Since this can go downhill quickly I just want to say I respect your opinion on this.
My opinion is
1. TA was set back a bit by injury. Although I’m not certain how much of a factor it was. TA is not a route running WR so I don’t know what McVay felt his options were. But it seems like the injury didn’t help.
2. McVay runs a very detail oriented offense. I think he tried to use Austin some within his system but when you lead the league in scoring it might be better to focus on what you do well... rather than try to find a role for a guy who may not necessarily have a solid position on the team. It appeared that when the Rams played a defense who relied on speed McVay would reduce Tavon’s decoy role.
3. McVay was even less creative with Austin than previous OCs. But why spend time on that when everything else is working well? Nonetheless TA was still effective running the ball despite the lack of creativity. I simply don’t think TA had an opportunity. A few touches a game is tough to find a rhythm. And some people chastised Schotty for running TA up the middle but I think McVay probably did it more than anyone percentage-wise.
So we will see what happens in Dallas. But in McVay’s offense Austin played so little that it’s hard to gauge his effectiveness. But he has shown the ability to be effective when given the opportunity. Gurley didn’t set the world on fire in 2016 either. But he found a leading role in the offense. Austin didn’t. If he bombs with the Cowboys then it could be that he doesn’t have a place in the NFL. He had a nice year in 2015 and maybe Linehan can recreate that to some degree... maybe better or worse.
Anyway, this is a beaten horse. And I don’t expect to find common ground because I think we are basing opinions on different information. You may be right. I’m not saying you’re not but this is where I am with it. Just responding to your reply.