teams are game planning to stop Gurley and Austin, 1 and 2.

Teams have been game planning to stop Tavon ever since he pulled on that Horns helmet.

 

[Ramrasta]

Tavon has evolved this year. There is nobody in the NFL that can be a direct comparison to his toolset. He is a class on his own.

 

[DR RAM]

He has been..... Tavon Awesome.

 

[-X-]

I can't imagine there have been many cases in NFL history where a player (Tavon) has as many touchdowns as the starting QB after 11 weeks into a season. He may not be a great receiver, but he leads the team in total TDs nonetheless.

 

[FRO]

Exactly why Fish told the media to kiss his ass

Players are playing hard

Which is scary. If they are playing hard that means that we have a huge talent or tactical deficiency. Neither are good.

 

[FRO]

I can't imagine there have been many cases in NFL history where a player (Tavon) has as many touchdowns as the starting QB after 11 weeks into a season. He may not be a great receiver, but he leads the team in total TDs nonetheless.

That's a scary stat. Austin is sort of a conundrum, on one hand he is a threat to score from anywhere and on the other hand he isn't a good receiver. Are we hurting ourselves by having him out there at receiver when his route running isn't the best and most of his catches are near the line? On the other hand how do you take him off the field when he is so explosive and can score from anywhere.

I was a Tavon guy when we drafted him. I thought he was going to be Danny Amendola with 4.2 speed. He has the same start/stop ability as Danny, so I thought he would develop the same great route running ability in the slot as Amendola. He hasn't come close, so I'm disappointed in that sense. He is exciting and can make things happen though.

 

[-X-]

That's a scary stat. Austin is sort of a conundrum, on one hand he is a threat to score from anywhere and on the other hand he isn't a good receiver. Are we hurting ourselves by having him out there at receiver when his route running isn't the best and most of his catches are near the line? On the other hand how do you take him off the field when he is so explosive and can score from anywhere.

I was a Tavon guy when we drafted him. I thought he was going to be Danny Amendola with 4.2 speed. He has the same start/stop ability as Danny, so I thought he would develop the same great route running ability in the slot as Amendola. He hasn't come close, so I'm disappointed in that sense. He is exciting and can make things happen though.

It is a conundrum. Where he was drafted doesn't matter anymore, so what you're left with is a playmaker who exponentially improved our special teams play, and can be used in various situations to change field position. I never thought he would be a go-to receiver, but I did share your optimism that he would be an improved Amendola. And I also didn't want to see him going to another team in the NFCW. That was a nightmare scenario for me, and at the time (if it happened that way), everyone here would have let out a collective "oh shit". lol.

 

[FRO]

It is a conundrum. Where he was drafted doesn't matter anymore, so what you're left with is a playmaker who exponentially improved our special teams play, and can be used in various situations to change field position. I never thought he would be a go-to receiver, but I did share your optimism that he would be an improved Amendola. And I also didn't want to see him going to another team in the NFCW. That was a nightmare scenario for me, and at the time (if it happened that way), everyone here would have let out a collective "oh crap". lol.

How do we deal with the Austin conundrum going forward? Does he hurt our passing game due to the fact he hasn't developed as a route runner? Does it hurt the flow of our offense that we have to design gimmicky plays to get him involved with the offense? I don't mean to take anything away from the guy because he is a dynamic offensive playmaker on a horrible offense.

On a side note, why is it that a majority of Austin's runs go to the right?

 

[-X-]

How do we deal with the Austin conundrum going forward? Does he hurt our passing game due to the fact he hasn't developed as a route runner? Does it hurt the flow of our offense that we have to design gimmicky plays to get him involved with the offense? I don't mean to take anything away from the guy because he is a dynamic offensive playmaker on a horrible offense.

On a side note, why is it that a majority of Austin's runs go to the right?

Honestly, he may turn out to be a viable option in the passing game (full-time) if things improve up front and at QB. Bradford was able to hit him with some good deep shots (when they weren't called back by penalty), and we saw how he can wreck a team that plays man coverage during that Indy game. I mean, the whole ineptitude of our passing offense may just be an illusion perpetrated by a tore up O-line and bad QB play. It's possible, yeah?

He probably runs to the right more because he's right-handed. It keeps the ball on the outside of the defenders.
Maybe.

 

[LesBaker]

plenty of us here have had some doubts wether Tavon was worth the trade up pick and there still may be some doubters. but it's been obvious now it's Tavon and Gurely trying to do anything and right now the line is too embarrassing to even help Gurely in the smallest. but every week I see Tavon trying to give it his all even if it backfires sometimes. never question this guys drive to win or his ability to be explosive even the analyst expressed their views Tavon would be great with any consistent QB and sideline WR help to take pressure off him. but right now you give this kid an extension or resign him or whatever in the future cus if this offense EVER gets off the ground it will be Tavon creating the surge with his explosive plays then Gurley pounding up the middle. A decent QB and extra Oline help. Austin better be a Ram a few years from now

I agree and every time I read a poster calling him a "bust" because at 8 you should "pick a perennial pro bowler" (which is someone who would be in the HOF if that was the case), I want to tell them to eat shit.

The guy is ballz to the wall even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.

 

[Alan]

I was totally against drafting Tavon and if I had an opportunity to do it again I would be just as vehemently against the pick but at least he's stepping up his game to a legitimate 1st rounder level. He's a keeper for sure.

 

[OntarioRam]

I agree and every time I read a poster calling him a "bust" because at 8 you should "pick a perennial pro bowler" (which is someone who would be in the HOF if that was the case), I want to tell them to eat crap.

The guy is ballz to the wall even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.

This speaks to his heart more than anything and is why I am such a huge fan. He's the smallest guy on the time. Yet, he is one of our better blockers.

To me, it doesn't matter if a guy is a "gadget player" if he is as dangerous as Austin is. As has been said, he can literally score from anywhere. His TD stats are simply insane given how anaemic our offense is as a whole. It is just crazy to think what his stats would be if he wasn't the only guy teams keyed on in weeks 1-3. And one of only 2 players keyed on (along with Gurley) from week 4 - present.

It's up to the coaching staff to figure out how to use Austin without hurting the offensive scheme as a whole. That's what they get paid for. If they can't do it then they should pack their bags and move on. I'm sure every other NFL team would love to have the "problem" of working Tavon Austin into their offense.

Tavon is an absolute must to re-sign and I am glad the Rams moved up to get him. I don't care if moving up may not have been the ideal move "value" wise because it is not like we sold the farm. When you are a team absolutely starved for offence and have a chance to trade to be in a position to land a player as impactful as Tavon Austin, without getting robbed in the process, you do it.

EDIT - Until we upgrade from having what is likely the worst offensive line and worst QB in the league, no conventional receiver is going to do anything here. I find the knock against Tavon for not being a go-to, conventional wide-out amusing. If he was we'd be getting nothing out of him owing to the circumstances, and fans would be screaming "bust". We definitely need to draft and/or sing another lineman or two, and hope for better health next season.

 

[DCH]

Am I wrong, or is he an unrestricted free agent after next year? I thought he'd have a 5th-year option, but the usual contract sites (overthecap and rotoworld) both have him as a UFA in 2017. That's wrong, isn't it?

 

[Fatbot]

Tavon is an absolute must to re-sign and I am glad the Rams moved up to get him.

The problem is the Rams burnt a lot of their draft assets on "development" and "figuring out how to use him" players and now they are all talked about as "must re-sign". People like me worry over the cap too much, but it does exist and at some point factored in. The decision for the Rams to pick up Tavon's 5th year option comes at the end of this season and if they do he must be paid the average of the highest 10 WRs ($14-15million?) guaranteed in 2017. Or hopefully they can sign him to an extension instead, but certainly his agent knows a guy scoring so many TDs on one of the worst teams in the NFL is a high starting point for any negotiation.

 

[OntarioRam]

The problem is the Rams burnt a lot of their draft assets on "development" and "figuring out how to use him" players and now they are all talked about as "must re-sign". People like me worry over the cap too much, but it does exist and at some point factored in. The decision for the Rams to pick up Tavon's 5th year option comes at the end of this season and if they do he must be paid the average of the highest 10 WRs ($14-15million?) guaranteed in 2017. Or hopefully they can sign him to an extension instead, but certainly his agent knows a guy scoring so many TDs on one of the worst teams in the NFL is a high starting point for any negotiation.

All fair points. I am not a fan of developmental projects in the 1st round either. But I don't think that applies to Tavon. The only reason he was not a game-changer from the start is because we had one of the worst offensive coordinators in the NFL in Schotty. That's not Austin's fault. On a more competent offense he would have been plug and play, IMO.

Cignetti is hardly a great OC. I think to say he is "poor" may not be fair at this point, given we have possibly the worst QB and offensive line the league. But anything more than average would be too generous given the evidence. Still, even Cignetti has figure out how to give Tavon his touches and chance to succeed.

I wouldn't say any of our other developmental guys are must re-signs (e.g. Quick). Only Austin would be in that group for me. But again, I'm not so sure he wasn't ready from day 1. I think it was our OC that wasn't ready.