autiger6 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 At one point during the Ole Miss game we had all three of our starting LBs out at the same time which hasn't been the case in the past unless the game is at hand. It shows how much both TW and AW along with Sears make up the defense. I will say that Groves and the Predator are improving at the right time. We need TJ back to help out the front. I think the players kinda get up for games like this by themselves without having any other motivation. Ronnie Brown is playing his home team this time so watch out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bammanmr 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 I don't really think ole miss 'exposed' our defense per se, but they did a good job Saturday in moving the ball. Something I think we need to remember is that our defense is giving up yards, but it really toughens up inside the 30s. Chizik's bend-but-don't-break style is working very well and has in the 3 years he's been here. I know it's a legitimate concern, but there are reasons that ole miss looked better against us offensively than anyone else has this season. 1. This past game was Ole Miss' biggest game of the year, so they were very pumped for that game. 2. Ole Miss had a 2 weeks to prepare for us. I listened to his coaches show on Friday night and Cutcliffe said he and his guys put in a lot of new plays and formations during the bye week. In fact, the 2nd TD and the long pass over the middle were both new plays that they installed in the off week. 3. This team was tired AND banged up. There were a few guys with some nagging injuries that toughed it out and played Saturday night, that will be a lot healthier in 13 days. 4. Finally, we need to keep in mind that if not for that bomb (which required a busted coverage and a great pass/catch), they would have only threatened to score twice on our D. Of all the times they had the ball (and didn't score) only 4 drives ended in our territory (A08, A36, A48, A46), and as you can see, only one ended inside our 35. That's not bad. No matter who you're playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish 73 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Concerning the 9 straight weeks and being tired. I have been under the impression that first team has been averaging far fewer PLAYS [not players] each game that in the past and that this was to be a big factor in keeping us fresher during the latter part of the season. Now the thinking is that we are in fact a tried team. I really hope that this is what happened and not that we've had a slip in performance due to something. This is bothersome to me and I hope someone can clarify this for me. I too believe we will not have any troble getting up for the Dawgs and the other team up the road. War Eagle! Error correction. Typo in 3rd sentence ... should be plays ... not players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKCAUB 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Will Herring was definitely exposed. He was so out of position all night. UGA is also going to see that in the tape. UGA will be the best passing team we have faced all year. I only hope we can limit their passing game because I know we're not going to be able to stop it. 117120[/snapback] Especially on his INT...and the 4th down play...er...Oh wait...no he wasn't! Will, as I said a month or two ago, appears "Stanford Simmons-like" to me...just a step slow on pass coverage. He makes up for a lot of that with pretty good football savvy. But he can be beaten sometimes. That said, he's a pretty good football player...and we've done very well as a defense with him back there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKCAUB 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 We'll also need to try to contain Pollack, because you know, his motor never stops running... 117240[/snapback] PLEASE...RUN RIGHT AT HIM!!! That's how you beat guys like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,472 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Concerning the 9 straight weeks and being tired. I have been under the impression that first team has been averaging far fewer plays each game that in the past and that this was to be a big factor in keeping us fresher during the latter part of the season. Now the thinking is that we are in fact a tired team. I really hope that this is what happened and not that we've had a slip in performance due to something. This is bothersome to me and I hope someone can clarify this for me. 117259[/snapback] There's physical tiredness and mental tiredness. I think both were factors. But we did have some defensive players a tad dinged up coming into the game. And the defense has not come out as early in the blowouts as the offense has. Bottom line is this: I believe it was definitely a factor. Not the only factor and not a reason to skip going over some fundamentals and such this week. But, it's a grind to keep up the emotion and sharp thinking week after week and this team has done an amazing job of that so far. The break should help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish 73 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Good insights Titan ... especially the emotional part. One can only stay on an emotional high so long. I believe you hit the nail squarely on the head. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie7 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 I just think the D and the rest of the team is tired. They need a week off and then no more exposing our D, they will be once again, ROCK SOLID. 117111[/snapback] I hope you are right! BEAT the Billy Goats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie7 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 Ole Miss did a good job at exposing our defense on Saturday. The key is to run right at the Auburn D. Also, the short to medium passes, over the middle, were open all night again. We still do not cover the backs out of the backfield. We have not had to have a clutch field goal to date either. Can we count on this? We should have downed a great punt (57 yards?) that went into the endzone. 117110[/snapback] I disagree. I don't think they exposed anything. Ole Miss didn't do anything different than what Tennessee, Arkansas, or LSU tried. Aside from Decory Birmingham from Arky, everyone has run right at us thinking our small D-line and linebackers wouldn't be able to handle it. Only Ole Miss had any real success. I think the difference was that we were tired after this being our 9th straight game without a break and they just executed a little better. I'm no more concerned about the Georgia game than I would be any other year. 117117[/snapback] Didn't we give up about 400 yards to their offense? That is what I am worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie7 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 Will Herring was definitely exposed. He was so out of position all night. UGA is also going to see that in the tape. UGA will be the best passing team we have faced all year. I only hope we can limit their passing game because I know we're not going to be able to stop it. 117120[/snapback] I was wondering if anyone would mention that fact. He seems to have a problem with moving his hips and getting into proper cover position. Not to mention, he isn't the fastest person around. BUT, he has done a great job this year and I am glad we have him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie7 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 Whilel I agree the players are tired, I think what kept Ole Miss in the game was coaching strategy, not talent. I think the coaches will use the week off to adjust the openings Ole Miss found. It's good to have a team like that discover some potential weaknesses and be able to correct them for the big games. Offensively, I think the mis-handled snap affected Jason on the next few passes. If our offense had scored on a couple of those early drives, their offense would have had to get out of it's game plan and play catch up which would result in more mistakes by them. Cutcliffe seemed to have a gameplan that was well thought out. 117171[/snapback] We did blow a couple of scoring chances early with the fumble and the interception in the endzone. I don't think they should have even used the excuse of a new center. Granted, it does take time to "mesh" with a QB and center, but he has been there all year. They should have been working together more, just in case this happened. Thankfully, it didn't hurt us too much. The int. in the enzone was, I think, unnecessary. The pass was forced. Jason will be back and better next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubie7 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 At one point during the Ole Miss game we had all three of our starting LBs out at the same time which hasn't been the case in the past unless the game is at hand. It shows how much both TW and AW along with Sears make up the defense. I will say that Groves and the Predator are improving at the right time. We need TJ back to help out the front. I think the players kinda get up for games like this by themselves without having any other motivation. Ronnie Brown is playing his home team this time so watch out. 117246[/snapback] Maybe I am the last one to notice, but I just saw the "War Eagle" inside the Eagle's head! Cool! I have never really looked at it before, but something caught my eye this time. Where did this logo come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autiger6 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Maybe I am the last one to notice, but I just saw the "War Eagle" inside the Eagle's head! Cool! I have never really looked at it before, but something caught my eye this time. Where did this logo come from? 117294[/snapback] It was a shirt logo I found at Tiger Rags. I was planning on taking it to a print shop to get some decals made. I thought it was a neat feature myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,472 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Didn't we give up about 400 yards to their offense? That is what I am worried about. 117282[/snapback] Well, a good portion of that came on two passes we gave up of 64 and 44 yards. It was uncharacteristic of the secondary this year so I don't think it "exposed" anything. Others have tried to go deep on us but the coverage has been much better this year, actually resulting in more than a few coverage sacks. We just had an off game, IMO, somewhat due to mental and physical fatigue causing a breakdown in fundamentals and somewhat due to some new wrinkles OM put in during their off week. Look, I'm not trying to be a sunshine pumper here, but this defense has played very good all year and I don't think one less than stellar game changes anything. They've given up a decent amount of yardage all year but held opponents once in the redzone. One game, on the road against a very motivated opponent, in their 9th straight game without a break, where they give up 14 points just doesn't worry me that much. I'm not seeing any trend developing, don't feel we got "exposed", or any of the other things people seem prone to worry about. Bottom line: when it counted, this defense shut them down. They scored their last TD with 14:54 left. They basically had 3 good drives, two in the 3rd quarter, and other than that we stuffed them. Here's a breakdown of their possessions: 1st Quarter 9 yards, punt 23 yards, punt 7 yards, punt 8 yards, punt 47 yds., 4 punts, 0 pts. 2nd Quarter 82 yards, lost on downs (we stuffed them on 4th and 1 at our 8 yd. line) 19 yards, punt (this drive started on the Ole Miss 45) 22 yards, end of half 123 yds, 1 punt, one stuff on 4th down, 0 pts. 3rd Quarter 19 yards, punt 75 yards, TD 13 yards, INT 89 yards, TD (TD came at 14:54 of the 4th Qtr.) 196 yds., 1 punt, 1 INT, 7 pts.* 4th Quarter 2 yards, punt 0 yards, punt 19 yards, fumble 37 yards, lost on downs 58 yds., 2 punts, 1 fumble, 1 4th down stop, 7 pts.* *7 pts. came on a drive that started in the 3rd quarter and ended with a TD in the 4th. Basically we had some lapses in the 2nd and 3rd, but dominated them in the 1st and 4th. And even with all the yardage we gave up in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, they only got 14 points. Do we need to get some fundamentals nailed back down? Yep. Do we need to get our heads clear for the homestretch? Absolutely. Were we "exposed" or is this indicative of some systematic problem on our defense? From one less than perfect game? I don't think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTim 3,456 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Amen & WAR EAGLE ! ! ! ONE at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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