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Post by David on Nov 30, 2015 17:32:49 GMT -8
 11.30.15-
The Portland Thunder look to have found their quarterback of the future, announcing on Monday that the team has acquired QB Shane Austin via free agency. Thunder head coach Andy Olson announced the acquisition early this afternoon.
Austin was assigned to the Thunder as opposed to signing in free agency; under the AFL's single-entity business model, players who agree to terms with a team sign with the league and then are "assigned" to that team.
“We’re thrilled to add Shane to our roster,” said Olson in the Thunder's press release. “He has been a top quarterback in this league for the last two years, and aside from his great passing ability, he can extend plays with his pocket presence and mobility. We expect him to come in hungry, and raise the level of play for us.”
Austin (6'0'', 200 lbs) arrives in Portland with a 23-13 starting record. In three seasons, he has thrown for 10,344 yards, 218 touchdown passes, 42 interceptions, and a 109.3 quarterback rating. He also is a threat in the ground game, rushing for 448 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.
Prior to joining the Thunder, Austin spent past two seasons with the Cleveland Gladiators. He came out of nowhere during the 2014 season, originally serving as the backup to starter Chris Dieker. In the team's second game of the year against the New Orleans VooDoo, Austin came off the bench in relief of Dieker. Down 20-3 at halftime, Austin went 16 of 22 for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns, guiding the Gladiators to a 37-26 victory. He came off the bench a week later, subbing in for a struggling Dieker early in the first quarter against Iowa. With Austin under center, Austin took control, throwing for 6 touchdowns and rushing for 2 more as Cleveland defeated the Barnstormers 54-47. The following week, Austin was named the starter and the Gladiators took off.
Under Austin, the Gladiators only lost 1 game during the regular season, including 8 last minute or overtime victories. Cleveland finished the season with a 17-1 record, setting an AFL record (San Jose would tie that mark in 2015). Cleveland would go on to earn an ArenaBowl berth, falling to the Arizona Rattlers 72-32. Austin finished the season with a 117.9 QB rating, completing 65.1% of his passes for 4,478 passing yards, 99 TDs and 15 INTs, earning Second Team All-Arena Honors.
In 2015, Austin set career highs with 101 touchdowns and 4,651 passing yards but struggled with his completion percentage (61.0%) and threw 18 interceptions, 3 picks behind Thunder QB Kyle Rowley.
Before joining the AFL, Austin was a 4-year player at the University of Hawai'i. He played in 31 games for the Rainbow Warriors as the backup to starter Bryant Moniz. He was given the opportunity to compete for the starting job in 2008 when Moinz went out with an injury. He finished his collegiate career with 1,303 passing yards, 6 TDs, 7 INTs and a 111.8 quarterback rating, earning 2 All-WAC academic teamer awards
After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, Austin signed with the Everett Raptors of the Indoor Football League. The Raptors, who were 2-5 when he signed, immediately named him the starter after starting QB Blake Bolles earned a training camp spot with the Minnesota Vikings. Austin impressed in his first start by throwing 7 touchdown passes but he threw two critical 4th quarter interceptions in a 59-68 loss to the Nebraska Danger. He helped the Raptors remain relevant in the playoff race, going 2-2 in his first 4 games, but the team finished 1-2 in their final 3 games and Everett missed out on the final playoff spot with a 5-9 record. He finished the season with 1,546 passing yards and 38 touchdowns.He also added 285 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns in 7 games played.
In 2013, Austin broke into the AFL with the Pittsburgh Power, who took notice of his play in Everett. He was a backup to former LSU star QB Jordan Jefferson, who struggled heavily to adapt to the AFL game. Austin appeared in 3 games and had an opportunity to take the starting job, but a broken hand caused him to miss 2 months of the season. He returned in Week 13 against the Soul, relieving struggling starter Derek Cassidy, throwing 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in a 21-59 loss. He started the power's final 3 games of the season, going 1-2 as the Power finished with a woeful 4-14 record. Austin finished the season with 1,215 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a 78.7 QB rating.
Austin joins Darron Thomas as the only quarterbacks on the Thunder's 2016 roster.
Portland will enter its third season as members of the Arena Football League. They will play in the National Conference along with the Arizona Rattlers and Los Angeles KISS. Image Credit: Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer-DKH
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Post by DiamondThief on Nov 30, 2015 18:15:03 GMT -8
Nice acquisition by the Thunder. I like his experience. The TD-int ratio of about 5-1 is a concern, but with the Thunder's o-line and receiving corps, he'll have plenty of weapons. I really see him improving on that as he continues to gain experience. I really like the fact he came from a clean organization. When I say "clean," I mean a team which is not known for cheating.
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Post by David on Dec 1, 2015 12:36:08 GMT -8
No question he's an upgrade over Kyle Rowley, Alex Carder, Joe Southwick, etc. Only thing I'd be highly concerned with would be the interceptions. He was ranked 3rd in the AFL (3 INTs behind Rowley) last season.
To be honest, unless they were to acquire Erik Meyer from the now-defunct SaberCats, I think he's your opening day starter. Only question is, what's going to happen with Darron Thomas?
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 3, 2015 17:10:47 GMT -8
His TD to interception ratio is not great, but I think even that is an upgrade over the others you mentioned. I know Thomas' was 10-1 last season, but that was mostly against a bad team and even with that it was a small sample size.
Who can afford Meyer? Any team he goes to will have a target on their back with suspicion they are paying him under the table. I would not want the Thunder in that situation.
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Post by Yeseeka on Dec 4, 2015 18:46:17 GMT -8
Did he have good receivers in Cleveland like the Thunder have now?
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Post by David on Dec 4, 2015 22:22:02 GMT -8
Did he have good receivers in Cleveland like the Thunder have now? His top 3 receivers in 2015: Colin Taylor - 144 receptions, 1,597 yards, 43 TD Dominick Goodman - 135 receptions, 1,262 yds, 27 TD Amarri Jackson - 92 receptions, 1,173 yds, 24 TD Taylor and Goodman were ranked 5th and 7th, respectively, in the Top 10 for receptions during the 2015 season. Taylor was the only one ranked in reception yards (7th) and touchdown receptions (3rd). The closest Portland receiver that came close to those stats was Jared Perry (100 receptions, 1,297 yds, 29 TD). I think if you plug Austin in Andy Olson's offense, the Thunder WR core are going to have career years. |
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Post by DiamondThief on Dec 8, 2015 19:51:29 GMT -8
I had a hunch, so I thought I would put together some analytics regarding Shane Austin's career versus the numbers of each of the five quarterbacks in Thunder history. As you can see, the percentage of his pass attempts which have resulted in interceptions is actually lower than any of them. To me, this looks like an upgrade.
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Post by Yeseeka on Dec 9, 2015 11:56:30 GMT -8
Did he have good receivers in Cleveland like the Thunder have now? His top 3 receivers in 2015: Colin Taylor - 144 receptions, 1,597 yards, 43 TD Dominick Goodman - 135 receptions, 1,262 yds, 27 TD Amarri Jackson - 92 receptions, 1,173 yds, 24 TD Taylor and Goodman were ranked 5th and 7th, respectively, in the Top 10 for receptions during the 2015 season. Taylor was the only one ranked in reception yards (7th) and touchdown receptions (3rd). The closest Portland receiver that came close to those stats was Jared Perry (100 receptions, 1,297 yds, 29 TD). I think if you plug Austin in Andy Olson's offense, the Thunder WR core are going to have career years. Those are pretty good stats. I think it all depends on if our guys can stay healthy. I can't wait to see this team play this year. |
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Post by Yeseeka on Dec 9, 2015 11:58:18 GMT -8
I had a hunch, so I thought I would put together some analytics regarding Shane Austin's career versus the numbers of each of the five quarterbacks in Thunder history. As you can see, the percentage of his pass attempts which have resulted in interceptions is actually lower than any of them. To me, this looks like an upgrade.
This proves that Shane is an upgrade. I liked Kyle, but I know Shane is younger and not even heading into the prime of his career. |
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Post by Yeseeka on Dec 15, 2015 19:40:51 GMT -8
I also wonder what it will be like for a QB to have a coach who was a WR and not a QB. Does anyone thing that will help Olson show Shane what is expected of receivers in their QB? Better that Sauk or Ho?
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Post by David on Dec 15, 2015 20:10:20 GMT -8
I also wonder what it will be like for a QB to have a coach who was a WR and not a QB. Does anyone thing that will help Olson show Shane what is expected of receivers in their QB? Better that Sauk or Ho? Olson's been generally regarded as one of the better offensive minds in the AFL. Hohensee knows offense, but I think his coaching is just outdated for the current era of the AFL. Sauk's a good mind, but Olson's brought in guys that he's trusted from Spokane and he has a top tier AFL quarterback under center (no disrespect to Rowley). Just because Olson used to be a wide receiver doesn't mean he doesn't know how to call the plays on offense. Olson will make some questionable play calls at times, and sometimes it'll come back and bite him, but for the most part he knows what he's doing. His scheme didn't work last year due to inconstancy at QB and having to break in a bunch of rookie WRs. |
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Graphic courtesy of David.