Austin Comparisons

[mr.stlouis]

Many analysts compared Austin to Harvin. In terms of athletic ablity and playing style, I can see the comparison. They both play the same 3 positions and excell in juking defenders and out running everyone on the field. However, these two players are not equal in certain physical qualities.

Burst/Acceleration- Austin stops on a dime and turns on the jets at faster than Harvin.

Power- Tavon doesnt really have any, Percy has quite a bit. They will both slip tackles all day long, but Percy will finish a play bull dozing a defender.

Style- Tavon will make the most out of the whole field and will cut, juke, and accelerate to the outside as much as humanly possible. He doesn't look for contact. Percy looks for the the seams and attacks them with power, speed and elusiveness. It's more of a north south approach with Percy. Both styles are similiar buy not the same. In a nut shell, Austin looks to run away from defenders while looks to get past defenders with on side of the field. Austin's "cut-ability" offsets Harvin's power.

Vision- This basically goes hand in hand with "style." But Austin is more prone to change direction in an east/west fashion to mazimize big play potntial for himself. It's very unique. With Harvin's power attribute, he looks to break tackles and continue forward with a full head of steam. It's almost a more tunneled vision approach but only when compared to a rare player such as Austin. Austin is almost one of a kind.

NOTE: I attribute Austin's blank injury history to his style and vision. Percy looks to break contact and he breaks down. Austin eludes contact, he doesnt take many hits.

So who do I compare Austin to the most?

Les Snead said Austin is "on another planet" when talking about Austin during a Pre-draft interview. I thought Snead was just talking Tavon up at the time but I beleive that's a pretty accurate way of describing Austin. I don't know if I've ever seen a player with better change of direction, cutting ability, and blazing speed. He's immensely gifted.

I think Austin is best compared to Barry Sanders. They are both 5'8" but Sanders had about 25 lbs on Austin and had a bit more power. On the flip side, Austin is faster and has better accelleration. It's tough to say who is tougher to get to the ground because we are talking about two crazy elusive players who play different positions. But if you disagree, I've posted the college videos of all three players below. (Why college? Because Austin doesn't have any vids in the NFL just yet. Enjoy!


Austin- <a class="postlink" href="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0AAWC5t0trY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0AAWC5t0trY</a>

Sanders- <a class="postlink" href="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7S8wN_tL5Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q7S8wN_tL5Y</a>

Harvin- <a class="postlink" href="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl498S1-is4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl498S1-is4</a>

 

[fastcat]

I personally have never seen anyone ever as quick and fast as Austin. Many guys are quick... Many are fast... But what he has is very very unique imo. Barry sanders is the most elusive guy I've ever seen but Austin is like godly elusive. I've heard NFL personel guys say they never seen anyone with the speed and quickness this guy has. He reminds me of playing maddened back in the day when you reach certain achievements and you can get madden cards. Well one of the cards gave you something like hyper speed (you were like 2x faster than the other team) and no one on the field could touch you... I can't wait to see him in action!

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[mr.stlouis]

I personally have never seen anyone ever as quick and fast as Austin. Many guys are quick... Many are fast... But what he has is very very unique imo. Barry sanders is the most elusive guy I've ever seen but Austin is like godly elusive. I've heard NFL personel guys say they never seen anyone with the speed and quickness this guy has. He reminds me of playing maddened back in the day when you reach certain achievements and you can get madden cards. Well one of the cards gave you something like 2x speed and no one on the field could touch you... I can't wait to see him in action!

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Yeah I really agree. A lighter, faster, quicker Barry Sanders is the best I can do. Nobody really compares to him.

 

[Faceplant]

Agreed. I said it waaayyy back in like December. Austin is unlike any player I have seen coming out of college. He is just different. Is it september yet?

 

[den-the-coach]

Enjoyed the vids and if Austin is truly as good as many think than trading up eight spots to get him will propel GM Les Snead into the upper echlon of NFL executives.

 

[Thordaddy]

Gayle Sayers?

 

[Angry Ram]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

 

[fastcat]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

I'm not expecting the guy to be an hofer, or even to put up ungodly numbers. We are just saying we never seen a guy like this before, Sanders is the clostest person with the same skill set but you can clearly see Austin is quicker and faster than Barry. Reggie Busch is another guy that comes to mind but Austin is quicker and seems to be faster too.

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[LesBaker]

A little Greg Pruitt anyone? Not a lot of film of him I guess.....I didn't find much anyway. He's similar with the stop and go and that extra gear.

The first one is some crappy vid quality. It had to have been filmed with a potato or something.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQ_JDElmcw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u6f5ejg2kM[/youtube]

 

[libertadrocks]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

lus1:

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

I love Tavon's talent. I cant remember a quicker player. He was unbelievable in college, but to compare him to HOFers and All-Pros is unfair to him and the other players. The guy hasnt played a down in the NFL. Lets reserve some of this exuberance for when he actually steps on the field.

 

[lockdnram21]

Marshall faulk said that hes wes welker and reggie bush all in one.

 

[paceram]

Marshall faulk said that hes wes welker and reggie bush all in one.

A pretty good combination!

 

[ramsince62]

Gayle Sayers?

Thor, I'm really glad you made the Sayers comparison. I had made the same suggestion about 5 or so weeks ago and it seemed to fall upon deaf ears. Even if we might be incorrect ( I don't think we are), it's sure nice to have some company. Gale Sayers was well before a lot of folks on this blog, so I guess it's reasonable that not many would suggest him. Sayers feet weren't as quick as Austin's and (he) ran with more power, but what impresses me is how (both) can change direction at full speed just by subtly shifting (dipping) their shoulders almost imperceptibly, it's a remarkable move really and again so subtle it goes almost unnoticed.

Now for my concerns and I'll probably speak to this more during the season....I see Austin as a thoroughbred race horse and as anyone who has watched thoroughbreds run knows just how vulnerable they can be to leg injuries, or so it seems. Those who point out Austin's small stature are (I believe) primarily focusing upon his height and weight, a reasonable concern.

But for me, it's his legs I worry about. His upper body appears well conditioned and he is muscular for a man his size which I think will serve him well when it comes to tackles and blows to the upper body. What keeps me up at night are my concerns to his lower body and the fears about him perhaps injuring a knee or ankle due to a low tackle or perhaps even someone falling on his legs while going down.

Austin's talent is almost solely dependent upon his freakish abilities to change direction and the almost magical way his feet operate. Should his lower torso sustain any sort of joint injury, especially something that requires surgery, I suspect that God given talent will be forever compromised even if only to the slightest degree, forever altering or compromising his amazing abilities. Guys that have blazing speed can be slowed slightly and still perform on a straight line basis. But those rare athletes, like Austin, who depend upon their quickness and almost gravity defying direction changes can ill afford even the slightest degradation of their skills.

 

[ramsince62]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

lus1:

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

I love Tavon's talent. I cant remember a quicker player. He was unbelievable in college, but to compare him to HOFers and All-Pros is unfair to him and the other players. The guy hasnt played a down in the NFL. Lets reserve some of this exuberance for when he actually steps on the field.

Agreed, but in this case, I believe the comparisons have more to do with his running 'style" and not predictions as to future performance.

 

[brokeu91]

Reminds me of Barry Sanders. The way Tavon can run, cut back, go full speed on a dime, the only one like him that I've seen was Barry Sanders. I understand why he gets compared to Percy Harvin, but I think Tavon moves more like Sanders. Of course they'll play different positions, so it's hard to know just how they will end up comparing, but he's a guy who needs to get the ball. He can just flat out make plays.

 

[RamFan503]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

lus1:

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

I love Tavon's talent. I cant remember a quicker player. He was unbelievable in college, but to compare him to HOFers and All-Pros is unfair to him and the other players. The guy hasnt played a down in the NFL. Lets reserve some of this exuberance for when he actually steps on the field.

I agree here. And it's not like it's wet blanket type stuff either. This kid needs to get out there and play at this level now. I think he is going to be something special.

The biggest gift I see when I watch him is his vision. Yeah, you have to have the quickness to make some of those moves happen but he seems to see so well and know how to set up his defenders. I think this is where he will make his career. I'm not sure I've witnessed this level of that ability.

Now he has to go out and make himself a career.

I think we'd all hope that some day, people are talking about rookies and saying they might be the next coming of Rams HOFer Tavon Austin.

 

[mr.stlouis]

Right now Tavon Austin is that Andrew Hawkins feller in Cincy. Comparing him to HoF legends like Barry Sanders and Gayle Sayers is putting expectations way out of proportion.

Eventually he can be an amazing player, but right now...rookie.

I'm not expecting the guy to be an hofer, or even to put up ungodly numbers. We are just saying we never seen a guy like this before, Sanders is the clostest person with the same skill set but you can clearly see Austin is quicker and faster than Barry. Reggie Busch is another guy that comes to mind but Austin is quicker and seems to be faster too.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

Exactly

Expectations have nothing to do with what I was talking about. Comparisons as a regard to how they play the game.

 

[Thordaddy]

Gayle Sayers?

Thor, I'm really glad you made the Sayers comparison. I had made the same suggestion about 5 or so weeks ago and it seemed to fall upon deaf ears. Even if we might be incorrect ( I don't think we are), it's sure nice to have some company. Gale Sayers was well before a lot of folks on this blog, so I guess it's reasonable that not many would suggest him. Sayers feet weren't as quick as Austin's and (he) ran with more power, but what impresses me is how (both) can change direction at full speed just by subtly shifting (dipping) their shoulders almost imperceptibly, it's a remarkable move really and again so subtle it goes almost unnoticed.

Now for my concerns and I'll probably speak to this more during the season....I see Austin as a thoroughbred race horse and as anyone who has watched thoroughbreds run knows just how vulnerable they can be to leg injuries, or so it seems. Those who point out Austin's small stature are (I believe) primarily focusing upon his height and weight, a reasonable concern.

But for me, it's his legs I worry about. His upper body appears well conditioned and he is muscular for a man his size which I think will serve him well when it comes to tackles and blows to the upper body. What keeps me up at night are my concerns to his lower body and the fears about him perhaps injuring a knee or ankle due to a low tackle or perhaps even someone falling on his legs while going down.

Austin's talent is almost solely dependent upon his freakish abilities to change direction and the almost magical way his feet operate. Should his lower torso sustain any sort of joint injury, especially something that requires surgery, I suspect that God given talent will be forever compromised even if only to the slightest degree, forever altering or compromising his amazing abilities. Guys that have blazing speed can be slowed slightly and still perform on a straight line basis. But those rare athletes, like Austin, who depend upon their quickness and almost gravity defying direction changes can ill afford even the slightest degradation of their skills.

The Kansas Comet,,but faster

 

[nighttrain]

Gayle Sayers?

was just gonna say this, Sayers bigger, but he and Sander's as close as you get to Austin's ability to change directions and not lose a step..
train

 

[iBruce]

I haven't expected so much from a first round draft pick since Bradford. And that's tough, because WRs don't always pick up the offense as easily as other positions. Especially with Austin learning 3 different WR spots at once, it can be a bit overwhelming.