Pretty Much Forget About Tavon Austin
April 21st, 2013
For reasons Joe cannot quite comprehend, there are a number of Bucs fans who are head-over-heels in love with slot receiver Tavon Austin worse than Joe lusts over Rachel Watson.
These fans banged the drum and came up with just about every illogical reason to draft Austin, mainly because there was no logical reason for the Bucs to draft Austin.
Well, this pipedream is now all but dead.
With the Bucs’ depth on the defensive line thinner than toilet paper, with the Bucs likely looking for another cornerback, with the Bucs likely adding a linebacker to a unit with little to no depth and, more importantly, with no first round pick (for the time being), it is almost as unlikely for Austin to wind up with the Bucs as Joe is to find Rachel at his front door this evening.
The best condolences Joe offers to the Austin faction is, of course, to have a few drinks.
The remote chances the Bucs would draft a slot receiver at No. 13 went poof the moment Darrelle Revis signed his new contract with the Bucs.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Thankfully. Now we can get back to reality and move past the weird fantasy of drafting a 5’5″ 150 lb football player with the 13th overall pick.
Yeah…like that was ever gonna happen anyway.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:17 pm
Tavon Austin wasn’t even an after thought to me.
I’m curious, Joe, do you like or dislike the trade?
April 21st, 2013 at 9:18 pm
I’m just glad we are done with the “Is Revis going to be traded?” talk!! It worked out for the best IMO. Go Bucs
April 21st, 2013 at 9:21 pm
@Flboyindallas
Thank you for having some common sense. been writing since day one about how this tiny man is not the answer for our team.went back and forth with everyone saying how we were going to get him. Finally that ridiculous talk can end. Idk why you even brought this up again joe. Tavon lovers are gonna keep sucking him off while realists see the bigger picture.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:23 pm
well, time to focus on the draft!!! i guess DT, CB and TE might be the needs….
CB: DJ Hayden, Blidi wreh wilson, Johntan Banks or Logan Ryan
DT: Kawann Short, John Jenkins
TE: Gavin Escobar, Vance McDonald
and Maybe DE: Sam Montgomery can be bargain at 3rd or 4th round
and please hell no to honey badger!!
April 21st, 2013 at 9:23 pm
Ertz in the second or more up into the first for star ,Richardson or Werner , or another DT
April 21st, 2013 at 9:24 pm
The remote chances the Bucs would draft a slot receiver at No. 13 went poof the moment Darrelle Revis signed his new contract with the Bucs.
—————————————————–
Lol, yea and so did drafting Star, and Richardson and many other good players. I really dont see the point of even writing this article other than to once again bash people for wanting to draft Austin.
Not to mention the whole theme of this article basically is saying the Bucs never would of drafted Austin but yet because we trade for Revis, now its for sure not gonna happen? Sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself we werent going to draft him….
Becareful though, Carolina just might snatch him at 14 and then we will see him twice a year. He might make you morons pay for not drafting the little guy.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:28 pm
cant make us pay for not drafting him since we dont have a pick now.
But ya this post is one of the more pointless. no way we can trade into the first high enough to get star or richardson. would cost three picks from this year.now late in the first for and effect, werner or if we want to assure getting an ertz or escobr would make more sense.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:29 pm
Tank also comes to mind
April 21st, 2013 at 9:31 pm
I like ertz . . . Could trade back in the first if they really like someone Dom has proven if he really likes someone he will get him
April 21st, 2013 at 9:33 pm
Talk about a petty, pointless, and shameful article Joe. Why don’t you do a tap dance for us all, because it would be more worthwhile than this article. You talk about paper thin, yet refuse to acknowledge we have no one better than Underwood as Freeman’s third WR option. You still aren’t ruining my parade.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:41 pm
C’mon Hawaiian, you are smarter than this. You know as well as Joe does in Sullivan’s offense, a slot receiver is a part-time player. The Bucs were not going to draft a guy at No. 13 not to have him on the field as much as possible, doesn’t matter what position the guy played, certainly not with so many holes on the defense (prior to Revis trade).
April 21st, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Bonzai:
If the knee isn’t an issue — and the Bucs do not believe it is — this is a steal.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Are tandy and/or goode going to contribute anything beyond special teams this year?
April 21st, 2013 at 9:49 pm
We could get the honey badger. He is an explosive return man and a solid slot corner.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Austin??? Never even a threat to be drafted. Those who thought a slot guy should be the top priority….. all I can say is thank God you are not a GM.
Joe is right. For a 1st rounder and amid rounder NEXT year… and no guarateed money; all this to a get the best CB in the NFl entering his prime 6 year period (27-33), I would do it every day of the week.
I was high on DEE but he is not proven like Revis. I trust their doctors on the knee.
April 21st, 2013 at 9:56 pm
So glad we got revis and all this Austin crap can go away! Just another desean Jackson. We NEED def line…..
April 21st, 2013 at 9:57 pm
@ Hawaiian
Drafting a WR in the top 20 comes with the expectation that that player can be a #1 WR. If you can say that Austin will be a #1 WR with a straight face then you are one hell of a liar. Whether any of his supporters want to believe it or not, he is too small to play on the outside because he has zero chance of ever winning a jump ball. I feel like he is more a media darling than a guy that most teams have high on their draft boards. We shall see I guess, but I won’t be surprised if he isn’t a top 20 pick and if he is, it’s because this is a horrible 1st round draft class.
All in all, this is easilly the weakest offensive skill position draft that I can ever remember. QB, WR, and RB. It’s just awful.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:03 pm
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/04/21/tampa-bay-gets-their-man-darrelle-revis/
April 21st, 2013 at 10:07 pm
@Joe,
First of all, Sullivan is smart enough to adapt his offense to the personnel that he has. If you think for one second we had a Percy Harvin type player (not saying Austin is, but that’s who he is often compared to) and he wouldn’t see the field, then you absolutely have been hanging out with Tanard Jackson a little too much. It’s ridiculous, and you are smarter than that. The guy has been an OC for one year, and you think you know his entire offensive philosophy? Please! He will do the best he can with the players we have, period.
You don’t think we need a punt and kick returner? You don’t think we’re going to eventually go out and get someone for those duties? Again, you are smarter than that. Last year was V-Jax’s first full season. You really want to bank our entire season that he does it again, thus completely ignoring our lack of depth and playmakers??? What the hell are we going to do if he or Williams go down? You, and everyone else, has yet to answer that question. I’ve probably typed it at least 10 times, and not one person has responded.
Obviously we aren’t going to get Austin. That’s fine, I’d MUCH rather have Austin. But you are absolutely delusional to believe that we couldn’t use a playmaker like him. Be careful, because it’s really going to suck if he gets drafted by Carolina and he busts our arse twice a year. Best to just keep your mouth shut and hope he goes elsewhere.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:07 pm
The Revis trade allows the Bucs to take the best player available, regardless of position. Remember, good players tend to slide just because of a run on positions.
That said, I go QB in the second or third. Not because I don’t have faith in Josh, but because good QB help is hard to come by. One injury to Freeman and you have the great Dan Orlovsky playing the rest of the season.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:09 pm
@gotbucs,
Not true, not at all. So you are saying Percy Harvin wouldn’t be a top 10 player. He’s not really a typical #1 receiver. He doesn’t win any jump balls. But he’s a playmaker. He’s valuable on offense and special teams. That is valuable, and it’s not like this draft is loaded with elite players, so you aren’t passing up anybody amazing if we do get Austin. By all means if Milliner was there, he should be our pick, but we all know he won’t be. It’s all moot anyway, and I’m happy about it. But I just have a really bad feeling all of you anti-Austin guys are going to end up eating your words. I hope you don’t.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Hawaiian:
So the Bucs should have not traded for Revis and instead drafted Austin (who would sit on the bench) just so the Panthers wouldn’t pick him?
You cannot be serious here.
So changing the offense to a pass-happy offense (which the head coach doesn’t want) because the Bucs drafted a slot receiver (so the Panthers couldn’t) means you put the ball in the hands of Josh Freeman more, who it’s pretty obvious even his coaches aren’t sold on 100 percent, and further, your best offensive player (Doug Martin) gets less carries.
Does not compute man. At all. Sorry, man.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Joe Says: April 21st, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Bonzai:
I’m curious, Joe, do you like or dislike the trade?
“If the knee isn’t an issue — and the Bucs do not believe it is — this is a steal.”
Cool. Pretty much how I feel as well.
Hawaiian Buc, personally I have nothing against Austin. I just don’t think WR is as big a need as CB, DT, or LB. We can resign Dallas Clark after the draft, which I think is the plan, and he can play the slot as TE.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:32 pm
WR is not as big of a need as those other postions you mentioned. Nobody as far as I know said it was. However, the draft isnt about picking just the highest needs, its about bettering your team by picking the best player available at a need position. Im satisfied with Revis and not saying we shouldnt of made the deal. But if we did have a pick at 13 and Austin is on the board… he would absolutely help our team tremendously.
Only a drunken fool would try to deny that someone who can put 6 points on the score board everytime he touches the ball, wouldnt improve a team that seems to go 3 and out an awful lot.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:37 pm
Couch Fan and Hawaiian you guys are right. Joe acts as if you can’t run the ball out of a 3 wide receiver set. We will let that be Joe’s little secret. With the defense spread out, that just leaves more lanes for martin to run through. This article is pointless. Its obvious the bucs were not going to draft Austin, Trufant, Start, Richardson, or Leon Sandcastle etc. Too funny this article.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:38 pm
i think the Revis trade is good and all but Im not going to get excited until I see the results on the field. Im not sold on him but if the bucs are then Ill trust them.
April 21st, 2013 at 10:41 pm
Hawaiian, you’re focused on what happens if Mike Williams goes down? Seriously? You should be more concerned about Depth on the defensive line, lack of a TE which is far FARRRR more important than a slot receiver, and depth at LB. You’re concerned about a position of strength (the WR’s) and you wanna go all 3 wide the entire game and take away carries from Doug Martin. The F is wrong with you dude. The Bucs also have guys by the name of Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks coming back both of whom are couple of road graters. I want those guys RUN BLOCKING and kicking ass. I love this article, it’s time for you insane Austin fans to shut up. Its OVER. We got the best CB in football with a genius deal by Dominik. WORD.
April 21st, 2013 at 11:25 pm
this article did seem to be a “nah nah nah nah nah nahhhhhhhh”
with this trade, none of the other suggestions for the first round pick will happen either.
April 22nd, 2013 at 12:08 am
@Joe,
My bad, this statement was written wrong: “Obviously we aren’t going to get Austin. That’s fine, I’d MUCH rather have Austin.” I meant to say Revis. I would much rather have Revis any day of the week. I’ve been on board with bringing in Revis from the very beginning. Pretty sure I made that abundantly clear. If we didn’t get Revis, then I think we should take Austin IF (key word, if) he is the BPA. I’ve never even said draft him, as I’ve never even see him play a complete game. However, I think it’s wrong that you dismiss him (or more appropriately, a player like him) just because he doesn’t fit into Sullivan’s supposed offense. And yes, if we are scoring points, there are plenty of footballs to go around for everyone. If you guys want Doug Martin to carry the ball as much as he did last year, he’ll have a great 4 year career.
April 22nd, 2013 at 12:16 am
@Tampa 2,
No, I’m not focused on if Mike Williams goes down. I do, however, realize that we are completely thin at WR, behind our first two. We have nothing in the slot, and nothing at TE. I’d be thrilled to go either way there. I also never once said we have to go 3 wide every single play. A player like Austin doesn’t need to be on the field every play. Does Darren Sproles need to be on the field every play to be effective?
Again, I’ve never said we should draft Austin. I am, in fact, very uneducated as to his game. He may be awful. My point is more a player like him shouldn’t be dismissed because we have to draft someone who is on the field every play. If you have the opportunity to draft someone who is a home run threat and he is the BPA, you take him every time. Especially if your QB isn’t Manning or Brady.
Our offense is good, but if we can make it great, I’m all for it. In my opinion, our defense (if healthy) is going to be damn good next year, even if we don’t make another addition (which of course we will). But in today’s NFL, you have to score. This isn’t the NFL I grew up on, but it is what it is. We aren’t getting to the Super Bowl with 13-9 scores. I don’t think we are nearly as set at offense as many of you believe. I truly hope I’m wrong.
April 22nd, 2013 at 12:17 am
“with this trade, none of the other suggestions for the first round pick will happen either.”
——
Exactly. Funny how Joe doesn’t mention that.
April 22nd, 2013 at 2:26 am
Joe- no he isn’t.
Last year, it was the equally unlikely Trent Richardson, who he said would dominate the league in his first year.
I said we’d never draft him(as did you). Trent went on to do pretty much the nothing we predicted.
And ,of course, we didn’t draft him
Same thing, different year
April 22nd, 2013 at 3:11 am
Don’t forget about Steve Smith, if healthy he can become a dominant slot receiver again, especially now that he has been reunited with Sully.
And to you ignorant folks out there that believed we should have drafted Austin with the 13th overall pick had that situation arrived: Drafting a 3rd string receiver with the 13th overall pick would be idiotic on so many levels, especially when we have much greater needs elsewhere, i.e. CB, DL, TE. If you truly believe that would have been a wise use of the pick, then you have a lot to learn about football.
April 22nd, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Capt. Tim,
Apparently you can’t read worth a damn. No surprise there. And Richardson didn’t have a bad season at all. Not sure what you were watching.