Thoughts - Week Wutever

[GH2001]

Soooo..your 4 fumbles had nothing to with it?

Well, my teammates should have fallen on the ball.

[dallaswareagle]

I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of my teammates. JJ can't do it.

Soooo..your 4 interceptions had nothing to with it?

Well, the other team  should not have caught those balls.

JJ version.

[Snaggletiger]

Fickle fans.  Haven't listened to any Finebaum in the last week or two.  Mostly our local shows.  With both in-state schools losing, the inevitable meltdowns were a given.  I'm cool with being pissed about what's going on.  Fine with breaking stuff down and saying what you think is going wrong and what should be done.  Hey, all part of being a fan and part of the game.  Well documented the last week or two with us.  But Sweet Haysus, get some damn perspective. 

Don't know what the general sense is around the state on Bama, but around here, it's clear.  Kiffin needs to go.  Now!!!  Are you shittin' me?  When LK was hired, most people, including Bama fans, questioned it.  We all snickered.  But the man proved himself and countless pieces were written about how it turned out to be the right call and they hope they can keep him for a few more years, yada, yada, yada...

No real complaints through the first 2 games.  Just need to settle on a QB.  Then...the loss.  For 3 days, I've heard call after call after call complaining about everything Kiffin does from his play calling to how he parallel parks.  He's got to go!!! 

I thought he developed QB's.  We'z got all these here 5 stars and he don't know how to coach a darn QB. 

Blake Sims says hey.

What Sabinz has always done is run the ball.  We got the greatest back ever to play and Derrick Henry ain't gettin' the ball.

I think the 23 carries for 127 yards he got, which I think is about his average the first 3 games, says otherwise.

Kiffin don't know how to attack a decent defense.  Ole Miss wuz pretty good. They ain't Bama but they'z got some good players like that Kimdonkychee feller.

Umm...yeah. They had the #1 defense in the best conference in America last year.  Virtually everyone back.  37 points and over 500 yards sounds real inept to me.  You brain dead fucks.  Lane Kiffin wasn't responsible for any one of the 5 turnovers your team had. Eliminate 2-3 of those and you probably go for 50 plus and over 600 yards.

I done said when he wuz hard. He ain't the man for the job.  Perspective!!!

[GH2001]

I do not like the dude personally but his O's have put up yards. Turnovers are what is killing them.

With Bateman and Coker, they rolled up over 500 yards of O and almost 40 points against an OM D that is supposed to be stout with Ndeiecheeugabongoche. Their D giving up over 40 points a game to Offenses who run a version of the dual threat qb/Spread it out/HUNH would be my complaint. Cam, Johnny Football, Nick Marshall, Ohio State, and now Chad Kelly - should not the Bammer fans be pointing the finger straight at Kirby and Nick? Nick Marshall and his O put more yards on Bama last year than any opponent in their history - and that was coming off a game where Jeremy Pruitt shut NM and Co. down.

Just sayin....Kiffin is the scapegoat here, not the problem.

[Snaggletiger]

I do not like the dude personally but his O's have put up yards. Turnovers are what is killing them.

With Bateman and Coker, they rolled up over 500 yards of O and almost 40 points against an OM D that is supposed to be stout with Ndeiecheeugabongoche. Their D giving up over 40 points a game to Offenses who run a version of the dual threat qb/Spread it out/HUNH would be my complaint. Cam, Johnny Football, Nick Marshall, Ohio State, and now Chad Kelly - should not the Bammer fans be pointing the finger straight at Kirby and Nick? Nick Marshall and his O put more yards on Bama last year than any opponent in their history - and that was coming off a game where Jeremy Pruitt shut NM and Co. down.

Just sayin....Kiffin is the scapegoat here, not the problem.

Werd!!!

[Godfather]

I do not like the dude personally but his O's have put up yards. Turnovers are what is killing them.

With Bateman and Coker, they rolled up over 500 yards of O and almost 40 points against an OM D that is supposed to be stout with Ndeiecheeugabongoche. Their D giving up over 40 points a game to Offenses who run a version of the dual threat qb/Spread it out/HUNH would be my complaint. Cam, Johnny Football, Nick Marshall, Ohio State, and now Chad Kelly - should not the Bammer fans be pointing the finger straight at Kirby and Nick? Nick Marshall and his O put more yards on Bama last year than any opponent in their history - and that was coming off a game where Jeremy Pruitt shut NM and Co. down.

Just sayin....Kiffin is the scapegoat here, not the problem.

Well to defy Lord Saban does equal death.

[Godfather]

Decent read.

Malzahn's worst misread (Jeremy Johnson) may linger for Auburn
JON SOLOMON

The rise and fall of Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson after three weeks is one of the most stunning developments of the young season. As good a coach as Malzahn has been, the decision to bench Johnson completes Malzahn's worst miscalculation. It's a cautionary tale of how little we know about quarterbacks until the lights are on.

Sure, this is panic mode. But it's panic mode for a reason. Malzahn had to pull the trigger and bench Johnson. It was painfully obvious Johnson lacked confidence to continue starting so something had to be done, even if it means switching to redshirt freshman Sean White, who will sink or swim in the SEC after virtually no first-team practice reps.

This is an admission that Malzahn got terribly wrong Johnson's development and analysis of his readiness. (And yes, we in the media were dead wrong to buy into the hype.)

“I don't think I've seen a quarterback who you decide to put out there fail this quickly,” said Jack Crowe, a former longtime coach at schools like Auburn, Clemson and Arkansas and who now analyzes Auburn for an online show. “Did they not scrimmage this guy? All of this had to be showing up somewhere. Since there's so much contact taken out of early practices, they didn't really know what this guy could do. It's obvious now.”

New quarterbacks fail all of the time, but Johnson wasn't supposed to be just any new quarterback. He was chosen and developed by Malzahn, who has typically been ahead of the curve in how he utilizes quarterbacks based on their skill set. Malzahn also previously missed on prized recruit Kiehl Frazier, but Malzahn only worked with him for one year and was at Arkansas State when Frazier flamed out as Auburn's starter in 2012.

Malzahn had two years to groom Johnson behind Nick Marshall, who was a much different quarterback. Time had been a luxury Malzahn never enjoyed in his college career until Johnson.

It's really rare for an SEC coach to bring a first-year starting quarterback to SEC Media Days. Yet there was Johnson in Hoover, Ala., as Malzahn offered high praise for his new quarterback. Malzahn said Johnson was talented enough that he could have transferred and started for the majority of college teams.

“(Johnson) can flat out throw it,” Malzahn said in July. “He can make every throw that you ask him to do, but he's a better runner than people think. … So he will allow us to call all of our offense.”

We know the rest of the story. Johnson completed 60 percent of his passes -- down from 73 percent his first two years in a mop-up role -- and was intercepted six times in three games. Most of the picks were right to defenders, as if Johnson never saw them standing there.

What went wrong? Ken Mastrole, a personal quarterback coach whose opinions about the position are as good as I have found in the game, offered some thoughts. Mastrole was a rare person who correctly told me last summer he thought one of his pupils, Blake Sims, could not only win the Alabama job over Jake Coker, but have success. Alabama won the SEC and reached the College Football Playoff.

Disclaimer: Mastrole coached White for years and doesn't know what's going on in Johnson's head. But Mastrole has worked with quarterbacks long enough -- and he was one himself -- to know the tell-tale signs.

“I feel for Jeremy because I think being able to compartmentalize confidence and anxiety levels are the biggest thing,” Mastrole said. “Successful quarterbacks let the game come to them and just cut loose. It was almost like he wasn't letting it all go and maybe the lights got a little too big and that starts to become mountainous. The toughest part for a quarterback to compete is if you can't execute between the hashes, you're depleting the whole offense. It was like Jeremy threw a ball that wasn't coming off with any authority.”

One play against LSU symbolized Johnson's struggles. Johnson had a clean pocket as he dropped back to throw. While he looked downfield, the ball inexplicably slipped out of his hand for an 18-yard loss.

“You could tell he was really tentative and you could see all the weight on the front leg and he's not releasing it,” Mastrole said. “It was like, ‘The window's there, but I don't know if it's there and I'm starting to see things.' Things start to lock up and the game goes so fast. I hated to see it for the guy. I hate to see that for any quarterback at the college level. The kids at these age and what they go through, especially at the SEC level, it's a conference that's really like no other in terms of scrutiny and pressure.”

We lose sight of that too often. The intensity of major college football carries a burden for 18- to 22-year-olds that some of them simply can't handle. It's possible Johnson one day returns to the field.

For now, White takes over an Auburn season that's heading nowhere fast. Who is White? He's a past MVP of the Under Armour All-American game and the top performer at the Elite 11 quarterback competition.

Mastrole has worked with White since the eighth grade and believes he's a rare quarterback who mentally gets it and is mature enough to avoid the stage becoming too big. Mastrole remembers White's calm demeanor as an eighth grader in one all-star game despite a “really roady sideline” when Snoop Dogg brought a team from California to play White's team in Florida. Mastrole thinks White will be able to open up the field for more downfield throws to Duke Williams and Ricardo Louis.

“Sean has the ability to keep the offense flowing,” Mastrole said. “He's got incredible pocket presence and he quickly gets rid of the football. There's no second-guessing. For Sean, it's going to be a case of experience and getting in the flow of a game. But he's a kid I felt strongly about for the longest time before he became a nationally recognized kid.”

Forget College Football Playoff talk. A bowl game isn't even a given at this point for Auburn, especially with talented defensive end Carl Lawson still injured for a woeful defense.

“The quarterback had to change, but to me, quarterback isn't as big as what's going on in the locker room right now,” Crowe said. “The players have to take control of the team. They're not showing leadership on defense.”

Malzahn put an end to his biggest error yet as a coach. Now we're about to see how long the mistake lingers.

[Buzz Killington]

I'll say it again...he was scrimmaging against Auburn's defense without Carl Lawson all spring and most of the summer.  I could have thrown for 200+ every time out as well.

[chinook]

I'll say it again...he was scrimmaging against Auburn's defense without Carl Lawson all spring and most of the summer.  I could have thrown for 200+ every time out as well.

You tell them Uncle Rico.

[dallaswareagle]

“Did they not scrimmage this guy? All of this had to be showing up somewhere?

BINGO

[WiregrassTiger]

Decent read.

Yes, but Jack Crowe? JC needs to cool it Jack Freaking Crowe questioning Malzahn?

I'm all about the switch to the white boy. Wish they'd pulled the trigger for LSU but now we have a QB expert saying what a lot of us were saying. JJ got the yips.

He may or may not ever play at AU. I don't know. But, JJ has as much potential as any QB I've seen in the SEC this year. And could still be one of the best QB's in AU history. That's a very big "could" at this point. If you've ever had or seen the yips, you know what I mean. It ain't easy to overcome.

So, Gus got it wrong and now we have a new QB. Worse things could've happened.

And I'd rather read jmar, Jr's or even AUChizad's analysis of what happened than Jack “Did they not scrimmage this guy?" Crowe.

The stage fright won't show up in a scrimmage Jack. And there is a reason you aren't coaching anymore, dumbass.

[Jumbo]

Yes, but Jack Crowe? JC needs to cool it Jack Freaking Crowe questioning Malzahn?

I'm all about the switch to the white boy. Wish they'd pulled the trigger for LSU but now we have a QB expert saying what a lot of us were saying. JJ got the yips.

He may or may not ever play at AU. I don't know. But, JJ has as much potential as any QB I've seen in the SEC this year. And could still be one of the best QB's in AU history. That's a very big "could" at this point. If you've ever had or seen the yips, you know what I mean. It ain't easy to overcome.

So, Gus got it wrong and now we have a new QB. Worse things could've happened.

And I'd rather read jmar, Jr's or even AUChizad's analysis of what happened than Jack “Did they not scrimmage this guy?" Crowe.

The stage fright won't show up in a scrimmage Jack. And there is a reason you aren't coaching anymore, dumbass.

I would rather read what a former Auburn coach has to say.

[WiregrassTiger]

I would rather read what a former Auburn coach has to say.

Srsly? What if I throw in Bottomfeeder, Dallas and myself?

Whatever floats the boat.

[Buzz Killington]

Srsly? What if I throw in Bottomfeeder, Dallas and myself?

Whatever floats the boat.

Well...when you put it like that, give me Crowe anyday.

[WiregrassTiger]

Well...when you put it like that, give me Crowe anyday.

Fine.

[Snaggletiger]

Yes, but Jack Crowe? JC needs to cool it Jack Freaking Crowe questioning Malzahn?

I'm all about the switch to the white boy. Wish they'd pulled the trigger for LSU but now we have a QB expert saying what a lot of us were saying. JJ got the yips.

He may or may not ever play at AU. I don't know. But, JJ has as much potential as any QB I've seen in the SEC this year. And could still be one of the best QB's in AU history. That's a very big "could" at this point. If you've ever had or seen the yips, you know what I mean. It ain't easy to overcome.

So, Gus got it wrong and now we have a new QB. Worse things could've happened.

And I'd rather read jmar, Jr's or even AUChizad's analysis of what happened than Jack “Did they not scrimmage this guy?" Crowe.

The stage fright won't show up in a scrimmage Jack. And there is a reason you aren't coaching anymore, dumbass.

I normally gloss over your posts or pass them by completely.  But I think you almost had a coherent thought in this one. 

[dallaswareagle]

Srsly? What if I throw in Bottomfeeder, Dallas and myself?

Whatever floats the boat.

At least I am second in the throw in. 

[Snaggletiger]

At least I am second in the throw in. 

Small victories.  Baby steps.

[dallaswareagle]

At least I am second in the throw in. 

Small victories.  Baby steps.

I practice real well, but my game day isn't all that.

[Buzz Killington]

I practice real well, but my game day isn't all that.

Even Jack Crowe hates you.