Thoughts - Week 3

[Townhallsavoy]

So here I sit in the Opelika Marriot after a big win for Auburn.  I didn't go to sleep last night until 2am, yet I woke at 6am with Auburn, college football, and life on the brain.  What made it a big win for Auburn?  A victory over Clemson?  Coming back after a horrible first half?  Putting up nearly 400 yards of offense in one half?  Persevering until the end while fighting off a fierce and determined Clemson team? 

That's not what made it big.  The big win came sitting next to me.  Two 17 year olds with blue and orange face paint.  A boy and his girl one airplane flight from Ohio.  Nebraska fans.  Been to 17 Nebraska games in their short lifetime.  The boy's aunt went to Auburn years ago, and she asked them to check out Auburn before penciling their names on a Nebraska application. 

By the end of the game, the boy and the girl both decided to come to Auburn.  They had never seen a football atmosphere like that.  They had never met fans like Auburn fans, which was said after the girl complained of not having anything to drink late in the 4th quarter because the vendors were sold out of water bottles.  Which was when I went and bought them both souvenir cups full of ice. 

And the end of the night, I looked at those two and across the stadium at the recruiting section and thought, "How big is it for recruiting - athletes, students, and fans - to see Auburn show their true colors in this kind of electric atmosphere?"

Auburn…

- Houston, we have a problem.  Our offense looks like a high school offense.  Our defense still looks like a Ted Roof defense.

-How is it a high school offense, you ask?  Because it doesn’t have much strategy or planning behind it.  Or at least, that’s the way it appears.  It’s not a good thing when a 26 year old English teacher can call plays before they happen.  As my friend sitting next to me said, “It’s no longer luck when you’re getting them right almost every play.”  Kodi Burns is in?  McCalebb is going to come across and either take the handoff or Kodi will take it up the middle.  College defenses can adjust to that.  Cam’s under center?  Dyer up the middle.  Cam’s dropping back to pass?  He’s going to hold the ball until he can throw it deep.  Trips left?  Quick screen. 

-It’s not so much the predictability as it is the lack of coherency in the gameplan.  2nd down in overtime and we’re doing the Kodi/McCalebb option.  2nd and short and we’re running a draw.  Clemson’s blitzing like hell and we’re trying to throw a deep ball.

-Also, point proven about Cam wanting to go deep – in overtime, Zachary was wide open for the touchdown but Cam threw it to a covered Darvin Adams. 

-We can’t keep relying on our skill guys to go up and make plays.  You have to outsmart the defense in order to be successful in the long term. 

-As for the defense, well, nothing new.  We aren’t tackling as solidly as we should.  We aren’t covering receivers.  But we are getting better.  I can’t knock the defense as much anymore.  It’s hard to shut down a great quarterback with good running backs when your offense isn’t giving you anything to work with.

Clemson…

-Not too damn bad for a mediocre ACC team.  Isn’t this supposed to be the laugher conference of the year?  They’re a good football team, and I really think they’ll win the ACC if they stay healthy. 

Alabama…

-You’re not the best offense of all time.  But damn all mighty you might just have the best offense in the country this year.

-I’m not going to give in to the criticism because I think Alabama has a fairly unstoppable offense.  Perhaps McElroy and the receivers will make some mistakes, but the running game is going to pound all opposing teams all game long all year long. 

-To beat this team, you’re going to have to work for a shootout.  Arkansas as the offense to do it as long as Mallet can shake off the blitzes and make good throws. 

Ohio State…

-Marshall, Miami (Fl), Ohio, Eastern Michigan.  I’m noticing a trend.  Illinois.  Hmmm.  Indiana?  Wow.  The schedule closes out strong, if you’re a Big 10 supporter, but damn if that’s not one of the easiest starts in the country.  Has Pryor racked up enough stats to get a Heisman nod? 

Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Kansas…

-Could you be any more of an embarrassment to the FBS division?  These four schools have not only made a lash on the BCS argument, they’ve made four different conferences look silly for claiming any kind of conference superiority. 

-Ole Miss has now lost to Jacksonville State (extreme embarrassment) and Vanderbilt.  Is Vandy the bigger loss?  I mean, I could understand getting shocked by Jacksonville State, but you’ve played Vandy every year.  You should know what’s coming. 

Florida

-Another slow start saved by a great defense.  Florida is riding on a cloud of luck, and I’m afraid to think of how bad it could be in Tuscaloosa in two weeks.  You can’t expect to beat any SEC teams while making that many mistakes let along beating the #1 team in the country. 

The Pac 10…

-This is college football.  Students.  Kids.  I know there’s big money involved, but you’re dealing with college students participating in an (supposedly) amateur sport.  That’s the reason why you don’t schedule games at 11:15et when the team graciously travelling to your Pacific region is from the eastern time zone. 

Michigan State…

-This wouldn’t have been here if I had completed this yesterday morning, but your overtime decision to fake the field goal for the win almost killed your coach.  Literally.  Suffering a heart attack at 54 is nothing to laugh at, but it gives new life to Fred G Sanford. 

USC…

-Almost lost to Virginia.  Almost lost to Minnesota.  But year.  Kiffin’s a great hire and NCAA sanctions don’t hurt anybody. 

Final Thought…

-Students.  Kids.  It’s what we all revert back to when we travel to our old college campuses.  Going back to Auburn reminded me what it was like to be a college student.  It’s been a while since I had gone to Auburn not just for a game but for an entire weekend.  It’s a place and time to let loose and not worry about the house, the job, the dog, or the bills.  It’s a place where the menu doesn’t matter as much as the atmosphere.  It’s a place where people can congregate together and have a good time supporting a team that you love. 

-For that reason, I’m going back next weekend willing to drop another couple of hundred dollar bills.  The boy sitting next to me may have been recruited to Auburn for the first time, but I must say, I was renewed in my love for that town during game time.

[War Eagle!!!]

Auburn...

- Houston, we have a problem.  Our offense looks like a high school offense.  Our defense still looks like a Ted Roof defense. 

Yes we do. Our offense sucks. Bad. We look like a high school offense because we are running a high school offense.

And I really don't think it is the schemes on defense. I really think that our defense is so weak because of our LB's. We can't play man on the corners because that would make the LB's play man...and they can't. We can't play zone because that means the LB's have to drop back to zone...and they can't get back up to play a draw or a screen. Our front 4 is good though.

[JR4AU]

Yes we do. Our offense sucks. Bad. We look like a high school offense because we are running a high school offense.

In all seriousness, what does that mean?  High School offense?  I hear bammers say that a lot.  Gimmicky is another epithet they throw around.  Tell me what we're doing that college teams can't or don't do that qualifies this as a High School Offense?

And I really don't think it is the schemes on defense. I really think that our defense is so weak because of our LB's. We can't play man on the corners because that would make the LB's play man...and they can't. We can't play zone because that means the LB's have to drop back to zone...and they can't get back up to play a draw or a screen. Our front 4 is good though.

I agree 100% with the assessment of the defense. 

[djsimp]

Ok, the first half, I was thinking Nallsmienger was back. We didn't look very good at all. Is this possibly because Clemson has been preparing for us for weeks as well; like MSU had publicly stated? I mean who has Clemson played again, Presbyterian St and Tulane Tech? In my mind, they have been prepping for this game for a while. Now, I do see tons of work that needs to be done on both sides of the ball but is it as bad as some are going to want to claim? Personally I don't think so. I saw a very good Clemson team with an outstanding secondary, a bruising RB committee, a DE from a horror movie, and a damn tough QB. They whipped our asses the first half. If this was a team of 08, we would have lost; hell we would be 0-3 right now. That is not the case though, now is it? I saw a team growing up in the second half. I saw a team that did not quit. They came out and took care of business with a the win. Personally, I am damn proud of this football team. When it was gut check time, they got it done. There was some popping going on too; big time hitting. Say what you will about Bynes being slow, this dude was all over the field getting it done. Again, there is a good bit of corrections to be made but I saw more than just these errors last night. I saw a team in the making fo sho.

[bottomfeeder]

Ok, the first half, I was thinking Nallsmienger was back. We didn't look very good at all. Is this possibly because Clemson has been preparing for us for weeks as well; like MSU had publicly stated? I mean who has Clemson played again, Presbyterian St and Tulane Tech? In my mind, they have been prepping for this game for a while. Now, I do see tons of work that needs to be done on both sides of the ball but is it as bad as some are going to want to claim? Personally I don't think so. I saw a very good Clemson team with an outstanding secondary, a bruising RB committee, a DE from a horror movie, and a damn tough QB. They whipped our asses the first half. If this was a team of 08, we would have lost; hell we would be 0-3 right now. That is not the case though, now is it? I saw a team growing up in the second half. I saw a team that did not quit. They came out and took care of business with a the win. Personally, I am damn proud of this football team. When it was gut check time, they got it done. There was some popping going on too; big time hitting. Say what you will about Bynes being slow, this dude was all over the field getting it done. Again, there is a good bit of corrections to be made but I saw more than just these errors last night. I saw a team in the making fo sho.

Awesome post. Exactly my feelings on the situation, with the exception of we need to establish a north and south running game and short pass completions.

[GH2001]

Simply put......in the first half our OL was getting pushed back by their front seven on almost every play. As soon as the OL got their heads out of their asses, you saw what happened.  The D performed well considering what the TOP was in the first 28 minutes (22 to 6). They were gassed and performed adequate considering.

[JR4AU]

Simply put......in the first half our OL was getting pushed back by their front seven on almost every play. As soon as the OL got their heads out of their asses, you saw what happened.  The D performed well considering what the TOP was in the first 28 minutes (22 to 6). They were gassed and performed adequate considering.

While I agree with that, our Def. is still poor in some crucial areas.

[jmar]

My two cents


I mentioned the big stage last week, the same place we found ourselves last night. Over 200 recruits were supposedly on hand for the contest, a Game Day extravaganza with all eyes on Auburn.  It was a big deal for me as a sidewalk fan of over 40 years because I had enough confidence in my favorite team for three avid fans, not the face painting, screaming lunatic type, but as a guy that can watch a contest between two teams without extreme emotions as an armchair QB. And I'm pretty good at calling plays ahead of Malzahn, many times the same play and last night was no different. And I got my assed kicked.Our veteran offensive line, our pride and joy, was getting anihlated for much of the first half and never fully recovered. Bowers was a beast as Token commented. Fortunately we were able to seal some corners in the second half allowing McCalleb the outside and trapped inside enough to give Dyer some room to navigate.

I think Cam's talents as a dual threat QB are heightened only from his ability to run and our overall ability to run. He can run play action and sprint-outs. His strength is his ability to improvise. He is not however, a classic drop back, pro style passer. He does not go through his progressions but he has time to correct that flaw. Still, to me, he truly is the most dynamic signal caller to grace these parts in decades. Darvin Adams is a primetime clutch receiver, no doubt.
 Many Auburn fans are probably  thinking Auburn should fire some coaches or ditch the  no-huddle but the fact is , it doesn't matter what offensive scheme one runs if you can't execute from the trenches first and foremost.


The FG by Byrum was impiortant before the half ended and fortunately our team sucked it up and played it's hardest in front of a sellout crowd, visitors and a tv audience. That showed a lot of character true, but it also revealed some chinks,  and added to the blueprint on how Auburn can be had. And I'm not even going to touch on the defense much only to say that we are severely lacking in coverage while we have no lack of effort or any hesitance to blow up an offense once we breach the opposition's walls.
Our special team have made strides but it’s  the team  penalties that are off the charts and so untimely that it becomes downright debilitating. Who knows, maybe this is how a bunch ot nasties are happy playing but it sure indicates a lack of restraint, putting it nicely. That said, I still think we have some issues with getting the right personnel  on the field, point in case: Our supposed deep threat Reed, coming off an injury, goes in at "wildcat" only to get in a scrum risking further injury...TWICE!
Furthermore, I am not sold on our ability to manage a two minute offense because there seems to be too much confusion on the sidelines to pull it off and a sort of ambilalence to any time other than a progression of plays.


In sum,  Auburn is not a finished product and we do have some glaring weaknesses but not the kind that cannot be overcome, disguised or used in our favor.  Other teams, some very suspect in areas have achieved far beyond their capabilities. So Auburn is a work in progress  at the present, capable of cleaning your clock but also prone to stink up the joint. So I guess my inclination as a spectatator would be to play to our strengths using  the three games as an indicator.

And finally: Clemson has two big-time backs. They ARE! Their QB is probably along the skill set of Garcia  and they have only one elusive bellcow in Lattimore that has yet to experience  the wrath of a Josh Bynes. They do have a very good defense and I think they are likely better overall than Clemson, but certainly exploitable. I truly expect to see Steve Spurrier having a full blown coniption fit on the sidelines next Saturday as our guys make some corrections and get it together for a Gamecock massacre, stuffing the box and terrorizing Garcia into a meltdown.


*This was a brutal game last night; I'm not aware of the extent of AJ's injuries but it is clear his ankle was at least rolled as it was wedged between two defenders. There must be many others ailing today as well. 

[Townhallsavoy]

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[Jumbo]

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Great Read.

[Godfather]

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