Things I Think I Saw: Auburn vs Vanderbilt....

[JMR 2,118]

Things I Think I Saw: Auburn vs Vanderbilt….

A quick reminder: I call this “Things I Think I Saw” because these are really just first impressions from watching the game. I don’t invest the time to study each play, or rewind the tape, so I may not have seen something accurately. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a play two or three times without seeing something I missed the first time. All that said, here are some things I *think* I saw in the AU-Vandy game….
 

• Auburn badly needs Sean White at quarterback. JFIII can absolutely run, but he is not really ready for SEC play when it comes to throwing or handling the ball. I’m glad we have Franklin, and I still believe he can help our offense in unique ways, but he’s not an every down player.

• With playing Tennessee State two weeks ago and an open date last week, Vandy had essentially three weeks to prepare and plan for the game. That time was obviously not wasted, as they came in with a solid plan on both sides of the ball. Even so, had Auburn had Sean White’s passing ability available in the first half, the game would likely not have been quite so close.

• White apparently really does have a shoulder problem of some sort. He understands the offense and the passing game well enough that he was able to execute, but he was not throwing the ball as well as in some other recent games. Kudos to the kid for manning up and getting it done in spite of his injury.

• Vandy has two former state champion wrestlers in their interior offensive line, and their mat skills were put to good use in the game. I lost count of the times I saw one of their offensive linemen grab an AU defender and pull him to the position they wanted. I’m not sure, but I don’t recall a single holding penalty being called on Vandy.

• On the subject of holding calls, I believe four were called on Auburn. One of those, the one on Alex Kozan, was a solid call. The ones on Stanton Truitt, Austin Golson, and Ryan Davis were (IMO) ridiculous. Two of those negated big plays by the Auburn offense and were factors in the game. The one on Ryan Davis was called by an official 20 yards away.

• My opinion won’t be popular, but I thought the targeting call on Deshaun Davis was pretty legit. Maybe the worst part of that one was the fact that the receiver had clearly not caught the ball, and I thought Davis could have pulled off. Pretty much everyone who’s ever played football has been taught to hit an opponent when given the opportunity, and most of us have used the helmet as a weapon. But the rules have changed, and as long as they’re enforced fairly and evenly, that’s not really a bad thing, although it is absolutely a tough habit to break.

• We missed Davis and Tre Williams terribly. T.J. Neal was a half-step to a step slow reacting to his reads in the first half, but did improve in the second half and made some important plays.

• Montavious Atkinson is coming on as a linebacker. He has speed, plays smart, and loves playing the game. Gotta be excited about the future with him.

• Darrell Williams is a young guy who has impressed me all season with his coverage ability. He is quickly becoming a more physical linebacker in addition to being able to cover, and his play is very impressive to me. The best is yet to come with both D. Williams and Atkinson.

• One of the most fun parts of watching Auburn play this season is Josh Holsey. After two ACL surgeries, he is a huge reason Auburn has won six straight games. He doesn’t win every matchup, but he plays every down like the game is on the line, and wins a lot more battles than he loses. Maybe most importantly, he appears to sincerely enjoy the game.

• The Auburn offensive series just before halftime was weird to me. AU was in terrible field position as a result of the botched trickery on the kick return, JFIII runs out of bounds to stop the clock we are hoping to run out, then we call a pass play which is completed short of a first down. Thankfully the pass was complete; otherwise the clock would have stopped again and we’d have had to punt out of our end zone with Vandy going all out to block it. Not trying to second guess anyone, but I found that entire series strange.

• Kerryon Johnson looked like his normal healthy self this week. With Pettway injured, that’s a huge thing and could not come at a better time.

• Excellent adjustment by Darius Slayton on the TD catch from Sean White. The ball sailed a little on White, but Slayton kept running, rather than reaching out for the ball, and was able to get to it. It looks like Slayton is starting to reach the potential we all thought he had when he was being recruited.

• A small detail that has been interesting to me for a couple of years now is the technique of our defensive ends at times. When the OT blocks down, the DE steps down with him. Pretty standard stuff, but our guys seem to allow the offensive blocker to get on their outside arm, which allows them to be “logged” (hooked), and results in them losing contain. I saw both Carl Lawson and Marlon Davidson do it in this game. On the positive side, I saw Derrick Brown execute the technique perfectly once when he was lined up at DE, and he made a big play.

• No idea how he graded out or showed up on the stat sheet, but Mon Adams played with great effort and hustle again. That guy is so talented and athletic, him giving great effort is always a factor in a game at some point.

• Chandler Cox had another good game blocking. Not perfect by any means, but he’s a critical factor in Auburn’s powerful running game.

• I was both surprised and impressed by the throwing accuracy of Vandy’s QB. Based on what I had seen on tape, I wasn’t expecting that. For the most part, Auburn covered well, but often the ball was thrown perfectly, and the Vandy receivers were better than I had thought.

• We have got to find a way to get our pass rush back, especially playing Georgia next week. Too many of our defensive linemen are trying to go through the middle of the blocker, and with any kind of quick passing game, that’s virtually impossible. Kudos to Carl Lawson for finally breaking through with a sack late in the game. On that play, there was a back assigned to help the OT with Lawson, and he beat them both with quickness.

• For the second week in a row, Maurice Swain batted down a pass. When people are using the quick game to minimize the pass rush, the best thing the defensive linemen can do is get their hands up to disrupt the throwing lanes. Both Swain and Mon Adams have done that recently, and with opponents opting for the quick game, we need more of that.

• In the series leading up to the blocked field goal, AU ran a sweep with both guards pulling. Unfortunately, Darius James took the lazy approach to sealing off the three-technique and what would have been a huge play ended in a big loss. I like DJ, but that kind of effort is not justifiable.

• The “Miracle at Jordan-Hare” was almost repeated in reverse, when Steven Roberts and Javaris Davis both went up for an INT on a 4th and 18 for Vandy. The result was obviously not a TD, but it kept Vandy”s last drive alive and could have been a disaster. A perfect teaching moment for future plays/games.

• Speaking of Javaris Davis, he was injured last week and left the game, but he appeared to be completely healthy this week. That’s important, as he is getting better every week and looks to have a very bright future at Auburn.The kid plays with unbridled enthusiasm.
• On the blocked field goal....Cunningham timed his jump perfectly, something I doubt he could do once in a dozen tries. Impressive to me on that play was the fact that holder Tyler Stovall immediately went to the ball and tackled the Vandy player trying to pick it up. Usually on a blocked kick, players are looking around for the ball, but Stovall knew exactly where it was and got there quickly.

I watched most of the Georgia-Kentucky game last night, and it looks like once again, UGA has gotten their act together just in time for the Auburn game. It seems likely that Auburn won’t have Bubba Pettway for this one, which makes the offensive game plan a little more critical than usual. AU has lots of weapons, and more than a little speed. How that can best be put to use against what Georgia likes to defensively is for Rhett Lashlee and Herb Hand to figure out today. Injuries are becoming a factor, but that’s the case with every team at this point in the season. Should be a knock-down, drag-out, and I’m looking forward to it!
 

War Eagle!!

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Excellent post!!  I agree that Auburn-UGA is going to be a good one.  I am making the trip to Athens this year, and I hope to leave with a smile on my face.  The D. Davis targeting hit was, in my opinion, a bad call.  Even though the receiver didn't catch the ball, it popped up in the air, and was still "catchable".  The thing that made this hit so difficult to call was the angle of the two players.  The WR was slanting in at a 45 degree angle, and D. Davis was approaching from the opposite 45 degree angle.  Davis' shoulder pads made contact with the receiver first (although it was a split second before) his head made contact with the body.  It was a tough call, but one I did not think should warrant an ejection.  A very similar hit happened on Marcus Davis on the 3rd and 15 pass he dropped later in the game.  Although not as brutal looking, it was very similar.  C. Cox is a blocking machine, but his one costly mistake was on the JF3 fumble.  He was the lead blocker, and should have engaged the Vandy DB who knocked the ball loose from JF3.  He chose to block another player, leaving the true threat a free shot at full speed on JF3.  Hard to blame JF3 for that lost fumble.  He had the ball secured, but that hit was right on the ball.  Officials, per the norm, were horrible.  Choke holds on Adams and Laswon all day, our Dlinemen being tackled from behind.  Not sure what Auburn has done to get on the bad side of every officiating crew in the country, but it's getting a little old.  At one point, I was like "Gus should tell the Oline that on the next snap, they should all reach up and rip the helmet off the vandy dlinemen across from them, and throw it over to the sideline".  Then go to the refs and say "start calling it fair, of the next time, the helmets are coming at you".  

[Randman5000 4,226]

Great observations. We need to take uga out this year. they will be playing to pass all over us, our defensive line needs a big game. 

[kd4au 1,145]

I think I saw an Auburn team not playing with fire and intensity that is required when playing an SEC team and maybe took vandy a little to lightly.The holding calls may have been a good thing to get us ready for all the bad calls we will get in Athens and turdville in the upcoming games.

[AUGoo 2,659]

Watching the hit that lead to  Deshaun Davis dismissal, it appearred to me that the angle of approach to make the tackle made it virtually impossible to not make that hit without his head somewhere in the vicinity of his chest.  I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that he could not pull up. I would imagine they are taught to make that tackle with the intent of dislodging the ball.  Having said all that, how do you teach these players to make that tackle?

Edited November 6, 2016 by AUGoo

[au701948 998]

I know we have a few good men that can hopefully fill the KP void this week, but gracious do we ever need a healthy and accurate SW for Ga. I am hoping that a little therapy and the past week without reps everyday, may be enough to bring him back. Having watched him through the last 4 games, he has shown a legitimate degree of confidence and dependability we desperately need. No one at AU will tell us anything, so will just have to be patient until Saturday. 

[jleam 0]

Good article. I agree with you. I especially agree with the comments about all the holding. Unbelievable how many times Vandy was blatantly holding and it was never called. I mean sometimes even taking Auburn to the ground. Needs to be addressed and quickly especially with the two tough road games coming up. I did think something was wrong with Pettway from the start of the game. I know he got a lot of yards but IMO he didn't seem to have that full force push through run that we're used to seeing from him. He's a load though. Next road game not going to be easy. Prayers that there will be rest and lots healing this week. 

[WarTim 3,456]

Thanks as always Coach!! WDE!!!

[milehighfan 1,240]

Offensively it appears we will be shorthanded. But we still have plenty of talent on offense to throw at UGA, they just need to stepid up. On defense there needs to be a renewed sense of urgency. It's obvious they took Vandy's way too lightly.Hopefully, that woke them and the coaching staff up to realize they are not good enough to take any team lightly.

[oracle79 3,569]

Nice observations.  2 points you made are very important.

We have got to VARY the snap count.  Seen people time it up too many times this year against the offense and now on FG attempt.

If it's 4th down and you can run out the clock after possession changes, you should NEVER intercept the ball - spike it into the ground like you're making a kill in volleyball.  Maybe 1000 stadium steps would cure that mindset. But, that's got to be a coaching emphasis also.  

Hopefully we are learning while winning.

[1913-14 263]

     "A small detail that has been interesting to me for a couple of years now is the technique of our defensive ends at times. When the OT blocks down, the DE steps down with him. Pretty standard stuff, but our guys seem to allow the offensive blocker to get on their outside arm, which allows them to be “logged” (hooked), and results in them losing contain. I saw both Carl Lawson and Marlon Davidson do it in this game. On the positive side, I saw Derrick Brown execute the technique perfectly once when he was lined up at DE, and he made a big play."

You are spot on and as a former stand-up DE it is maddening. That constantly causes us to lose the edge.

[logan adams 333]

JF3 is getting too much hate. He was 2/4 on passing, one of those should've been caught, the other every man was covered so he wisely threw it away. Sure, the fumble was big, and he should've secured the ball better. JF3 played in four series in the first half. Two were scoring drives, one he busted for a long run, just didn't hold on to the ball, and the last drive was deep inside our own territory in the final moments of the first half. JF3 is getting too much flack. The biggest issue in the first half was the defense. Hands down. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, logan adams said:

JF3 is getting too much hate. He was 2/4 on passing, one of those should've been caught, the other every man was covered so he wisely threw it away. Sure, the fumble was big, and he should've secured the ball better. JF3 played in four series in the first half. Two were scoring drives, one he busted for a long run, just didn't hold on to the ball, and the last drive was deep inside our own territory in the final moments of the first half. JF3 is getting too much flack. The biggest issue in the first half was the defense. Hands down. 

While I agree that he did a decent job filling in, you have to admit that the offense ran better, across the board, when Sean came back in. John's real strength is when he runs the ball... and the fumble was a serious issue, because if he can't hold the ball it negates his benefit.

The fact that Vandy did not prepare for the read option, yet we struggled to drive the field running it, tells me it's not ready for prime time.

[bigbird 60,509]

2 hours ago, logan adams said:

JF3 is getting too much hate. He was 2/4 on passing, one of those should've been caught, the other every man was covered so he wisely threw it away. Sure, the fumble was big, and he should've secured the ball better. JF3 played in four series in the first half. Two were scoring drives, one he busted for a long run, just didn't hold on to the ball, and the last drive was deep inside our own territory in the final moments of the first half. JF3 is getting too much flack. The biggest issue in the first half was the defense. Hands down. 

There were a couple times where he took off with receivers running free.

[WDavE 332]

Very early in the game we blitzed one of our linebackers. The Vandy center grabbed him as he was going by and spun him around. 

 

Nary a call! Without that the qb would have never gotten the pass off.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

Montavious Atkinson has played well every time he has been given the chance.  

[jenn4AU 24]

8 hours ago, JMR said:

The “Miracle at Jordan-Hare” was almost repeated in reverse, when Steven Roberts and Javaris Davis both went up for an INT on a 4th and 18 for Vandy. The result was obviously not a TD, but it kept Vandy”s last drive alive and could have been a disaster. A perfect teaching moment for future plays/games.

The thing I know I saw on that play was that it should not have counted as Vandy did not get the snap off in time. Should have been delay of game. 

[WeagleAU 594]

16 minutes ago, jenn4AU said:

The thing I know I saw on that play was that it should not have counted as Vandy did not get the snap off in time. Should have been delay of game. 

You are right.  I saw that too.  Very frustrating.

[Tony Buford 7]

Great analysis as always coach. Now if we can just get healthy for Amen Corner. 

Do you have thoughts on the red zone strategy? Stat Tiger says that we  scored touchdowns only 33 percent of our red zone opportunities yesterday. When we got into the RZ we seemed to slow our pace down and became much less effective. Maybe it was designed because of JF3 or maybe the coaches were trying to give the defense more rest but I worry that Gus is starting to make more decisions on play calling when we are in the RZ.

Thoughts? 

[Charhair 345]

I liked your note on watch Holsey play 

 

it took a lot of self control on that last drive, after the defense has multiple big (momentum shifting) plays in a row for him to be calm enough to sit back and bait their QB into making a throw he knew he could pick off.

Knowing that a young QB who is caught up in the moment will jump at the oppurtunity to throw to the first "open" WR while he's pumped up about a lucky play and a last minute drive to upset the #9 team. 

Of course that's what you hope to get out of a veteran but it's impressed me ever since it happened. Extremely heads up play

[EagleEye 5]

Coach, was Prince Wahnogo getting some playing time? The camera showed him multiple times during play stoppages, but I couldn't tell if he was actually in the game or just listening to the game planning.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, bigbird said:

There were a couple times where he took off with receivers running free.

I don't think he sees the field very well yet.

[doc4aday 1,887]

I hope that Rhett will work with JFIII to get him ready for UGA. Would JJ be an option if JF cannot get the job done? Jason Smith is another possible choice. Looking at the big picture, Maybe taking the redshirt off of Woody Barrett. It will be more than worth it to have him come in and help us to get through the next 3 possibly 4 games. Everything hinges on beating UGA. This is the most important game of the season so far.

 

 

[WeagleAU 594]

Does Auburn not have an answer for the short quick passes?

This is the second week in a row that the defense has gotten torched by quick short passes.  Vanderbilt put 221 yards passing on this defense, that is the most they've had all season and since last season's opener.  Chad Kelly set a school record against Auburn's defense.  Will Auburn be able to stop the bleeding?  I didn't see much of an adjustment Saturday.

[WeagleAU 594]

10 hours ago, AUGoo said:

Watching the hit that lead to  Deshaun Davis dismissal, it appearred to me that the angle of approach to make the tackle made it virtually impossible to not make that hit without his head somewhere in the vicinity of his chest.  I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that he could not pull up. I would imagine they are taught to make that tackle with the intent of dislodging the ball.  Having said all that, how do you teach these players to make that tackle?

I agree.  What is a tackle anymore?  A good clean hit?  Who knows?  It appears that SEC officiating is having a hard time calling consistently across the board, that is for sure.  This targeting stuff is getting ridiculous...