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Web back? WR? Decoy? Just what do Cowboys expect from Tavon Austin?
By: C.C. Boorman | 40 minutes ago
As the eighth-overall selection of the 2013 NFL Draft, Tavon Austin was sold as an electrifying, do-it-all player for the then-St. Louis Rams who could return kicks, run the football and catch it out of the backfield to create mismatches at every level.
Can he be that for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and if so, what will it look like?
Going back to his career at West Virginia, Austin’s versatility was on full display.
Five years later, the Rams were still waiting for Austin to fulfill that promise. His final campaign with the Rams was like many of the others, lacking in impact and direction. A broken wrist, hamstring woes and in-game ball security issues dropped him down the totem pole in Sean McVay’s creative and unpredictable offensive attack. By the conclusion of the season, Austin had plummeted down the pecking order to the point he was a highly-paid decoy.
A contract renegotiation in the off-season shaved his salary down to $5 million and dropped three years off the deal, making him tradeable.
The Rams eventually moved the 27-year-old veteran to Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round draft selection on the final day of the draft weekend.
During a recent interview on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ Show, Austin suggested that there were constraints on his play from the Rams’ offensive scheme:
“To be honest man, it’s all about the system. You just have to be in the right system at the right time. And have the right people around you. That’s all it be. Just got to take chances on the people calling plays for you and you got to make them, that’s the main thing. When you make plays and things happen, more stuff will happen for you.”
This was interesting commentary considering the Rams had the highest scoring offense in the league and were widely hailed for their creativity.
Although Austin arrived in Dallas with just 194 total receptions for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns, the buzz from the organization was almost immediate.
The initial concept for his utility was given by COO Stephen Jones on draft weekend:
The Cowboys have long had a specified role for gadget players who primarily were charged with occupying defensive ends, running reverses and jet sweeps and catching bubble screens. While the assignments seemed to have the potential to be diverse, they typically have been rigid in design and shockingly easy to anticipate. The role has been occupied by players such as Dwayne Harris, Lucky Whitehead and briefly, Ryan Switzer. And when they were inserted into formations, it was on rare circumstances they were directed off-script into sophisticated downfield assignments. Will Austin be just the next in line for this compartmentalized role or do the Cowboys have more in mind?
Perhaps it’s more, at least according to offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, via Star-Telegram.
“We feel like we can get him the ball in different ways. Handing him is the easiest way, so you can call him a running back when we hand him the ball. You can call him a receiver when we’re throwing the ball to him, or a running back when we’re throwing the ball out of the backfield to him. The beauty of you not knowing what it is, is the beauty of the other team not knowing what it is, too, you know what I mean?”
After shuffling through the off-season from “web-back” to now “outside receiver”, it is clear Dallas has a unique design for him, one that seems to be morphing the longer he has been able to show what he can do.
Austin is showing signs of living up to Linehan’s words with plenty of downfield receiver work thus far in camp and in the first exhibition game.
It is apparent his main value will be in the passing game, where he is not just a threat out of the backfield but as a chess piece Linehan can use to dictate defensive reactions. Whether Austin is lined up in the slot or split out on the perimeter, pre-snap motion will also factor in and will likely come out as new wrinkles early in games to set the tone.
Comments from Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay seem to echo the Cowboys’ hopes for a player described as having “juice” and a new-found sense of urgency and determination:
“Tavon Austin has stood out to me because he loves this game, and is one of the most intense people I’ve ever seen play this game at his size. He’s going to will himself to a lot of things, plus has the skill. He’s also going to will that room to grow and be better than people think it’s going to be. He’s my surprise. We knew in college to run the football at the size and have the success that he did, but I didn’t know that was his demeanor day in and day out. Nothing’s fake about it. The smallest dude on the team, I bet you everybody fears him because he’s so intent about what he wants to do, what he wants the team to do.”
Team owner Jerry Jones likens his energy to former great Michael Irvin.
No matter the label, Austin seems intent to turn his career around.
“It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve been everything in this league so far – running back, receiver, slot, punt returner. The names don’t really define me. I’m just glad to play, compete for a job.”
At this stage in his Dallas the role he will play should ultimately determine the fate of the team’s philosophical break from the static and predictable Cowboy offense of recent seasons. It is hoped this new lease on football pays big dividends for both himself and the team.
By: C.C. Boorman | 40 minutes ago
As the eighth-overall selection of the 2013 NFL Draft, Tavon Austin was sold as an electrifying, do-it-all player for the then-St. Louis Rams who could return kicks, run the football and catch it out of the backfield to create mismatches at every level.
Can he be that for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and if so, what will it look like?
Going back to his career at West Virginia, Austin’s versatility was on full display.
Five years later, the Rams were still waiting for Austin to fulfill that promise. His final campaign with the Rams was like many of the others, lacking in impact and direction. A broken wrist, hamstring woes and in-game ball security issues dropped him down the totem pole in Sean McVay’s creative and unpredictable offensive attack. By the conclusion of the season, Austin had plummeted down the pecking order to the point he was a highly-paid decoy.
A contract renegotiation in the off-season shaved his salary down to $5 million and dropped three years off the deal, making him tradeable.
The Rams eventually moved the 27-year-old veteran to Dallas in exchange for a sixth-round draft selection on the final day of the draft weekend.
During a recent interview on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ Show, Austin suggested that there were constraints on his play from the Rams’ offensive scheme:
“To be honest man, it’s all about the system. You just have to be in the right system at the right time. And have the right people around you. That’s all it be. Just got to take chances on the people calling plays for you and you got to make them, that’s the main thing. When you make plays and things happen, more stuff will happen for you.”
This was interesting commentary considering the Rams had the highest scoring offense in the league and were widely hailed for their creativity.
Although Austin arrived in Dallas with just 194 total receptions for 1,689 yards and 12 touchdowns, the buzz from the organization was almost immediate.
The initial concept for his utility was given by COO Stephen Jones on draft weekend:
The Cowboys have long had a specified role for gadget players who primarily were charged with occupying defensive ends, running reverses and jet sweeps and catching bubble screens. While the assignments seemed to have the potential to be diverse, they typically have been rigid in design and shockingly easy to anticipate. The role has been occupied by players such as Dwayne Harris, Lucky Whitehead and briefly, Ryan Switzer. And when they were inserted into formations, it was on rare circumstances they were directed off-script into sophisticated downfield assignments. Will Austin be just the next in line for this compartmentalized role or do the Cowboys have more in mind?
Perhaps it’s more, at least according to offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, via Star-Telegram.
“We feel like we can get him the ball in different ways. Handing him is the easiest way, so you can call him a running back when we hand him the ball. You can call him a receiver when we’re throwing the ball to him, or a running back when we’re throwing the ball out of the backfield to him. The beauty of you not knowing what it is, is the beauty of the other team not knowing what it is, too, you know what I mean?”
After shuffling through the off-season from “web-back” to now “outside receiver”, it is clear Dallas has a unique design for him, one that seems to be morphing the longer he has been able to show what he can do.
Austin is showing signs of living up to Linehan’s words with plenty of downfield receiver work thus far in camp and in the first exhibition game.
It is apparent his main value will be in the passing game, where he is not just a threat out of the backfield but as a chess piece Linehan can use to dictate defensive reactions. Whether Austin is lined up in the slot or split out on the perimeter, pre-snap motion will also factor in and will likely come out as new wrinkles early in games to set the tone.
Comments from Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay seem to echo the Cowboys’ hopes for a player described as having “juice” and a new-found sense of urgency and determination:
“Tavon Austin has stood out to me because he loves this game, and is one of the most intense people I’ve ever seen play this game at his size. He’s going to will himself to a lot of things, plus has the skill. He’s also going to will that room to grow and be better than people think it’s going to be. He’s my surprise. We knew in college to run the football at the size and have the success that he did, but I didn’t know that was his demeanor day in and day out. Nothing’s fake about it. The smallest dude on the team, I bet you everybody fears him because he’s so intent about what he wants to do, what he wants the team to do.”
Team owner Jerry Jones likens his energy to former great Michael Irvin.
No matter the label, Austin seems intent to turn his career around.
“It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve been everything in this league so far – running back, receiver, slot, punt returner. The names don’t really define me. I’m just glad to play, compete for a job.”
At this stage in his Dallas the role he will play should ultimately determine the fate of the team’s philosophical break from the static and predictable Cowboy offense of recent seasons. It is hoped this new lease on football pays big dividends for both himself and the team.
