Rams still waiting for Tavon Austin to pay offAlden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Los Angeles Rams receiver Tavon Austin went from 15 targets against the New York Giants to two targets against the Carolina Panthers.
It's been that kind of year.
Weeks before the start of the regular season, the Rams gave Austin a four-year, $42 million extension with the expectation that his production would only increase. But that has yet to be the case. Austin is on pace for 149 fewer yards from scrimmage in 2016. He finished the 2015 season with a career-high 907 yards, gaining 473 through the air and 434 on the ground. This year, Austin is on pace for 632 passing yards but only 126 rushing yards.
The Rams are using him far less on the ground and targeting him a lot more as a receiver, but the production hasn't necessarily been what they expected.
"That's how football is," Austin said. "You look at last year, I probably had eight or nine touchdowns already."
Actually, Austin had seven by the midway point of the 2015 season.
This year he has two.
"Teams are not crazy," Austin went on. "They definitely know what they're doing, and they have their guys that they try to take out of the game. They're not going to let you keep beating them with the same thing. That's how this league goes. You might have one good year, and next year, it might get a little harder for you. That's what it's about."
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