Carnell is the MVP of this offense

[Erik81 0]

Carnell Williams is the most valuable player on our team. The way we use him he doesn't get near the credit he deserves. We almost use him as a decoy that the defense has to account for. The defense has to account for him or they will get burned so they are taking the chance that our passing game won't kill them and it has.

Jason has done a tremendous job but teams are still crowding the line of scrimmage to stop Carnell and that makes it alot easier to pass. Borges and Campbell make the defenses pay for that and they still crowd the line because they have to. Not taking anything away from Campbell just saying if we didn't have Carnell for the defenses to focus on then it would be alot harder to pass.

This is one of the only pics of us on offense that shows the field before the play (thanks heman)

Notice how (on first down) everyone except the FS and the two CBs are stacking the line or creeping up on the line waiting on the run. That is what Carnell brings to this offense. He gives us possiblities that we now have an OC that takes atvantage of.

The way we use Ronnie Brown is alot different than the way we use Carnell. Carnell is our workhorse and Ronnie we use in alot of ways because he can block and catch well. I think people who say Ronnie is better is not aware of how we use them differently. When we use Ronnie as the lone back or workhorse on occasion then he gets the same results as Carnell 4-5 yard gains. Ronnie is not 9 yards a carry good-hell Bo Jackson isn't or wasn't 9 yards a carry good-it is how we are using him.

Sooner or later teams are going to have to respect the pass more and Carnell will just have a field day. That is the beauty of this offense is that we can run and throw and that is why it is so effective. We know we can't run well if we don't throw and visa versa.

BTW Campbell is a monster this year

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i'll say a few things about carnell. he's still as explosive as he ever was. he's not seeing the holes/downfield blocking that he used to b/c of how teams are playing him. even this late into the year houston nutt said before the game that they had to stop carnell (not ronnie, not the au running game, carnell) first and foremost or they had no chance of winning. so for another week, there were times when every single defender on the field was within 7 yards of the line of scrimmage. i've watched a LOT of football, and i've never seen a guy get that much attention from a defense so consistently.

he's become absolutely brilliant as a pass blocker. if you want to watch one of those little nuances that makes football great, watch carnell picking up the extra defender on the blitz. he just doesn't make mistakes, and the guy never sheds the block. he caught the blitzer at the last possible second 3 times against arkansas, and all three plays ended up being huge completions for jc. he's as good as it gets on this.

he's allowing ronnie to be the guy we've grown to love. he wears down a defense with that running style, and it allows ronnie's time as the feature back to be that much better. ronnie (for reasons i can't understand) never sees those 11 man fronts either. caddilac just takes his gains and goes on about his work (we were only stopped for a loss 1 time this weekend). i really hope he has a huge game one of these days b/c he deserves a little love for the work he's done.

[cadillacattack 0]

great post....and good points. But to me, the act that speaks volumes about Caddy is that he knew that this was going to happen if he returned for his Senior year, and yet he still elected to contribute.

He may be sharing the spotlight these days but I'll bet he'd be the first to agree that it's well deserved by his teamates.

..... and it's about time for summa'dat around da' Plains

[tiger88 934]

If any team is dumb enough to focus more on our passing attack we will roll up about 400 yds rushing in a hurry on them.

Caddy and RB are BOTH great running backs.

[Erik81 0]

I think another telling stat is yards after contact. Carnell gets like 3/4 of his yards after contact and is constantly dodging defenders as soon as he gets the ball.

[Erik81 0]

ronnie (for reasons i can't understand) never sees those 11 man fronts either.

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I can't understand that either but I think it is because he is more of a catching threat and normally when he is in the defense is waiting on the pass.

[tiger88 934]

Two possible reasons .

1. Ronnie is a step faster and and a bigger threat to break a long one against a stacked front.

2. Carnell tends to try to shake and bake alot more than Ronnie so more guys on the line might have a better shot at bringing him down in a hurry.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

from what i've seen so far, there is a whole team full of MVP's this year.....carnell is one of many

[PChamp119 96]

Your crazy. We need to get you to a hospital

The most valueable player is the player the team couldn't be without. This team can do without Carnell. One word.... RONNIE! Ronnie Brown is better than Carnell. Having Carnell is definately help to put 8 men in the box, but I think we all learned that with Brandon Cox as our QB we'd be 5-2 or worse right now. Without Jason Campbell, Auburn would suck. As soon as a team stops the run, we're done. Cox is not reliable and does nothing but throw it to people (his players or the other team) or get sacked or fumble. I mean Brandon can't even play that well against Mississippi St.

Yes, Because we have Carnell that opens the passing game up and then if they play the pass we can run Carnell... but it's Carnell and Ronnie.

In 2002, Ronnie was the better back - racking up just as many, if not more yards.

In 2003, Carnell did well, but Ronnie was hurt and they never played him much before he got hurt.

In 2004, Ronnie has proven to be the better and more consistent back. The 8 men box is to stop Ronnie and Carnell.... not Carnell and Ronnie.

If we don't have an MVP type QB, if we can't pass the ball, both Carnell and Ronnie are taken out of the game. And we have no game at all - point in case last year's team.

Jason Campbell is the MVP of this team. And ESPN finally has it right, they said if there was an MVP for CFB that Jason would win it easily. He has stepped up and Carnell has done nothing this year.

MVP's in order for Auburn in my opinion: Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, Junior Rosegreen, Carlos Rogers, Marcus McNeil, Carnell Williams, Antarious Williams, Travis Williams, all the WR's tied

Carnell may have the most talent, but Jason is the MVP

[Erik81 0]

This team can do without Carnell. One word.... RONNIE!

my

If you want to know why Ronnie suceeded more than Carnell in 2002 then read:

http://mb8.theinsiders.com/fauburnfrm2.sho...cID=69648.topic

I'm not saying Campbell isn't valueable Carnell is the featured tailback in our offense-Ronnie is a utility player. Without Carnell we would not have the luxury of 8 men fronts

Brandon threw two picks but four TDs and a higher QB rating than Campbell. He's hardly unreliable just young.

In 2004, Ronnie has proven to be the better and more consistent back. The 8 men box is to stop Ronnie and Carnell.... not Carnell and Ronnie.

Carnell is the featured back-he has like twice as many carries-how the hell is it not Carnell and Ronnie?

Without Carnell no one (nationally) knows who Jason is-and I'm not knocking Jason because he has done tremendously

They let you on a computer in your hospital?

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i still think jc is the mvp of the offense. i just think it's kinda silly to say based off what we've seen this year that ronnie is better than (or more valuable than) carnell. caddilac is like shaq. you set up the entire defense to stop, and you can stop him from getting big numbers by forcing other guys to beat you. in the end, you've probably comprimised too much of your defense to stop him and the lakers (or our beloved auburn tigers) beat you anyway.

i say jc the gap between jason (the best qb in the nation at present) and cox is much wider than the gap between carnell and ronnie. that alone makes jason more valuable (with the numbers he puts up it's almost unquestionable), but i think caddilac has been the most influential guy we've got.

and how has ronnie been more consistent? he's never had to be. he had the shot to be the feature back as a rsfreshman, and caddy outplayed him. then carnell starts the year torrid, and ronnie replays an injured guy and plays brilliant. then carnell comes back and has one of the three best years in school history. now, caddy handles the majority of the carries and ronnie gets to be the change of pace guy with fresh legs. he's been great as our second option, but he's always been our second option. there has to be a reason for that. we're talking 4 coordinators (two of which know football) choosing carnell over ronnie. that can't be all based on hype. i'm sorry. caddilac is the starter for a reason.

[auburn_eagle34 0]

What about the receivers? I don't really think that they are the outright MVP but it seems everyone has been talking about Jason and our backs. The receiver have been doing a hell of a job week in and week out. In my mind, we have the best receiver in the SEC right now and some of the best in the country.

[Ryan Sanders 123]

MVP. MVP. MVP! They are playing a team game here and I am sure they could care less who the MVP is, just to know they are having fun together is all that counts. Exactly why Carnel and Ronnie Brown both came back.. because they want to win and be successful.. not to get heisman.. although I am sure they would take it.

[PChamp119 96]

Your right Erik, how can I compete with you. Carnell does have twice as many carries... 134 of them. Ronnie only has 69. And Ronnie missed out on a game. Carnell sure doesn't miss games. But of those 134 carries he has... 663 gained, and 46 Loss... for 617 net or a whoppin 4.6 Avg. Ronnie only has 540 gained and 4 lossed for 536 net or a sad 7.8 avg. At the same time Carnell has 9 catches for 44 yards! Woo hoo! Go Caddy! The hummer is slowed down to a mediocre 15 catches for 132 yards.

Carnell is obviously the better player, what can I say. Carnell for Heisman. I think we should put in Tre Smith so Ronnie doesn't steal any more credit for Carnell. Maybe put in the white QB so Carnell can just get 50+ carries a game like that bum from K-State. Man K-State has that awesome RB, their MVP might I add.... what was there record again?

[Erik81 0]

The whole point of this post is that just because Carnell isn't putting up big numbers he is still the player that the offense revolves around. Please read the title

caddilac is like shaq. you set up the entire defense to stop, and you can stop him from getting big numbers by forcing other guys to beat you. in the end, you've probably comprimised too much of your defense to stop him and the lakers (or our beloved auburn tigers) beat you anyway.

Exactly! But oh yeah Ronnie is used as a utility player and also coming in the fourth after Carnell wore the defense down for three quarters and getting nine yards a pop and he is better.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

i honestly don't know how is the better back. i just think the fact that four guys have all made the same decision as to who their feature back would be says something. i think it is absolutely undeniable that carnell forces the most action from the opposing defense (and opposing defensive coaches). like i said, i can't say why they don't load the line for ronnie; i just know that in all my years i've never seen a running back get 10 or 11 man fronts so regualrly (just like i've never seen the hack-a-shaq anywhere else).

[Erik81 0]

Carnell is obviously the better player, what can I say. Carnell for Heisman. I think we should put in Tre Smith so Ronnie doesn't steal any more credit for Carnell. Maybe put in the white QB so Carnell can just get 50+ carries a game like that bum from K-State. Man K-State has that awesome RB, their MVP might I add.... what was there record again?

Dude, when did I say we should change something? I'm giving credit where credit is due. But Borges and Petrino don't know what they're talking about but you should tell Al that Ronnie gets 9 yards a carry and he'll probably make him the feature back. After all that what you notice and that is how you can tell.

[Erik81 0]

i just know that in all my years i've never seen a running back get 10 or 11 man fronts so regualrly (just like i've never seen the hack-a-shaq anywhere else).

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Me neither-and the funny thing is that they are still doing it, but the difference is we are making them pay for it.

[AU_MB_01 1]

Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....

I hate to be the one to get back on the subject, but....

Has anyone heard (on Finebaum) what Brother Oliver has to say about AU this year? This is one of the most profound observations I've heard in a long time. He said that Auburn has finally "gotten out of the Heisman business". This one simple sentance completely nails down the 2004 Tigers.......Discuss.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

it's kinda true, but isn't funny how "getting out of the heisman business" has landed our quarterback in the top five of the latest heisman polls? i think the difference is that when you stop forcing a feature of one guy and take what the defense gives you then the secondary options get a lot more attention.

[AU_MB_01 1]

it's kinda true, but isn't funny how "getting out of the heisman business" has landed our quarterback in the top five of the latest heisman polls? i think the difference is that when you stop forcing a feature of one guy and take what the defense gives you then the secondary options get a lot more attention.

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I guess defenses just have to choose which Heisman contender they want to get beat by. You can't stop them both.

[Erik81 0]

Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....Carnell...Ronnie....

I hate to be the one to get back on the subject, but....

Has anyone heard (on Finebaum) what Brother Oliver has to say about AU this year?  This is one of the most profound observations I've heard in a long time.  He said that Auburn has finally "gotten out of the Heisman business".  This one simple sentance completely nails down the 2004 Tigers.......Discuss.

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I know it doesn't matter but it's 11:58 on Tuesday night and there is nothing like arguing on message boards.

I heard that interview and argee 100%-I think his point is that we are more balanced than we have even been whether or not JC is in contention for it.

it's on http://www.finebaum.com

[AU_MB_01 1]

I heard that interview and argee 100%-I think his point is that we are more balanced than we have even been whether or not JC is in contention for it.

It's not that we're more balanced (which we are), it's that our philosophy has changed. Last year, Caddy was going to get his 20-30 carries no matter what. To paraphrase a great man.......This year, it really doesn't matter who is catching, running, or throwing the ball...As long as he's wearing a blue shirt.

[Erik81 0]

I heard that interview and argee 100%-I think his point is that we are more balanced than we have even been whether or not JC is in contention for it.

It's not that we're more balanced (which we are), it's that our philosophy has changed. Last year, Caddy was going to get his 20-30 carries no matter what. To paraphrase a great man.......This year, it really doesn't matter who is catching, running, or throwing the ball...As long as he's wearing a blue shirt.

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Our philosophy is that we are more balanced. Sure Ronnie gets some carries but no one is going to get 30 touches a game when we can throw like we can. Dye said, which I agree with, that he cannot remotely tell what the play is going to be because we run and pass out of every formation.