Tavon Austin (2 Viewers)

[ImTheScientist]

55 catches 860, 3 tds

Basically what TY Hilton did last year.

I've got a 12 pack that says Tavon will easily top those numbers.

I should have taken you up on that. I saw nothing yesterday to suggest he will be dynamic at all at the next level.

I have to agree with Im the Scientist. He looks like a good PPR player but not a dynamic game changer. Kind of reminds me of Royal in his rookie year, and like Austin. I could see Austin catching 80 balls but not breaking a thousand yards or catching many TDs.

Not an Austin owner, but I saw the opposite last night. Saw Tavon get consistent separation. Really quick. Also, the fact that Harbaugh assigned Rogers to follow him all over the field is another positive for Austin.

Rodgers isn't that good. If he was open all night he would have had more targets.

 

[jsharlan]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

 

[FF Ninja]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

4.34

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I don't have a dog in the Tavon Austin fight. Never seriously considered him at his ADP and don't view him as anything close to his draft hype. He's no Percy Harvin.

What he is, is a shrimp with not a whole lot of wiggle, and not all that fast in pads. I noticed on kick returns, bigger presumably slower LB's track him down and pin him to the turf like a lion does to a wounded gazelle. Not impressed. Small guy, goes down on contact easily, can be brought to the turf with a fistfull of jersey. Not a playmaker.

I don't mean to piss in your cheerios Austin owners, just giving you an honest firsthand opinion.

 

[shadyridr]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Perhaps thats true but I saw a bunch of passes thrown his way last night that he had no chance of completing because there is no window to throw to. Hes so small. He has to be wide open to have a chance of completing a pass to him.

 

[jsharlan]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

4.34

Whats your point? He ran a 4.25 before they "adjusted" it. Who cares, the point is he's got speed and they don't even game plan for it.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I don't have a dog in the Tavon Austin fight. Never seriously considered him at his ADP and don't view him as anything close to his draft hype. He's no Percy Harvin.

What he is, is a shrimp with not a whole lot of wiggle, and not all that fast in pads. I noticed on kick returns, bigger presumably slower LB's track him down and pin him to the turf like a lion does to a wounded gazelle. Not impressed. Small guy, goes down on contact easily, can be brought to the turf with a fistfull of jersey. Not a playmaker.

I don't mean to piss in your cheerios Austin owners, just giving you an honest firsthand opinion.

NFL speed is so much different then college speed. Its showing up here.

 

[jsharlan]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Perhaps thats true but I saw a bunch of passes thrown his way last night that he had no chance of completing because there is no window to throw to. Hes so small. He has to be wide open to have a chance of completing a pass to him.

Oh no doubt, with his height he will need good separation so they can get it over the DBs head, but I mean they don't even try a deep post or corner. They send him out on nothing but slants and short outs. Occasionally the bubble screens, which would be great if they could block worth a crap. Hell with all the short routes they send him on, a double move should fool the defense at least once or twice.

 

[Khy]

I don't have a dog in the Tavon Austin fight. Never seriously considered him at his ADP and don't view him as anything close to his draft hype. He's no Percy Harvin.

What he is, is a shrimp with not a whole lot of wiggle, and not all that fast in pads. I noticed on kick returns, bigger presumably slower LB's track him down and pin him to the turf like a lion does to a wounded gazelle. Not impressed. Small guy, goes down on contact easily, can be brought to the turf with a fistfull of jersey. Not a playmaker.

I don't mean to piss in your cheerios Austin owners, just giving you an honest firsthand opinion.

NFL speed is so much different then college speed. Its showing up here.

Is it though? He isn't being given a legitimate chance to do much with the ball. They're using him like he's comparable to Julio Jones and not like he's comparable to Percy Harvin or Wes Welker which is what they should be doing. Even Waldman discussed on the Audible, we're still seeing everything that made him that high pick. The issue is his usage and lack of creativity with him. It may be a year or two after Shotty is run out of town until we really see the kids true potential. But we're not seeing a college > pro breakdown in speed issue here. It's purely lack of usage at this stage of the game.

 

[TheFanatic]

This is a team that used Givens last night on a bunch of short routes when that guy had like four straight games last year with a 50 yard catch or some such. He needs to be going deep and stretching the secondary. It's a joke...

 

[tonyftony716]

The error I made in drafting Austin was not considering who the teams offensive coordinator was. Schottenheimer , no matter what team he is with, shows a complete lack of creativity in his play calling. Just as he did with the Jets. Someone like Austin, especially at this early stage of his career , needs someone who will design creative plays to get Him into open space to better utilize his skill set. That is not happening. I have him on my bench until someone on the Rams can do a better job at this.

 

[renesauz]

The Saint Louis offense is a mess. Their line is terrible- they can't run block AT ALL, and the pass blocking really isn't holding up well enough to allow deep plays. UNtil the blocking improves, there won't be a running game or deep game to loosen up the defense.

More, Austin is being bracketed in double coverage on a consistant basis...which is especially odd for a rookie who really hasn't proven a darn thing at this level. At this point Austin is only worth carrying inredraft if you have deep benches. He's still a hold in dynasty- we need to see what will happen when the blocking improves and/or the coordinator loses his job.

 

[TheFanatic]

The Saint Louis offense is a mess. Their line is terrible- they can't run block AT ALL, and the pass blocking really isn't holding up well enough to allow deep plays. UNtil the blocking improves, there won't be a running game or deep game to loosen up the defense.

More, Austin is being bracketed in double coverage on a consistant basis...which is especially odd for a rookie who really hasn't proven a darn thing at this level. At this point Austin is only worth carrying inredraft if you have deep benches. He's still a hold in dynasty- we need to see what will happen when the blocking improves and/or the coordinator loses his job.

Yet the Rams can't take advantage of that. If he's being doubled, then it means other guys have single coverage or there is more room for a RB to run, yet nobody is taking advantage of that...

 

[jurb26]

I don't have a dog in the Tavon Austin fight. Never seriously considered him at his ADP and don't view him as anything close to his draft hype. He's no Percy Harvin.

What he is, is a shrimp with not a whole lot of wiggle, and not all that fast in pads. I noticed on kick returns, bigger presumably slower LB's track him down and pin him to the turf like a lion does to a wounded gazelle. Not impressed. Small guy, goes down on contact easily, can be brought to the turf with a fistfull of jersey. Not a playmaker.

I don't mean to piss in your cheerios Austin owners, just giving you an honest firsthand opinion.

NFL speed is so much different then college speed. Its showing up here.

Is it though? He isn't being given a legitimate chance to do much with the ball. They're using him like he's comparable to Julio Jones and not like he's comparable to Percy Harvin or Wes Welker which is what they should be doing. Even Waldman discussed on the Audible, we're still seeing everything that made him that high pick. The issue is his usage and lack of creativity with him. It may be a year or two after Shotty is run out of town until we really see the kids true potential. But we're not seeing a college > pro breakdown in speed issue here. It's purely lack of usage at this stage of the game.

The lack of usage was an isolated occurrence last night. He's been heavily used the other games. He's just not that good right now. Is he being used correctly? Perhaps not. Until the oline improves nobody will be used correctly. The issue is his athleticism isn't jumping off the screen like we were told it would. Those who say he's creating separation, I have no idea what their seeing. I'm certainly not seeing that. St. L is correct in reducing his looks and touches IMO. Givens and the other Austin are simply better. Throw in Cook and he's the 4th best pass catching option on the team at best right now. Classic overhype of a rookie player.

 

[jurb26]

The Saint Louis offense is a mess. Their line is terrible- they can't run block AT ALL, and the pass blocking really isn't holding up well enough to allow deep plays. UNtil the blocking improves, there won't be a running game or deep game to loosen up the defense.

More, Austin is being bracketed in double coverage on a consistant basis...which is especially odd for a rookie who really hasn't proven a darn thing at this level. At this point Austin is only worth carrying inredraft if you have deep benches. He's still a hold in dynasty- we need to see what will happen when the blocking improves and/or the coordinator loses his job.

Yet the Rams can't take advantage of that. If he's being doubled, then it means other guys have single coverage or there is more room for a RB to run, yet nobody is taking advantage of that...

He's not being doubled.

 

[Junior McSpiffy]

The Saint Louis offense is a mess. Their line is terrible- they can't run block AT ALL, and the pass blocking really isn't holding up well enough to allow deep plays. UNtil the blocking improves, there won't be a running game or deep game to loosen up the defense.

More, Austin is being bracketed in double coverage on a consistant basis...which is especially odd for a rookie who really hasn't proven a darn thing at this level. At this point Austin is only worth carrying inredraft if you have deep benches. He's still a hold in dynasty- we need to see what will happen when the blocking improves and/or the coordinator loses his job.

Yet the Rams can't take advantage of that. If he's being doubled, then it means other guys have single coverage or there is more room for a RB to run, yet nobody is taking advantage of that...

There's a difference between "bracketing" and "There's one safety over the top per side and he picks up the one guy who goes deep since everyone else is staying within ten yards."

 

[LawFitz]

Seriously considering cutting bait in redraft. Last night's game was extremely uninspiring. Obviously waiver options have to be considered. This is in a ten-team league. Several viable WR options on my wire. Tavon is smelling busty right now. Negatives have been severely outpacing his positives.

 

[Team ROFLCOPTERS]

The Saint Louis offense is a mess. Their line is terrible- they can't run block AT ALL, and the pass blocking really isn't holding up well enough to allow deep plays. UNtil the blocking improves, there won't be a running game or deep game to loosen up the defense.

More, Austin is being bracketed in double coverage on a consistant basis...which is especially odd for a rookie who really hasn't proven a darn thing at this level. At this point Austin is only worth carrying inredraft if you have deep benches. He's still a hold in dynasty- we need to see what will happen when the blocking improves and/or the coordinator loses his job.

Yet the Rams can't take advantage of that. If he's being doubled, then it means other guys have single coverage or there is more room for a RB to run, yet nobody is taking advantage of that...

He's not being doubled.

I agree. he draws doubles when he runs an actual route that involves moving your feet more than 6 times to get open but that rarely happens.

 

[Xue]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Austin is fast, but he was never a deep threat in college. Lots of other fast guys who aren't deep threats. Don't be fooled by the 40 time.

One of the most overrated prospects ever. Rams should have drafted Giovani Bernard with the 30th pick then Ace Sanders in the later rounds instead, who's a much better pure WR than Austin. Bernard can do everything Austin was suppose to do AND play RB.

 

[jurb26]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Austin is fast, but he was never a deep threat in college. Lots of other fast guys who aren't deep threats. Don't be fooled by the 40 time.

One of the most overrated prospects ever. Rams should have drafted Giovani Bernard with the 30th pick then Ace Sanders in the later rounds instead, who's a much better pure WR than Austin. Bernard can do everything Austin was suppose to do AND play RB.

Yeah, but they neded a WR and badly. They should have just gone with either Patterson or Hopkins. Both were better prospects IMO. Both were better bets to become a WR1. Instead they went after an ultra hyped and exotic gadget player.

 

[jbz]

NFL network said Isaiah Pead was inactive Thursday because the plan was to use Tavon in the backfield more. He saw zero carries. I watch all his plays and a majority of his routes are short outs are he runs a hitch. Hardly anything that leads him into running room or to get the ball in open space. The targets are encouraging but he can't break tackles and use his quickness the way he's being deployed now.

 

[pghrob]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Austin is fast, but he was never a deep threat in college. Lots of other fast guys who aren't deep threats. Don't be fooled by the 40 time.

One of the most overrated prospects ever. Rams should have drafted Giovani Bernard with the 30th pick then Ace Sanders in the later rounds instead, who's a much better pure WR than Austin. Bernard can do everything Austin was suppose to do AND play RB.

They drafted Stedman Bailey instead of Sanders.

 

[cstu]

He is really being misused in the offensive game plan, not to mention Bradford flat out misses him so much on his passes.

The guy is 5'7"

and runs a 4.3, 4.2 in shorts. They don't even have him run patterns that take advantage of that speed.

Austin is fast, but he was never a deep threat in college. Lots of other fast guys who aren't deep threats. Don't be fooled by the 40 time.

One of the most overrated prospects ever. Rams should have drafted Giovani Bernard with the 30th pick then Ace Sanders in the later rounds instead, who's a much better pure WR than Austin. Bernard can do everything Austin was suppose to do AND play RB.

Yeah, but they neded a WR and badly. They should have just gone with either Patterson or Hopkins. Both were better prospects IMO. Both were better bets to become a WR1. Instead they went after an ultra hyped and exotic gadget player.

None of them would be doing well in this offense. Calvin Johnson, hell Jerry Rice would put up pathetic numbers.

 

[fruity pebbles]

Is it possible that it has nothing to do with how they're using him and that his skillset just doesn't transition well to the nfl.

 

[cubbie5150]

Is it possible that it has nothing to do with how they're using him and that his skillset just doesn't transition well to the nfl.

I think that's definitely a possibility. However, for me at least, given the current staff + his usage, I can't judge that yet.

 

[TwinTurbo]

He's too small. Even Steve Smith and Santana Moss look like giants next to him. Seriously how many impact players are there in the NFL that are this tiny? Trindon Holliday? Darren Sproles?

 

[LawFitz]

He's too small. Even Steve Smith and Santana Moss look like giants next to him. Seriously how many impact players are there in the NFL that are this tiny? Trindon Holliday? Darren Sproles?

It can happen, but you have to be creative with how you use him. The Rams should be using him as KR/PR and on reverses, screens, wheels etc. For a #8 overall WR pick, he should be on the field more and have more plays designed for him. He's barely getting utilized. Maybe they don't trust him yet. I haven't seen enough play design to cast complete judgment on Tavon as a player, but his redraft ROS prospects have taken a serious hit in my eye. At this point he feels unstartable until further notice. I'm waiting to see the beast I saw in college; there has been just one glimpse this year (called back punt return TD).

 

[texansfan80]

LOL at all of you hyping a STL WR. Delete this thread

 

[Captain Hook]

55 catches 860, 3 tds

Basically what TY Hilton did last year.

I've got a 12 pack that says Tavon will easily top those numbers.

I should have taken you up on that. I saw nothing yesterday to suggest he will be dynamic at all at the next level.

I have to agree with Im the Scientist. He looks like a good PPR player but not a dynamic game changer. Kind of reminds me of Royal in his rookie year, and like Austin. I could see Austin catching 80 balls but not breaking a thousand yards or catching many TDs.

Not an Austin owner, but I saw the opposite last night. Saw Tavon get consistent separation. Really quick. Also, the fact that Harbaugh assigned Rogers to follow him all over the field is another positive for Austin.

Rodgers isn't that good. If he was open all night he would have had more targets.

NOT unless Bradford actually gets the ball to him

Austin has talent and while he may need to learn more to be better at the pro level the problem is NOT him but the gameplan, plays for him and terrible execution by OLine and most importantly Bradford.

I think the real problem is that both the Rams and the FF community thought they would get a lot more from both Bradford and the Rams running game which would mean more/better opportunities for Austin and the other good young receivers .

 

[Bob Magaw]

55 catches 860, 3 tds

Basically what TY Hilton did last year.

I've got a 12 pack that says Tavon will easily top those numbers.

I should have taken you up on that. I saw nothing yesterday to suggest he will be dynamic at all at the next level.

I have to agree with Im the Scientist. He looks like a good PPR player but not a dynamic game changer. Kind of reminds me of Royal in his rookie year, and like Austin. I could see Austin catching 80 balls but not breaking a thousand yards or catching many TDs.

Not an Austin owner, but I saw the opposite last night. Saw Tavon get consistent separation. Really quick. Also, the fact that Harbaugh assigned Rogers to follow him all over the field is another positive for Austin.

Rodgers isn't that good. If he was open all night he would have had more targets.

its rogers... are you saying he isn't good now, or he was never good?

if the latter, he was second team all pro two years ago...

if the latter, why sign him to a four year extension just last year ($29 mill, $10 mill guaranteed)...

they did show on camera an isolation one of the few times they tried an intermediate pass to austin, and it was a blatant hold, he otherwise might have had a shot at catching it...

* just as a homerism index test, peyton manning, adrian peterson, calvin johnson and jimmy graham aren't seahawks.

do you think of them as good players?

 

[jurb26]

What in the hell is going on in here? Now we are talking about how good Rogers was 2 years ago to defend Austin. Unreal....

 

[Bob Magaw]

i wasn't the one saying he isn't good now...

he was signed to an extension one year ago...

there are enough legit reasons to bash austin, bradford and the rams without needing to make stuff up, that was the point...

and the everybody is bad but seahawks shtick is wearing thin down to the molecular level...

unreal you are defending that...

 

[MoveToSkypager]

So we can stop using stupid arguments, maybe someone can find how good Carlos Rogers is THIS YEAR.

 

[jurb26]

and the everybody is bad but seahawks shtick is wearing thin down to the molecular level...

unreal you are defending that...

I haven't defended the Seahawks once in this thread, or other threads for that matter. That's got nothing to do with this.

 

[Bob Magaw]

and the everybody is bad but seahawks shtick is wearing thin down to the molecular level...

unreal you are defending that...

I haven't defended the Seahawks once in this thread, or other threads for that matter. That's got nothing to do with this.

glad you clarified that... how could others know you aren't the seahawks shill that bit was directed at (as you recall, your issue was, what the hell, unbelievable rogers was mentioned)...

but that would be so easy to miss... after all, the other poster in question is so discrete, measured in his enthusiasm and the very definition of restraint (even rabid seahawks have distanced themselves repeatedly)... very low profile and under the radar about his homeric* enthusiasm...

lets start over...

ITS (I'm The Seahawk) said rogers isn't that good...

as i already said, there are plenty of legit reasons to bash austin, bradford and the rams... we don't need to make things up... i don't know how to break it down differently?

the same tired litany and refrain about how every seahawks player is the greatest at their respective position in the history of the NFL, and non-seahawks are bums (and if others try and form a different impression they have "terrible knowledge") has become a bad combination of monotone and shrill, like a broken record or continuous loop of the sound fingernails make scratching a blackboard...

* meant in epic proportions sense - elevating praise to the level of mythology and legend.

 

[SameSongNDance]

Meh, Bradford targeted him 8 times, good for second most (tied with Givens I believe). The usage pretty much falls in line with previous weeks minus a carry out of the backfield. It was just one of those nights.

If I owned him I'd rarely start him but he's very much like a Bess, high-ish floor, low ceiling in PPR.

 

[Faust]

The All-22: Where have you gone, Tavon Austin?

 

[jurb26]

The All-22: Where have you gone, Tavon Austin?

This is the problem with gadget type players. It's unrealistic to expect offenses to constantly create their opportunity. In order to truly succeed in the NFL you have to be able to create your own opportunity. Austin just isn't that guy right now.

 

[karmarooster]

I have a feeling the Jaguars are just what this team needs. Either Austin or Givens, possibly both, should have a nice game. Trying to figure out now who is worth the gamble.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I like Givens going forward. He runs the routes and fit the style of offense that Bradford knows best. He's available on waivers in one of my leagues. If I had Austin, I'd drop him for Givens.

 

[tonyftony716]

The All-22: Where have you gone, Tavon Austin?

This was a good article. As I said earlier, my mistake in drafting Austin was not taking into account Schottenheimer as the offensive coordinator. The league I have him in is a dynasty league so I will mostly keep him on my bench until they figure this out. I am though tempted to play him this week against theJaguars as I have several players on bye.

 

[TheFanatic]

I like Givens going forward. He runs the routes and fit the style of offense that Bradford knows best. He's available on waivers in one of my leagues. If I had Austin, I'd drop him for Givens.

But Givens was used terribly on Thur. A bunch of short stuff? They need the guy to go deep.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

I like Givens going forward. He runs the routes and fit the style of offense that Bradford knows best. He's available on waivers in one of my leagues. If I had Austin, I'd drop him for Givens.

But Givens was used terribly on Thur. A bunch of short stuff? They need the guy to go deep.

Agreed. OC needs to pull his head out of his ###, and throw deep to Givens.

 

[flysack]

The All-22: Where have you gone, Tavon Austin?

This was a good article. As I said earlier, my mistake in drafting Austin was not taking into account Schottenheimer as the offensive coordinator. The league I have him in is a dynasty league so I will mostly keep him on my bench until they figure this out. I am though tempted to play him this week against theJaguars as I have several players on bye.

Schottenheimer isn't the only problem though. Jared Cook is an atrocious blocker. There's quarterbacks who could block better than that guy. That's a big part of Austin's problem as they're setting him up with plays that have blockers for him in space, but Cook is one of those blockers and he wiffs almost every time. The other St. Louis blockers aren't much better.

 

[ImTheScientist]

its rogers... are you saying he isn't good now, or he was never good?

if the latter, he was second team all pro two years ago...

if the latter, why sign him to a four year extension just last year ($29 mill, $10 mill guaranteed)...

they did show on camera an isolation one of the few times they tried an intermediate pass to austin, and it was a blatant hold, he otherwise might have had a shot at catching it...

* just as a homerism index test, peyton manning, adrian peterson, calvin johnson and jimmy graham aren't seahawks.

do you think of them as good players?

I don't think Rodgers is that good, I also think Austin was overrated this year. I wouldn't say Austin struggled because of Rodgers coverage. Austin struggled because his skill set doesn't translate.

All those players you listed above are great. If you threw Rodgers into that group he would stand out as the one that is not great. He's a good CB, but is on the downside of his career. He was much better a few years ago.

 

[TheFanatic]

I like Givens going forward. He runs the routes and fit the style of offense that Bradford knows best. He's available on waivers in one of my leagues. If I had Austin, I'd drop him for Givens.

But Givens was used terribly on Thur. A bunch of short stuff? They need the guy to go deep.

Agreed. OC needs to pull his head out of his ###, and throw deep to Givens.

Givens goes deep, Austin needs to be running short slants, wheel routes, screens, etc, and sure as hell should not be running 3 yards, turning, stopping catching the ball and being tackled before he can take a step. That's just plain stupid. Having him catch the ball standing still may be the most moronic play calling I've ever seen...

Oh, and maybe they should've drafted a friggin RB. Jonathan Franklin was taken in the 5th. Would love to have that guy right now...

 

[Bob Magaw]

its rogers... are you saying he isn't good now, or he was never good?

if the latter, he was second team all pro two years ago...

if the latter, why sign him to a four year extension just last year ($29 mill, $10 mill guaranteed)...

they did show on camera an isolation one of the few times they tried an intermediate pass to austin, and it was a blatant hold, he otherwise might have had a shot at catching it...

* just as a homerism index test, peyton manning, adrian peterson, calvin johnson and jimmy graham aren't seahawks.

do you think of them as good players?

I don't think Rodgers is that good, I also think Austin was overrated this year. I wouldn't say Austin struggled because of Rodgers coverage. Austin struggled because his skill set doesn't translate.

All those players you listed above are great. If you threw Rodgers into that group he would stand out as the one that is not great. He's a good CB, but is on the downside of his career. He was much better a few years ago.

rogers (not rodgers)... "I don't think Rodgers is that good..."

"He's a good CB..."

glad we cleared that up!

seriously, i'll try and frame things in terms of seahawks, since that seems to be the lens or prism through which you view the football world...

if tate was in the first four games of his career, and SEA OC bevell was ridiculously unimaginative, calling a bunch of pass plays where tate ran 2-3 yards and squatted while defenders converged on him, and had a low YPC average as a result, would you, in the interest of being consistent, say his skills didn't translate? if so, you would be wrong, conflating misuse for lack of talent...

simply, if SEA used tate like STL is using austin, would his production suffer?

while on the subject of tate, is he doing as well as you expected in absence of harvin? if not, what do you attribute that to?

the converse, if STL uses austin more imaginitively, is it possible he does better?

* if you haven't seen him in STL, just say so, no shame in that... not too many people watch every game...

but if you haven't seen him in STL, than that makes it problematic to comment on what you don't know about - HIS USE IN STL...

i get that you didn't like what you saw in college, but that was not the scouting consensus... if the rams didn't trade up, imo very doubtful austin makes it to their pick at 1.16, i think more than one team viewed him as top half of the first round talent (unlike tate)...

if austin had been drafted by SEA (instead of acquiring harvin, which like you i think was a great move), i'm guessing they would be more creative and successful with their use of him, and then you would like him MORE WITH SEA, than you do with STL...

austin was a marginal WR2 or solid WR3 through about three weeks in PPR leagues, which is not bad for a rookie WR (sheesh, would he have to be a WR1 before you would concede his "skills translate"?)... before last thur, he was on pace for 95+ receptions (if someone with foreknowledge of the 2013 season had told you prior to it starting that austin would finish with 95 receptions, would you be as adamant and vocal that his "skills don't translate"?)... people used to have more measured expectations for rookie WRs (long list of future stars that did very litte rookie season), but success of WRs like AJ green and julio jones (who appear to have HoF-type talent) in recent years have amped up expectations...

just a few weeks ago, the fact that justin hunter was a game day inactive week one caused some to dump him (i hope not in dynasty - as to redraft, he hasn't been heavily involved and has just two catches, albeit very promisingly, both TDs)... at any rate, there was a lot of despair about hunter, people were saying he was tracking to be a failure IN DYNASTY LEAGUES incredibly early!! those comments look very short sighted juts a few weeks later...

 

[Rushmore]

I like Givens going forward. He runs the routes and fit the style of offense that Bradford knows best. He's available on waivers in one of my leagues. If I had Austin, I'd drop him for Givens.

But Givens was used terribly on Thur. A bunch of short stuff? They need the guy to go deep.

I'm very disappointed in his usage thus far. I expected Givens to be one of the great values this season and anticipated a lot of deep shot plays. I haven't completely given up on that possibility, but I'm certainly concerned. I certainly think the talent is there (for Givens that is).

 

[fire_tune]

Too much things going against him right now. The OC, Pettis/Cook ahead of him, the QB and his abilities. There was a report earlier that said he would see work from the backfield. Guess not with no carries this week.

 

[dickey moe]

Austin and Givens have both been huge busts.