Moving Forward

[leglessdan 1,934]

Gus problem is he thinks he needs total control over every single facet. He thinks he's still coaching a bunch of high school freshmen and sophomores out there. He needs to let go a little and let his playmakers make plays. SW does a great job on hot reads and quick slants. Priority is moving the ball, whether it's a 50 yd bomb or 4-5 yds at a time. Eventually those 5-10 dink passes will open that big PA bomb. He puts his QBs in terrible positions with consistently giving them 3rd and 8+. That is bull****. We have a whole lineup of possession type recievers I can't understand why he doesn't utilize the short and intermediate middle of the field. It gives me a headache.

[AUBwins 10,075]

I agree the 3rd and forever is getting tiresome.  As someone pointed out earlier, throwing more on first down, past the line of scrimmage, will help make for a bigger playbook on 3rd down.  Just about every defense will pin their ears back on 3rd and long,  unless you have a proven assassin at the opposing QB position.  These guys need a chance to be successful.  

[StatTiger 3,188]

You cannot block 8 with 5-6 on first down. Clemson would bring extra defenders into the box just before the snap and crash to defend the run. The only way to stop that is to pass more on first down. Gus did not adjust, running it nearly 88 percent of the time until the final possession of the game. Running the ball nearly 80% of the time on first down from 2013-2016 has made it easy to defend the Auburn offense. If you crash to play the run on every 1st down snap, the opposition is correct 8 of 10 times.

  From 2013-2016, nearly 40% of Auburn's sacks allowed are occurring on 3rd down because the offense is so predictable when it comes to run vs. pass.

During 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016....

Auburn runs the ball 79% on 1st down and passes 72% of the time on 3rd down with 4-yds or more needed to convert. Based on those trends, I crash to play the run on 1st down every time and rush the passer on 3rd down and would be right 70% of the time regardless of formations or schemes.

[sevenlee36 1,654]

A few quick passes on early downs would have been a good idea. Not WR screens. It seems, like Gus hinted, that he scripted several plays and series and ran those plays religiously no matter what the defense did. (Clemson brings 9 ... Doesn't matter run the play we scripted.)

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

@StatTiger, does anyone in the AD have direct access to your analyses? I've often wondered if they looked at your numbers. I don't personally know you, so I don't know, but I certainly hope you have their ear, (or at least someone like you whose job it is to crunch the numbers). Maybe it could make a big difference.

[JGLEATON 1,244]

If Gus would adjust HIS tendencies now, and let go / open it up... with unpredictable GOOD play calling we could be good enough on offense to help our pretty good defense out and win some games.

Some one also mentioned (AUsince72) something that could help the O line out a lot, by varying the snap count... especially when they really start keying off on it, alter it and maybe get an offsides or at least slow em down a bit and give our O line a fighting chance to keep em outta the backfield...  That and playing faster will also help.

There was a pass play where the white got sacked, but KJ had moved / sneaked out just behind the LOS and was wide open... and if SW and KJ had enough reps (keep em in the game and let em get some chemistry) he could have just thrown a little jump pass out to him not only for a good gain, but defeating their rush / blitz and negating it... I could actually see that as a possible play / dump off to counter a blitz against SW or JJ if they were heads up and still looking down field for the RB and able to get it to him.

I think both JJ and SW did good things but had some problems and agree this game is hard to draw any definite conclusions from the crazy way the QB's were used... but, I see JJ getting a bit more flustered with pressure and when things break down.... but when under pressure SW seems to me to stay a bit more heads up, keeps his eyes down field, steps INTO the pocket, feels the pressure and rolls with it a bit better and at least tries to make something out of a broken play / extend the play even if he doesn't succeed every time. 

One thing about JFIII, he also has the SPEED to make something out of a broken play, much like NM did. I will love to see him some more next week and see if he is also as heads up as SW seems to be but with more athletic ability when the play breaks down or pressure is applied... one thing about Nick Marshall was his feel for the game that you just cannot teach, he just had GREAT instincts and knew where he needed to go with the speed and agility to actually GET OUT of a jam too. .. Love to see if JFIII has some of that potential... let him really PLAY his package and see... 

and let SW throw the ball and make some reads and use our good receivers for something besides blocking.  
 

Edited September 6, 2016 by JGLEATON

[Auhud08 596]

1 hour ago, leglessdan said:

Gus problem is he thinks he needs total control over every single facet. He thinks he's still coaching a bunch of high school freshmen and sophomores out there. He needs to let go a little and let his playmakers make plays. SW does a great job on hot reads and quick slants. Priority is moving the ball, whether it's a 50 yd bomb or 4-5 yds at a time. Eventually those 5-10 dink passes will open that big PA bomb. He puts his QBs in terrible positions with consistently giving them 3rd and 8+. That is bull****. We have a whole lineup of possession type recievers I can't understand why he doesn't utilize the short and intermediate middle of the field. It gives me a headache.

Completely agree, isaw someones breakdown of how a play gets called (malcolm flex?) and its nuts.  Call a play but let the qb read the D, you can still signal in what side is strong weak or how safeties are lined up to help, but let the QB be an adult. 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

I am no football guru, like Flex, but I am gonna guess that every team we face from here on out will play a similar defensive scheme to Clemson until we prove we can handle it. Thoughts?

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

I agree with you stat. I think any QB will work. The only thing I will add is our OL looks more prepared for run blocking as opposed to pass blocking. That in mind we should go more with the run game QB and maybe move to a more pass offense later in the season. WDE

[AU-24 3,067]

7 hours ago, AUBwins said:

I know that pass to the goal line that was ruled incomplete was the best play against the trend all game.  It worked beautifully except the ball being a little too long. Everyone thought it would be a run.  

That one was too long (or it would have been 6) the other one (that was was under-thrown yet complete) would have been 6 as well. Of course there was a third over throw, in the endzone. (That one should have been 6 as well)

I have advised the JJ supporters on here to simply believe what their eyes are seeing and their ears are hearing. Sean White missed a couple or a few throws that any or all could have been six!  I realize the psychotic play calling, didn't help with QB Rhythm or Tempo, but if SW hits any of those three throws, Auburn probably wins.

If the O coaches really want JF3 to be the QB of the future, I think they need to stick to a SW and JF3 rotation and let the chips fall where they may.

[cole256 17,050]

23 minutes ago, AU-24 said:

That one was too long (or it would have been 6) the other one (that was was under-thrown yet complete) would have been 6 as well. Of course there was a third over throw, in the endzone. (That one should have been 6 as well)

I have advised the JJ supporters on here to simply believe what their eyes are seeing and their ears are hearing. Sean White missed a couple or a few throws that any or all could have been six!  I realize the psychotic play calling, didn't help with QB Rhythm or Tempo, but if SW hits any of those three throws, Auburn probably wins.

If the O coaches really want JF3 to be the QB of the future, I think they need to stick to a SW and JF3 rotation and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[AUwent 3,748]

I'm glad you posted this. As angry as I am with Gus it's best to talk about what needs to be done to make things better. If the offensive players can build off of second half improvement and Gus actually becomes...you know...sane again, an 8-4 season appears VERY doable.

Some suggestions to make for offensive improvement:
-Put the freshmen WRs out there more often. Yes it was just one catch but I was very pleased with Kyle Davis.
-On short downs, PUT IN KAMRYN PETTWAY! Is there "inside info" about him? (I don't want to know what it is, I'm just curious as to whether HE now can't keep out of trouble too)
-Move Horton back to tackle. He's almost certainly more talented and it benefits us in the future.-Perhaps the most obvious, let SW play. I'm not going to go over this any more, however, I'm betting the musical QBs was a big part of why our O-line struggled.

On a side note, just imagine how good our LBs could be in two years if DeShaun and Darrell keep it up (and stay here, and stay healthy).

Edited September 6, 2016 by AUwent

[Charleston Tiger 134]

17 hours ago, AUloggerhead said:

Moving Forward is a good title for this thread.  Everyone recognizes the inherent problems of trying to win with 3 QBs & 2 other wildcat formations, but another glaring issue with the offense involves the blocking up front & on the edge.  The OL was supposed to be a strength of the team yet there were clear indications of as much confusion up front as was evident in the backfield.  Both tackles had issues with pass protection and the center was getting pushed back too easily.  One time, I saw Kozan fall backwards on a pass play without anyone in front of him.  Wha ...?  The WR blocking effort can at least be explained due to inexperience but what happened to our OL veterans?   Here's hoping the blocking on offense gets on track for this week to set the tone for the rest of the season.  WDE

I truly think part of the issue with the O-line stems from the same lack of rhythm we keep talking about. Each QB has a different cadence, a different manner of snap count, etc. It's got to be tough to adjust that every series, let alone down. I think the only position that can 100% fairly be evaluated and judged based on this game is the one Gus Malzahn holds.

[AUsince72 11,084]

24 minutes ago, Charleston Tiger said:

I truly think part of the issue with the O-line stems from the same lack of rhythm we keep talking about. Each QB has a different cadence, a different manner of snap count, etc. It's got to be tough to adjust that every series, let alone down. I think the only position that can 100% fairly be evaluated and judged based on this game is the one Gus Malzahn holds.

EXACTLY!

To take it a step further...  As awesome as the Defense was, can you imagine how much better even the DEFENSE would have looked had the offense been able to simply hold the ball longer?  CU was only 6 of 17 on 3rd downs and 1 of 3 on 4th downs.  It used to be that when the opposing team's offense was in 3rd or 4th and long, they had AU right where they wanted them.... Not Saturday night!  Outside of the 3rd Qtr, where AU actually did dominate TOP by almost 6 mins (didn't seem like it, right?) CU had the ball longer each qtr by an avg of roughly 2 mins per.  The Defense was getting the ball back constantly.  If AU's offense had performed simply "average" they would have dominated TOP and the Defensive performance would have gone from "great" to "Legendary".

Gus' offensive brain fart didn't just hurt the quarterbacks.  Heck, it didn't even just hurt the offense.  It hurt EVERYBODY!  Football is a "team sport" and it was never made more evident than last Saturday night.

[StatTiger 3,188]

Good news moving forward is that Coach Malzahn announced today the QB rotation was not successful. White remains the starter and JF3 will take the No. 2 reps. Great news for the offense and the goal of finding their identity for 2016. Great coaches make mistakes but what makes them great is the ability to recognize their mistakes and correct them. Auburn needs to clean up their execution errors from week #1 before rolling into conference play.

[AU-24 3,067]

3 minutes ago, StatTiger said:

Good news moving forward is that Coach Malzahn announced today the QB rotation was not successful. White remains the starter and JF3 will take the No. 2 reps. Great news for the offense and the goal of finding their identity for 2016. Great coaches make mistakes but what makes them great is the ability to recognize their mistakes and correct them. Auburn needs to clean up their execution errors from week #1 before rolling into conference play.

Thank the Lord. Thanks for posting!

[AUsince72 11,084]

5 minutes ago, StatTiger said:

Good news moving forward is that Coach Malzahn announced today the QB rotation was not successful. White remains the starter and JF3 will take the No. 2 reps. Great news for the offense and the goal of finding their identity for 2016. Great coaches make mistakes but what makes them great is the ability to recognize their mistakes and correct them. Auburn needs to clean up their execution errors from week #1 before rolling into conference play.

There are not enough *Likes* available for me to click here.

I am currently listening to the PC and I am STUNNED at just how much he's admitting and he's showing to be a stand up coach and leader.

Now I take back all of the bad words I've said about him.  Win or lose, at least he ain't as crazy as I thought he was and we now have hope again.

Edited September 6, 2016 by AUsince72

[AUDynasty 585]

9 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

There are not enough *Likes* available for me to click here.

I am currently listening to the PC and I am STUNNED at just how much he's admitting and he's showing to be a stand up coach and leader.

Now I take back all of the bad words I've said about him.  Win or lose, at least he ain't as crazy as I thought he was and we now have hope again.

I think the hope needs to be reserved until the production is evident against Arkansas State. With that being said, I think we'll deliver. Hopefully.

[AUsince72 11,084]

3 minutes ago, AUDynasty said:

I think the hope needs to be reserved until the production is evident against Arkansas State. With that being said, I think we'll deliver. Hopefully.

I don't disagree at all.  I just feel glad to have hope again!  ...and I like your optimism!

War Eagle!

[AUBwins 10,075]

So glad Malzahn decided to read this board

[GoAU 1,600]

According to AL.com today, the 3 headed monster is dead. SW is #1 & JF is #2, with JJ being "ready if needed".  

 

There was also a interesting article on Trooper (who is at Ark State) - he is very complimentary about Gus and his work ethic.  

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Your best article yet Stat. Agree with everything you said. 

[gman87 398]

For everyone preferring SW as starter, I asked about stats vs Power 5 opponents and someone provided the following from last season and Clemson:

Sean White

83 - 147 * 56% * 1139 * 1 TD * 5 Ints. * 14 Sacks

Jeremy Johnson 

64 - 111 * 57% *  644 * 5 TD * 6 Ints. * 11 Sacks

Is the yardage what makes the separation to everyone because I look at the TDs and at least JJ has thrown a few,

[AUsince72 11,084]

4 minutes ago, gman87 said:

For everyone preferring SW as starter, I asked about stats vs Power 5 opponents and someone provided the following from last season and Clemson:

Sean White

83 - 147 * 56% * 1139 * 1 TD * 5 Ints. * 14 Sacks

Jeremy Johnson 

64 - 111 * 57% *  644 * 5 TD * 6 Ints. * 11 Sacks

Is the yardage what makes the separation to everyone because I look at the TDs and at least JJ has thrown a few,

Not sure after last Saturday night that anybody cares which one he picks...  Just as long as he picks one.

Saturday night's horror show was a great Unifier for many.  Now, we'll just see how SW performs this Saturday.......and then I'm sure somebody will start a new QB he said/she said thread and things can pick up where they left off and all will be right with the AU Family Forum world.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

Not sure after last Saturday night that anybody cares which one he picks...  Just as long as he picks one.

Saturday night's horror show was a great Unifier for many.  Now, we'll just see how SW performs this Saturday.......and then I'm sure somebody will start a new QB he said/she said thread and things can pick up where they left off and all will be right with the AU Family Forum world.

Truth is, it's not going to be fun to be an AU QB this year.  Any one of them could come out and light it up, but every little mistake they make is going to be beat into the ground by the group of fans who vehemently believes that the other QBs are better.  Hopefully, when they are given time to settle in and get rhythm, they will prove to be better than they were on Saturday.