St. Louis Rams CB Cortland Finnegan praises Tavon Austin
By Mike Dyce
The St. Louis Rams let wide receiver Danny Amendola walk in the offseason. The receiver had always struggled to stay on the field and battled injuries. They replaced quarterback Sam Bradford’s weapon with tight end Jared Cook from the Tennessee Titans and drafting Tavon Austin in the first round.
In fact, the Rams traded up in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft to get Austin.
Peter King of the Monday Morning Quarterback tells a story where Austin sprinted off the line right at corner back Cortland Finnegan. He stops suddenly and turns to Bradford and Finnegan took two more steps backwards before he was able to respond. Austin in the mean time was wide open and it was an easy completion for Bradford.
Finnegan explains why it will be so hard for cornerbacks to cover Austin.
“Pick your poison,” Finnegan said. “That’s what’s going to be so tough on corners covering Tavon. If I think he’s going to do that little eight-yard curl, and I play him tight, I might be able to stop it. But if he reads me, he can blow past me and then he’s off for a deep one, and there’s no way I can catch up after I’ve committed to the eight-yard route. He’s going to be a headache.”
“His cutting ability,” King said, “and the way he changes course so suddenly …”
“I know,” Finnegan said. “He stops on a dime, and he leaves change.”
Finnegan by the way is a $10 million a year cornerback.