Monday, October 26, 2009

Miles to Go, but Cowboys receiver is getting there.


By Chris Murray
For the NFC'Easter
Maybe it's way too early to start breaking out the annointing oil for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin—who is beginning to emerge as Tony Romo's favorite go-to receiver.

He may not be on the same level as a Terrell Owens just yet, but the numbers that he's put up in the last two weeks for the Cowboys says a lot about his potential as that game-breaking receiver that the team was hoping to find in Roy Williams.

In the Cowboys 37-21 victory over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, Austin caught six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons could do nothing to stop the speedy, 6-foot-3, 214-pound receiver out of Monmouth. Whether it was a comeback pattern or a crossing route, Austin had a penchant for turning big gains into big plays.

“Miles Austin had another great game,” said Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips. “I think one more makes you consistent. It's looking good with him. Tony's connected with him well. He's such a big threat once he catches the ball. He's a force right now out there for us and teams are going to pay attention to him.”

That was the case on the 59-yard touchdown pass from Romo that board the Cowboys up for good in the second quarter. Austin easily sped past Atlanta free safety Thomas DeCoud for the score. He also added another score in the third quarter. That score was the thing that got Dallas going.

“I think it was pretty much a spark, I think the guys got pretty fired up,” Austin said. “The defense responded afterward and we got a little roll going.”

Austin's exploits against the Falcons comes two weeks after a record-setting performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in which he set single-game team record with 10 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns-including the game-winner in overtime. Austin said he wasn't trying to make any statements or prove any points. It was all about striving for consistency.

“I just went out and tried to play to the best of my ability and I'm going to try to do that everytime I go out,” Austin said. “I'm going to play as hard as I can and that's all I can do.”

Indeed, Austin is a long way from the great receiver that Owens has been throughout his career, but he's out to a pretty good start. If anything else, he is developing a solid rapport with Romo and is making the plays to keep the Cowboys offense moving.

“Miles has been doing good things, He's been working hard for a long time waiting for his opporunity and now that he has it, he's doing well,” Romo said. “He's definitely a big part of this offense. I'm glad to see all the time and effort, hard work he's put in is paying off. He's a good guy who deserves what he gets.”

Coming into the '09 season, Austin had a caught just 14 passes and played on special teams as a kick returner. Last season was the first year he had any sigifnicant time at the wide receiver spot. He caught just 13 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. In the last two weeks, Austin has caught 16 passes for 421 yards and four touchdowns.

Austin didn't necessarily come out of a powerhouse program for wide receiver at Monmouth College, but he made the Cowboys in 2006 as a rookie free agent and plied his trade while working as a member of the Cowboys kick-return team.

Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman said he knew Austin had the ability to play at the wide receiver slot because of his size, speed and raw ability. He said once Austin got a solid grasp of the pro game, he knew that he had the potential to be something special.

“Once he understood how to run routes, read coverages and do those things and I've been saying that once the light comes on with this guy, watch out because he's going to be something special,” Sherman said. “He's a physical guy. When I first worked him out he was 235 pounds, he got that weight off him. He's just an explosive guy and he's strong, very strong.”

Even with all the sudden success that he has experienced in the last couple of weeks, Austin realizes that he and his teammates have a long way to go during the course of this season. With teams like the Eagles, Giants and Redskins on the horizon, Austin still has a lot to prove.

“I'm sure that when we see the film, they'll be a lot of things we want to change,” Austin said. “There's a lot of plays that I probably messed up on and lot of other guys have messed up on.”

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