- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,014
Austin primed for big year because he hasn’t ‘driven himself into the ground’
BY TOM ORSBORN : Sunday, August 25, 2013
ARLINGTON – Miles Austin’s four-catch, 59-yard, one-touchdown performance in Saturday night’s 24-18 win over the Bengals underscored what he can do when healthy.
Austin played in all 16 games last season, but he was never really 100 percent. Still, he caught 66 passes for 943 yards and six TDs in 2012.
“I thought he had a relatively productive year for where he was physically,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He wasn’t very healthy throughout most of the year. I probably saw him looking like himself maybe a couple of occasions throughout the whole season last year.”
But that’s all behind Austin, who took an easy-does-it approach during training camp.
“He’s monitored himself to make sure he doesn’t drive himself into the ground,” Garrett said. “So, he looks fresher, he looks quicker to me and he’s a hard match-up player for people because he’s so big.”
Said Austin, “I feel pretty good, relatively speaking. I feel healthy and ready to go for the season.”
Garrett said it’s taken a while for Austin to learn not to drive himself so hard in practice.
“Some of your greatest strengths can be your greatest weakness,” Garrett said. “Miles’ greatest strength is that he seems himself as a free agent from Monmouth University and that’s how he works every single day. It’s really important to him and that’s the mindset and perspective that he has when he goes to work. Sometimes you’ve got to protect those guys from themselves.
“We have tried to do that really formally over last few years in a lot of different ways. But then you give him a day off, and he’s running sprint behind you. And it’s like, ‘Miles, we are trying to dial you back a little bit to keep you fresh and ready to go.’ And I think he’s understanding that more and more. He’s lighter, he’s quicker and he’s had a good training camp.”
BY TOM ORSBORN : Sunday, August 25, 2013
ARLINGTON – Miles Austin’s four-catch, 59-yard, one-touchdown performance in Saturday night’s 24-18 win over the Bengals underscored what he can do when healthy.
Austin played in all 16 games last season, but he was never really 100 percent. Still, he caught 66 passes for 943 yards and six TDs in 2012.
“I thought he had a relatively productive year for where he was physically,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He wasn’t very healthy throughout most of the year. I probably saw him looking like himself maybe a couple of occasions throughout the whole season last year.”
But that’s all behind Austin, who took an easy-does-it approach during training camp.
“He’s monitored himself to make sure he doesn’t drive himself into the ground,” Garrett said. “So, he looks fresher, he looks quicker to me and he’s a hard match-up player for people because he’s so big.”
Said Austin, “I feel pretty good, relatively speaking. I feel healthy and ready to go for the season.”
Garrett said it’s taken a while for Austin to learn not to drive himself so hard in practice.
“Some of your greatest strengths can be your greatest weakness,” Garrett said. “Miles’ greatest strength is that he seems himself as a free agent from Monmouth University and that’s how he works every single day. It’s really important to him and that’s the mindset and perspective that he has when he goes to work. Sometimes you’ve got to protect those guys from themselves.
“We have tried to do that really formally over last few years in a lot of different ways. But then you give him a day off, and he’s running sprint behind you. And it’s like, ‘Miles, we are trying to dial you back a little bit to keep you fresh and ready to go.’ And I think he’s understanding that more and more. He’s lighter, he’s quicker and he’s had a good training camp.”