Kirk Herbstreit weighs in on Auburn

[AU80cruiser 1,102]

23 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Really excited about Pettway. 

I watched him in the Alabama vs Mississippi Allstar game and he was a bruiser for sure. He runs over people instead of around them. With that in mind, does he have anything in his arsenal besides what I've described here? I saw him described above as Rudi but does he really have that big play ability?

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

I'm told SW is the clear #1 with JJ making some noise. JF3 is #3.

Pettway is going to be a stud.

Derrick Brown is abusing the young OL's. 

All I've got. 

I'm fine with this QB scenario.

Good to hear about Pettway.

Good for Brown I guess, but I hate like hell to hear that our young OL's are getting abused.  That can't be a good thing for our shaky QBs/RBs/WRs.

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, keesler said:

Good for Brown I guess, but I hate like hell to hear that our young OL's are getting abused.  That can't be a good thing for our shaky QBs/RBs/WRs.

"Our young OLs"... sounds like the 2s and 3s to me. We don't have that many young guys in the first group.

Sounds like many aspects of this offense are going to make people look really, really silly for all the assumptions they've incessantly spouted out all offseason, just like Sean White and Jeremy Johnson already did last year. SSDD 
 

7 minutes ago, AU80cruiser said:

I watched him in the Alabama vs Mississippi Allstar game and he was a bruiser for sure. He runs over people instead of around them. With that in mind, does he have anything in his arsenal besides what I've described here? I saw him described above as Rudi but does he really have that big play ability?

He's fast. Go back and watch the spring game. Fast is fast, whether it's in a spring game or not. Chris Johnson was freaky fast in his first NFL preseason appearance. Jumped off the TV screen. Nobody noticed because "it was just the preseason". Not saying Kam is sub 4.4 fast, but he's fast enough to be an SEC RB. 

[AU64 10,122]

28 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

I felt kinda weird after all the Jovon stuff happened, I didn't feel as bummed out as I usually would following a star player getting kicked off. Almost just felt like it might be a "blessing in disguise". The first person I thought about, other than Cam Akers (lol), was Pettway 

 

Agree...there was the JR we dreamed of at RB.....best RB in the SEC etc....and then there is was the JR we had on scholarship who just could not stay out of the doghouse and likely would have spent most of 2016 there too if he had stayed.   Too bad but that seemed to be the reality of it.

Meanwhile,  if Pettway is anything like Rudi on the field....bring him on. 

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

23 minutes ago, keesler said:

I'm fine with this QB scenario.

Good to hear about Pettway.

Good for Brown I guess, but I hate like hell to hear that our young OL's are getting abused.  That can't be a good thing for our shaky QBs/RBs/WRs.

 

Think this is more of Brown being a damn good player. Lawson type talent. 

[AU64 10,122]

29 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Think this is more of Brown being a damn good player. Lawson type talent. 

Hoping it's the young OL having trouble and not the guys who will be starting ...all of whom are juniors and seniors. .....and of course it would be nice to have another Lawson-level talent on the DL. '

[AuCivilEng1 11,003]

I think we will split the Clemson and LSU games. Jordan-Hare stadium at 8pm is a game changer in itself. The only thing I'm worried about, now that Jovon is gone, is what changes our offense between mid last season and this season. JJ/Sean White, bruiser rb(Pettway/ Barber), Kerryon, middle of the road WRs. I just don't see who is going to be there to make a difference between a bad Gus offense, and good Gus offense. I am excited to see if we have a breakout guy, though.

 

[AUpreacherman22 3,885]

Leff said in his interview that the DL had so much depth that there were walk on OL trying to block 5 stars. So I see that comment as Brown abusing walk ons that a highly touted 5 star DL should be abusing. 

In other words, "Brown is progressing well. And the walk ons are suffering as a result."

[gr82b4au 5,568]

13 hours ago, StatTiger said:

The fact CGM has elected not to go live with the QB's during Tuesday's scrimmage, is a strong indicator Sean White will be named the starter. The logical reason to go live is if there was very little separation among the QB's, throwing the football. I do believe JFIII will have some packages in the offense and is not completely out of the race. Lashlee hinted it might take six weeks for JFIII to make a difference. If White is named the starter, he will have to work to keep it.

Well I agree with stat and kirk. Unless White tanks in the scrimmage I think the coaches have no choice at this point.

And if you look at our schedule, which is probably the most difficult in the country IMO, 8 regular season wins would be an accomplishment. We are going to be clear underdogs against clemson, lsu, ole miss, and at alabama. At uga is a place we have not won in a decade or more. That means we would have to beat: TAM, MSU, ARK, VANDY, the 3 patsy teams, and one of the above teams. I think the defense will be much improved but with shaky QB play, no go to WRs, our top RB booted, and playing this schedule with 2 top 4 teams nationally in the first 4 weeks...BRUTAL. It could prop us up or completely derail the gus bus. 

Most rational fans can see that on paper there is a good chance it will be a tough season. Maybe not 2012 tough but there is a chance it could get bad quick. Of course if the defense is as good as some of us hope and we by some miracle win clemson then forget everything.

[Tiger 8,820]

If we can hit 8 wins that would be great, considering our questions heading into the season. I am looking very much forward to Stat Tiger's experience numbers breakdown which should make it's annual appearance sometime soon. 8 wins means we beat all of the teams we should -- the Arkansas', Miss States', Ole MIss' of the world, and our Ls should come from our rivals + Clemson. If we can upset one of our big 3 rivals to hit 9 wins that would be great. Realistically though, I think we drop at least one of the TAMU, Ole Miss, Miss St, Arky. I think we can beat UGA, but lose to Ole Miss. 

 

I'm hoping we start off at least 2-2. If we are 1-3 the wheels could fall off quickly. as we head into October. 3-1 would set us up nicely though.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

I think we will split the Clemson and LSU games. Jordan-Hare stadium at 8pm is a game changer in itself. The only thing I'm worried about, now that Jovon is gone, is what changes our offense between mid last season and this season. JJ/Sean White, bruiser rb(Pettway/ Barber), Kerryon, middle of the road WRs. I just don't see who is going to be there to make a difference between a bad Gus offense, and good Gus offense. I am excited to see if we have a breakout guy, though.

OL should be better. Guards will only be better, center should be much better, tackles should be adequate (just like they were last year... adequate). Improved center play will be a key to our season IMO. Also, I think Duke and Jovon being gone now instead of leaving midseason is a HUGE plus. KJ and the HBs are now sophomores instead of freshmen. Jalen Harris is now a sophomore and Landon Rice should be an upgrade in terms of talent. WR very much a concern, true, but Stanton Truitt is back, Jason Smith is more experienced, Marcus Davis is a leader who has been in the big spots... it's not all bad. Most importantly, Sean White should be the starter on day 1 and should be healthy. 

Are all of these admittedly small positives enough to make last year's offense "good" by Gus's standards? Not sure. But I'm optimistic that we'll be much improved. 


 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Which way is Cam Akers leaning.

[aubiefifty 16,761]

12 hours ago, doc4aday said:

I think JFIII will be the man, but it will be as tight as a tick on a coyotes behind between JJ, and SW.  I hope Woody can redshirt. If he proves to be the best at some point this season, then he should be given the nod. If he can redshirt , this would be the best case scenario no doubt.

are you dissin the tick or the coyote?   lol  just kididng.....

[Tiger 8,820]

The good thing, however, is with all of our question marks is that a strong offensive line makes everything better. Passing game improves. Running game improves. And in our case, what might actually be the most important, is that it gives us a much better chance to sustain drives meaning the defense can actually catch their breath.

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

6 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

Which way is Cam Akers leaning.

I guess if he wants to turn to the left then he leans to the left. Leans to the right if he turns to the right? Could be the other way around. 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

It depends on who those 8 wins are against and who the 4 losses are too.

[VipersStrike1 230]

2 hours ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Pettway is going to be a stud.

From practice thus far, is he merely a battering ram? Or does he have a few moves?

[Tiger 8,820]

In Pettway's only touch vs Arkansas last season he looked like a very hard guy to tackle. I'm pretty sure 2 of those guys he shook off are still feeling it. If he can bring that type of intensity consistently, him running behind our interior line could be a positive for us. I think we will see Peyton Barber type production from him. Tough, hard earned yards. If he gets into his stride he's going to be a problem for on-coming tacklers. That play vs Arkansas was pure heart.

[AuCivilEng1 11,003]

4 minutes ago, VipersStrike1 said:

From practice thus far, is he merely a battering ram? Or does he have a few moves?

I don't mind watching battering rams. The 2013, line up and out muscle everybody, team was a blast to watch. Hey, if you aren't going to be a top of the world team, you might as well beat people up for 2 hrs a week. 

[bigbird 60,509]

26 minutes ago, auburn4ever said:

Which way is Cam Akers leaning.

Like a Cholo

[AuCivilEng1 11,003]

My only fear is that at some point in practice, Derrick Brown(The immovable object) will meet Pettway(The unstoppable force). I live in Auburn and my wife has a lot of glass trinkets. I don't want to have to clean up after that earthquake. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 minutes ago, Tiger said:

In Pettway's only touch vs Arkansas last season he looked like a very hard guy to tackle. I'm pretty sure 2 of those guys he shook off are still feeling it. If he can bring that type of intensity consistently, him running behind our interior line could be a positive for us. I think we will see Peyton Barber type production from him. Tough, hard earned yards. If he gets into his stride he's going to be a problem for on-coming tacklers. That play vs Arkansas was pure heart.

If he has better vision than Barber, watch out. 

[Tiger 8,820]

3 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

If he has better vision than Barber, watch out. 

That would be big for us. I doubt KP breaks many long ones but he should wear down a defense's will if all goes according to plan.

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Kerryon is bigger and healthy he will surprise people as will Pettaway. Cox has also gotten better so I think our running game will be solid. O-Line has potential especially in running game. I hope they can handle the speed rushers on the outside when we pass. I also hope that our passing game will evolve to use TE a little more as a receiver as TE's can be a QB's best friend when a team Blitz's.

Everybody says the D will be improved because of the D-Line depth we will see if they can slow Watson down a little in the Clemson game he is a real stud.If D-Line is able to make him run can they keep him in the pocket that is a tough task.

Hopefully we can pound Clemson D and slow down Watson (he is to good to stop) if we can this could be a close game that we would have a chance of winning. A close win or loss and this team will gain confidence. With the quality of athletes we have confidence goes a long way.  This season could go either way but I think we will win at least 7 games and we might even surprise a few people and do much better.

[Tiger 8,820]

If we can make it to halftime in a close one with Clemson I think it will be huge for our young team's confidence moving forward. If the guys have something positive to latch on to, even in a loss, a good showing vs Clemson could have a 2013 LSU-game type of impact.