New Tavon Austin Thread? (1 Viewer)

[Dr. Octopus]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

 

[gianmarco]

NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah has predicted that No. 8 overall draft pick Tavon Austin "easily could surpass" 70 receptions as a rookie.

After visiting St. Louis Rams training camp over the weekend, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock is even more bullish on Austin's prospects.

"I watched all of his tape, I saw him in person at his pro day. He might be the most explosive player I've ever seen in my life, from a static start to full speed," Mayock said on Monday's "Inside Training Camp Live." "He's almost impossible to cover in short spaces. So the ways you can use this are basically only constrained by the imagination of your offensive coordinator."

Mayock noted that Austin joined tight end Jared Cook as the most targeted receivers in weekend practices.

Although Austin says his heart has always been at running back, he recently acknowledged that slot receiver has been his home in training camp.

Could Austin still be in line for a couple of carries per game, similar to Percy Harvin's role with the Vikings?

"You're going to have to come out and watch and see," coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday. "He is versatile. ... Obviously, there's things that everybody does across the league in camp that they don't show until the regular season."

Regardless of whether he lines up in the backfield, in the slot, outside or at H-back, Austin's role will be to create plays in space. How the Rams exploit his talents will be "one of the really interesting questions around the league," Mayock added, "because he catches everything, he's tough, he's smart, and I think he's a guy that Sam Bradford already trusts."

 

[TheFanatic]

A tweet from the beat writer about Austin:

From @jthom1: Nobody can cover Tavon Austin in practice. He reminds me of Az Hakim in the early years xcept he has better straightline speed

 

[TheFanatic]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

This was after OTA's but before TC. From the quote, it sounds like there was some tackling going on at those practices, but hey, if you want to discount that nugget because you aren't seeing much tackling on the NFL network, then by all means. Just trying to give some info that I doubt many national outlets picked up one...

 

[Grahamburn]

A tweet from the beat writer about Austin:

From @jthom1: Nobody can cover Tavon Austin in practice. He reminds me of Az Hakim in the early years xcept he has better straightline speed

 

[Team ROFLCOPTERS]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

Are you insinuating St. L defense can't play?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

Are you insinuating St. L defense can't play?

No sure, if you are serious, but no. What I'm saying is that based on what I've seen from NFL practices at this time of year no one is getting tackled.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

This was after OTA's but before TC. From the quote, it sounds like there was some tackling going on at those practices, but hey, if you want to discount that nugget because you aren't seeing much tackling on the NFL network, then by all means. Just trying to give some info that I doubt many national outlets picked up one...

I think it's less likely they tackle in OTAs, in fact I don't think any contact is allowed at all, per rule, in OTAs.

I wasn't trying to dismiss what you posted, just adding some perspective to it. Based on seeing these early practices I now put a little less stock into all practice reports when it comes to skill players - it almost seems like they SHOULD look amazing. If they don't there would be some real issues.

Also as stated I like Austin's outlook - I think some people predicting 18.9 ypc or predicting the greatest rookie season since Randy Moss are probably going over board, but I would be happy to snag him as a WR3 for my team. He'll be fun to watch.

 

[Grahamburn]

Jason LaCanfora:

Top pick Tavon Austin is everything the Rams hoped. Think of him as a smaller Percy Harvin, because that's the role they have envisioned for him. He's a dervish in the return game and they will line him up outside, in the slot, in the backfield. Anywhere.

"In addition to the talent, he's really instinctive," Fisher said. "He's a smart football player, the playbook is not going to be an issue. We'll do all those things with him."

 

[TheFanatic]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

This was after OTA's but before TC. From the quote, it sounds like there was some tackling going on at those practices, but hey, if you want to discount that nugget because you aren't seeing much tackling on the NFL network, then by all means. Just trying to give some info that I doubt many national outlets picked up one...

I think it's less likely they tackle in OTAs, in fact I don't think any contact is allowed at all, per rule, in OTAs.

I wasn't trying to dismiss what you posted, just adding some perspective to it. Based on seeing these early practices I now put a little less stock into all practice reports when it comes to skill players - it almost seems like they SHOULD look amazing. If they don't there would be some real issues.

Also as stated I like Austin's outlook - I think some people predicting 18.9 ypc or predicting the greatest rookie season since Randy Moss are probably going over board, but I would be happy to snag him as a WR3 for my team. He'll be fun to watch.

This is not a camp report. It's Laurinitis talking candidly from the tee box at charity golf tourney. Like I said, take it for whatever you want. My bet is by the time you figure out your evaluation process needs work, he will be way too expensive thanks to those that bought early.

 

[jurb26]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

This was after OTA's but before TC. From the quote, it sounds like there was some tackling going on at those practices, but hey, if you want to discount that nugget because you aren't seeing much tackling on the NFL network, then by all means. Just trying to give some info that I doubt many national outlets picked up one...

I think it's less likely they tackle in OTAs, in fact I don't think any contact is allowed at all, per rule, in OTAs.

I wasn't trying to dismiss what you posted, just adding some perspective to it. Based on seeing these early practices I now put a little less stock into all practice reports when it comes to skill players - it almost seems like they SHOULD look amazing. If they don't there would be some real issues.

Also as stated I like Austin's outlook - I think some people predicting 18.9 ypc or predicting the greatest rookie season since Randy Moss are probably going over board, but I would be happy to snag him as a WR3 for my team. He'll be fun to watch.

This is not a camp report. It's Laurinitis talking candidly from the tee box at charity golf tourney. Like I said, take it for whatever you want. My bet is by the time you figure out your evaluation process needs work, he will be way too expensive thanks to those that bought early.

Austin was way too expensive a month ago. So I'm not sure that matters.

 

[MAC_32]

Buzz is heating back up seems like. Will we start seeing him going at 1.1 more often now?

always should have

 

[Team ROFLCOPTERS]

I said this in the other thread. I heard a quote by James Laurinitis when he was in town for Adam Wainright's golf tourney. They asked him how hard it was to tackle Austin. He said, "Tackle him? I just wish I could touch him."

Laurinitis is a damn good MLB. Nobody is laying a finger on this guy in camp so far. That being said, sooner or later someone will ring his bell. If he hops back up like no big deal I will finally breath a sigh of relief as that is my only concern on him.

Not to take anything away from Austin, but after watching alot of practices for the furst time (first summer my cable has had NFL Network) it doesn't seem like the defense touches any players all that much.

It prety much seems that the defense just runs to get in position to make a tackle but doesn't actually try and lay a finger on the player.

I think Austin will have a nice season (although not as nice as some obviously), but it will be much different once he faces a defense that is going all out to stop him - what a member of the Rams defense says now is nice, but it's not all that meaningful.

This was after OTA's but before TC. From the quote, it sounds like there was some tackling going on at those practices, but hey, if you want to discount that nugget because you aren't seeing much tackling on the NFL network, then by all means. Just trying to give some info that I doubt many national outlets picked up one...

I think it's less likely they tackle in OTAs, in fact I don't think any contact is allowed at all, per rule, in OTAs.

I wasn't trying to dismiss what you posted, just adding some perspective to it. Based on seeing these early practices I now put a little less stock into all practice reports when it comes to skill players - it almost seems like they SHOULD look amazing. If they don't there would be some real issues.

Also as stated I like Austin's outlook - I think some people predicting 18.9 ypc or predicting the greatest rookie season since Randy Moss are probably going over board, but I would be happy to snag him as a WR3 for my team. He'll be fun to watch.

I think you miss Laurantis' point. He was being purposely sensational to point out how different he is compared to his competition.

 

[Two Deep]

Ok I'll get serious. Jarius Wright is like a tenth of a second slower, more explosive on the jump test 38"to 32"-, Same speed on the 20 yard shuttle. Had a considerable edge in average yards per reception in college 17 to 11. Five less Tds 24-29 receiving on about a100 less catches. Has great hands. Good route runner, played in a tougher division.

Workout numbers are just workout numbers. It doesn't mean they have the same skill-set. Tavon is probably the most elusive guy in the NFL already, and his long-speed is ridiculous too. If he'll stay as impressively healthy as he did in college is a legit question mark, but he's electric. I DO think Jarius is underrated, but if Wright was really comparable to Tavon (and by comparison, possibly Harvin and Cobb, as well) I don't think they would have gone out and drafted Patterson. You're alleging that they basically already had a fairly similar YAC monster on the roster in Wright, if he really is a Tavon clone. But his own team didnt recognize it?I just don't see it. Tavon and Jarius are pretty different on the field, no matter what their workout numbers say.

Patterson is an outside receiver....Wright will play inside and be used frequently in the Harvin roll.

 

[Bob Magaw]

if you held a two player draft today, and teams could choose between austin or wright, pretty sure 32 GMs would take austin, and 0 wright, so that should tell you something right there...

 

[jurb26]

Ok I'll get serious. Jarius Wright is like a tenth of a second slower, more explosive on the jump test 38"to 32"-, Same speed on the 20 yard shuttle. Had a considerable edge in average yards per reception in college 17 to 11. Five less Tds 24-29 receiving on about a100 less catches. Has great hands. Good route runner, played in a tougher division.

Workout numbers are just workout numbers. It doesn't mean they have the same skill-set. Tavon is probably the most elusive guy in the NFL already, and his long-speed is ridiculous too. If he'll stay as impressively healthy as he did in college is a legit question mark, but he's electric. I DO think Jarius is underrated, but if Wright was really comparable to Tavon (and by comparison, possibly Harvin and Cobb, as well) I don't think they would have gone out and drafted Patterson. You're alleging that they basically already had a fairly similar YAC monster on the roster in Wright, if he really is a Tavon clone. But his own team didnt recognize it?I just don't see it. Tavon and Jarius are pretty different on the field, no matter what their workout numbers say.

Patterson is an outside receiver....Wright will play inside and be used frequently in the Harvin roll.

Patterson will not be used primarily as an outside guy this year though. It's been said he will be used like Harvin was in years past. The difference between him and Austin is Patterson has the potential to move outside when he adjust to the NFL and learns the game more.

 

[Raider Nation]

Analyst Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, one of the most highly-respected tape mavens in the business, said yesterday on the NFL Network that St. Louis Rams rookie receiver Tavon Austin might be “the most explosive player I’ve ever seen in my life.”“He’s almost impossible to cover in short spaces,” Mayock said of the former West Virginia star, who the Rams traded up to take with the eighth overall pick. “So the ways you can use [him] are basically only constrained by the imagination of your offensive coordinator.”

Austin has the potential to present the kind of matchup nightmares one rarely sees, because he’s just about impossible to catch when he’s free in the open field. For the Rams’ offense to jump it up a few notches and quarterback Sam Bradford to finally realize his potential, Austin will have to play a big role.

“Clearly there’s a lot you can do with him,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of Austin soon after he was drafted. “He’ll start off as that slot receiver, but it doesn’t end there. There’s a lot of different things you can do with him. He can stretch the field. The 4.28 [speed] is real. That itself creates some problems. He’s got excellent hands. He’s quick out of the break. He understands and likes football. He’s going to be really fun to watch.”

:drool:

 

[Biabreakable]

Ok I'll get serious. Jarius Wright is like a tenth of a second slower, more explosive on the jump test 38"to 32"-, Same speed on the 20 yard shuttle. Had a considerable edge in average yards per reception in college 17 to 11. Five less Tds 24-29 receiving on about a100 less catches. Has great hands. Good route runner, played in a tougher division.

Workout numbers are just workout numbers. It doesn't mean they have the same skill-set. Tavon is probably the most elusive guy in the NFL already, and his long-speed is ridiculous too. If he'll stay as impressively healthy as he did in college is a legit question mark, but he's electric. I DO think Jarius is underrated, but if Wright was really comparable to Tavon (and by comparison, possibly Harvin and Cobb, as well) I don't think they would have gone out and drafted Patterson. You're alleging that they basically already had a fairly similar YAC monster on the roster in Wright, if he really is a Tavon clone. But his own team didnt recognize it?I just don't see it. Tavon and Jarius are pretty different on the field, no matter what their workout numbers say.

Patterson is an outside receiver....Wright will play inside and be used frequently in the Harvin roll.

Patterson will not be used primarily as an outside guy this year though. It's been said he will be used like Harvin was in years past. The difference between him and Austin is Patterson has the potential to move outside when he adjust to the NFL and learns the game more.

Patterson is competing with Jerome Simpson for the X WR role. They certainly will also look to get him the ball in space as well but Patterson is having a great camp and showing very good hands throughout. He has also shown able to get off the Jam. Xavier Rhodes is very good at press coverage, I was listening to something earlier talking about Rhodes just crushing Burton with a blow to the chest that knocked him on his back into the backfield.

The never-before-seen, at least by yours truly, incident referenced above was authored by rookie cornerback Xavier Rhodes. In a one-on-one drill vs. receiverStephen Burton, Rhodes approached the line of scrimmage and settled directly across from Burton in press coverage position. At the snap of the ball, Rhodes reached out with perfect hand technique and struck Burton in the chest, literally stopping Burton in his tracks and ending the play on the spot. There was no route, there was no pass, there was really no reaction by anyone other than the boisterous and always defensive teammate-supporting Jamarca Sanford, who let both Rhodes and Burton know what had just happened. Vikings fans should be excited to see more of that from their first-round cornerback this season. Not to be embarrassed, though, Burton came back one snap later, got off the line, worked his way open and made a reception despite Rhodes draping himself all over him and drawing a pass interference flag from the official. You always like to see a player come back like that and display some pride and competitiveness. It’s not surprise to see that from Burton, either, as he’s a former seventh-round choice from 2011 who is still on the roster. http://www.vikings.com/news/blog/article-1/Xavier-Rhodes-Defense-Impress-On-Tuesday/eb592528-b544-4fd5-b27d-71f0d23bc7b2

Patterson on the other hand is fighting against Xavier and winning a lot of these battles.

Jarius Wright is also having a good TC and will have a role in 3WR sets. Simpson sounds improved as well, the strange back injury is not an issue for him anymore according to Frazier.

So I would not make the assumption that Patterson = Harvin. The Vikings certainly wanted Patterson for his kick return ability (the main thing they will be missing without Harvin) and because of how good he is, but Patterson has the potential to be more than Harvin because of his size and ability to get open down field.

I doubt Wright ever gets the targets like Harvin was, but he has had a good camp and is competing for the PR job as well. So you know they like his hands, concentration and ability to make people miss.

The player who is going to get a lot of the Harvin targets from last season is Greg Jennings.

Austin looks great as a receiver, what I am wondering is how often they actually use him as a RB.

This is my favorite quote of the offseason:

"You're going to have to come out and watch and see," coach Jeff Fisher said Saturday. "He is versatile. ... Obviously, there's things that everybody does across the league in camp that they don't show until the regular season."

 

[Junior McSpiffy]

Analyst Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, one of the most highly-respected tape mavens in the business, said yesterday on the NFL Network that St. Louis Rams rookie receiver Tavon Austin might be “the most explosive player I’ve ever seen in my life.”“He’s almost impossible to cover in short spaces,” Mayock said of the former West Virginia star, who the Rams traded up to take with the eighth overall pick. “So the ways you can use [him] are basically only constrained by the imagination of your offensive coordinator.”

Austin has the potential to present the kind of matchup nightmares one rarely sees, because he’s just about impossible to catch when he’s free in the open field. For the Rams’ offense to jump it up a few notches and quarterback Sam Bradford to finally realize his potential, Austin will have to play a big role.

“Clearly there’s a lot you can do with him,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of Austin soon after he was drafted. “He’ll start off as that slot receiver, but it doesn’t end there. There’s a lot of different things you can do with him. He can stretch the field. The 4.28 [speed] is real. That itself creates some problems. He’s got excellent hands. He’s quick out of the break. He understands and likes football. He’s going to be really fun to watch.”

:drool:

Sadly, their offensive coordinator is Brian Schottenheimer. That sounds somewhat limiting.

 

[karmarooster]

I'm not as high on Tavon as others, but this "Next Tavon Austin" looks like the most elusive player I've ever seen. What really impressed me was his tackle-breaking ability at 1:34. The defense had him completely wrapped up and he just went all Houdini. Great high end speed as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukHHG4Q9sLE

100 receptions and 100+ carries while working as primary KR and PR is possible for this Rook.

 

[TheFanatic]

I'm not as high on Tavon as others, but this "Next Tavon Austin" looks like the most elusive player I've ever seen. What really impressed me was his tackle-breaking ability at 1:34. The defense had him completely wrapped up and he just went all Houdini. Great high end speed as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukHHG4Q9sLE

100 receptions and 100+ carries while working as primary KR and PR is possible for this Rook.

100 carries and 100 receptions while being KR and PR? You're not as high as others? That's pretty high, dude....

 

[vesihiisi]

100 carries and 100 receptions while being KR and PR? You're not as high as others? That's pretty high, dude....

He's talking about Oscar Aguilas from the video he posted. It probably deserved its own thread* so he can brag in a decade and a half.

*not really

 

[TheFanatic]

100 carries and 100 receptions while being KR and PR? You're not as high as others? That's pretty high, dude....

He's talking about Oscar Aguilas from the video he posted. It probably deserved its own thread* so he can brag in a decade and a half.

*not really

Oh, uh, great hijack

*not really.

 

[Groundpounder]

Sure I'll say 18.3 ypc is kind of crazy, but I also think 60 receptions is on the incredibly low end for what is almost sure to be the clear cut #1 receiving option on an offense current devoid of a real running game. Austin will be a success, it's just a matter of if he rides the skirts as a WR2 or if he takes those steps to being an elite unstoppable force that some believe he can be. Honestly, with the current state of the offense I feel like he's going to be a force this season. So my projections for him are around this:

90 receptions, 1100 yards, 12.2ypr, 8 TDs - 20 rushes, 220 yards, 11.2ypc, 2 TDs

That would be one of the best rookie WR seasons of all time.

I'm coming around on Austin as a dynasty prospect but these rookie season projections are a little over the top.

I'm aware, realize a lot of my projection is based on several things not just his talent.

1. Situation (4 parter):

• His situation is perfect, he's coming into an offense with a very talented QB who has never had any weapons around him. Bradford loves to play with this type of player we saw it last year in limited time with Amendola's success and Bradford has come out publicly and said great things about throwing to Tavon this season. In this situation he's also the clear cut WR1 on the team.
• Limited running game. The lack of the running game this season means that Bradford will likely be throwing the ball more frequently. Which just means more opportunities to get the ball into Austin's hands and let him work his YAC magic.
• It's very rare that a rookie WR comes into the league as the #1 WR on the team with almost no other elite options to throw too. I can't really think of the last time that really really happened to a player who was going onto a decent team with good coaching. Most #1 WRs get between 80-90 receptions in a year and being that Austin is a possession receiver with insane after the catch abilities I really don't see my projections of 90 receptions as over the top at all.
• He's taking over for Amendola... last season Amendola had 63 receptions in 11 games (one of those games he went out fairly early in with an injury that sidelined him for weeks). That put him on pace for 91 receptions on the season. The offense hasn't changed much and I have no doubt that Austin is leaps and bounds more talented a route runner, ball handler and play maker than Amendola ever could imagine to be. So why is it 'over the top' that Austin take over for Amendola and get 90 receptions?

2. Talent: This guys talent is through the roof. We have never seen a player like him, ever. You can compare him to Harvin, Amendola and Welker all you want but they aren't remotely close to the same style of player. It's a very wrong comparison. There is no comparison. Honestly, there's no correct way to make these projections. If you don't believe in him and you're projecting way below what is likely even feasible as his floor. If you do like him you're going to project his ceiling. But we have no idea how a player of his caliber will perform in the NFL until we see it because we've never seen a Tavon Austin before. This isn't like Calvin or Larry Fitz where you go "Yeah... he's amazing just look at those measurable. He's like the same player as <insert HOF WR here> with better <insert WR talent here>". Personally, I'm buying on the guy in a big way. I made moves in two different dynasty leagues to acquire him as I don't see how the guy fails. If the guy does hit I think my projections are completely reasonable though.

I'm not sure we can make the assumption that Austin is the "clear cut WR1 on the team". It's possible that he leads the team in targets, but it's not a given by any means and if he does I don't think he'll outpace Chris Givens or Jared Cook by a wide margin.

Austin is likely more talented than Amendola, but not only was Amendola the only show in town, he also was more experienced in the NFL. It's hardly a given that Austin gets what Amendola was on pace for last season.

You tacidly admit that you project him "at his ceiling" - which assumes his ceiling is the best rookie WR season since Randy Moss, and to me projecting some one at his ceiling (even if it was obtainable) is "over the top."

I feel like I overprojected Austin at 72-965-5 with 65 yards rushing and a TD (you'd probably call that his floor). So yes a projection that has him as the best rookie WR since 1998, is a little over zealous. Perhaps you'll end up being right when all is said and done, but I have a hard time seeing it from a rookie in what is supposed to be a balanced offense.

I would say that's his floor for rushing yards but probably a spot on projection otherwise.

 

[shader]

Analyst Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, one of the most highly-respected tape mavens in the business, said yesterday on the NFL Network that St. Louis Rams rookie receiver Tavon Austin might be “the most explosive player I’ve ever seen in my life.”“He’s almost impossible to cover in short spaces,” Mayock said of the former West Virginia star, who the Rams traded up to take with the eighth overall pick. “So the ways you can use [him] are basically only constrained by the imagination of your offensive coordinator.”

Austin has the potential to present the kind of matchup nightmares one rarely sees, because he’s just about impossible to catch when he’s free in the open field. For the Rams’ offense to jump it up a few notches and quarterback Sam Bradford to finally realize his potential, Austin will have to play a big role.

“Clearly there’s a lot you can do with him,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of Austin soon after he was drafted. “He’ll start off as that slot receiver, but it doesn’t end there. There’s a lot of different things you can do with him. He can stretch the field. The 4.28 [speed] is real. That itself creates some problems. He’s got excellent hands. He’s quick out of the break. He understands and likes football. He’s going to be really fun to watch.”

:drool:

Sadly, their offensive coordinator is Brian Schottenheimer. That sounds somewhat limiting.

Yeah Schottenheimer/Fisher doesn't exactly scream "offensive ingenuity'

 

[Shawn]

Why did you have to make a "new" thread when there is already one in here? You don't ruin a thread by talking about concussions... you ruin a forum by splitting up the conversation more...

 

[TheFanatic]

Why did you have to make a "new" thread when there is already one in here? You don't ruin a thread by talking about concussions... you ruin a forum by splitting up the conversation more...

That thread jumped the shark. I don't even go in there. Glad to have this thread...