B. Marcello on Finebaum

[weagle06 75]

I know Marcello is an al.com beat writer and yes I am aware that he was on Finebaum who is the biggest closet bammer around but his interview and insight into the program was very interesting. 

He mainly discussed JFIII. He said that from all the sources and insight he has had into practice it appears that CGM has devoted a large portion of his time to strictly focus one on one with JFIII. 

I have not researched this so take it for what it's worth, but reportedly most of JFIII's playing time in juco was 2nd half due to his lack of passing skills. 

A lot of the auburn players have said that they believe JFIII is faster than NM. Marcus Davis said yesterday that JFIII is very committed to getting better and can always be found working with wr's and putting in the time to get better however Marcello's comments were very alarming to me. If in fact JFIII was 2nd string because of his passing skills in juco then what can we expect when he's introduced to the SEC. 

I guess after what he said and obviously he does have some insight into the program it is a little unsettling. It seems at least that Gus is committed to making JFIII the QB1. If he isn't developed enough after a year at FSU and a year in juco, is this task possible?

[Auhud08 596]

I see what you're saying, but keep in mind a couple of things. We dont know what FSU tried to teach him, how much time they spent on him, or what role they had in mind for him. Second, JUCO isnt where you go to get developed skill-wise. Its where kids go who arent happy with playing time, arent happy with coaches, dont make the grades, or are under-sized. JUCO's are resource constrained- they cant take the time to develop guys like a P5 school can. 

I dont necessarily think Gus is trying to turn a rock into gold. I think hes trying to see what passing talent is there and whether its good enough to work for his offense. Sean White is a known quantity (and personally i think an excellent one). JFIII is raw

[johnnyAU 3,630]

I have thought from the start that JFIII was brought in as the security blanket he didn't have last season. Gus didn't prepare for the possibility that JJ would stumble out of the gate like he did. It looked like he just threw Sean in without a well-thought out plan for him and then panicked when he threw the early pick against MSU. Looked like he pared the offense down to bare bones for a while as he was trying to tweak it for the passing game. He didn't have a Nick Marshall to throw in and run the zone read as a stop gap. Now he has somewhat of a clone, but he is even less of a passer and needs more work.  It is concerning to me as well. If he doesn't figure out the direction he wants to go, we'll end up one dimensional again in 2016, and that usually isn't good news in the SEC West. 

[RunInRed 16,360]

FYI - Marcello is now with AJC/SEC Country ...

[Tiger 8,818]

We are going to need to get extremely good OL play to get the running game going to counteract our passing deficiencies. The reason we could afford for Nick Marshall to throw as little as, 4, 5,6, 7 passes a game was because Kozan, Robinson, and Prosch were demolishing everything in sight

[Auhud08 596]

I dont disagree Johnny, im interested to see whether JFIII gets used outside the redzone. I dont think hes gonna start first four games

[alexava 6,973]

Maecello seems to get off on criticizing Gus. Just don't sound normal. 

[jared52 4,354]

2 people no AU fan/alum should give 2 seconds of thought to when it comes to their opinion of AU.

[TAYLORKEETON 786]

I posted this info in another thread yesterday 

[Tiger 8,818]

You are his source, Taylorkeeton.

[Win4AU 4,052]

Auburn's success in 2013 and 2010 came from the running game and not the passing game.  While I believe White is the best QB we have on the roster I also believe that Auburn could succeed running 300+ yrds a game and throwing for 100-150 yrds.  Run the zone read with JF3, Jovon, Kerryon, and Martin with the occasional pass thrown in just to keep the defense guessing.  NM couldn't hit the broad side of a barn his first start so I wouldn't worry too much about QB play coming out of the gate.  If we lose to Clemson first game so be it as long as we improve every game like we did in 2013. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

22 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Auburn's success in 2013 and 2010 came from the running game and not the passing game.  While I believe White is the best QB we have on the roster I also believe that Auburn could succeed running 300+ yrds a game and throwing for 100-150 yrds.  Run the zone read with JF3, Jovon, Kerryon, and Martin with the occasional pass thrown in just to keep the defense guessing.  NM couldn't hit the broad side of a barn his first start so I wouldn't worry too much about QB play coming out of the gate.  If we lose to Clemson first game so be it as long as we improve every game like we did in 2013. 

While no one will disagree that our running game was phenomenal in 2010 and 2013, there are a number of times where we would not have won without a decent and sometimes excellent passing game.  It's completely untrue that Marshall couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  He struggled with accuracy on some of his longer passes, but he was dead on with short passes and got the perfect touch on the occasional long throw.

Your idea will work IF Franklin can manage an average passing game, but if he has below average accuracy (which was actually true, and hopefully isn't any more), we become 1 dimensional and it's all over.

[80Tiger 899]

I continued to be amazed that people don't see the signs of Gus working with JF3 and JF3 working with the receivers so hard this summer, and the previous success in 2010 and 2013 and 2014 for that fact. JF3 was not brought in to be a security blanket, or a red zone QB, or possible speed sweep guy. He was brought here to play QB and AU to go back to the power running game of 2010,13 and 14. Will that happen? No guarantee but that is the direction that Gus wants to go. JMO

[Tiger 8,818]

Are we going to be SOL again if JF3 gets injured if we are focusing all our energy in developing an offense around him? It did not look like the coaches knew how to use SW early on other than the scripted drives once JJ had to be sat down

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Are we going to be SOL again if JF3 gets injured if we are focusing all our energy in developing an offense around him? It did not look like the coaches knew how to use SW early on other than the scripted drives once JJ had to be sat down

My disappointment with that is that Sean's and JJ's skillsets aren't nearly as different as folks think. I fully believe the theory that Sean's issues are off the field. It's the only explanation that makes sense to me, just like Jovon riding the pine last year. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

18 minutes ago, 80Tiger said:

I continued to be amazed that people don't see the signs of Gus working with JF3 and JF3 working with the receivers so hard this summer, and the previous success in 2010 and 2013 and 2014 for that fact. JF3 was not brought in to be a security blanket, or a red zone QB, or possible speed sweep guy. He was brought here to play QB and AU to go back to the power running game of 2010,13 and 14. Will that happen? No guarantee but that is the direction that Gus wants to go. JMO

I don't think anyone doesn't see the signs, or disagrees with you that the purpose of bringing him in was to hopefully go back to the zone read as the primary weapon. What you are seeing from most people is a realization that he is a far bigger project than any QB they have brought in, to date, and understanding that, out of pure necessity, he may be relegated to a back-up role, but his speed makes him ideal in the red zone and on speed sweeps. I don't think there is a single fan who wouldn't be ecstatic if Franklin were to come into the Fall with seriously refined passing chops, and take the QB job. It's just a tall order.

11 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Are we going to be SOL again if JF3 gets injured if we are focusing all our energy in developing an offense around him? It did not look like the coaches knew how to use SW early on other than the scripted drives once JJ had to be sat down

The only way I think we are SOL is if BOTH Sean and John go down with injuries. Of course, Jeremy has all of the talent in the world, so maybe he can snap out of his head issues and then we're still good to go.

[War to the Eagle 362]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Auburn's success in 2013 and 2010 came from the running game and not the passing game.  While I believe White is the best QB we have on the roster I also believe that Auburn could succeed running 300+ yrds a game and throwing for 100-150 yrds.  Run the zone read with JF3, Jovon, Kerryon, and Martin with the occasional pass thrown in just to keep the defense guessing.  NM couldn't hit the broad side of a barn his first start so I wouldn't worry too much about QB play coming out of the gate.  If we lose to Clemson first game so be it as long as we improve every game like we did in 2013. 

 

1 hour ago, lionheartkc said:

While no one will disagree that our running game was phenomenal in 2010 and 2013, there are a number of times where we would not have won without a decent and sometimes excellent passing game.  It's completely untrue that Marshall couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  He struggled with accuracy on some of his longer passes, but he was dead on with short passes and got the perfect touch on the occasional long throw.

Your idea will work IF Franklin can manage an average passing game, but if he has below average accuracy (which was actually true, and hopefully isn't any more), we become 1 dimensional and it's all over.

Yeah, I agree.  The notion that we had no passing game those years is insane.  Especially in 2010.  Cam was outstanding on several occasions.  On fourth down when we were driving for the go-ahead score against Bama, he put a bullet right on the money to Darvin.  Cam could through. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

7 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

My disappointment with that is that Sean's and JJ's skillsets aren't nearly as different as folks think. I fully believe the theory that Sean's issues are off the field. It's the only explanation that makes sense to me, just like Jovon riding the pine last year. 

I actually think that Gus intended to go more zone read with Jeremy, using his big body, but his issues with reading the D in live action snuffed that idea. Sean definitely requires more of a play action game plan.

The truth is, if our receivers had stepped up for either of them, we might not be having this conversation.

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I actually think that Gus intended to go more zone read with Jeremy, using his big body, but his issues with reading the D in live action snuffed that idea. Sean definitely requires more of a play action game plan.

The truth is, if our receivers had stepped up for either of them, we might not be having this conversation.

No doubt on the last part, and good points on the first. It bugs me that people make certain assumptions about the two based on things other than what they've seen on the field, and I forget that JJ's size does give him an advantage in certain situations. 

[Tiger 8,818]

35 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

My disappointment with that is that Sean's and JJ's skillsets aren't nearly as different as folks think. I fully believe the theory that Sean's issues are off the field. It's the only explanation that makes sense to me, just like Jovon riding the pine last year. 

I agree with this that their skill sets aren't too far off from each other, but the lack of trust CGM showed in SW to start seemed to hold the offense back. Seems like they should've had a better idea of what White's strengths were prior to putting him in a game

[80Tiger 899]

51 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I don't think anyone doesn't see the signs, or disagrees with you that the purpose of bringing him in was to hopefully go back to the zone read as the primary weapon. What you are seeing from most people is a realization that he is a far bigger project than any QB they have brought in, to date, and understanding that, out of pure necessity, he may be relegated to a back-up role, but his speed makes him ideal in the red zone and on speed sweeps. I don't think there is a single fan who wouldn't be ecstatic if Franklin were to come into the Fall with seriously refined passing chops, and take the QB job. It's just a tall order.

The only way I think we are SOL is if BOTH Sean and John go down with injuries. Of course, Jeremy has all of the talent in the world, so maybe he can snap out of his head issues and then we're still good to go.

This "realization" that you mention is just opinion. I don't think anyone on this board that I have read, has seen JF3 practice outside of the A Day game. The A Day game showed nearly nothing for all of the QB's. For all we know, JF3 may be exactly what the coaching staff expected when he arrived on campus. So to say that JF3 is a "bigger" project is just opinion at this point unless there is someone on here that can verify that. I believe even E has said that he has not seen JF3 in practice. I could be wrong,

[lionheartkc 6,150]

25 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I agree with this that their skill sets aren't too far off from each other, but the lack of trust CGM showed in SW to start seemed to hold the offense back. Seems like they should've had a better idea of what White's strengths were prior to putting him in a game

I honestly think that Gus was just scared after what happened with Frazier and then Jeremy's meltdown that if he brought Sean along to fast he would lose him, too. I don't think that was the right call, but I think that has a lot to do with why he was held back in his first start.

[80Tiger 899]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

Are we going to be SOL again if JF3 gets injured if we are focusing all our energy in developing an offense around him? It did not look like the coaches knew how to use SW early on other than the scripted drives once JJ had to be sat down

If you are developing game plans and an offense around a back up QB, you are doomed.

[Tiger 8,818]

Just now, lionheartkc said:

I honestly think that Gus was just scared after what happened with Frazier and then Jeremy's meltdown that if he brought Sean along to fast he would lose him, too. I don't think that was the right call, but I think that has a lot to do with why he was held back in his first start.

That's a good point and I can understand it. But we could've and should've beaten Miss St if we had a less conservative game plan. JMO though. I guess I would be thinking differently if we just punched one of those red zone opportunities in

[Tiger 8,818]

Just now, 80Tiger said:

If you are developing game plans and an offense around a back up QB, you are doomed.

I understand that. And obviously that is not what I'm expecting the staff to do but for them to treat SW as if he hadn't had a full year learning the system seemed odd to me.