What's up with Carnell

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

On Tuberville's show he said that LSU was using a safety to spy on Carnell. One thing I did notice when I watched the game replay was it seemed that LSU kept getting Carnell on the his plant leg (enough to sweep it out from under him) and that most of the tackles on Brown were coming up high. Lot of that had to do with the point of the first contact at the LOS and agnles the defenders got in on.

[AUBaritone 0]

Has any one else noticed that the Caddy has seemed to have lost a step. He has yet to break a big one against two extremely weak teams. I'm not saying he sucks now, because he is still amazing. It just seems like a single guy is bringing him down more often, he's missing holes, less amazing jukes, etc. Am I wrong, or is he just a victim of his own success? I can't believe he's just choking under the Heisman hype. And defenses keying on him is a non-issue, too. All of that happened last year, and he still was great. It just seems like he's running tentative (like he did last year when he was afraid for his hurt leg). Any thoughts on this?

Carnell gets the yards when it matters. Also note that Carnell gets to share yards with Ronnie and our passing game so his numbers aren't going to be that impressive. Carnell breaks the first tackle then gets 3-4 guys piling on top of him. The problem herein lies in the fact that everyone will go after Carnell if he has the ball.

[irnimrod 0]

Dang AU_MB,

If you ain't bitching about Jason, you are bitching about Carnell.

The boys did good and have done so all year.

Perhaps you should focus on the field goal/ep snapping. That is something to gripe about.

[AKATGR 0]

Absolutely ridiculous! He continuously breaks tackles on a regular basis. Have you noticed how many plays should have been stopped for a loss or no gain and he ends up with 5+ yards? Missing holes? Come on. I have said for a few years that he is without a doubt one of the most exciting runners I have ever seen. I have also said, and continue to, that Ronnie will be a better NFL back because of his size and good speed.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

all you have to do is look at caddy literally EXPLODE into the corndog defender and knock him back 2 full steps down at the5 yard line on the field goal drive...didn't look a damn bit tentative to me

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i'll give an honest opinion. i think the difference in production has less to do with carnell and more to do with our line. i think this line has more potential than anyone we've had since simmons, riley, and james were playing together, but i also think we've got 4 guys playing different positions than last year. carnell runs like an nfl back. he shows a lot more patience than most college backs even know how to, and that gives him the opportunity to break bigger runs. it also means that when one guy completely blows his assignment; it looks like carnell is running tentative b/c he's dodging folks in the backfield. we've had a lot of that "one block away" stuff this year, and i think we're going to work it out. when we do, you'll see the big gainers come back.

as for the tackles made on him in the fourth quarter, i gotta give the props to those lsu players. he made a slight mistake on the one kyle williams tackled him (in the last series) b/c he didn't trust anthony to block corey webster. if he had, he could've gotten to the corner instead of trying to fake williams. regardless that was a GREAT tackle by a dlineman. and webster's tackle before that was an amazing play. tre should've had him blocked, but he shugged him off and squared carnell up. that's part of the reason he's the best corner in college football.

in the end, i'm not concerned about caddy. i have a feeling he's going to put it on ut just like he did last year, and we won't have the conversation after that.

[Aubie7 0]

Flat the freak out i like RB style better, CW has "sweet feet" the fact we have them together is amazing plus EVERYONE focuses on CW so it opens everything up.so RB has a btter average,just stop 2 or 3 drops can be just scary,just gotta gel a bit more.

no hi hopes no flaming just an observation.

Sweet feet is right. He dances too much sometimes.

[AUesquire 1]

I think the Syracuse game year before last is more along the lines of the type of back CW really is. Yes, he's gonna break one off every now and then but he gets most of his yards after contact. Great knack for bouncing off tackles and not taking the direct hit.

He did some pretty special things in the MSU game last week. If you really watch what he did in that game, you get a real appreciation for the way he runs. I think everyone expects him to take it to the house every carry, but that ain't happening. I think whoever said it earlier hit the nail on the head. Having both CW's and RB's styles in the back field is awesome.

[Duder 234]

First off, the Heisman hype isn't going to play out. He hasn't come out and blown up (like Darren Sproles has) to warrant serious consideration.

Even the AU announcers have said stuff about the lack of big runs. Carnell is running hard. He's running through a lot more tackles than in the past; the summer in the weight room certainly helped. He's putting up solid performances. I think the original post was just referring to the fact that he's not hitting the big runs we're used to seeing out of him. These will come in time. This is an adjustment period for everyone. We're giving different looks which can change the way the play materializes. He's still one of the best backs in America.

[SKCAUB 0]

Has any one else noticed that the Caddy has seemed to have lost a step. He has yet to break a big one against two extremely weak teams. I'm not saying he sucks now, because he is still amazing. It just seems like a single guy is bringing him down more often, he's missing holes, less amazing jukes, etc. Am I wrong, or is he just a victim of his own success? I can't believe he's just choking under the Heisman hype. And defenses keying on him is a non-issue, too. All of that happened last year, and he still was great. It just seems like he's running tentative (like he did last year when he was afraid for his hurt leg). Any thoughts on this?

Yup...you're wrong! He had 70 yards in the first half against an EXTREMELY tough defense...made some amazing moves...and got a lot of "TIGER yards" (fka YAC)....

[AU_MB_01 1]

Dang AU_MB,

If you ain't bitching about Jason, you are bitching about Carnell.

The boys did good and have done so all year.

Perhaps you should focus on the field goal/ep snapping. That is something to gripe about.

Yes, I'll bitch about Jason all day (although it must be said he stepped up when it mattered). But I'm not bitching about Carnell. He has been and will be my favorite AU back since Bo. If he continues like he's going, he'll still probably get his 1000 yards. No problem. I just noticed something and was wondering if anyone else noticed it, too. I was just looking for a reality check. Since sereral people noticed it too, I can't be that far off. How it that bitching? If you want me to bitch about the Special (short bus special) Teams, then here goes (I really wasn't going to mention this, but you asked for it)....

It is asinine to have a Running Backs coach telling kickers how to kick. Gran is a fabulous RB coach, but he knows jack about s-teams. The fact that our punt coverage and returns, as well as the field goals have sucked ever since Tubs (read:Gran) got here is proof of this. And now we don't even have a snapper that can get it back 7 yards??? We have loads of talent. That's not the problem. How many High School All-American kickers do we have to ruin before people catch on. Things would improve greatly if we had a true special teams coach.

[texaubie 0]

Carnell is often a step away from breaking the long run. I think these will come over time. He just hasn't hit it yet. He still makes some fantastic moves even on a 5 yard gain. I think Carnell plays better as the season progresses as well. Right now I think Ronnie is playing better. JMHO

I agree 110% with respect to the need for a special teams coach.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

sproles hasn't blown up. he's not even in carnell or ronnie's league. he put up a pair of 250+ games against western kentucky (are they DIA?) and la-lafayette. and he averaged 40 carries per game in those. when he had his only shot thus far to prove he can be the man ala carnell (meaning defenses are focused on you alone) he put up a whopping 37 yards. against lamo and msu caddy averaged 22 carries. give him or ronnie 40 touches and they could put up 250 easily.

[Guest]

about Sproyles, Western KY is Division IAA. they won the IAA National Title a couple of years ago.

[sportwareagle 0]

Caddy is the most explosive runner I have seen in a long time. He has all the moves he needs and if you think he is tentative you ought to go take a look on the auburntigers.com website under the multimedia section. He looks more like hungry, brutal, explosive, powerful, etc., etc. then tentativ, but that's just my thoughts. You can have yours, but I disagree.

He'll put up the numbers, you can mark my words. He'll break that long run here soon and I bet it just might come in Knoxville (maybe about when that Alabama run came!!!)

[AU_MB_01 1]

By way of independant verification of my original post, this is what CFN has to say about Williams....

3. RB Carnell Williams, Sr. Auburn

It wasn't the greatest performance, but he still ran for 75 yards on 18 carries against the vaunted LSU defense. He needs to crank the overall numbers back up next week against The Citadel and then rock against Tennessee.

This was all I ever said, but now that an "expert" has said essentially the same thing I said, maybe we could rethink those "you're crazy" posts?

Entire Article

[one 2]

By way of independant verification of my original post, this is what CFN has to say about Williams....

3. RB Carnell Williams, Sr. Auburn

It wasn't the greatest performance, but he still ran for 75 yards on 18 carries against the vaunted LSU defense. He needs to crank the overall numbers back up next week against The Citadel and then rock against Tennessee.

This was all I ever said, but now that an "expert" has said essentially the same thing I said, maybe we could rethink those "you're crazy" posts?

Entire Article

Not bashing you, but i don't think that hardly supports your argument that he has lost a little something (for whatever reason) from last year. I didn't see the LSM game, but after it was over and looking at the stats i wondered if that extra weight might have effected him a little. I have heard it more than once where a back bulks up one year only to realize he needs to slim down the next to get his speed up. So, I wondered had CW made that mistake. (Though this would go against Yox's strength philosophy) But, after watching him play the last two games, I don't think he has lost a step. He looked very quick in open field. He made some knee jerk, ankle breaking cuts on several plays. He hit the hole quickly. There is that one 3rd and short play where he got gobbled up in the back field, but he didn't get room to operate before the defender got to him. (and I have seen that happen to him more than once over the last three years; it happens to all of them.) Anyway, if you are just interested in another opinion, I don't see it. I don't think he is any slower. I am sure LSM just has a better game plan against us, and MSU was fired up for us, and much better coached. Also, a lot of things have to go right for a guy to break big runs. Big runs very rarely have more than 50% to do with the back. He contributes vision, broke tackles and speed mainly but there is also down field blocking working out just right, lanes opening up, and there must always be defenders out of position and over pursuit of the ball. That is a bunch of variables that all have to add up for big runs to happen. The back is only in control of so many of them.

I thought the question you asked was reasonable. I hope my opinion is too.

[AU_MB_01 1]

I thought the question you asked was reasonable. I hope my opinion is too.

Absolutely. Any reasoned opinion is welcome. Unlike others, I don't fear dissenting opinions. "Lost a Step" was probably a bad choice on my part because there are so many factors that go into the results on the field (As you have pointed out). Perhaps what I sould have said was that Carnell doen't seem to be able to "get in the zone" and dominate like he has done in the past (UT, Syracuse, Bama, etc.). I read that article as saying that he needs to step up and do more in the games ahead. And that was what my original post was saying. Just curious, did you interpret "It wasn't the greatest performance" and "needs to crank the overall numbers back up" as meaning anything other than face value? To me, it sound like they think that although LSU is Good and Caddys numbers are actually pretty good, they were expecting more. Maybe I'm just reading more into it than there actually is, though.

[AUTaxMan 0]

I don't think CW has lost anything. From what I can tell, if anything, he is a better back now than he was last year. He breaks more tackles than ever. His vision seems to have improved (or maybe the blocking is better this year). His receiving has definitely improved. NFL draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. has CW ranked as the #1 running back on his board and #3 player overall (RB is #3 and #6, respectively, BTW). CW has 10 runs of 10+ yards, 2 runs of 20+ yards, and a catch of 19 yards in the first 3 games. Doesn't look to me like he's lost anything.

[AU_MB_01 1]

Ok, something to consider....

Caddy vs....

Miss St.

2003

15-161-6 (10.7 avg)

2004

19-122-2 (6.4 avg)

ULM

2003

7-113-2 (16.1 avg)

2004

23-103-0 (4.5 avg)

LSU

2003

20-61-0 (3.1 avg)

2004

18-75-0 (4.2 avg)

I couldn't find stats on long runs, but I'm sure that is an even bigger gap. Carnell may (or may not be) be the same Carnell, but there is no denying that his numbers are down (OK LSU was actually up (but just a little). Remember we were never in the 2003 game). I was just wondering if it was because of him, or because of one of a hundred other reasons (like new offense, Ronnie getting carries, etc.).

[AU93 0]

I think the added weight has cost him a step. He runs thru tackles better than he used to, but his explosiveness doesn't seem to be as strong as in the past. He still hits the hole fast and hard when he finds one. RB hits the hole faster IMO, and will make a hole if there isn't one. Both are great backs. Carnell still runs with more determination than any back I've seen and his yards after contact would make you think he weighed 250lb. If I had a first round draft pick and had to choose one of them, I think I would choose RB. Either way, you couldn't go wrong.

[Brown Cow 0]

this is like saying Jordan 'lost a step' because he only scored 22 one night instead of 30...or if Wilt only pulled down 15 rebounds instead of 20. totally asinine.

[one 2]

I was just wondering if it was because of him, or because of one of a hundred other reasons (like new offense, Ronnie getting carries, etc.).

Other than the factors mentioned above the fact he is in a new offense might have something to do with it. I think we are running more zone blocking schemes. RB is deservedly getting more carries. This COULD a. reduce his touches, b. keep him from getting in a rythym, and c. he could just not be the guy at the right time and right place as often.

Just watching him play he seems as quick and firey and speedy and athletic as ever. He was making some great defenders miss out there Sat. And buring into open field. Great lateral movement.

[AU_MB_01 1]

this is like saying Jordan 'lost a step' because he only scored 22 one night instead of 30...or if Wilt only pulled down 15 rebounds instead of 20. totally asinine.

Actually that is exactly what I'm saying. If you're going to be a great running back, your going to be held to a higher standard. What would people be saying if MJ missed that winning shot against the Jazz before he left the Bulls? He could have missed it (he is human after all), but people expected him to make it because of all the amazing things he's done in the past. And if you remember, people were absolutely saying that he had lost a step when he played for the Wizards. He still did amazing things, he just did it less often. Far from being asinine, by using the Jordan example, you've actually stated my position better than I ever could have. Thanks. Do you usually argue other people's points for them?

[Duder 234]

I have to agree with AU_MB. Jordan clearly had lost a step with the Wizards.

Back to the Carnell thing though, I'm not saying he's lost a step. I'm simply saying he's not having as easy as a time. Like I've said, even the announcers have said something about him not breaking as many long runs as he used to. I'm not saying it's an issue that cannot be corrected or even one that we should be concerned about.

Stat, is Carnell's YPC on par with his career average thus far?