Auburn Main Headline on ESPN.com

[AWK]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/index

The huddle, the pre-snap team meeting that has been as integral a part of college football as the hashmark and the good-looking quarterback, has succumbed at age 112 because of a sudden onset of obsolescence.

Founded by legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg in 1896 as a method to fight crowd noise, the huddle suffered the same fate as the leather helmet and the wishbone offense. The game passed it by.

AUBURN, Ala. -- The above obituary isn't quite true. Yet.

Life is moving at warp speed. Stress levels are increasing. Decisions must be made quickly. You see it everywhere you turn: fast food is faster and news is constantly new. Take a look at basic communication: Letter writing gave way to e-mail, which evolved to become texting, which mutated into the social-networking site Twitter -- whatever can be said needs no more than 140 characters.

There's no time to ponder, to ruminate. Reflection is for mirrors. The evolution of daily life demands that the most critical fast-twitch muscle is the brain.

College football isn't immune from these pressures. The newest trend in the game echoes the speed at which the harried American moves through the day.

The increased tempo, thus far, has been applied exclusively to variations of the spread, which is to college offense what Abercrombie is to high school haberdashery. The spread stresses defenses by forcing them to cover the entire field. "Tempo" -- in the coaching argot it is understood that tempo is fast -- forces the defense to cover an increasing amount of real estate in less time.

Plays are called faster. Offenses rush to the line of scrimmage. Defenses struggle to line up correctly. Tempo leaves no time for a huddle. It leaves no time for much of anything.

What texting has done to the English language -- think, OMG -- fast-tempo spread offenses have done to the playbook. It is leaner and stripped to the basics. The offense doesn't outscheme the defense. The offense wears the defense down.

One of the reasons for the surprising success of both Kansas and Missouri last season -- each finished in the top 10 nationally in total offense -- is that both offenses increased their tempo.


At Oregon, second-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, one of the most prominent gurus of the faster tempo, believes that his team should be lined up to run a play 22 seconds after the last play ended. When head coach Mike Bellotti hired Kelly a year-and-a-half ago, Bellotti overruled his staff, which didn't want to ratchet up the pace of the offense.

"As a former offensive coordinator, I know the pressure it puts on a defense," Bellotti said. "And just the tempo changes the game, from a conditioning standpoint, a physiological standpoint and a mental standpoint. So I said, 'All right.'"

"There's a saying in sport that fatigue makes cowards of all men," Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin said. "I think it's the most true thing in all of sports."

The saying, usually attributed to the legendary coach Vince Lombardi, in fact came from Gen. George S. Patton, who wrote in March 1944, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all. Men in condition do not tire."

The saying is the foundation of the offense that Franklin has installed at Auburn since arriving in December 2007 after two seasons at Troy. The Tigers averaged 67 plays per game in the regular season. Franklin arrived just weeks before the team played its bowl game and installed a stripped-down version of his offense in eight postseason practices.

"That first day of bowl practice we ran four times as many snaps in half the time," center Jason Bosley said. "We were dead. I was thinking, 'Oh, my God. What are we doing?'"

Auburn ran 90 plays and gained 423 yards in its 23-20 overtime defeat of Clemson in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. On a few plays, Bosley said, some Clemson linemen didn't -- couldn't -- get in their stances.

That looked more like a Franklin-coached offense. Troy, which led the Sun Belt with 452.8 yards of total offense per game last season, did so in part because it averaged nearly 81 snaps per game.

"You can be frisky and everything, but the moment you reach fatigue, it doesn't matter. You're dying," Franklin said. "Kind of like the fight with [George] Foreman and [Muhammad] Ali, where Ali set back on the ropes for seven or eight rounds and took the beating. Then all of a sudden, Foreman was dead. His arms were gone, and he [Ali] knocks him out. That's kind of the philosophy of this thing. Eventually, fatigue will set in. Even though it might set in on you, too, because you're playing at such [a] fast tempo, you know what you're doing and they don't."


 
You can be frisky and everything, but the moment you reach fatigue, it doesn't matter. 
--Auburn OC Tony Franklin


The idea of playing quickly hearkens back to Stagg's day. As managing the game shifted from the quarterback to the sideline, as coaches took over play calling and moved players on and off the field as if they were chess pieces, games became longer.

Some schools used no-huddle wisely. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden called it "the Kentucky Derby offense" when quarterback Charlie Ward won the Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to the 1993 national championship. Bowden would play a role in the rise of the fast-tempo spread offense.

Franklin failed to convince his head coach at Kentucky, Hal Mumme, to adopt the increased tempo for his already high-scoring offense. When Kentucky fired Mumme and the staff after the 2000 season, Franklin couldn't get a job. Desperate for income, he devised an entire offense based on tempo and enrolled in a seminar in Los Angeles to learn how to market it. He made his first sale to a high school head coach in Hoover, Ala., Rush Probst.

Hoover won four consecutive state championships and became the subject of "Two-A-Days," a reality show on MTV. It's safe to say the offense worked. Soon, Franklin was selling his system to dozens of high school head coaches. He lost track of how many state championships it won.

"Somewhere between 13 and 15," he said.

Tempo is nothing more than the latest offensive weapon in the battle over which side dictates the action at the line of scrimmage. The beauty of a faster tempo is that once it's established, the mere threat of it works. Just because the offense lines up fast doesn't mean that it has to snap fast. There are other advantages to be gained.

"We can get to the line, get set and see what the defense is doing," said center Jon Cooper of Oklahoma, which will quicken its pace this season. "Instead of the defense watching us and our personnel, we get to see their personnel they're bringing in."

Bosley, the Auburn center, pointed out that unlike the receivers and the backs, who are more likely to shuttle on and off the field, the offensive line is out there for every quick snap. He played last season at 291 pounds. He began August workouts this week at 278. He said he feels quicker and stronger.


To prepare the Tigers, Bosley said, conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall limited the time between sprints and gassers this year to 27 seconds. Yoxall studied video to determine the average time between plays. That should prepare Auburn for the advent of the 40-second clock, an NFL rule adopted this season by the NCAA.

The change from the old rule, in which teams had 25 seconds to run a play after the referee gave the "ready to play" signal once the ball was positioned at the line of scrimmage, has forced more teams to adopt a faster tempo. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, whose Sooners are in the midst of a transition to a faster tempo, said he made the decision in part because of the 40-second clock.


"I think it's going to be an issue," Stoop said of the clock. "We don't have transmitters in helmets [as NFL quarterbacks do]. The offensive coordinator can't just call something to the quarterback and then it's out there. The coordinator calls it, the offensive coach on the field signals it, the quarterback processes it and gets it to the rest of the offense. Now you're going to the line of scrimmage. That clock is going down. So it's an issue we're all going to have to manage."

Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville believes his team reacts more quickly to the game with the faster tempo, much in the way that a quick-working pitcher keeps his fielders on their toes.

"They concentrate better. They're having more fun. They're more involved as a team," Tuberville said. "I really like the attitude of our team. It's the way we practice. They are focused more. They'll get bored because it's not quite as complex in some areas as the West Coast [offense]. Getting bored sometimes is good. It means it's simple."

Franklin pleads guilty to being unable to win the chess game with a defensive coordinator, but wants to change the game from chess to tag.

"I know that I'm never going to outthink those guys, and I know I'm not as smart as a lot of guys are. If I can take the game out of my hands, where it's not me trying to be smarter than the defensive guy, it's just me trying to get lined up, play fast, get a few plays, but try to do them really well, then I got lot better chance to be successful."


By the end of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the Clemson defense was spent.

In fact, Franklin said, if he sees a bad play forming, say, the defense loaded up on the side he wants to run it, he calls the play anyway. Just rip the bandage off quickly and get it over with. Why?

"Well, because my belief is eventually, the tempo will win," Franklin said. "It may not win early but eventually it's going to win. Because eventually, what's going to happen is one, they're not going to get lined up properly. Two is that they're not even going to get their hands on the ground sometime before we run a play. If that means that I have to have three or four really bad plays in a game, that's OK.

"If you think about it, how many times do you have an extremely complicated NFL offense that has six shifts and motions before the snap, with these geniuses, and they run it and they lose two yards. I could have done the same thing in a lot less time. I've always thought I'm as smart as them. I'll just lose it faster."

The ramifications of a faster tempo are felt well beyond the two teams. Auburn's sports information director Chuck Gallina runs the crew that keeps statistics at Tigers home games. Keeping up with Franklin's offense, he said, is unlike anything his crew has ever attempted.

"We were slap worn out by the end of the spring game," Gallina said. "It was crazy."

That's what the faster tempo has wrought. When the 2008 season begins, enjoy watching the teams that huddle. It might be your last chance.

I love the attention!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview08/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=3524989

[AUChizad]

Nice article.
It's almost like it was an intentional response to my bitching in that other thread.

[Jumbo]

So much for flying under the radar.

[AUChizad]

Nation's Fastest Teams:
Push it real good

Which teams know how to use speed to their advantage? Here are the nation's top tempo teams.

1. Oregon
The Ducks averaged 79 plays and 38.2 points per game despite finishing ninth in the Pac-10 in average time of possession (28 minutes, 37 seconds) in 2007. Get on the field, score your points and get off.

2. Auburn
Tempo guru and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin has brought his magic to the Plains this season. With a talented line and a bunch of good running backs, the effect should be immediate.

3. Troy
In the past two seasons, the Trojans have upset Oklahoma State (41-23 in 2007) and made Georgia (44-34 in 2007) and Florida State (24-14 in 2006) work much harder than they expected to. The equalizer? Offensive tempo.

Interesting that our #2 ranking is based on Tony Franklin being there NOW and Troy's #3 ranking is based off of Tony Franklin being there in the past couple of seasons.

[BLS]

I swear, if this offense doesn't pan out shit is gonna be very bad. Tubby better hope it does or the fucking roof is coming down.

Two recruiting classes into it. I say two because aren't you guys already up to 21 high character guys for the 09 class ? There isn't  a stich of evidence it will work at au. I will hand it to ole' tubbs, that son of a bitch is gambling his future and auburns football future on this little experiment. I mean what has he got to loose?
It flops he leaves for something else, blaming Auburn for the changes. They split the buyout just like RR and WVU. Every one knows he'd love to stick it to Louder anyway. This way he comes out smelling clean and Louder is left picking up the pieces and taking the blame for tubs and the situation.
Yes sir, gonna be alot of fun watching this year.

 

[AUChizad]

There isn't  a stich of evidence it will work at au.

Auburn 23 - Clemson 20.
Let's see how you manage the same opponent at the same site in the next game they play. Meanwhile we'll be woodshedding the team that beat you 21-14.

I will hand it to ole' tubbs, that son of a bitch is gambling his future and auburns football future on this little experiment. I mean what has he got to loose?
It flops he leaves for something else, blaming Auburn for the changes. They split the buyout just like RR and WVU. Every one knows he'd love to stick it to Louder anyway. This way he comes out smelling clean and Louder is left picking up the pieces and taking the blame for tubs and the situation.
Yes sir, gonna be alot of fun watching this year.

 

More of the same. The only way bamers can talk any trash is their delusional predictions of what "will happen" and wild speculation that you claim "everyone knows".

[BLS]

Come on, ''delusional predictions on what will happen'' and ''wild speculations that everyone knows''
Sound like a lot shit from most auburn fans on Saban and what goes on there. It is the exact , not kind a like, the exact same thing you guys hurl around on a daily basis. It does sound funny coming from another fan base though. That's why some of the absurd things I've seen posted by au fans are quite entertaining.

Your a good fan for having faith.  Your win over Clemson is hardly proof it will work week in and out in the SEC.

[Townhallsavoy]

Come on, ''delusional predictions on what will happen'' and ''wild speculations that everyone knows''
Sound like a lot shit from most auburn fans on Saban and what goes on there. It is the exact , not kind a like, the exact same thing you guys hurl around on a daily basis. It does sound funny coming from another fan base though. That's why some of the absurd things I've seen posted by au fans are quite entertaining.

Your a good fan for having faith.  Your win over Clemson is hardly proof it will work week in and out in the SEC.

So you think that because Auburn fans predict Saban's departure, Alabama fans can depict Tuberville's departure the same way.

Wrong, bud. 

Saban has bolted from every team he's coached in the last ten years.  He's coached at Michigan St (bolted), LSU (bolted), Miami (bolted), and now Alabama.  In the same ten years, Tuberville has coached at Auburn.  One school.  Sure, pull out the ole pine box comment.  It's just as easily said that Tuberville has changed.  He's found his home.  Ten years running.

You might say he wants to stick it to Lowder, but don't worry, he's already accomplished that.  Remember a couple of years ago when we went 14-0?  Brad Lester does.  That stuck it hard to Lowder.  So, I really doubt Tuberville is still trying to hurt Bobby Lowder's feelings. 

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Come on, ''delusional predictions on what will happen'' and ''wild speculations that everyone knows''
Sound like a lot shit from most auburn fans on Saban and what goes on there. It is the exact , not kind a like, the exact same thing you guys hurl around on a daily basis. It does sound funny coming from another fan base though. That's why some of the absurd things I've seen posted by au fans are quite entertaining.

Your a good fan for having faith.  Your win over Clemson is hardly proof it will work week in and out in the SEC.

I'll take our win over Clemson after 8 days experience in the offense, most yards all season and twice as many offensive plays, over your 4 million dollar 6-6 season, and loss to La-Monroe.   You're a fucking idiot.  Pure and simple.   Just be a dick, it's what you are, and you did it better as Gridiron.  BLS is just poser bullshit.

[BLS]

I'll take our win over Clemson after 8 days experience in the offense, most yards all season and twice as many offensive plays, over your 4 million dollar 6-6 season, and loss to La-Monroe.   You're a fucking idiot.  Pure and simple.   Just be a dick, it's what you are, and you did it better as Gridiron.  BLS is just poser bullshit.

 

Fuck off,

 

[BLS]

As much as you would like to run me off, ain't happening. unless I get banned, Hopefully not, but You can't do a fucking thing about it either, unless your a mod or admin, in which case I would certainly question why such a piece of shit such as yourself would be considered for the job.








In any case, fuck you!

[AUChizad]

As much as you would like to run me off, ain't happening. unless I get banned, Hopefully not, but You can't do a fucking thing about it either, unless your a mod or admin, in which case I would certainly question why such a piece of shit such as yourself would be considered for the job.








In any case, fuck you!

He's not a mod, and we don't break out the ban stick. It'd take a lot more than you being an ignorant laughable prick to get us to flex some mod muscles.
We'd prefer to give you the rope to hang yourself by letting the world see your asinine comments.

[BLS]

Would this be the same rope that tubs is useing at the moment?

[Townhallsavoy]

Would this be the same rope that tubs is useing at the moment?

It's spelled "using." 

After reading through a bunch of your posts, I've decided that you're a 12 year old. 

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Would this be the same rope that tubs is useing at the moment?

Yeah, this makes complete sense.  In terms of rope, do you mean the "rope" being Tony Franklin and the new offense....  and that "rope" coming in and beating Clemson after being on campus for 9 days?  ....  Or could it be the ropes, knives, ass on fire hot seats, guns and bricks through windows that Saban will be experiencing after going 6-6, and losing to LA-Monroe, then an opening weekend loss to the Clemson team we already beat after a full season on the job, and a self-proclaimed recruiting nashnul champeeeeeenchip????

Yeah, seriously, now that you've been exposed to be the F-bomb dropping waterhead I said you were, explain how we could possibly not treat you any different.

[BLS]

It's simple, You have attacked me from day one. I first started posting here and did try very hard to ignore you but like I said last time , you won't have it.
I know you're having your little fun. Good for you.
Dropping F bombs? so fucking what. Is there somekind of rule against that? Last I check you could pretty much say whatever you want here. That's the beauty of this board. But it's comming from a Bammer so you know the rest. Same old tired story as every other board filled with a few good natured people trying to have fun and spoiled by a few assholes that want nothing more than to fuck it up or the rest.

I'll have plenty of fun later with you when your season doesn't go as you think it will.
See you after that first embarassing loss. You'll be the first I make fun of........... see ya then you little prick.

[Ogre]

I'll have plenty of fun later with you when your season doesn't go as you think it will.
See you after that first embarassing loss. You'll be the first I make fun of........... see ya then you little prick.

But will you stick around when our season goes better than you think it will?  There will be a shit-ton of crow to be eaten. 

That's the real question.

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

It's simple, You have attacked me from day one. I first started posting here and did try very hard to ignore you but like I said last time , you won't have it.

Well, you did stick out like a sore thumb, and I don't consider your arrival here as "day one".  You're Gridiron, douche master of the bammer universe.  You came here under the cloak of another name, yet when challenged your disguise was as transparent as the Zima cocktail you're sipping on.   As you've seen by the others jumping on you as well, you pretty much brought it on yourself. 

I know you're having your little fun. Good for you.

Wait! You get it... (typical Gridiron self mutilation and self contradiction coming up soon........wait for it...  wait for it.....)

Dropping F bombs? so fucking what. Is there somekind of rule against that? Last I check you could pretty much say whatever you want here. That's the beauty of this board. But it's comming from a Bammer so you know the rest.

No, when you came here, you tried to come across as some cool, calm, collected Bama affiliate.  I knew before it happened, that inside that bullshit exterior you were tossing in here, that underneath, a schizo freak-a-zoid bammer would pop out.  A fucking gremlin after chicken at midnight if you will.   You ate the chicken, jumped in the pool and shit your britches for everyone to see.  It was beautiful.

(remember when you seemed to get it, when you mentioned fun...yeah...fading....more coming though....)

Same old tired story as every other board filled with a few good natured people trying to have fun and spoiled by a few assholes that want nothing more than to fuck it up or the rest.

Nobody's fucking anything up here.  We enjoy this. It's located in one spot.  Not all over the board.  You're being kicked around in one thread or two.  Those that want to participate are, those that don't aren't here.  They're reading the 500 other topics elsewhere....

(your "getting it" is fading further.....)

I'll have plenty of fun later with you when your season doesn't go as you think it will.

You'd think that after a 6-6 season, 10 arrests, losses to LA-Monroe, a losing STREAK to US and MIssissippi State, a pending beatdown in Baton Rouge and the prospect of a very awkward and tough season ahead, your focus would be elsewhere, but whatever floats that silly little waterhead of yours.  I hear ya though Carnack. 

See you after that first embarassing loss.

I hear ya.  It's not like you guys have any other reason to be able to say anything to Auburn fans, but we know despite how terrible you might be yourself, you grasp on to the hope that MAYBE, just MAYBE you'll have SOMETHING you can say.  It's good to have goals.

You'll be the first I make fun of........... see ya then you little prick.

Will my keyboard zap me?  Shock me, punch me, call me names?  Geez, I sure hope not.  The prospect of you making fun of me is an earth shattering thought....   Yawn.

(Yeah...the "you get it" thing from earlier...  another fine example of your schizo no clue contradictory behavior....  gone....)

We're done here.   

[AUChizad]

Yeah, this makes complete sense.  In terms of rope, do you mean the "rope" being Tony Franklin and the new offense....  and that "rope" coming in and beating Clemson after being on campus for 9 days?  ....  Or could it be the ropes, knives, ass on fire hot seats, guns and bricks through windows that Saban will be experiencing after going 6-6, and losing to LA-Monroe, then an opening weekend loss to the Clemson team we already beat after a full season on the job, and a self-proclaimed recruiting nashnul champeeeeeenchip????

Most likely the rope that Franchione wants you to hold.

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Most likely the rope that Franchione wants you to hold.

I heard Fran took that rope with him...then offered it to A&M insiders for a fee.   Just another one of the snake oil salesmen that Goober U. keeps hiring.