Gus has stated before that he doesn't game plan. He just goes with whatever he feels will work at the time.
And Yoda, if Dyer is our best weapon (and I agree) then why did Gus not give him an opportunity to do something in the first half?
Auburn has recruited the type of talent it wanted on both sides of the ball for three seasons.
Defending the pass stands out as our achilles because it has been evident against even the weakest teams.
An unopposed TD pass has the same effect on a team as a KO return.
We have plenty of fight overall but we are small (v. other SEC West teams) and lack in fundamentals.
The offense has many of the same flaws however Malzahn has been granted an advantage on the offensive side of the ball (incl. a gaggle of ill-used scatbacks) while it appears to me at least that Roof is doing it on a shoestring especially at LB and DT.
The current list of verbal recruits show little change in the true areas of need.
note: a team that is no threat to throw the ball might consider recruiting a fullback or two instead of risking one of the best pair of hands on the team as a battering ram.
Phillip Lolley has an army (db's) as does Trooper Taylor (wr's).
But I am as disappointed in Jeff Grimes' group as any because this is a guy who picks out five and sticks with them throughout. That's all fine and dandy if you have an aggressive bunch of ironmen in a pro-style offense.
note: our best blocker was a h.s. TE who would have rarely seen the field except in short yardage and based on the choice of plays called at various junctures Saturday he might never see the field at all. I haven't paid close enough attention to our center but I've seen enough of the others.
I can't speak enough to the value of Michael Dyer to this team. And OMac is generally the fastest guy on the field. When your best receiver (Blake) is marginalized by superior talent and your H-back is busy imitating a guard and you have no other direction to turn you have to give your best player the ball. (Dyer can gain three yards w/o much assistance and OMac can still beat a prepared defense to the sidelines for at least five yards much of the time)
Gus has stated that he doesn't gameplan.
This goes back to Cam Newton who by definition as a dual-threat QB was HIS OWN FUCKING GAMEPLAN!
So I stand by my statements that our three QBs need help to at least manage the game but how is one to manage without a plan? When the camera panned to Malzahn on the sidelines at critical points of the game I immediately thought this is why we have such indecision at the QB position. And we should all expect better play from marginal talent when the OC is considered one of the most sought after offensive minds in the college game.
And as much as it pains me as a lifelong Auburn fan, it all points to the man in charge, Gene Chizik. I have grown to appreciate almost everything about the man, at least as much as I can perceive. I have never been lost to the fact that we had a veteran team last season, and arguably the two best players in college football. But we grew as a team with each win last season willed by the individual efforts of these two men and from that confidence Auburn became the best team in the country. That said, I have no reason to believe that the development and instruction of the talent level on this team can move us beyond fourth place in the west not only for one, but the next two seasons. And short of finding a couple of absolute game changers, Gene Chizik has to make some tough decisions in order to keep Auburn in the SEC Title hunt.
Call it bitching if you will but you need to come with something besides namecalling and facepalming icons to dispute the truth.
89 Replies
10079 Views