Projected 2017 Starting Lineup

[ellitor 33,062]

17 minutes ago, AUMASTERS said:

Jeff Holland was in the back field all night , he just over- pursued, or flat out miss -tackled Mayfield.

Was mauled against the run though. Has to get better there to be more than a 3rd down specialist.

[ellitor 33,062]

2 minutes ago, Linayus said:

Same!

So, am I the only one who lost faith in KJ's ability to really contribute to the team? His KR skills are severely lacking, his RB skills are sub-par even when healthy, and he really doesn't look like the shifty/speed back we were all told he was. I like the guy and he showed flashes of what he could do (like his toughness against LSU) but overall it was just meh.

If he's not at least 3rd on our depth chart next fall, I'll be worried about our RB position.

He'll start out as the #2 RB next season. Whether Miller, K-Mart, or Barrett passes remains to be seen.

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

2 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Was about to hit like until I saw this part.  I'll have faith too if Stidham winds up with 1000+ rushing yards.  Cue the Chris Todd and Tulsa years refrain from the chorus now.

The part about cohesive unit is not a knock on the coaching staff every year in college football because of player turnover that is an issue.  Especially on the Offensive line and on the Defensive line because of the starters we are losing. If I misstated that part and appeared to be a knock I apologize it was not meant to be.

[Butthead 525]

I am no football coach, but what baffles, confuses, and aggravates the sh*t out of me is that we recruit these small, blazing fast players and cannot figure out how to get them the f'n ball in space to make plays.  Can someone explain that to me?

[Timeslider 6 269]

Regardless of the lineup, we need some one to develop the players and call the plays that will put them in a position to win. I really hope Gus grows as a HC over the summer and takes an open mind and less of a stubborn attitude into next fall.

[ellitor 33,062]

5 minutes ago, Butthead said:

I am no football coach, but what baffles, confuses, and aggravates the sh*t out of me is that we recruit these small, blazing fast players and cannot figure out how to get them the f'n ball in space to make plays.  Can someone explain that to me?

Only Gus can and I'm not even sure he can explain his logic there.

[ellitor 33,062]

7 minutes ago, Timeslider 6 said:

Regardless of the lineup, we need some one to develop the players and call the plays that will put them in a position to win. I really hope Gus grows as a HC over the summer and takes an open mind and less of a stubborn attitude into next fall.

[cole256 17,039]

16 hours ago, ellitor said:

He was not running crisp enough routes for Gus's taste.

Then Gus is stupid

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 hours ago, Linayus said:

So, am I the only one who lost faith in KJ's ability to really contribute to the team? His KR skills are severely lacking, his RB skills are sub-par even when healthy

I strongly disagree. He's no Devin Hester returning kicks, but "severely lacking" seems awfully strong. As for not contributing and being a sub-par RB when healthy, I think that's way, way, way off the mark. He had the 2nd best catch of the season (which was incorrectly ruled not a catch) and almost got to 1,000 yards rushing despite missing several games and giving up most of the carries to Pettway. Also, there's a reason he had 11 touchdowns rushing and another passing. He's smart and he can be trusted. He's one of the best overall football players on the team. Who knows, that might not be saying much, but I believe to be true. 

[Linayus 676]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I strongly disagree. He's no Devin Hester returning kicks, but "severely lacking" seems awfully strong. As for not contributing and being a sub-par RB when healthy, I think that's way, way, way off the mark. He had the 2nd best catch of the season (which was incorrectly ruled not a catch) and almost got to 1,000 yards rushing despite missing several games and giving up most of the carries to Pettway. Also, there's a reason he had 11 touchdowns rushing and another passing. He's smart and he can be trusted. He's one of the best overall football players on the team. Who knows, that might not be saying much, but I believe to be true. 

He doesn't appear to have any vision on returns. Like someone else said before, getting to the 30 seemed to be it for our return game and that was more on KJ than anyone else. He either ran to the sideline or right into the thick of the coverage team.

He contributes - but not in the way a true RB should. Getting nearly 1000 yards was more by offensive design than effort on his part. He's smart and reliable, I agree, but he's not a premier player. Maybe he'll get more opportunity with Stidham as QB next season to prove me wrong. I do like him as a passing option RB.

I could be overly critical of him due to the way we ended the season with him as our primary back (admittedly not 100%) but I never once liked him doing KR. I believe we have several other guys on the team that could've made a better impact at that position.

[McLoofus 35,182]

17 minutes ago, Linayus said:

I never once liked him doing KR. I believe we have several other guys on the team that could've made a better impact at that position.

That much is fair.

[Barnacle 9,064]

21 minutes ago, Linayus said:

He contributes - but not in the way a true RB should. Getting nearly 1000 yards was more by offensive design than effort on his part. He's smart and reliable, I agree, but he's not a premier player. Maybe he'll get more opportunity with Stidham as QB next season to prove me wrong. I do like him as a passing option RB.

I love him as a passing option, third down back. I hated him as a 1st and 2nd down back, but I was extremely pleased with how he handled the responsibility. He's also done very well in the wildcat. 

[Linayus 676]

34 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

That much is fair.

Unfortunately, every time I think of him doing KR now I think of that last return in the Georgia game. :/

[lionheartkc 6,150]

43 minutes ago, Linayus said:

I never once liked him doing KR. I believe we have several other guys on the team that could've made a better impact at that position.

I guarantee you that Gus's #1 focus on returns is catching the ball and he's going to put the guy who does that best back there, no matter how good he is at the rest. Gus values ball protection above all else... to a fault. That being said, I hope one of our speedsters is working on catching kicks.

[Linayus 676]

2 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I guarantee you that Gus's #1 focus on returns is catching the ball and he's going to put the guy who does that best back there, no matter how good he is at the rest. Gus values ball protection above all else... to a fault. That being said, I hope one of our speedsters is working on catching kicks.

I do give him (and Marcus Davis) kudos for that. We might not have gotten very many returns this year but we rarely made mistakes either. I just really miss having guys back there like Chris Davis!

[ellitor 33,062]

2 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

I guarantee you that Gus's #1 focus on returns is catching the ball and he's going to put the guy who does that best back there, no matter how good he is at the rest. Gus values ball protection above all else... to a fault. That being said, I hope one of our speedsters is working on catching kicks.

Returning kicks ain't all about speed. Gotta be able to shake & bake a bit too.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

18 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Returning kicks ain't all about speed. Gotta be able to shake & bake a bit too.

True, but the faster you are, the further you can get down field before contact. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

19 hours ago, ellitor said:

To big and not explosive enough to be a weakside end and at this point I don't see him beating out Russell, Brown, or Davidson for 1 of the other 3 starting spots.

Cowart (:) didn't even participate in the bowl game, so i don't know what's going on with him for next year.

Anyone know why he didn't even see the field in the game?

[ellitor 33,062]

7 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

Coward didn't even participate in the bowl game, so i don't know what's going on with him for next year.

Anyone know why he didn't even see the field in the game?

IDK but you might want to edit his name.

[ScottsboroAuburnFan 462]

He moved to his new position and I'm not sure he is ready yet. He was full time DT  And will go into spring the same. He is set to battle Brown for the starting spot.  James, Davidson, Holland and Coe will be top DE. With Russell, Cowart,Brown, and Williams the top DT... I'm really excited about LB, with everyone returning, Atkinson is real close to pushing to start beside DD and Tre... The Online will be great if Smith returns, if not I really hope Horton can fill the role if James is at RT or LG. Also I wouldn't rule out Ashley playing at Guard his first season.

[kd4au 1,145]

8 hours ago, Butthead said:

I am no football coach, but what baffles, confuses, and aggravates the sh*t out of me is that we recruit these small, blazing fast players and cannot figure out how to get them the f'n ball in space to make plays.  Can someone explain that to me?

Or use them on kickoff or punt returns.

[ScottsboroAuburnFan 462]

Anyone know anything about this Jeff Ford kid that walked on? He is a TE that was all county, all region, & all state as a TE. He is 6'4" 250lbs. Was apparently very good in HS. Wonder if he can earn some PT with our limited depth at TE.

[doc4aday 1,887]

I would love to see the 2-3 deep at all positions both sides of the ball. I hope we will be close on the D-line depth wise like this season. I have no clue how this would take shape. Gus & CKS need to hire the DB coach very soon. The longer we wait, the more it is going to effect recruiting. I know we need to be careful in selecting the coach, but it should wrap up soon.

[ellitor 33,062]

1 hour ago, ScottsboroAuburnFan said:

He moved to his new position and I'm not sure he is ready yet. He was full time DT  And will go into spring the same. He is set to battle Brown for the starting spot.  James, Davidson, Holland and Coe will be top DE. With Russell, Cowart,Brown, and Williams the top DT... I'm really excited about LB, with everyone returning, Atkinson is real close to pushing to start beside DD and Tre... The Online will be great if Smith returns, if not I really hope Horton can fill the role if James is at RT or LG. Also I wouldn't rule out Ashley playing at Guard his first season.

Respectfully asking but since when? I have not seen anything stating that.

[cole256 17,039]

I don't get all the KJ hate lately....he didn't even play most of the year healthy.....usually you get kudos for that....