Wanted to savor the big win over the Cowboys along with everybody else. And Tavon’s contributions to the win.
Here are Tavon’s stats in that game. [
www.nfl.com]
Six runs for 48 yards. His best game in a long time.
One reception for -2 yards (because Dallas was sitting on him).
Three PR for a total of 18 yards. Longest being 7 yards. No fumbles. Cough, cough.
I believe I read that he had something like 22 total snaps. If true, then the remaining 12 snaps he was a decoy. Not a bad thing, btw.
Cooper Kupp, by way of comparison, quietly had 5 receptions for 60 yards and a TD, longest of 24 yards. And did some danged fine blocking on his other snaps. No need to mention Gurley’s contributions, is there?
McVay has indicated that we will carry 7 WR’s now with the return of Thomas. I get that. That gives us the best 6 WR’s (Tavon is a RB in my mind, now). And I trust McVay on O matters implicitly, for obvious reasons.
What to conclude?
Here are my thoughts...
McVay is doing his best to utilize Tavon in his O, given that a trade or release are not viable options this year due to his contract. It’s really that simple.
Yeah, Tavon has decoy value. But to imply that Gurley (and others) would not be able to be extremely effective without Tavon there to distract the D is simply not accurate, IMO.
We should ask ourselves these questions:
How to explain the production of others when Tavon isn’t on the field? Cause that Tavon-less production is considerable.
Isn’t McVay fully capable of creating favorable mismatches for our other players if Tavon is on the sideline? Of course he is.
Goff has a ton of quality weapons to utilize when Tavon is off the field. A DC’s nightmare arsenal, actually.
What is the hidden cost when another player such as Kupp has to come off the field to accommodate Tavon?
Have you seen our OL lately? Any doubt that they can open holes for Gurley if Tavon is off the field?
I would love to see more snaps for Everett since I think he’s gonna be a star in our future. Harder to do if Tavon is on the field.
Look, I don’t hate Tavon. And I’m pulling for his success as long as he’s a Ram. But I think his days as a Ram are numbered. Maybe even before this season is over if the Rams have been showcasing him for a trade (an internet rumor?). And I think that his value as a decoy/RB are overrated by some.
So, I intend to enjoy his contributions this season. But I look forward to the contributions of our many other weapons, as well. Especially those of Kupp and Everett. They are our future.
I think that this Tavon thing will sort itself out by next offseason, one way or another.
