Things I Think I Saw: Auburn vs Ole Miss.....

[JMR 2,118]

Things I Think I Saw: Auburn vs Ole Miss…..

A reminder for those who may have read this little column before, and a clarifier for those who have not: These are just impressions after watching the game once, without benefit of going back and watching plays over and over. I’ve never watched a film or tape of a game a second time without seeing something I didn’t see the first time, or seeing something differently from the first time. So if you saw something differently than I did, that’s fine. You may be right, and I may have missed something, or seen it wrong. All that said, here are some things I *think* I saw in the Ole Miss game, and some thoughts around those things…..
 

• Pretty much everybody who follows college football knows Chad Kelly can be awfully good when he is “on.” He was definitely in that groove in this game. He threw the ball with impressive accuracy and often fit his throws into small windows in tight coverage.

• To no one’s surprise, Ole Miss had a plan to use their quick game to neutralize Auburn’s heretofore excellent pass rush. That worked for the most part, although Auburn did produce two sacks and should have gotten an intentional grounding call.

• The Ole Miss wide receivers are a formidable group. They have seven receivers who are 6-2 or taller, and they seemingly all have long arms and can run. Auburn’s best cover corner all season has been Carlton Davis. Not unexpectedly, Davis drew the man coverage assignment on the outside receiver on the weak side of the Rebs’ formation. I don’t recall seeing Davis beaten “badly” but he definitely gained some experience in this one. Kelly hit back-shoulder throws, and even true freshman receiver A.J. Brown out-muscled Davis on a couple of slant patterns. Experience can be a very expensive teacher but in this case it didn’t cost Auburn in the end, and one of our future studs got some valuable learning.

• Was fun to watch Josh Holsey play against Kelly and the Ole Miss passing game. After two ACL surgeries, Holsey was Auburn’s best defender in the secondary this week, playing hard and smart, and making critical plays. His interception in the fourth quarter may have been a game-saver, and it was well-executed. Always great to see a young man enjoy success after paying an extraordinary price for the privilege of playing the game.

• Alex Kozan continues to perform at a very high level on the offensive line. One of the reasons Auburn’s zone blocking is working so well inside is that the linemen are finding the right defender as they execute. Kozan is doing that exceptionally well.

• Chandler Cox was a huge factor in Auburn’s running game success last night. After a disappointing beginning to the season, Cox has steadily improved his blocking, and is paving the way for a majority of Auburn’s big running plays.

• I thought Auburn’s “heavy set” offensively was interesting, as, instead of bringing in a 6th offensive lineman as a tight end, they brought Mike Horton in at Braden Smith’s guard spot, and moved Braden out to tight end. Kind of makes sense to do it that way in my opinion, as it gets Horton some experience at the position he actually “plays” and uses a more experienced player at tight end.

• Have to admit I was a little surprised when Rhett Lashlee pulled out the old tackle-eligible play with an offensive lineman (in this case, Darius James) lined up imitating a wide receiver. Despite James’ “I’m open! I’m open!” antics, no one in the Ole Miss secondary was fooled into covering him (he was not an eligible receiver). Still, the Rebs did fail to account for “tackle” Jalen Harris on the other side, resulting in an uncontested touchdown catch for Harris. A question: Since Harris is actually a tight end by trade, does that play count as a pass to a tight end…..even though he was lined up as a tackle?

• The fact that Chad Kelly was able to set an Ole Miss individual game passing record against our defense is certainly disappointing. But credit where it’s due, the Reb coaching staff had a great plan to minimize Auburn’s pass rush, and Kelly was as hot as I’ve ever seen him. The Auburn secondary had to be concerned with double moves by the OM wide receivers, set up by Kelly’s trademark pump fakes. Those pump fakes, combined with great timing by the quarterback and his receivers, make it awfully hard to break on the ball. It was a tough night back there, and I’m just grateful that we got out of it with a win. Hopefully our DB’s learned a few things that will help them at some point through the rest of the season.

• I liked the heart shown by Sean White in the game. He wasn’t perfect, and missed a couple of possible TD throws. But he was tough throughout the game, was never rattled, and hit on 68% of his attempts. He also ran well enough to keep some key drives alive. Interestingly, with OM having the “big gun” in Kelly, and Auburn supposedly having more of a “short and intermediate” guy in White, Auburn averaged 11.2 yards per pass attempt against OM’s 7.9, and 16.5 yards per completed pass against the Rebs’ 12.9.

• Left tackle Darius James finally had the “inconsistency” in a game that we’ve heard about in practice. I like DJ, but he definitely whiffed a couple of times last night, once in pass protection (resulting in a sack of Sean White), and once on a running play. DJ has been a factor in Auburn’s offensive resurgence, and he’ll need to get himself back on track this week.

• The non-call of intentional grounding on Kelly with 16 seconds left in the half was pretty incredible. The closest “receiver in the area” was at least 13 yards away from where the ball was thrown. I realize that officials are human, and can’t possibly see everything. But that was one of the strangest no-calls of intentional grounding I’ve ever seen.

• Speaking of calls and no-calls, the late hit penalty on Andrew Williams out of bounds was disappointing. Auburn has done a great job of avoiding those stupid late hits, and I think it’s really made a difference in our defense. That was an especially dumb one by Williams, and I’m sure he’s already heard plenty about it. There was quite a bit of holding going on by the OM offensive line, and if I recall correctly, only one was called. Let’s hope this crew isn’t assigned to the Iron Bowl.

• I like what I’m seeing from Eli Stove in the speed part of the running game. He only needs a crack, or one timely block, and he may go the distance any time.

• Realizing that Auburn only threw the ball 22 times, I thought Sean White adjusted very well to the absence of Tony Stevens, who had been his favorite target so far this season. Kyle Davis continues to impress, and did a great job beating the DB on the deep pass that White missed him on.

• Another tremendous effort by Marlon Davidson. And Montravius Adams continues to play as well as any defensive linemen in our league. When Auburn stood OM off on the goal line in the third quarter, Adams knocked Ole Miss’ senior center completely on his butt, then made the tackle for a loss.

• Was glad to see Jeff Holland get a sack. He was really close a couple of other times. Holland was using strictly a speed rush, which I thought was pretty smart given the inexperience of the Rebs’ offensive tackles.

• I had thought Ole Miss fans might have been a little down on their team, with four losses for the first time in a while, so I was a little surprised to hear that the crowd for this one was the second largest in Ole Miss history. The game was hard fought and close enough throughout that I’m certain every Hoddy Toddy there was vocal until the end, so great experience for our guys to play and win in a very hostile environment.

• For the second consecutive game, DeShaun Davis did not appear to be 100% healthy. He may have missed more tackles/plays last night than he has all season. Got to admire a kid’s toughness when he plays hurt, but when you can’t perform, it’s time to step aside and let someone else do it until you can. We need DD healthy for Amen Corner.

• Kerryon Johnson also didn’t appear to be completely over his ankle problem. Another one we need healthy for the stretch.

• And, finally, this just in from Captain Obvious: Kam Pettway is a stud. I happened to be listening to the pregame show with Rod Bramblett, Stan White, and Ronnie Brown yesterday. Ronnie said he overheard two Miss State players on the field during that game…..Pettway had just made a play, and one State DB said to another, “Tackle him!”. The other replied, “YOU tackle him!”.

Time now to heal up and get ready for Vandy. This was a physical game, as Ole Miss was backed into a corner and tried to fight through it at home. At least three Auburn players left the game and did not return. We should have enough depth available to deal successfully with Vanderbilt but we’ll need all hands on deck the following week for Georgia.

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks for the report.....one other thought....seems that the AU defensive strategy was to keep the ball in front of the DBs....lots of open short passes but other than the fortuitous drop late in the game, the AU defense did let the receivers get open deep and I guess OM respected the AU rush potential such that they did not try many of those.....and we did not give up a real home run play.    If was painful to watch the open receivers on the short passes but the D did a better job as OM got closer to the red zone.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Eli Stove is super fast. What a weapon. 

[WarTim 3,456]

Thanks Coach. Always enjoy your insight. God Bless and WDE !!!

[WarTiger 3,901]

33 minutes ago, JMR said:

 

• I thought Auburn’s “heavy set” offensively was interesting, as, instead of bringing in a 6th offensive lineman as a tight end, they brought Mike Horton in at Braden Smith’s guard spot, and moved Braden out to tight end. Kind of makes sense to do it that way in my opinion, as it gets Horton some experience at the position he actually “plays”, and uses a more experienced player at tight end.   Did Braden Smith change his number for the play?  If not, he wasn't a tight end. He was a tackle. Unless he changed his number he's not eligible to go down field for a pass.

• Have to admit I was a little surprised when Rhett Lashlee pulled out the old tackle-eligible play with an offensive lineman (in this case, Darius James) lined up imitating a wide receiver. Despite James’ “I’m open! I’m open!” antics, no one in the Ole Miss secondary was fooled into covering him (he was not an eligible receiver). Still, the Rebs did fail to account for “tackle” Jalen Harris on the other side, resulting in an uncontested touchdown catch for Harris. A question: Since Harris is actually a tight end by trade, does that play count as a pass to a tight end…..even though he was lined up as a tackle?   No such thing as a tackle eligible in college football.  It doesn't exist.  Harris was an end not a tackle.  He has to be on the end of the line or in the backfield to be eligible to go downfield and since he was on the line, he had to be on the end, therefore he's an end not a tackle.    I realize this may be playing semantics a bit but the term tackle eligible is used incorrectly since a tackle is never eligible to go down field on a pass play. 

Other than that noted above, great job as usual.  I really enjoy reading these every week.

[Richard78 73]

Saw a stat that of Pettway's 236 yards, 154 came after contact

[Tony Buford 7]

Thanks, Coach. My sons and I were at the game. The thing that stood out to me about the defense was how tired they were by the middle of the third quarter. And I think that explains some of the missed tackles in the secondary. But they continued to fight and I never saw diminished effort. 

The old saying that "fatigue makes cowards of us all" was not true of the Auburn D. And in some ways that was the most gratifying lesson to me. 

[icanthearyou 4,462]

"You tackle him"   That's AUsome!  

Great observation on DD.  We need to get him 100% healthy.

Love this thread!

[alexava 6,973]

DeShaun Davis looked a little heavy too. It wouldn't hurt him to lose a few pounds. Not complaining because he is the best we have had in a long time. 

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

Count on other teams - most notably UGa and Bama - trying this olé miss blueprint that shredded our secondary for the first half, although they won't have Chad Kelly on an "on" night and a volleyball team disguised as WRs. Steele made decent halftime adjustments IMO and this was NOT his pre Auburn MO of having a D occasionally torched whistle to whistle (see e.g his Clemson swansong vs W Va etc).

[aubaseball 2,590]

If Uga and bama try what ole miss does it will be the best thing could happen for auburn.    Neither of those teams can match what ole miss does in the passing game.   To me, the biggest plays were made by the swing passes to the running back.   They converted several third and longs on those plays.    Make a stop on those plays and the d comes off the field.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

 

Great post as usual Coach. I have not re-watched the film but I was pretty sure that the DBs closed on on the line of scrimmage the second half, thus disrupting the route early and eliminating the quick pass. I think that is why our dline was able to get to Kelly the second half. Great game and will actually help these guys going forward. As for uga and uat going forward Hurt is more of a runner instead of passer and Eason hasn't showed me much of ether ability. Heck right now I expect more from Vandy than uga. Personally I think Mark was more of the reason for uga's success recently than their team was. I look for us to own uga for a while.  WDE

[DyeCampAlum 335]

I always look forward to this post -- thanks so much, Coach.
I love White as a player: he has guts. I do wish he'd settle down with his throwing, though.

And I sure am glad Ole Miss was hurting on the OL. That game didn't have to end well.

[tgr4lfe 220]

22 hours ago, JMR said:

Alex Kozan continues to perform at a very high level on the offensive line. One of the reasons Auburn’s zone blocking is working so well inside is that the linemen are finding the right defender as they execute. Kozan is doing that exceptionally well.

How about him blocking two defenders on that goal line run??  One of them (on the inside) did make the tackle on the RB (KJ?) right at the goal line but b/c of Kozan he was off balance and the RB was able to get across the goal line.

[doc4aday 1,887]

23 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

Eli Stove is super fast. What a weapon. 

What is Eli's forty speed? I would guess it is in the 4.4 range. He may not be as fast as JFIII, but he is pretty close.

[AU-24 3,063]

23 hours ago, WarTiger said:

Other than that noted above, great job as usual.  I really enjoy reading these every week.

Other than noted above? Lol

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

On 10/30/2016 at 1:58 PM, JMR said:

Realizing that Auburn only threw the ball 22 times, I thought Sean White adjusted very well to the absence of Tony Stevens, who had been his favorite target so far this season. Kyle Davis continues to impress, and did a great job beating the DB on the deep pass that White missed him on.

Some of the misses in other games have been overthrows, but this one appeared to be more on the receiver to me. It was not an overthrow, but was thrown to the inside of the receiver, away from the defender. The WR has to adjust to the ball on these deep balls. I agree with your overall point though, start hooking up here and look out. 

[AUGoo 2,659]

Where was Tony Stevens?

[LKEEL75 2,566]

16 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

Where was Tony Stevens?

He was injured.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

20 hours ago, aucanucktiger said:

Count on other teams - most notably UGa and Bama - trying this olé miss blueprint that shredded our secondary for the first half, although they won't have Chad Kelly on an "on" night and a volleyball team disguised as WRs. Steele made decent halftime adjustments IMO and this was NOT his pre Auburn MO of having a D occasionally torched whistle to whistle (see e.g his Clemson swansong vs W Va etc).

I hope Georgia tries it.  You can bet that this D will dissect that film to the second to figure out what happened.  They are happy we won, but pissed that they gave up that many yards.  They won't let it happen that way again.

Edited October 31, 2016 by lionheartkc

[1913-14 263]

On ‎10‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 3:38 PM, WarTiger said:

       Have to admit I was a little surprised when Rhett Lashlee pulled out the old tackle-eligible play with an offensive lineman (in this case, Darius James) lined up imitating a wide receiver. Despite James’ “I’m open! I’m open!” antics, no one in the Ole Miss secondary was fooled into covering him (he was not an eligible receiver). Still, the Rebs did fail to account for “tackle” Jalen Harris on the other side, resulting in an uncontested touchdown catch for Harris. A question: Since Harris is actually a tight end by trade, does that play count as a pass to a tight end…..even though he was lined up as a tackle?   No such thing as a tackle eligible in college football.  It doesn't exist.  Harris was an end not a tackle.  He has to be on the end of the line or in the backfield to be eligible to go downfield and since he was on the line, he had to be on the end, therefore he's an end not a tackle.    I realize this may be playing semantics a bit but the term tackle eligible is used incorrectly since a tackle is never eligible to go down field on a pass play. 

Ditto,that's the TE pass I alluded to last week when someone lamented not throwing to that position...AND ,btw,Jalen Hurts is no Chad Kelly

[Charhair 345]

20 hours ago, doc4aday said:

What is Eli's forty speed? I would guess it is in the 4.4 range. He may not be as fast as JFIII, but he is pretty close.

I think jf3 is much faster on the field. They may have similar 40 times but jf3 has that speed that translates perfectly to the football field. 

Right now, I believe stove is a fast WR. Jf3 has freaky elite speed. The way he makes everyone else on the field look like they're walking when he runs is crazy.

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 hours ago, Charhair said:

I think jf3 is much faster on the field. They may have similar 40 times but jf3 has that speed that translates perfectly to the football field. 

Right now, I believe stove is a fast WR. Jf3 has freaky elite speed. The way he makes everyone else on the field look like they're walking when he runs is crazy.

JFIII's acceleration is also off the charts. I've never watched video of him in a track competition, but I'd be willing to bet that he won of a lot of races in the first 20 meters or so. 

Another fun topic to "fight" about for sure. 

[augolf1716 21,101]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

JFIII's acceleration is also off the charts. I've never watched video of him in a track competition, but I'd be willing to bet that he won of a lot of races in the first 20 meters or so. 

Another fun topic to "fight" about for sure. 

pot stirrer

[doc4aday 1,887]

who is the fastest OL of the starting group?  Also, who is the fastest DL of the starting group?  Some fun topics to chew the fat over!

Edited November 1, 2016 by doc4aday