A-Day Thoughts

[jmar]

I think Newton with legs wins out but Trotter looks good to me either as number one or two.

I still think Fannin starts the season until Dyer gets worked into a few SEC games and finally shares the position if both can stay healthy. This is assuming that Dyer is the hoss we want to believe he is, might become or never be (as with hopes for Newton) as replacing the key elements with unknown quantities is critical.

 I still do not think Fannin is an every-down back and how can a former QB carry the ball on the wrong side after all of the football he has played ?

Punting and kick-offs suck. Hope Kansas brought his slippers and Parkey can kick it past the fifteen yard line. That can't be a work in progress because it beats you.

 Not as concerned with poor tackling yet as I think the defense was told not to maim the offense. I am more concerned with positioning  by the regulars on defense as the poorest angles were from definite back-ups. The over touted names have to finally show up for this to work. Relentless pass rushing ends can overcome some poor coverage while poor tackling cannot.

Receivers are coming along nicely but still to many drops.

 

[Kaos]

I know we hate the "skreets" concept, but supposedly, yesterday was about picking a backup between Trotter and Caudle.  They were running option plays with Newton to get him a few reps but limited his PT. 
He's got the job all locked up and has looked good all spring.

Just what I read...

I do understand that when you take away the option for the QB to actually run, you negate a lot of what Newton can do (supposedly).  I still didn't see a lot that inspired confidence in him running the offense. 

Granted, we haven't seen it all, but based on that limited glimpse I'd rank it Trotter, Caudle, Newton, Jumbo, a dolphin and Wilford Brimley.  Pretty even competition.

[jmar]

"Granted, we haven't seen it all, but based on that limited glimpse I'd rank it Trotter, Caudle, Newton, Jumbo, a dolphin and Wilford Brimley.  Pretty even competition."

Careful, that phucking Brimley guy was a stone cold killer in "The Firm." He works better from a horse though.

[No Huddle]

Also....over 63K to watch Auburn's A-Day game was pretty phukin' awesome.  We didn't have a brass statue or "special" NASCAR paint theme for 'Dega to unveil and we charged $5 a head ($316,085 at the gate for Auburn/$0 at the gate for SPuat).

NM

[AUChizad]

http://tribeca.vidavee.com/advance/doc/7997618FFDC57919D3FCB939F89CC3D3?AF_deliveryChannel=play

[AUChizad]

http://blog.al.com/kevin-scarbinsky/2010/04/scarbinsky_was_auburns_a-day_m.html

Scarbinsky: Was Auburn's A-Day mission to camouflage Cam Newton?
By Kevin Scarbinsky -- The Birmingham News
April 18, 2010, 5:30AM

cam newton autographs.jpgThe most work Cameron Newton did all day was signing lots of autographs afterward. (Birmingham News / Frank Couch)AUBURN

Cameron Newton was smooth. He showed tremendous poise. He handled everything that was thrown at him and did it with a smile.

It was quite a performance.

At the podium.

What did Newton think of the ovation that greeted him when he took the field for his first series?

‘‘I thought that was for Mario Fannin."

Ha. And that’s just a sample of his dexterity.

The can’t-miss, must-see QB won the postgame press conference going away Saturday, but that’s not what you and I and the largest A-Day crowd in Auburn history came to see.

We came to see the 6-foot-6, 247-pound juco phenom play a game with which most quarterbacks are not familiar. We came to see him, if not win the starting job on the spot, at least demonstrate why it’s only a matter of time.

Instead, someone handed him one of Pat Dye’s old game plans.

Auburn played four quarterbacks, three of them in the first half, and Newton threw the fewest passes of any of them. He was the only quarterback who didn’t throw a pass on a first down.

He spent less time on the field than ESPNU analyst Tom Luginbill.

Newton is the most mobile and physical of the Auburn quarterbacks, but there’s a reason those guys wore orange shirts. For them, this wasn’t tackle football. It was two-hand touch.

In short, the difference between what Newton is capable of doing and what the coaches allowed him to do was as vast as the gap between shooting a bullet and throwing it.

Neil Caudle and Barrett Trotter, metro Birmingham’s entrants in the Auburn quarterback derby, didn’t have the full playbook at their disposal, either. But if the offense was vanilla for them, at least it was brand-name vanilla, like Breyer’s.

For Newton, it was store-brand all the way.

A suspicious observer suggested as much to head coach Gene Chizik. The heart of his reply: ‘‘Don’t read anything into that."

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn expanded that message.

‘‘I wouldn’t read anything into anything," Malzahn said.

If this football thing doesn’t work out for them, Chizik and Malzahn have a promising future working for the CIA.

They’re experts at keeping state secrets.

It’ll be an upset of Tubervillian proportion if Newton isn’t the starting quarterback Sept. 4 against Arkansas State, but the coaches have convinced the players that this is a real competition and the winner has not been decided.

‘‘I think it’s still open," Trotter said.

Spring practice won’t end until after one more practice on Monday, but Caudle said, ‘‘I’m gonna come back in the fall and try to earn (the starting job)."

Trotter threw two touchdown passes Saturday, and Caudle tossed one more. Newton’s best chance was a 100-mph fastball that overshot an open receiver in the end zone.

It won’t be his last shot.

It’s not exactly a secret that the A-Day game, the most visible practice of the spring, is the least instructive. The Auburn defense was more basic than the Auburn offense.

As Newton said, ‘‘Today wasn’t a practice that you really could evaluate. It was just something to give the Auburn fans to brag about."

They didn’t see enough from Newton to brag -- though his 61-yard rainbow to Quindarius Carr was nice -- but holding him back had to be part of the grand plan, right?

‘‘I didn’t see it," Newton said. ‘‘The only thing holding me back is that I had this orange jersey on."

So don’t read anything into anything from A-Day, but this: The quarterbacks and the coaches are on the same page, so far.

[The Prowler]

Simple take from me.  

It's not time to push the panic button, but it might be a good idea to at least know where it is.  

We're still in the "we have five quarterbacks but no quarterback" quandry.  

Prop Fannin all you want, but he's going to make us miss Ben Tate like a fat kid misses cake.

I stand firmly by my "if the 2010 team can just sustain the level of last year's team it will be a win" statement.   I saw a team that could win eight games -- and could just as easily lose six or seven.

Mario is faster than he was last year.  He's not going to make everyone miss Tate "like a fat kid misses cake".  The RB situation is good, WR situation is good, QB situation is good (the competition is for the 2nd string spot), OL situation will be good once Auburn finds a RT that doesn't get pushed back into the backfield like Brandon Mosely was,  DL situation is good, LB situation is good and will be getting better once Holland, Owens and RaRa arrive.  DB situation needs some work.

[CCTAU]

I was at the game and I was NOT drunk. From What I could tell, Caudle looked very comfortable and seemed to get in a good rhythm from the beginning. Caudle is much faster and does a better job of carrying out the fakes after hand off. It allowed him to score a TD (which they stopped) He kept the ball on the run what seemed to be a few more times than any other QB, and looked good doing it. Cam looked very slow ans out of sync. He did not make quick decisions down field but stayed int the pocket a little too long at times. Trotter looked great. I'm not sure he is ready just yet, but the future looks REALLY good. I would not put him ahead of Caudle just yet.

If I had to play tomorrow, I would have to start Caudle. He looked like he understood the offense just a little better. He is not slouch running the ball either. Cam looked like he would be ready about the middle of the season. Malzahn is all about stability and Caudle really did show that. He did not go down field a lot because I think he was playing it really safe knowing that he has made a few INTs here lately. I thought he did the best job with the crossing routes and throwing on the run. I did not see enough of Cam to say he would be the most efficient QB.

The one thing I really liked about Trotter is that he plays to stick the knife in and twist. HE looks long first and then goes short. HE has the best long ball I have seen from and AU QB in a long time. He would have easily had two TD bombs if the wasted spot KB could have run a decent route without letting the DB tie him up. If we wre in a year where we were totally rebuilding,  I would go ahead and start Trotter. The upside seems to be tremendous.

I like Derrick Winter. The guy just catches the ball. Three throws, three reception (same as last scrimmage) yet KB still takes up space. Winter is not the fastest but always seems to find the open spot. A guy like that can win games for you. Carr stepped up nicely. Darvin looked good. I do not think he needs to be catching screens though. Need a quicker cat for that. TZ looked step faster. Which is good because every time I see him running the ball I find myself wondering when he's gonna turn it on. He does make yards though?  MF will have to be the guy this season. Not sure if he can hold up, but Dyer will need to come on strong. Aycock....looked OK. Had a little burst toward the end, but overall seemed a step slow?

Who was number 47 that caught Trotter's long bomb?


From what I could tell, the offense will give folks fits next season. The players are all getting comfortable with it and turning it loose. I feel the difference offensively between a good season and a great season next year will be the QB play. From what I could tell the competition is still open. Command of the offense will be key. flashes of greatness do not always start a fire, but a slow burning ember can heat up quickly. We'll see before the first game next season exactky what we are getting.

I did not see any of the QBs with weak arms out there. The out routes are definitely gonna get hit quickly.

I will now go put my shades on.

[Snaggletiger]

I think back to last year and how Caudle looked in the spring game.  In my armchair QB analysis I thought Caudle looked exactly the same last year.  Caudle had won the job in my estimation last year and out of nowhere, the corches picked Todd.  I'm just going to say that I think there's something to the limits they placed on Newton.  8 passes to 21 for Caudle?  None on 1st down? 
Look, Cam Newton was recruited by Florida for a reason. He got in games for UF for a reason.  He was the fucking JUCO all world player of the year for a reason.  He's got skillz out the ass and I don't give a ratz azz how you spin it...he's vastly superior to Chris Todd in every department.  If our corches can't take a 6'6" 247 beast like this and make him an SEC QB, then I question them. Did anyone see his interview during the game?  He said he doesn't want to run.  He's in there to run the offense and pass.  8 passes and we're making a judgment?  8? Some of which were pretty damn good.

I say give the ball to Cam and let's move forward for 2 years.  Fix the fucking defense and we'll be fine.  Defense is the only thing I'm worried about. 

[djsimp]

I did not see any of the QBs with weak arms out there.

I agree about Trotter, this kid is good. I really hope to him starting QB soon. This kid is a field general. I'm not sure I agree about Cam though. I wasn't at the game but I did catch comments from Chizik as I mentioned. Once I heard him say they were "trying to get a real good look on how Cameron handles the run game", I didn't expect to see much from Cam.

[jmar]

Many thought that Rollinson had a shot at starting and it was rumored that Caudle would transfer while Trotter might fall out of sight after his knee injury last spring. A knee injury in high school actually slowed Caudle's progress too, but both battled back into the fray. Moseley has wondered if he made the right decision, all of them have since this hulk of a QB came to town.

And Cam's stature as a runner has to inspire quite a bit of confidence among his teamates as well as the staff considering the departure of Tate,  multipurpose Mario with a recovered shoulder and the anticipated arrival of freshman Michael Dyer. This offense will require more than one back as Newton might be counted on as much for his durability as a runner behind a veteran line until a true ground game develops. This buys Auburn some time.

 It would be hard for many two year starters to best a guy as large as Daunte Cullpepper that has above average speed. I'm not even sure about Newton's long ball yet but he has some touch when required. Cam might not read as well as we hope but when he comes out of the pocket a DB has to do a double take and figure out how to make a take down on this guy without looking like Deion Sanders.

As for the other QB's,  I see a lot of promise in Moseley as a one day starter and feel very comfortable knowing that Caudle or Trotter can do the job,  however I think Newton has a decided advantage and will be the guy come fall.

[Godfather]

As it always is, A-day is for the fans.  It is never going to tell us much of anything, hell last year Caudle was the MVP, how was he at QB last year.  It doesn't mean shit...never has.  The only thing I took away as impressive was the vast V-A-S-T improvement of our WR's since Trooper has been there.  I was highly impressed with Darvin and TZach as to be expected, but also Carr, who's speed on TV seemed to be faster than McCalebb.

[notthatcool]

The only thing that stood out for me was it appears the AU logo on the helmet is much larger.  Very strange.   

[jadennis]

The only thing that stood out for me was it appears the AU logo on the helmet is much larger.  Very strange.    

I thought the same thing and forgot to mention it here.  Anyone else notice that?

[Ogre]

Maybe it's the drugs, but I thought I noticed that the mow pattern of the grass was different. 

[jmar]

It's a Malzahn thing. Objects appear, disappear and morph at random.

[Snaggletiger]

Maybe it's the drugs, but I thought I noticed that the mow pattern of the grass was different. 

It was the drugs and the mow pattern. 

[djsimp]

It was the drugs and the mow pattern. 

Hence the 60k+ at A-Day this year.

[notthatcool]

I thought it was neat Chizik wore an orange shirt the first half and a blue shirt the second. 

[Godfather]

Maybe it's the drugs, but I thought I noticed that the mow pattern of the grass was different. 

The grass cut was cool, maybe they were trying to tell you something.