StatTiger 3,188 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Looking at the first half numbers only, here are a few observations... * The match ups was primarily the #1 offense vs. No. 2 defense and No. 2 offense vs. No. 1 defense. * It was a scrimmage, so there is no need to get too excited or concerned over anything specific at this point. * Except for the long Roc Thomas run of 36-yards the defense was solid against the run. Both offenses combined for 93-yards on 27 rush attempts, which translates to 3.44 yards per rush. The 2014 defense allowed 4.46 yards per rush during the season. Take away the long run by Thomas and it's 2.19 yards per rush on the remaining 26 attempts. Stephen Roberts lost his outside containment on the long play. DEFENDING THE RUN MUST BE THE NO. 1 PRIORITY ON DEFENSE, GOING INTO 2015. * Both defenses combined to hold the offense to 2-yards or less on 38.2% of the first-half snaps. The 2014 defense had a 48.1 percentage. * The combined offenses gained at least 5-yards on 47.1% of their snaps. Last year's Auburn defense gave up at least 5-yards on 40.7% of the snaps defended. * There were 8 combined impact plays on offense (15+ yards or more) from 68 combined attempts. That is a ratio of 1 every 8.5 snaps. Malzahn's offense at Auburn has averaged 1 every 7.5 plays. Of the 8 impact plays, 7 came through the air and only 1 on the ground. Once Jeremy Johnson is added to the running equation, I expect the impact plays in the ground game to take off. Random Thoughts... I really liked the play of the scholarship WR's. Myron Burton stepping up since Bowl prep will payoff for the offense in 2015. He has great hands and runs his routes very well. He could turn into another great possession WR, similar to Darvin Adams. (Williams, Louis, Burton, Ray and Davis should make for a great corps not to mention the addition of Jason Smith). Nice job of Jonathan Wallace being on the spot during two offensive fumbles. Jeremy Johnson did a great job of looking off his deep TD pass to Burton, which prevented the safety from getting over in time. I also liked how he checked down to a boundary receiver after his vertical options were taken away. Ricardo Louis deep ball on the post was a great adjustment on his part. He climbed to the highest point of the ball and grabbed the incoming ball with both hands. It was one of the first times I've seen him accurately time and adjust to a deep ball to secure the catch. Pettway and Cox did not look like freshman out there. What a nice combo to have and I can't wait to see how they perform once they gain experience. Don't know how Cameron Toney has looked in the other scrimmages but I really like his effort during A-Day. The play where he came off the edge to pressure Johnson and then run down the short pass to Roc Thomas was a great play. Roc Thomas looked stronger and faster than his freshman year. He clearly has Carnell Williams running (lateral) qualities. I thought all three backs did a great job in getting north and south. Overall, I was hoping to see a defense that ran hard to the ball and was not disappointed. No doubt Muschamp has brought the intensity back to the defensive side of the football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBAU83 212 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Great stuff as usual Stat - thanks. Do you have any of the stats on the punts? I know it was scrimmage and nobody out there but I was not impressed by what I saw but don't have the distances and such to go by. Would be interested to know how deep the punts were and what yardage compared to last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUbritt 611 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Agree with everything you say here and appreciate you putting this together, Stat. I haven't been able to watch the whole game (or even the whole first half), yet; but I was happy to see Matthews get the interception in the endzone. I agree that stopping the run is the #1 priority for the D; but it makes me feel better to know that Matthews is back there just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird 60,493 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 The biggest difference I saw on defense was the swarming of the ball. There was never a time where I saw one hat making the play. The gang tackling is definitely a sign of us moving in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU-24 3,063 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Would also love to see the punt stats. I know it's just a scrimmage and it is punt stats we're requesting....but we are in such need of a good punter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StatTiger 3,188 Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 Kevin Phillips punted for both teams with 11 punts for 452-yards or 41.1 yards per punt. Not great numbers but several were designed to land inside the 20. Difficult to obtain much info from the format utilized. With no returns allowed, we cannot see what the net-average would have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slammer1 409 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 The biggest difference I saw on defense was the swarming of the ball. There was never a time where I saw one hat making the play. The gang tackling is definitely a sign of us moving in the right direction. Totally agree BB, that element has been missing for a long time. Team meeting at the ball carrier was a signiture of AU's defense and for what ever reason it just went away. Glad it's back. WDE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingpreacher 0 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Kevin Phillips' stats were as follows: Team Auburn 5 punts averaging 41.8 with a 50 yarder. One touchback and one inside the twenty Team Tigers 6 punts averaging 40.5 with one for 60 and 5 inside the 20. Most were intentionally spotted to between the hash and the sideline to cover or prevent runback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoundationEagle 637 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 6 punts inside the 20 and an over 40 yard average...I'd say punting at the very least isn't in bad hands. While there is never a whole lot you can take away from Spring games, JJs deep ball, ability to make check downs and his pocket presence is something that can't be overlooked. I was expecting a little less from him and more from SW personally, but I now have ZERO doubt that JJ will be a starter this year barring injury (I had about a 5 percent doubt before based on SW) He's got the things that just can't be taught, as well as the intelligence to properly use it. Not gonna claim any preseason awards for him, but I am surely excited to see what Gus and Co can do with him at the helm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU-24 3,063 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Kevin Phillips punted for both teams with 11 punts for 452-yards or 41.1 yards per punt. Not great numbers but several were designed to land inside the 20. Difficult to obtain much info from the format utilized. With no returns allowed, we cannot see what the net-average would have been. Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburn4ever 1,266 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I thought Jeremy and Roc played great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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