Thoughts - Week 3

[Townhallsavoy]

- We're going to start getting some bruises soon, but Holland by God, we got our first SEC win since 2011. 

- Did anyone catch the Malzahns at Waffle House?  What did Gus order? 

- Like some Holland were arguing last week about a win over Arkansas State, Auburn should always beat Mississippi State.  In the juggernaut division that is the SEC West, losing to a Mississippi is a sure fire way to kill your season.  We're most likely going to drop a game or two against LSU, Alabama, and now Texas A&M.  You also have to get through a few SEC East opponents.  We have to beat the Mississippi schools, or it's a real good chance that the season is shot. 

- We beat Mississippi State.  We Holland haven't tasted the joy of winning an SEC matchup since October 2011.  To put our drought in perspective:

Nick Marshall was a cornerback at Georgia. 
Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams were juniors in high school.
We thought for sure that Kiehl Frazier was the future at quarterback.
Gene Chizik was revered by Auburn fans for bringing us a BCS trophy.
The primaries for the 2012 presidential Holland election were just heating up. 
The Occupy Movement was holding its first protests.
An Ohio resident released his exotic animals prior to committing suicide.

It's been a while.

- We looked like dogshit for most of this game.  I saw a lot of bright spots during the Wash State and Ark State games, but tonight, the majority of the game left me scratching my head.  But that's fine.  Nick Marshall's only been on campus for a month and a half.  We have a lot of young players who probably do not understand how conference play intensifies the game.  We may have been down after being excited about the first two weeks of the season.  It happens. Sometimes the players just don't get up for the game.

- Chad Slade was getting his ass Holland whipped all night.  I was wondering why we weren't pounding the ball between the tackles, but then I noticed that whenever we tried, Slade was getting zero push. In fact, I'd say he was getting manhandled. 

- The defense was completely different when Frost was in the game.  It seemed like throughout the 1st half, Jake Holland was all over the place, and not in the good way.  He was consistently in places he shouldn't be.  It was almost comical watching the game.  Not almost.  It was comical.  The play would end, and I would look for Jake Holland.  He was, at least the majority of the time, on some random part of the field.  I would look at #5, our middle linebacker, and I would ask, "Why is Jake Holland over there when everyone else is over here?"  It just didn't make sense.

- But it does make sense as we've all complained about for ages.  For three years now.  Jake Holland is soft. He's lost.  He's slow.  They ran a QB run right at him.  He was about two yards in front of the QB.  Most if not the rest of all of the SEC starting middle linebackers would have salivated at getting a direct lane at hitting a running quarterback.  They would gnash their teeth and lower the boom hoping to send the QB to the training table for tape and ice.  But not Jake.  Oh no, a blocker brushed his hip, and Jake missed the easy tackle. 

- The last drive was huge.  It was night and day different from what we've usually seen in our QB and WRs.  I'm going to hold out hope that confidence was established.  This was Nick Marshall's "a-ha!" moment.  The light bulb went on.  He found the guys he can trust to catch the ball.  He'll read the defense. 

- We have some impressive athletes on our team especially offense. 

- I'm VERY excited about this week.  We're more than likely going to get our shit pushed in, but after beating Miss State, we get to provide experience to our young guys.  Our true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and true sophomores have never experienced a game like they're going to face next week.  Auburn is 4-0.  LSU is 4-0.  It's a night game at Death Valley.  You want to go to the SECCG?  This is the game you get up for.  THis is the game you put your body on the line and do whatever it takes to win. 

We'll probably lose, but I'm really excited about this.  Our players can see what practice is like or should be like when participating in an SEC Game of the Week type of environment.  They can start to see the look of being an undefeated team playing in a game that allows you to control your own destiny.  This is a great way for our players to grow, and no matter the outcome, I know that they will gain from this experience.



 

[Jumbo]

Spot on Townhall, our o-line/d-line was getting dominated all night long. Marshall was unreal on the last drive I didn't think he had it in him. Auburn 3-0 heading into Lsu 

[The Prowler]

We're 3-0 against:
Washington State (2-1)
Arkansas State (2-1)
Mississippi State (1-2)

LSU is 3-0 against:
Texas Christian (1-2)
Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham (0-2)
Kent State (1-2)

It's going to be a CAT FIGHT TO THE DEATH...if I see Slade stand around one more time, I'm going to go to the Zoo and punch a Koala Bear right in the face...if I see Slade stand around while our RB plows right into him, I'm going to find another Koala Bear and punch it in the face...if I see Slade get blown the fuck up at the snap of the ball and shoved two yards into the backfield, I going to find the first Koala Bear that I punched and I'm going to punch him again right in the face...if I see Slade walking towards the defender that just intercepted the ball instead of hauling ass with the intention of killing him with a bone jarring hit, I have no idea what I'm going to do but it will definitely involve punching someone or some thing in the face.

How the flying fuck can't they see his lazy ass walking around during the God Damn play?

I know he's a great pass blocker, maybe one of the best in the Country (I'm being serious), but that's only because he's wider than a  Coke Machine and DLinemen can't get around him and when he gets his hands on a guy, they aren't going to be able to get them off. Maybe that's why he's in there, I haven't a fucking clue. I just want a fucking Offense Line that is mean & nasty...one that shows a SHITLOAD of aggression, I want 5 Greg Robinson with the nastiness of Alex Kozan

[Jumbo]

Slade has t-Rex arms and he hates push-ups.

[The Prowler]

Slade has t-Rex arms and he hates push-ups.

He doesn't have short arms, but I do doubt he can perform many pushups. His biceps are the size of most people's thighs...like I've said before, he's a massive individual. Shaking his hand is like shaking a bunch of bananas and that was when he was a incoming freshman, I'm sure he has gotten bigger since then...but probably not much stronger (thanks to the wonderful strength and condition program we had).

[GH2001]

Miss state being miss state aside, I think a big difference in last night was it being an sec team. More physical, more talent. Wash state and ark state are well coached but they do not have sec horses for the most part. I like the way the guys fought back. And most importantly how they didn't quit. Not pretty, but is apparent after 3 games this is not last years team. These guys think they can win. Whether they can or not, they think they can.

[Kaos]

My takeaways:

1) MSU isn't a really good team.  But they're more physical than anybody we've played so far.
2) We could, should, have scored 45 points.  They scored on every opportunity but one.  So I'm not really concerned about that. In reality that was a 48-20 win that almost turned into a loss.
3) Don't bag on Marshall. He had a fantastic night.  He was stymied at times by the play calling and made a few bad choices, but only a few.
4) When the QB comes right at him, Jake does the hot foot moving backwards which gives the QB more room.  At that point it's either right or left, wherever the lane is, and Jake turns his shoulders parallel.  He was abysmal.  Better than week one, but abysmal yet. The defense plays with more intensity when Frost is in the game.
5) Jake sits by himself on the sidelines. While the rest of the D is either talking amongst themselves or getting direction from a coach, he's sitting alone.
6) Not sure what we're thinking offensively sometimes.  We come out with a rhythm, punch them in the face and then for 2 1/2 quarters get really conservative and don't push the ball down field. We go side to side with passes and up the middle. 
7) We will get a lot better before the end of the year.  Can we challenge the invincible Tide?  Don't know yet, but we're closer than we were.
8) THAT was a big win in spite of the quality of the opponent.  We faced adversity and had to answer the bell on both offense and defense. 
9) I will say that I thought it was a mistake to punt with 5:00 left because if they'd converted that last first down we aren't having this sunshine moment. 
10) MSU is always going to be MSU.  They may find acorns every once in a while, but they will always be blind (cheating) pigs. 

[GH2001]

My takeaways:

1) MSU isn't a really good team.  But they're more physical than anybody we've played so far.
2) We could, should, have scored 45 points.  They scored on every opportunity but one.  So I'm not really concerned about that. In reality that was a 48-20 win that almost turned into a loss.
3) Don't bag on Marshall. He had a fantastic night.  He was stymied at times by the play calling and made a few bad choices, but only a few.
4) When the QB comes right at him, Jake does the hot foot moving backwards which gives the QB more room.  At that point it's either right or left, wherever the lane is, and Jake turns his shoulders parallel.  He was abysmal.  Better than week one, but abysmal yet. The defense plays with more intensity when Frost is in the game.
5) Jake sits by himself on the sidelines. While the rest of the D is either talking amongst themselves or getting direction from a coach, he's sitting alone.
6) Not sure what we're thinking offensively sometimes.  We come out with a rhythm, punch them in the face and then for 2 1/2 quarters get really conservative and don't push the ball down field. We go side to side with passes and up the middle. 
7) We will get a lot better before the end of the year.  Can we challenge the invincible Tide?  Don't know yet, but we're closer than we were.
8) THAT was a big win in spite of the quality of the opponent.  We faced adversity and had to answer the bell on both offense and defense. 
9) I will say that I thought it was a mistake to punt with 5:00 left because if they'd converted that last first down we aren't having this sunshine moment. 
10) MSU is always going to be MSU.  They may find acorns every once in a while, but they will always be blind (cheating) pigs.

Agree for most part. Point #1 was the key to why we looked different tonight. Even miss state is going to have more talented and physical players than the first two teams we played. But no, they are not good. Their qb did surprise me how well he ran the ball. He gave us fits at times. It's an sec win. I'll take it. We had none last year.

[Kaos]

Agree for most part. Point #1 was the key to why we looked different tonight. Even miss state is going to have more talented and physical players than the first two teams we played. But no, they are not good. Their qb did surprise me how well he ran the ball. He gave us fits at times. It's an sec win. I'll take it. We had none last year.

I heard the guys on Yahoo! radio last night pimping Metzenberger for the Heisman because he's "putting up beast numbers." 

MSU is better than any team LSU has played and Marshall racked 339 yards, two TDs (should have been three) and really only one pick last night.  State sold out to stop the run and dared him to win it.  In that last drive I think some of the light went on for him and he realized he COULD win it.  That's major.

I don't think we can beat LSU on the road, but they definitely haven't played anybody.  At all.

[Godfather]

- Like some Holland were arguing last week about a win over Arkansas State, Auburn should always beat Mississippi State.  In the juggernaut division that is the SEC West, losing to a Mississippi is a sure fire way to kill your season.  We're most likely going to drop a game or two against LSU, Alabama, and now Texas A&M.  You also have to get through a few SEC East opponents.  We have to beat the Mississippi schools, or it's a real good chance that the season is shot. 

We won't beat Ole Piss. I agree with the rest of your breakdown and Kaos's.

[Townhallsavoy]

We won't beat Ole Piss. I agree with the rest of your breakdown and Kaos's.

Maybe we'll lose, but I say we need to win.  We're trying to restore order.  Losing to Ole Miss no matter our talent level is unacceptable especially when there are three other teams in our division fighting for a BCS spot. 

[Shug Dye]

I am not downing Ole Miss, but I swear Texas looks a lot like Auburn 2012. So, that win doesn't say much to me. We will know more about them next week.

[Kaos]

I am not downing Ole Miss, but I swear Texas looks a lot like Auburn 2012. So, that win doesn't say much to me. We will know more about them next week.

My thoughts exactly. From the crappy tackling to the IDGAF attitude to the looks of confusion on the sidelines.  It looked like the apathy I saw with us last year.

[GH2001]

My thoughts exactly. From the crappy tackling to the IDGAF attitude to the looks of confusion on the sidelines.  It looked like the apathy I saw with us last year.

Could there seriously be a correlation between Mack and Chiz? Chizik was a helluva coach until he worked for  Texas. Hmmmmm. Same type of stud qb carried both coaches to a nc. Both seem to know very little discipline and their teams have no toughness. Both were lost without their stud players and coaches.  Just curious if Gene modeled a lot of his hc philosophy after Mack. If so, big mistake.

[wesfau2]

Let's start with a strike to the zombie corpse of Flicka: Jake Holland is the worst SEC football player ever.  For all the reasons that have been previously stated, he fucking sucks. 

Once Frost hit the field (in the 4thQ for some reason, any idea why he wasn't in until then?) the defense nutted up.  Prescott was averaging 8.8 ypc in the first three quarters.  Once Frost was playing, that dropped to 2 ypc.

The Dline played fairly well for a unit getting no help through three quarters from the LBs.  The secondary is starting to play with a nasty streak.  Whitehead was laying some wood on the routes across the middle.  I even saw Mincy...gasp...turn and look at the ball while breaking up a pass.

Offensively, there were some really bright spots (Davis, Marshall and Uzomah) and some maddening failures of execution (Coates, Louis and Prosch). 

Nick Marshall is getting it.  The coaches are trusting him with more of the playbook.  23/34 339 2TDs 2Int (one of which was of no consequence at all).  That is a solid stat line.  MSU was going to focus on the run and force Marshall to beat them...and he did.  That final drive was a thing of beauty (6/8 66 yds TD) and the players managed the clock well, getting out of bounds when possible.

It's looking like both phases of the offense can carry the team, if necessary, depending on what the defense is giving them.

So...all of that said, we are going to get spanked in Baton Rouge.  And College Station and likely in Auburn by bama.  Assuming we can gut out the rest of the schedule, I'd be very happy with 9-3.  This team is starting to believe, and that is invaluable.

[DnATL]

Just curious if Gene modeled a lot of his hc philosophy after Mack. If so, big mistake.

I just remembered a game a while back where Mack Brown's son-in-law leaned over on the sidelines touched a ball still in play on the field.  Not sure the relevance of that, but while Brown was talking with the on-field reporter at the end of the game (with son-in-law next to him) I remember wondering how in the world did this guy get that job?

[DnATL]

...all of that said, we are going to get spanked in Baton Rouge.  And College Station and likely in Auburn by bama.  Assuming we can gut out the rest of the schedule, I'd be very happy with 9-3.  This team is starting to believe, and that is invaluable.

Agree with 9-3, but not positive that atm is one of the 3.  That's over a month away and there's no telling what stupid shit JfnF gets into between now and then - I don't think atm beats Auburn without him.

[Kaos]

Agree with 9-3, but not positive that atm is one of the 3.  That's over a month away and there's no telling what stupid shoot JfnF gets into between now and then - I don't think atm beats Auburn without him.

While encouraged, I think you are seeing rainbows that aren't yet there.

LSU remains a probable loss, although I really don't have a clue if they're any good or not. UAB, Kent, TCU (which is pretty awful this year for some reason)?  That's your resume?  Every school in the SEC except Kentucky would be 3-0 and probably look better getting there than LSU.

Ole Miss (as much as it sickens me) remains a probable loss. Year two in a decent system with a decent coach and a whole lot of cheating? 

A&M remains a probable loss. But not as bad as before.

Georgia remains a probable loss. Just because. 

Alabama, well I hate them and maybe they'll all be in prison where they belong.  But still.

Critical games for us, make or break type games in terms of progress remain Tennessee and Arkansas. 

We can't fart around against UT after the Oregon Zippos sped 60 on them. 

Arky will run that freshman right at Holland. If he's on the field for more than 40% of the snaps they can hurt us. 

Those are the two games we HAVE to win to show legitimate progress.  And don't think they aren't marking us down as their barometers, too. 

Could we pick up one of the other five?  Maybe.  But realistically, being competitive in those and knocking off Arky and UT would be an acceptable finish.

[wesfau2]

While encouraged, I think you are seeing rainbows that aren't yet there.

LSU remains a probable loss, although I really don't have a clue if they're any good or not. UAB, Kent, TCU (which is pretty awful this year for some reason)?  That's your resume?  Every school in the SEC except Kentucky would be 3-0 and probably look better getting there than LSU.

Ole Miss (as much as it sickens me) remains a probable loss. Year two in a decent system with a decent coach and a whole lot of cheating? 

A&M remains a probable loss. But not as bad as before.

Georgia remains a probable loss. Just because. 

Alabama, well I hate them and maybe they'll all be in prison where they belong.  But still.

Critical games for us, make or break type games in terms of progress remain Tennessee and Arkansas. 

We can't fart around against UT after the Oregon Zippos sped 60 on them. 

Arky will run that freshman right at Holland. If he's on the field for more than 40% of the snaps they can hurt us. 

Those are the two games we HAVE to win to show legitimate progress.  And don't think they aren't marking us down as their barometers, too. 

Could we pick up one of the other five?  Maybe.  But realistically, being competitive in those and knocking off Arky and UT would be an acceptable finish.

I agree with your trepidation re: AR, UT and OM.  I'm forecasting weekly improvement on the part of our guys (as we have seen thus far) and admittedly, I'm feeling optimistic.

Just read a really fantastic stat: Auburn was called for 1..ONE...penalty last night.  An illegal formation.  That kind of discipline is very encouraging.

[jmar]

Could we pick up one of the other five?  Maybe.  But realistically, being competitive in those and knocking off Arky and UT would be an acceptable finish.

^This is where I am currently.


Our run blocking is soft overall.
Our zone defense sucks.
And we really need Davis healthy this week.