Josh Moon? He gets it

[Kaos]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091004/SPORTS0402/910040360/1002

Watching the Tigers walk off the Neyland Stadium field, a 26-22 win in their pockets, it didn't feel like they proved much more than that they're better than a pretty bad Tennessee team.

A little more critical than necessary, perhaps, but definitely gets the big picture here.

[War Eagle!!!]

Can you copy and paste so I can read from my phone?

[AUChizad]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091004/SPORTS0402/910040360/1002

Watching the Tigers walk off the Neyland Stadium field, a 26-22 win in their pockets, it didn't feel like they proved much more than that they're better than a pretty bad Tennessee team.

A little more critical than necessary, perhaps, but definitely gets the big picture here.

The gist of that article was that the defense was terrible. It was 23-6 in the 4th quarter. Yes, the defense got gassed a bit in the last 12 minutes. The offense blew a few chances to put the game further out of reach near the end as well. They figured they had the game won (which they did) with a ten point lead with 39 seconds left, so they pretty much just laid down and gave Moore that touchdown at the end of the game. Shouldn't have happened, but I imagine they got their butts chewed out for it.

I was worried about this game, and we controlled it the entire game, save for maybe the last 4 minutes. At no point though was there a real danger of losing it.

[AUChizad]

Can you copy and paste so I can read from my phone?

COMMENTARY: Auburn offense carries weight

Column by Josh Moon

KNOXVILLE -- Coming into Saturday night's game at Tennessee, the Auburn football team - and most Auburn fans -- felt like this was the chance to earn at least a small amount of national respect.

The Tigers were one of just a handful of unbeaten, yet unranked, teams in the country. And this was to be their statement game - their time to show voters and doubters just how wrong they are.

Watching the Tigers walk off the Neyland Stadium field, a 26-22 win in their pockets, it didn't feel like they proved much more than that they're better than a pretty bad Tennessee team.

Maybe that, along with a few key losses around the country, is enough to get AU in the Top 25. But ranking or not, I think we all know there are issues here.

And it's all the same issues that have left voters so skeptical of the Tigers all season.

Defense. Depth. Overall talent.

None of those questions were answered here Saturday night.

If anything, they were only magnified.

Despite another spectacular offensive showing, and despite facing a UT team with one of the worst passing offenses since the invention of the forward pass, the Tigers still gave up more than 400 yards and 22 points. And at the end of a game that felt like a blowout from start to finish, Auburn was hanging on, milking the clock and kicking a field goal with less than a minute to nail it down.

The major offender for AU was easy to pick out: Defense.

The Tigers' defense was basic and simple. There was absolutely no pass rush, primarily because there were very few blitzes or tricky formations. The run defense, despite UT's passing game woes, was still shaky and subject to giving up big plays.

And honestly, if you can't dominate this Tennessee offense, there's not much left.

Jonathan Crompton -- and I hate to knock a college kid -- is as bad as advertised.

He has problems with every facet of throwing the football. He can't judge the speed of his throws. He isn't very accurate. He isn't good in the pocket. He can't get out and run. He can't throw deep. But he can throw it really, really hard.

So, UT's got that going for it (if there is ever a need for it).

In fairness to Crompton, UT's receivers aren't exactly raking in award nominations themselves. At times in the first half, they seemed genuinely surprised to have the ball hit their hands. So much so, they just swatted it away.

And after a steady dose of bad throws and ugly drops, pretty much everyone in a UT uniform just quit trying. On one slant play, the receiver didn't even look back at Crompton and took a bullet pass off the big "T" on the side of his helmet.

Tennesse's bad. And, at that point everyone in the stadium knew it.

And still, Auburn couldn't put this team away because of second-half defensive problems. The same Crompton who went 4-of-16 in the first half was 16-of-26 for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the second, throwing to that same group of receivers.

And a game that very much should have been an easy, statement win for the Tigers turned into an ugly win.

That's a shame. Because the AU offense is fantastic. It's complex. It's well-coached. It's like a machine. And it confuses every one on the other side of the ball.

There were a few problems in the red zone, when the Tigers had to settle for field goals. But with the way UT was playing offensively, that shouldn't have been a problem.

Chris Todd, again, proved that he is one of the best QBs in the country, passing for 218 yards and a TD while steering Gus Malzahn's complex offense. And a group of receivers and backs that wouldn't have been welcome at Mississippi State last year suddenly look like all-conference players.

In short, this AU offense deserves a top-25 ranking.

As for the rest of the team, I'm still not sure.

[Saniflush]

I thought the article was fair.  Our defense has issues IMO.  Some do to depth. I think some due to running base packages. And some due to bad coverages.

They seem to be our achilles at this moment.  Are they terrible? no.  But they have had a propensity for giving up the big play up to this point.  

I agree that I never felt like we were in danger of losing this game but it was not because I expected the defense to save the day.  I expect more from the offense these days.

[Buzz Killington]

They proved that the offense...as awesome as they have been to date...still has some issues to iron out in the red zone against a good defense.

The proved that playing a soft zone won't work against even one of college foosball's worst quarterbacks.

They proved that special teams can be there to help your team win games.

They did not prove that one of the issues is "overall talent."

[BZ770]

That article is a fair assessment.  Any team can beat aybody in the SEC on any given day. Our D used to be our chance to beat anybody, now it's our offense.  So I like our chances down the stretch.

[jadennis]

They did not prove that one of the issues is "overall talent."

Agreed, the overall talent of the players that see the majority of the time is pretty good.  Sure, if we have some injuries at certain positions, things could change.  But for the majority of the plays of a game, you could hit pause, look out there on the field, and make a case that of the 11, 2 or 3 are adequate, 3-6 are good enough to impact that game at any moment, and 3-4 are damn good SEC football players.

Overall the article was fair to say the least.  But I'm not sure how I feel about saying Crompton's success in the second half was entirely our defenses fault.  He's Tony Romo-like inconsistent, but he does have some physical tools and is capable of playing well in small stretches.  Just because he got it together for 3 or 4 drives in one half does not mean our defense is as bad as it looked, just as the defense isn't as good as it looked in the first half.

[Tiger Wench]

That article is a fair assessment.  Any team can beat aybody in the SEC on any given day. Our D used to be our chance to beat anybody, now it's our offense.  So I like our chances down the stretch.

It is such a different team than we have seen in a long time.  We don't need our defense to win and our offense not to lose anymore.  Our offense scores points, so the pressure on the D is not nearly like it was in the past.  If they can just get a stop or three, or hold teams to a FG at worst, our offense can win us the game.  This is why the defensive issues don't bother me as much as they would have in other years.  I am not sure they are that bad, just average, which is something we are not used to seeing.  Compared to past years?  Yes - bad.  But stand alone?  Just average.

[boartitz]

That article is a fair assessment.  Any team can beat aybody in the SEC on any given day. Our D used to be our chance to beat anybody, now it's our offense.  So I like our chances down the stretch.

You'll get called delusional for saying that.

[jadennis]

My guess is that because of the pace at which the offense plays (which creates more plays and drives for opposing offenses), we'll see a shift in the "we gotta score X number of points to win".

From 2001 to 2008, we were 58-8 (88%) when scoring at least 20 points.  We were 37-0 (100%) when scoring at least 30 points.

My guess is those standards will take a hit of 10 points.  From now on, I bet to win 88% of the time, we'll need to score 30 points, not 20 points.  And to win 100% of the time, we'll need to score 40 points, not 30 points.

The good news is that I think our offense is more than 10 points better than it has been on average since 2001.  Of course, the previous stats were gathered over an 8 year span, and so far we have 5 games to go on for the current situation.  So we'll see, but that's my hunch.

[AUChizad]

To correct this thread title: Charles Goldberg? He gets it.

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/10/playing_safe_clouds_au_victori.html

Analysis: Playing safe in fourth hides real Auburn defense
By Charles Goldberg -- The Birmingham News
October 05, 2009, 8:44AM

AUBURN -- You know what they say about the prevent defense, don't you? Yep, it prevents you from winning.

  Auburn hasn't run such a defense this season, but a safety-first approach in the fourth quarter of the last two games has clouded what the defense has accomplished at the most decisive parts of the season.

  Auburn beat Tennessee 26-22 Saturday, though Tennessee scored 16 of its points in a fourth quarter in which the Vols got almost half their total offense. Auburn beat Ball State 54-30 the week before, though the Cardinals scored 13 points in the fourth against mostly backups.

  Coach Gene Chizik and defensive coordinator Ted Roof say the defense must improve, but what Auburn has accomplished when the games are truly on the line should not be overlooked.

  Auburn led Tennessee 23-6 early in the fourth quarter, led Ball State 37-13 in the middle of the third quarter and, down 30-27 to start the fourth quarter against West Virginia, the Tigers came up with four interceptions and won 41-30.

  Auburn's problems against Tennessee came in the fourth quarter when the Tigers switched to an approach that was supposed to allow the Vols plenty of short-yardage plays, but no home runs.

  The problem was, Tennessee scored on a 31-yard pass and a 32-yard pass against a defense that has little depth.

  Did the fourth quarter matter? The fact the Vols scored on the game's final play, and the officials wouldn't let them kick the extra point, suggest it did not matter. But it hurt Auburn's feelings.

  ''The fourth quarter we started to relax," said defensive back Walter McFadden. ''We started figuring out this game was put away. .¤.¤. Like I said, it was a lesson."

  But, Chizik said, ''most of the night I thought we played much better defense than we had previously."

  It all left Auburn ranked 53rd in the nation in total defense for a unit that has generally been overshadowed by the Tigers' offense, which is ranked fifth nationally.

  Auburn is 5-0 and finds itself ranked for the first time this season, at No. 17, but defensive breakdowns, even in safety mode, can be troublesome, especially with the toughest part of the SEC schedule still to go. The Tigers will challenge high-flying Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett this Saturday. Mallett threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns in a 47-19 weekend win over Texas A&M. Arkansas is 17th in the nation in scoring, averaging almost 36 points per game.

  Even Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who leads the league in interceptions, threw 43 times for 259 yards without an interception against Auburn.

  Still, the Vols had just 166 yards after the first play of the game through the end of the third quarter. The Vols gained 203 in the fourth.

  ''After the first play, I was glad with the way we responded," Roof said Sunday. ''Consistently, we were playing well. In the fourth quarter, when you start managing the game, which the situation dictates, they moved the ball and scored some points through the air."

  Managing the fourth quarter was the prudent thing because Tennessee was three scores back when it started its comeback.

  ''When you know your opponent has to score three times to win, you just don't want to give the game away by doing some silly things," Chizik said. ''There is a fine line in there between laying back and letting too much happen.

  ''The fourth quarter got away from us a little bit. I'm not looking at numbers and stats: we just want to win the game."

[Kaos]

To correct this thread title: Charles Goldberg? He gets it.

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/10/playing_safe_clouds_au_victori.html

The truth lies somewhere between these two takes. 

[ssgaufan]

I hate the prevent defense.  Just keep doing what's been working for you all game long.  If you've been stuffing the other offense why change to something that gives them the opportunity to start completing short passes, and start building momentum?  It just irritates the crap out of me.

[Snaggletiger]

I hate the prevent defense.  Just keep doing what's been working for you all game long.  If you've been stuffing the other offense why change to something that gives them the opportunity to start completing short passes, and start building momentum?  It just irritates the crap out of me.

I was just getting over 1987 in Baton Rude and you just HAD to bring up the prevent, didn't you.

$12K of therapy down the drain.

[ssgaufan]

I was just getting over 1987 in Baton Rude and you just HAD to bring up the prevent, didn't you.

$12K of therapy down the drain.

My bad.  I will move to the woodline and do the right thing now.

[The Prowler]

On UT's last two drives.....why didn't the officials stop the game to "adjust the clock" like they did on Auburn's last two or three drives?

[ssgaufan]

On UT's last two drives.....why didn't the officials stop the game to "adjust the clock" like they did on Auburn's last two or three drives?

That my friend is what you call "home cookin".   :thumbsup:

[Pell City Tiger]

On UT's last two drives.....why didn't the officials stop the game to "adjust the clock" like they did on Auburn's last two or three drives?

No shit. We played the 2:45 mark no less than 3 times. Howard and I had section AA rolling with "Please reset the game clock to the first quarter please" after the second reset.