Thoughts - Week Hello Chizik, My Old Friend?

[Townhallsavoy]

Auburn

- What the fuck was that?  Jesus Christ.  That was 2012-level suckage. 

- How the hell did we open the game with a commanding, dominating drive for a touchdown and then not do jackshit the rest of the game? 

- I don't think it was Gus's play calling.  We had some serious drops on drives that were going well.  You know, until the drops.  That happen all the fucking time with this team.

- This team also does a really good job of finding ways to shoot itself in the foot.  Usually twice.  Miss State was two fumbles.  Texas A&M was two quick touchdowns given up.  Georgia it was forcing two punts (hey the defense is improving!) that somehow both led to Georgia first downs that went on to be touchdowns.

- I think Gus freaked out a little bit once Georgia went up 17-7.  That's on him.  I think we could have and should have gotten another score in the 1st half.  17-14.  But we didn't call the typical plays.  Maybe we couldn't have.

- Maybe we couldn't do anything because the defense was soft, putty pudding fat slow dumbfuck slothlike apathetic maggot self-entitled hallelujah, holy shit, where's the tylenol.

- That defensive performance was 2012 bad.  WORSE.  2012 had nothing to play for.  THIS TEAM WAS STILL IN CONTENTION FOR THE FUCKING SEC WEST!  ALABAMA BEAT MISS STATE!!  And how does the team respond?  By getting bulldozed by a Georgia team that was bulldozed by a Florida team that had a lameduck coach?  I can't get my head around this.

- And it scares me.  Because this team regressed.  Not just a little.  Not some regression.  Like may need to play its starters until the 4th quarter in order to beat Samford type of regression.  Like 42-6 against Alabama won't surprise me regression.  Like hopefully we get Virginia in the Shreveport Bowl so we can maybe win regression. 

- That's on Malzahn.  This season is purely on Malzahn.  Not questioning his future or anything like that.  Well, maybe I am if I feel the need to add that qualification.  But this is bad news tonight. 

- But on the other hand, what the hell else could he do?  Maybe we were lucky to have the success we've had considering...

- We're starting a shit wide receiver at corner and a running back at safety.  Our one good safety, a senior leader of the team, took a swing at a coach and was suspended for half the season.  Our other starting corner that actual is a corner is maybe 5'7 though he's listed as 5'9.  Our STAR nearly missed games for a suspension and he's not exactly a great cover guy as he's more of a small linebacker than a DB.  Our future 1st round draft pick defensive end blew his knee out.  And finally in 2011 and 2012 we only signed six defensive linemen total, a few of which are no longer on the team, and none of which were four star or higher defensive ends. 

- We have no talent on defense.  Can it get better?

- We've recruited more defensive linemen the past two classes than the previous three combined.  Some are getting playing time.  We still need more playmakers.  Can we sell playing time?  Can we sell Ellis Johnson? 

- Unfortunately, this current class doesn't have much for defensive linemen.  Maybe because we recruited so many before.

College Football

- I'm sick of this era of college football.  Did anyone think Alabama wouldn't win today?  They were 10 point favorites over the #1 team in the country.  It's a fucking rerun.  Has been since 2008.  That's seven years where you pretty much knew going into a game that Alabama would win and were only pleasantly surprised to see them lose. 

- I've watched dynasties fall.  USC?  Fell.  Took six seasons in the Pac 10 pre-Oregon.  Florida?  Fell.  Took four seasons.  Miami?  Three seasons.  Alabama?  Seven and counting?  After losing so many key players from last year's team?  After hiring Lane Kiffin?  After the numerous should-be-scandals that have hit the news and then been swept under the rug? 

- Maybe I'm sick of college football.  But I'm not.  I love watching it.  Even if the teams I'm rooting for lose.  I still enjoy what goes on in college football.

- But I am really sick of Tuscaloosa always winning.  Call it a melt.  I want to be done with it.  Auburn like 99% of the schools in the country can't have a dominant team every year. It's just not going to happen.  But right now, one slip up of a season means ass kicking in the Iron Bowl because somehow Alabama happens to field NFL Minor League All Stars every fucking year. 

[chinook]

Auburn

- What the fudge was that?  Jesus Christ.  That was 2012-level suckage. 

- How the hell did we open the game with a commanding, dominating drive for a touchdown and then not do jackshoot the rest of the game? 

- I don't think it was Gus's play calling.  We had some serious drops on drives that were going well.  You know, until the drops.  That happen all the fudgeing time with this team.

- This team also does a really good job of finding ways to shoot itself in the foot.  Usually twice.  Miss State was two fumbles.  Texas A&M was two quick touchdowns given up.  Georgia it was forcing two punts (hey the defense is improving!) that somehow both led to Georgia first downs that went on to be touchdowns.

- I think Gus freaked out a little bit once Georgia went up 17-7.  That's on him.  I think we could have and should have gotten another score in the 1st half.  17-14.  But we didn't call the typical plays.  Maybe we couldn't have.

- Maybe we couldn't do anything because the defense was soft, putty pudding fat slow dumbfudge slothlike apathetic maggot self-entitled hallelujah, holy shoot, where's the tylenol.

- That defensive performance was 2012 bad.  WORSE.  2012 had nothing to play for.  THIS TEAM WAS STILL IN CONTENTION FOR THE fudgeING SEC WEST!  ALABAMA BEAT MISS STATE!!  And how does the team respond?  By getting bulldozed by a Georgia team that was bulldozed by a Florida team that had a lameduck coach?  I can't get my head around this.

- And it scares me.  Because this team regressed.  Not just a little.  Not some regression.  Like may need to play its starters until the 4th quarter in order to beat Samford type of regression.  Like 42-6 against Alabama won't surprise me regression.  Like hopefully we get Virginia in the Shreveport Bowl so we can maybe win regression. 

- That's on Malzahn.  This season is purely on Malzahn.  Not questioning his future or anything like that.  Well, maybe I am if I feel the need to add that qualification.  But this is bad news tonight. 

- But on the other hand, what the hell else could he do?  Maybe we were lucky to have the success we've had considering...

- We're starting a shoot wide receiver at corner and a running back at safety.  Our one good safety, a senior leader of the team, took a swing at a coach and was suspended for half the season.  Our other starting corner that actual is a corner is maybe 5'7 though he's listed as 5'9.  Our STAR nearly missed games for a suspension and he's not exactly a great cover guy as he's more of a small linebacker than a DB.  Our future 1st round draft pick defensive end blew his knee out.  And finally in 2011 and 2012 we only signed six defensive linemen total, a few of which are no longer on the team, and none of which were four star or higher defensive ends. 

- We have no talent on defense.  Can it get better?

- We've recruited more defensive linemen the past two classes than the previous three combined.  Some are getting playing time.  We still need more playmakers.  Can we sell playing time?  Can we sell Ellis Johnson? 

- Unfortunately, this current class doesn't have much for defensive linemen.  Maybe because we recruited so many before.

College Football

- I'm sick of this era of college football.  Did anyone think Alabama wouldn't win today?  They were 10 point favorites over the #1 team in the country.  It's a fudgeing rerun.  Has been since 2008.  That's seven years where you pretty much knew going into a game that Alabama would win and were only pleasantly surprised to see them lose. 

- I've watched dynasties fall.  USC?  Fell.  Took six seasons in the Pac 10 pre-Oregon.  Florida?  Fell.  Took four seasons.  Miami?  Three seasons.  Alabama?  Seven and counting?  After losing so many key players from last year's team?  After hiring Lane Kiffin?  After the numerous should-be-scandals that have hit the news and then been swept under the rug? 

- Maybe I'm sick of college football.  But I'm not.  I love watching it.  Even if the teams I'm rooting for lose.  I still enjoy what goes on in college football.

- But I am really sick of Tuscaloosa always winning.  Call it a melt.  I want to be done with it.  Auburn like 99% of the schools in the country can't have a dominant team every year. It's just not going to happen.  But right now, one slip up of a season means ass kicking in the Iron Bowl because somehow Alabama happens to field NFL Minor League All Stars every fudgeing year.

Wow.  You need a date with Trashy Trina.

[AUChizad]

Wow.  You need a date with Trashy Trina.

Go to AUNation with that shit if you think he's off base at all...

[The Prowler]

I'm at a loss for words. I felt going in to the UGA game that Auburn's defense could stifle the run game of Georgia's enough for Auburn's offense to get a jump...therefore causing Georgia to have to pass to catch up. Things were going somewhat as planned.
Score first? Check
Stop them on their two drives? Check
Wheels fall off after a fumbled Punt Return? Check
Look like frozen shit the rest of the game on Offense and Defense? Check
Get our shit pushed in by a Georgia team that was playing in it's first home game in7 weeks? Check.

[jmar]

Don't have much to say except we had a lot to play for last night and shit the bed again. We were not ready to play but somehow looking back this "keep it close, win it at the end" mentality has softened this team.
Auburn is supposed to intimidate opponents but this team doesn't scare anyone.

We haven't reverted back to last season's first half performance against LSU but we are dangerously close with what appears to be an uninspired team and a coaching staff left scratching their asses.
We dunno!
If we are leaning on past successes get ready for more humiliation.

WE DIDN"T LACK TALENT LAST SEASON!
What has changed?






   

[Kaos]

Yeah, we all knew Alabama was going to win.  But it doesn't help when a caveman fumbles and the review booth says "oh, touchdown." 

[GH2001]

Go to AUNation with that shit if you think he's off base at all...

I'm with you here. Consider me with pitchfork now.

But I do disagree with THS on Gus' play calling. You have to be blind to not see that it was conservative/vanilla. At some times it was downright awful. Gus even admitted it was. And then in the second half, did nothing about it. He bewilders me at times. I think he is a good coach that cannot quit falling down in fear of his own shadow. He's his own worst enemy sometimes. Thats my first issue though....

The second - the overall lack of any focus, fundamentals or discipline from this entire team. As much as we want to blame the D (which is a huge issue), I think it is a symptom of a bigger issue with this team. The D played well ENOUGH to win last night. I don't think giving up 34 points to Ga's potent O is a surprise to anyone. 9 out of 10 times under the Gus we all came to know, that was good enough to win. My big issue is: Dumb mistakes, stupid penalties (PI, PF, Holds), freak screwups (Dismukes last week), etc etc fucking etc. These are things that happen to most teams from time to time maybe once or twice 3-4 games. They happen to us every fucking game and more than once per game. Muffed punts, fumbles, numerous personal fouls, falling for trick plays, major communication breakdowns, roughing punters and QBs - it goes on and on. All self inflicted things that should be the exception not the norm. For us its the norm, and sorry to say that starts with the head guy. Its why he gets paid millions. This is 2012 level fucking up. We've regressed. This is not what I expect from Gus. Chizik maybe but not this guy. This is team culture here. Team discipline. And its lacking, and getting worse.

I hope I am wrong but I fear there are bigger things at play here on our team than just a bad D and some bad luck. We've regressed. And were getting worse. The bleeding is not stopping. This isn't good. No way to sugarcoat it.

[jmar]

Our performance only validates what all of the Auburn detractors have been saying.

[Townhallsavoy]

Our performance only validates what all of the Auburn detractors have been saying.

And what's that?

[GH2001]

Our performance only validates what all of the Auburn detractors have been saying.

No...it doesn't at all asshole. Quit being fucking self righteous Uncle Rico. You and dallas have done nothing but hark from your sofas about Ellis Johnson. 7 points last night...7 points!!!! We have bigger team issues than Ellis Johnson. If we had lost 48-45 last night I would agree with you. We could have had a Bama D last night and still lost. Our coach looked lost. This team has major fundamental foundation issues, and our D is just a piece of that. See the big picture numb nuts.

[RWS]

Yeah, we all knew Alabama was going to win.  But it doesn't help when a caveman fumbles and the review booth says "oh, touchdown."

The ball was a foot inside the end zone before it was knocked loose.  Christ, you could see the red paint of the end zone between his arm and the plane of the goal line before it came out. It's no different than reaching the ball out and it crossing the plane before someone knocks it out. 

[bottomfeeder]

The ball was a foot inside the end zone before it was knocked loose.  Christ, you could see the red paint of the end zone between his arm and the plane of the goal line before it came out. It's no different than reaching the ball out and it crossing the plane before someone knocks it out.

I concur.

[jmar]

And what's that?

It's more about perception; from talking heads to average fans of college football regarding how this staff and team managed to make the CG last season with a smoke and mirrors, gimmicky high school offense and just enough defense to get by on through sheer luck. Defenses will catch up to that and figure it out.

GH thought me too harsh last week, too critical?

[Townhallsavoy]

It's more about perception; from talking heads to average fans of college football regarding how this staff and team managed to make the CG last season with a smoke and mirrors, gimmicky high school offense and just enough defense to get by on through sheer luck. Defenses will catch up to that and figure it out.

They'd have that perception anyway if we were winning 42-zip every week. 

College football is full of passion and anger, and most of the commentators in the world did not go to Auburn.  Unfortunately many of them either went to Alabama or grew up in a time when Bear Bryant ruled the world. 

Gus has four seasons at Auburn now (2009, 2010 OC) where his offense has had plenty of success.  The offense sucked last night.  It's the first time I would say his offense has sucked in any of those four seasons. Not good enough to win?  Occasionally.  Absolutely sucked?  Just last night. 

[jmar]

They'd have that perception anyway if we were winning 42-zip every week. 

College football is full of passion and anger, and most of the commentators in the world did not go to Auburn.  Unfortunately many of them either went to Alabama or grew up in a time when Bear Bryant ruled the world. 

Gus has four seasons at Auburn now (2009, 2010 OC) where his offense has had plenty of success.  The offense sucked last night.  It's the first time I would say his offense has sucked in any of those four seasons. Not good enough to win?  Occasionally.  Absolutely sucked?  Just last night.

And the defense?

[WiregrassTiger]

Gotta get this off my chest. We are the USC of the west division, except sc hasn't been manhandled like that since earlier in season.

We got worse while every other team in the west hit better or at least was able to tread water.

Not a single team in the west I think we can beat right now, based on past 2 games.

I don't know why we look like shit but typically its a domino effect. "Lawson makes a huge difference", I hear. Ok, so we lose only 31-7 with him?

I'm putting it on Gus too. He's ultimately responsible. We sucked penis in all facets last night.

I would definitely either fire Johnson or let him know Iron Bowl is like an interview. And he and Lashley had a piss poor performance too. Try the 2 qb system coach. It's obvious it can't hurt.

If Pruitt did us like that, Smart and Saban will snap our neck off.

[Yoda]

Gus's offense has been vanilla all year.  My opinion, he has done a hell of a job this year with the offense.  To an extent he is making chicken salad from chicken shit.  We have talent on offense but there are some obvious deficiencies as well.  We lost our best o-lineman before the year started.  Love the Coleman story but his last two games he has been beat down pretty constantly.  We have 2 great WR's. One is hurt and the other makes some big plays but also consistently has at least 2 big drops a game.  Gus's biggest mistake is being to loyal to the QB that took us to the dance last year.  We are a one dimensional offense again even though Marshall is an improved passer.  We are still not a consistently productive passing team.  Either Marshall still overthrows the ball or receivers drop perfect ones.  Gus leans on the run way too much because of this.  Anyone else notice that when we go fast all we do is run the same play again?

Defense no clue what the deal is. The one thing they have done pretty well all season is stop the run. That is until last night. I'm blaming recruiting. We have seen our 2 linebackers start for 3 years now along with a number of our secondary.  Why do we not have backups by now that are good enough to play also?  We should be 4-5 deep at linebacker but we have 2.

To jump ship now is just dumb.  If you didn't realize after the Kstate game that we were going to lose some games this year you had your colored glasses on.  However I did not see losing to a crappy ATM nor getting thumped by UGA

[jmar]

You will get no argument from me about the effort from our backs. We had several overthrows and drops for sure. I've pointed out the passive nature of our offensive line but Auburn experts themselves attribute that to zone blocking.
Malzahn and Lashee appeared to have lost touch last night but the defense is consistently disappointing. But the culture? FSU and Miami fought tooth and nail last night. It mattered to them!
I don't want Auburn to play that brand of football but I do expect to see our team to show up and perform when so much is on the line versus a major rival like UGA...and TAMU wasn't enough of a wake up call?

[WiregrassTiger]

Gus's offense has been vanilla all year.  My opinion, he has done a hell of a job this year with the offense.  To an extent he is making chicken salad from chicken shoot.  We have talent on offense but there are some obvious deficiencies as well.  We lost our best o-lineman before the year started.  Love the Coleman story but his last two games he has been beat down pretty constantly.  We have 2 great WR's. One is hurt and the other makes some big plays but also consistently has at least 2 big drops a game.  Gus's biggest mistake is being to loyal to the QB that took us to the dance last year.  We are a one dimensional offense again even though Marshall is an improved passer.  We are still not a consistently productive passing team.  Either Marshall still overthrows the ball or receivers drop perfect ones.  Gus leans on the run way too much because of this.  Anyone else notice that when we go fast all we do is run the same play again?

Defense no clue what the deal is. The one thing they have done pretty well all season is stop the run. That is until last night. I'm blaming recruiting. We have seen our 2 linebackers start for 3 years now along with a number of our secondary.  Why do we not have backups by now that are good enough to play also?  We should be 4-5 deep at linebacker but we have 2.

To jump ship now is just dumb.  If you didn't realize after the Kstate game that we were going to lose some games this year you had your colored glasses on.  However I did not see losing to a crappy ATM nor getting thumped by UGA

I don't know about the chicken salad out of chicken shit on offense. We have elite talent on offense. Players most teams would love to have. Injuries, sure but that's everywhere. Last night was the only glaring underperforming game on offense in my eyes. But I can't agree that Gus hasn't had the players.

[Yoda]

I don't know about the chicken salad out of chicken shit on offense. We have elite talent on offense. Players most teams would love to have. Injuries, sure but that's everywhere. Last night was the only glaring underperforming game on offense in my eyes. But I can't agree that Gus hasn't had the players.

I agree that we do have talent, poor choice of words on my part.  Point I was trying to make is that Gus is trying to hide our weaknesses.  Our o-line is not as strong as it was last year. Also while we have talent at the receiver position not one of them is reliable to make the play when needed.

I don't know that JJ is the better choice at QB, but I think our offense will be completely different when he gets the job.  We have played a game or two where we would have been better off with a more pass happy game plan, and have been in situations where we needed to come from behind.  Malzahn has stuck with his guy from day one and that is not Marshall's strength.  I don't know if that is at the fault of Malzahn being loyal or a testament that Johnson is not ready.