***FINAL: Auburn 41 Georgia Southern 7 --- Post-Game Thread***

[lionheartkc 6,150]

36 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

BTW a theme continued that has been going on for years. WHY ARE WE SO BAD AT  WR SCREENS?! We see every week every season teams execute a screen pass for a long gain or at least a first down. We struggle to get a few yards...... Blocking is so bad on the outside.

I think it's because we throw into wide receiver screens where we have a 2 on 2 match-up, leaving 1 defender unblocked. Everytime I see it used against us, they have enough blockers to pick up all of our defenders.

[kd4au 1,145]

46 minutes ago, AUwent said:

I know that those in the know here say he'll be back, but I have a bad feeling in my gut about Pettway--he'll come back in very limited amounts, struggle, and then be dismissed, and we learn of attitude problems, etc. For us, it seems like there's no such thing as a one-time suspension (NM in 2014 is an exception). I pray it's the case here.

I hope your wrong, because if your right were screwed.

[Indy 166]

Whew.

 

Just arrived back home after the 8-hour drive.  It was an amazing weekend on the Plains for my family...our first Auburn home game, and my boys loved every minute of it.  A few of my observatons:

 

1: Stidham certainly looked as though he hadn't played in 19 months during the first half.  Did NOT look comfortable in the pocket (a lot of happy feet instances) and hesitated too often.  Much better in the 2nd half as he confidently moved when flushed instead of trying to dance away from coverage.  And that TD pass to put AU up 41-7 was a beauty... only one person had a chance to catch it.  One thing's for sure, he cannot hold that ball for 4-5 seconds in the pocket against Clemson or our SEC foes.  

 

2. Kerryon -- why oh why so many Wildcat formations?  I get it, you want to get the ball into the hands of your best playmakers, but I cringed at the multitude of WFs early on.  

 

3. Defense -- Yes, the D is always going to be ahead of the offense during Week #1, but good grief that was a swarm on the field last night.  At one point early in the 2nd half I believe GSU had 4 straight negative plays, and their rushing yardgage had dropped from 42 to 13 yrds.  Impressive isn't even the word.  Pure coincidence, but GSU plays up here in Bloomington in the next week or two against IU.  Will be very interesting to see how the Hoosier's defense can fare trying to contain this triple option.

 

4. Misc -- Not game related, but we dropped way too much cash at Tiger Rags and J&M, had a GREAT lunch at Momma Goldberg's on Donahue, tried like hell to see some of the Tiger Walk, and the kids even got to try to roll the Oaks after the game.  

 

5. AU Family -- We've been Auburn fans since 1992 (both my wife and I are Indiana grads, but both had good friends attend AU while we were in school) and have had many interactions with the Tiger faithful.  Most recently catching the Auburn-UK game in Lexington in 2015 and the A-Day game in 2016.  And we've been to campus many, many times on non-football weekends.  But this weekend was absolutely perfect, on so many levels.  The weather, the atmosphere, the game ... and of course, the people.  Never have we had a negative experience in or around Auburn and once again it was a joy to be around THE best football fanbase in the country.  We are already looking forward to our next trip down, and do hope to make it an annual event for the family from here on.

[bigbird 60,452]

1 hour ago, AUwent said:

I know that those in the know here say he'll be back, but I have a bad feeling in my gut about Pettway--he'll come back in very limited amounts, struggle, and then be dismissed, and we learn of attitude problems, etc. For us, it seems like there's no such thing as a one-time suspension (NM in 2014 is an exception). I pray it's the case here.

Nope

[bigbird 60,452]

1 hour ago, GwillMac6 said:

I was discouraged we did not see ANY not ONCE any screen passes or dump offs to the RBs. That is a chip lindsey special when he is running HIS offense the way he wants too. We are not fully taking advantage of KJ's ability by not throwing the ball to him. He was such a stud in the passing game in high school.

Why do you think that is?

[GwillMac6 20,659]

Just now, bigbird said:

Why do you think that is?

I am just a dude who watched on his couch. That is what you are here for coach!!! To bridge the gaps between the ones who are just fans!

[steeleagle 2,945]

31 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Well... there is the fact that Johnson went down fairly early into the game and that is NOT Martin's strength. Had Johnson stayed healthy, we may have seen it... or we may have kept it under wraps.

I think the best back to use in the passing game is going to be Barrett, until KJ comes back. I noticed they tried the wheel route with him, like they do KJ, and I think they threw another one to him in the flat. Evidently he has the quickness and I guess the hands to play that role. I just don't know how much he knows the plays as a FR. 

[bigbird 60,452]

1 minute ago, GwillMac6 said:

I am just a dude who watched on his couch. That is what you are here for coach!!! To bridge the gaps between the ones who are just fans!

Lol not even. Just wanted to really get your opinion.

 

To me, it looked like we ran maybe 10 different plays with a couple of those being from the wildcat. IMO, we tried  to run the most basic set of our base O as possible.  Even when we needed a little extra in order to get a 1st down or a score, we kept it simple and ran the same plays.

[steeleagle 2,945]

Just now, bigbird said:

Lol not even. Just wanted to really get your opinion.

 

To me, it looked like we ran maybe 10 different plays with a couple of those being from the wildcat. IMO, we tried  to run the most basic set of our base O as possible.  Even when we needed a little extra in order to get a 1st down or a score, we kept it simple and ran the same plays.

It amazes me, that in all the years I have gone to AU games, the first patsy game we play before we get into the SEC games or a big interconference game, there are those who feel we never change our plays and gripe about the same ol same ol coach and his offense.

If you really watched and heard what C Lindsey said when he was quoted after he was hired, is that they would build a tree of passing plays to go with the HUNH run scheme that worked for GM and our offense. Yes, it gets frustrating when we sputter at times, and always after a long run, first down, we hurry up again ,and sometimes get stuffed. 

But if you watched just the first game ( a game our coach NEVER likes to show his big plays), you would see we found ways to run successfully, and I saw passing plays that had WRs open, I saw corner post routes, streaks, WR screens, etc. I also saw drops, and QB rusty in his thinking on the field. 

So I never take anything anyway from a scrimmage game like last night except a work in progress.

I did see a QB that can make any throw, move around in the pocket and not fall down, know when to tuck and run avoiding a sack and show some quickness to run some QB option plays. We HAVE NOT had that in 2 years. so I look forward to a much better offense.

[GwillMac6 20,659]

12 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Lol not even. Just wanted to really get your opinion.

 

To me, it looked like we ran maybe 10 different plays with a couple of those being from the wildcat. IMO, we tried  to run the most basic set of our base O as possible.  Even when we needed a little extra in order to get a 1st down or a score, we kept it simple and ran the same plays.

lol thanks!! See I would of never been able to guess how many different plays we ran. Time to open it up now vs Dabo.

[GwillMac6 20,659]

2 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

It amazes me, that in all the years I have gone to AU games, the first patsy game we play before we get into the SEC games or a big interconference game, there are those who feel we never change our plays and gripe about the same ol same ol coach and his offense.

If you really watched and heard what C Lindsey said when he was quoted after he was hired, is that they would build a tree of passing plays to go with the HUNH run scheme that worked for GM and our offense. Yes, it gets frustrating when we sputter at times, and always after a long run, first down, we hurry up again ,and sometimes get stuffed. 

But if you watched just the first game ( a game our coach NEVER likes to show his big plays), you would see we found ways to run successfully, and I saw passing plays that had WRs open, I saw corner post routes, streaks, WR screens, etc. I also saw drops, and QB rusty in his thinking on the field. 

So I never take anything anyway from a scrimmage game like last night except a work in progress.

I did see a QB that can make any throw, move around in the pocket and not fall down, know when to tuck and run avoiding a sack and show some quickness to run some QB option plays. We HAVE NOT had that in 2 years. so I look forward to a much better offense.

I am just a PATSY HERE!!! haha But I just wanted to throw the ball a lot more to get Stidham and the WRs in a better rhythm before we go to Clemson.

[augolf1716 21,101]

42 minutes ago, Indy said:

Whew.

 

Just arrived back home after the 8-hour drive.  It was an amazing weekend on the Plains for my family...our first Auburn home game, and my boys loved every minute of it.  A few of my observatons:

 

1: Stidham certainly looked as though he hadn't played in 19 months during the first half.  Did NOT look comfortable in the pocket (a lot of happy feet instances) and hesitated too often.  Much better in the 2nd half as he confidently moved when flushed instead of trying to dance away from coverage.  And that TD pass to put AU up 41-7 was a beauty... only one person had a chance to catch it.  One thing's for sure, he cannot hold that ball for 4-5 seconds in the pocket against Clemson or our SEC foes.  

 

2. Kerryon -- why oh why so many Wildcat formations?  I get it, you want to get the ball into the hands of your best playmakers, but I cringed at the multitude of WFs early on.  

 

3. Defense -- Yes, the D is always going to be ahead of the offense during Week #1, but good grief that was a swarm on the field last night.  At one point early in the 2nd half I believe GSU had 4 straight negative plays, and their rushing yardgage had dropped from 42 to 13 yrds.  Impressive isn't even the word.  Pure coincidence, but GSU plays up here in Bloomington in the next week or two against IU.  Will be very interesting to see how the Hoosier's defense can fare trying to contain this triple option.

 

4. Misc -- Not game related, but we dropped way too much cash at Tiger Rags and J&M, had a GREAT lunch at Momma Goldberg's on Donahue, tried like hell to see some of the Tiger Walk, and the kids even got to try to roll the Oaks after the game.  

 

5. AU Family -- We've been Auburn fans since 1992 (both my wife and I are Indiana grads, but both had good friends attend AU while we were in school) and have had many interactions with the Tiger faithful.  Most recently catching the Auburn-UK game in Lexington in 2015 and the A-Day game in 2016.  And we've been to campus many, many times on non-football weekends.  But this weekend was absolutely perfect, on so many levels.  The weather, the atmosphere, the game ... and of course, the people.  Never have we had a negative experience in or around Auburn and once again it was a joy to be around THE best football fanbase in the country.  We are already looking forward to our next trip down, and do hope to make it an annual event for the family from here on.

[augolf1716 21,101]

1 hour ago, AUwent said:

I know that those in the know here say he'll be back, but I have a bad feeling in my gut about Pettway--he'll come back in very limited amounts, struggle, and then be dismissed, and we learn of attitude problems, etc. For us, it seems like there's no such thing as a one-time suspension (NM in 2014 is an exception). I pray it's the case here.

I can promise you that will not happen.........all is good as long as he's healthy

[augolf1716 21,101]

33 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Lol not even. Just wanted to really get your opinion.

 

To me, it looked like we ran maybe 10 different plays with a couple of those being from the wildcat. IMO, we tried  to run the most basic set of our base O as possible.  Even when we needed a little extra in order to get a 1st down or a score, we kept it simple and ran the same plays.

We actually ran 7 different plays

[WeagleAU 594]

Just a side note after watching the game last night, I've been disappointed with ESPN's coverage and commentary on Auburn the last several years.  The commentators like to talk about nonsense during the middle of the game, or pull away from the action to show them talking about something random.   It made me really wish that Auburn had a contract with Fox Sports.  I know this won't happen since the SEC is contracted with ESPN.  I just can't stand ESPN game day coverage, it leaves a lot to be desired.  Better yet, if they would just not have commentators at all and just show the game without cutting away every 5 seconds, that would be great too.  That's my game coverage rant.  Again, if there is any way Auburn could get a contract with Fox Sports they need to go for it.

[GwillMac6 20,659]

The most thing I am impressed with and most suprised at was Stidhams SPEED!!!!!!!! Was that Matt Jones of Arky fame or was that Jarrett Stidham out there!!??? That dude is f@#$%n fast!!! It may just be straight line speed but man I was wowed at it!

[oracle79 3,569]

3 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

The most thing I am impressed with and most suprised at was Stidhams SPEED!!!!!!!! Was that Matt Jones of Arky fame or was that Jarrett Stidham out there!!??? That dude is f@#$%n fast!!! It may just be straight line speed but man I was wowed at it!

LOL.. that's the very thing that worries me.  After watching that game i'm more convinced than ever that GM has to have some type of running threat at QB to have a great offense.  Now, the question is, can Stidham hold up, or will CCL adjust the offense to make those plays the anomaly or will they become a staple of our offense as has been GM's success in the past?  If JS can do it and hold up, hello playoffs.  If he can't, Goodbye Gus.  We'll see.

[GwillMac6 20,659]

19 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

LOL.. that's the very thing that worries me.  After watching that game i'm more convinced than ever that GM has to have some type of running threat at QB to have a great offense.  Now, the question is, can Stidham hold up, or will CCL adjust the offense to make those plays the anomaly or will they become a staple of our offense as has been GM's success in the past?  If JS can do it and hold up, hello playoffs.  If he can't, Goodbye Gus.  We'll see.

What we should revel in is looks like we finally got a QB who knows how to slide!!! THose were beautiful and picture perfect! haha.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

33 minutes ago, WeagleAU said:

Just a side note after watching the game last night, I've been disappointed with ESPN's coverage and commentary on Auburn the last several years.  The commentators like to talk about nonsense during the middle of the game, or pull away from the action to show them talking about something random.   It made me really wish that Auburn had a contract with Fox Sports.  I know this won't happen since the SEC is contracted with ESPN.  I just can't stand ESPN game day coverage, it leaves a lot to be desired.  Better yet, if they would just not have commentators at all and just show the game without cutting away every 5 seconds, that would be great too.  That's my game coverage rant.  Again, if there is any way Auburn could get a contract with Fox Sports they need to go for it.

Sadly, will never happen. Auburn is tied to the SEC and the network they choose.

On a side note, my wife complained about that, too and I explained to her that the game was basically over at halftime, and Georgia Southern was so unable to move the ball that they had to come up with something to fill air time.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

Until they show some flashier deep passes, I can't judge NCM, McClain or KD (who didnt play) too much. Those are all players who work vertically. The vanilla play calling serves to help guys like Hastings, Stove, and Davis far more.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

6 hours ago, AUwent said:

I know that those in the know here say he'll be back, but I have a bad feeling in my gut about Pettway--he'll come back in very limited amounts, struggle, and then be dismissed, and we learn of attitude problems, etc. For us, it seems like there's no such thing as a one-time suspension (NM in 2014 is an exception). I pray it's the case here.

Sean's more of a problem case if rumors are to believed than Pettway here. Kamryn's biggest issues right now are making sure he doesn't get seriously hurt again, because we're already another year down of KJ being unlucky. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,649]

12 hours ago, AuburnTiger4Life said:

I think I saw a different game than most of you. Yeah there's things we can improve, but I'm not worried one bit. For one, I've never seen a defensive line dominate a supposedly "experienced" offensive line quite like we did to GASO.  I think they're better than last year. I also see some people complaining about Stidham holding onto the ball too long but I would rather him take a sack than to throw it into traffic like JJ would. I thought he did much better in the second half and that TD to Hastings was just beautiful. I love that he has elusiveness as well. The most important thing that I think people aren't understanding is that GASO is not Kent State. They're a good football team (VERY disciplined) and I can't remember the last time anyone beat them by 34 points. 

They lost by 27 to Georgia State and 44 in WVU, for what its worth. BUT, that was two years ago. Their defensive pressure is apparently, at least as good as a incomplete #12th ranked offensive line's pass protection. 

[johnnyAU 3,630]

We almost always come out rusty in the first game, especially on offense.  Look at our opener in 2013 against  WSU.  We needed a special teams score to pull that one out. We also beat an undefeated Tide team looking for a 3 peat,  eventually won the SEC and took the undefeated champs with the Heisman QB to the wire in the Natty. 

 

[tbone1430 1,346]

So re watched our offense and came away feeling a lot better than when I first watched. The turnovers were not good and hopefully can be cleaned up. Yes Stidham had some happy feet at times and the sack fumble is what it is. However, if the "catch" by slayton is called correctly and sal doesn't drop that one pass later in the game Stidham finishes with a 67% passing percentage with around 215 yds which I'm sure would make more people less apt to freak out. Regardless I feel he is an upgrade from SW and with Bubba back for this game I think that will put less pressure on JS. Biggest factor for the Clemson game to me is how does our O line handle a very good D line? We will see Saturday night. War Eagle! 

[WFE12 9,191]

1 hour ago, tbone1430 said:

So re watched our offense and came away feeling a lot better than when I first watched. The turnovers were not good and hopefully can be cleaned up. Yes Stidham had some happy feet at times and the sack fumble is what it is. However, if the "catch" by slayton is called correctly and sal doesn't drop that one pass later in the game Stidham finishes with a 67% passing percentage with around 215 yds which I'm sure would make more people less apt to freak out. Regardless I feel he is an upgrade from SW and with Bubba back for this game I think that will put less pressure on JS. Biggest factor for the Clemson game to me is how does our O line handle a very good D line? We will see Saturday night. War Eagle! 

Yes I researched as well, Stid had rust but people make it seem like he was worse than he was. He showed escapibility and had some nice throws on the run. He will improve every week. Bubba will help tremendously and better playcalling as well against Clemson. I feel really good about this game.