Things I Think I Saw (AU vs Ole Miss).....

[JMR 2,118]

Apologies for this being so late in the day. Busy day working on Hurricane Irma clean-up around the farm (still two or three days' work to go). I enjoyed the first half of yesterday's game, and like most AU folks, was a little disappointed with the third and fourth quarters.  I've never been interested in embarrassing anybody, and had no problem with playing lots of backup players in the second half, but I'd like to have seen more of Malik Willis, Devan Barrett, et. al. With that out of the way, here are some things I think I saw in the game.....

• There appeared to be some confusion in the AU secondary early in the game. Saw lots of arms waving, some "what the heck is this?" signals from one DB to another. I wouldn't think there would be any surprises from the Ole Miss offense, but the absence of starting corner Javaris Davis may have been a problem, however minor.
   
• Ole Miss QB Shea Patterson is very good for a youngster. Got a great arm, and great mobility. And Ole Miss had some quality receivers in Metcalf and Brown. I saw some "deception" things in their throwing game that I hope Chip Lindsey noticed.  Football coaches are notorious for stealing from each other.
   
• Jeremiah Dinson, who is a favorite of mine after making his way back from a devastating injury two years ago, was not himself in this game.  Dinson has made some critical, difficult plays in the open field, but missed some of those this week.  No idea if he is at less than full health or not.
   
• I believe there may have been more missed tackles by AU linebackers and defensive backs in this game than in any game this season. Lots of attempted arm tackles, and poor pursuit angles. No clue why that would happen, but it did. That's not to say the defense played poorly, just to say that they didn't appear quite as sharp as they have been most of the season.
   
• The combo blocks we've talked about here before were executed with more frequency and efficiency by the OL than in recent weeks. Part of the reason for that was the use of jet-sweep motion and even pulling the backside guard in the opposite direction of the play. That action moved the OM linebackers, setting up the Auburn offensive linemen. Some nice combo blocking by Smith/James, and by Dunn/Horton and Dunn/Smith. Those blocks, efficiently executed, create big plays like some of Kerryon Johnson's runs in the first half.
   
• Prince Tega didn't play a whole lot, but I noticed him on a couple of plays. On one, he put his head on the wrong side of the DL he was blocking, and KJ had to take a stutter step to let the penetrating defensive lineman overrun the play before taking off for a good gain. On another play, Tega showed excellent quickness and balance. The kid has the tools; he just has to understand the game. Head placement for an offensive lineman is as important as anything he does.
   
• Chandler Cox had several good seal blocks on the edge. Cox appears to have learned to be "under control" when approaching a block, then accelerating into the contact.
   
• Cornerback Jamel Dean showed lots of physical play in the game. He left with some kind of injury, but it didn't appear to be serious. I love the way Dean plays. He is bigger than most defensive backs, but has the athleticism to cover, and he doesn't shy away from contact.
   
• I think I mentioned here last week that one area for Jarrett Stidham to improve on was his accuracy on the wide receiver screens. The little screen that Ryan Davis took 75 yards for a score was a perfect example. Stidham's throw actually led Davis inside the block of the pulling Austin Golson on the play, and could not possibly have been any better.
   
• Kerryon Johnson looked to be close to 100% with his hamstring injury. I noticed he said after the game that he was about 95%, and that appeared to be accurate.
   
• Glad we were able to sit Bubba Pettway. I've never had a heal/ankle, but I've studied some sports medicine, and was led to believe rest is about the only reliable prescription.
   
• Again on KJ. His blitz pickup technique out of the backfield is picture-perfect.
   
• Stidham's throw to Darius Slayton on the fade route was a thing of beauty. The ball was placed perfectly, and timed just right. Kudos to Slayton for knowing where his feet were relative to the boundary, and making the catch!
   
• I was disappointed (and downright ticked off, to be honest) about OM's A.J. Moore's hit on Stephen Roberts on the punt return. As an old-schooler, I'm aware those kind of plays were celebrated at one time. But knowing what we know today, there is no place for that kind of play in football at any level.
   
• Hard to believe Ole Miss tackle Rod Taylor was called for holding only once. His holding was as flagrant as I've ever seen. Kudos to Marlon Davidson and Jeff Holland for having the self-discipline to not react to it.
   
• I've complained before about the predictability of our play out of the sugar huddle. I guess Wesley McGriff doesn't read this little column, as OM lined up 5 defenders to Auburn's 6 blockers, leading to KJ's 3rd TD run untouched. An offensive coordinator's dream is to outnumber the defense at the point of attack.
   
• It was pretty obvious that the Ole Miss "pace" took a toll on the Auburn defensive front. Rushing the passer is an exhausting task, and even with Auburn's depth, we had linemen not ready when the ball was snapped. I actually saw one AU starter go down on his belly at the snap of the ball once. Not sure I'll be able to say anything nice about that player for a while.
   
• With Javaris Davis held out for injury, Nick Ruffin played a lot in the secondary. He wasn't flawless, but I thought he played pretty well overall. And the experience will only make him better.
   
• With the aforementioned "fatigue" of the AU DL, Tyrone Truesdell got a good bit of playing time. He did a pretty good job, and I couldn't help remembering Rodney Garner riding him hard in fall practice. Good to see the kid in line for some positive reinforcement. If you remember the little "flip" that Patterson completed on the sideline for a small gain, it was Truesdell that had him in a bear hug.
   
• I don't want to jinx anybody, but the improvement of our wide receivers the last couple of games has been impressive. They are catching the ball ($1 to Will Hastings for his drop), and they are blocking. There are huge plays to be had on the perimeter when the wide receivers make their blocks.
   
• I saw Jarrett Stidham change the pass protection several times in this game. That is a HUGE improvement and will help prevent negative plays.
   
• On the down side, there were more missed tackles, attempted arm tackles, and poor pursuit angles in the Auburn secondary this week than I've seen this season. Don't know what that was about, but it will need to be cleaned up this week.

I watched most of the LSU-Florida game. LSU has some talented players, they are aggressive, and they play hard. IMO, they are not particularly well-coached, and they have very little depth. If Auburn goes to Baton Rouge and plays to win, it's there to be had. I don't like to predict games, but AU is the better team at this point in time.

WAR EAGLE!!

 

[around4ever 4,139]

Great takeaways Coach.  The missed tackles really bothered me.  I believe we had more missed tackles in this game than all other games combined.  Tackling had been a strong point until yesterday. 

[bigbird 60,368]

To me, the missed tackles were bad, but not as bad as the jogging around by others in pursuit. That is one of my pet peeves.

[CR 2,427]

I'm curious about the LSU not being very well coached comment. I get the HC is ultimately responsible for his team, but have you seen anything from Aranda or Canada to doubt their abilities? Both seemed to be pretty well regarded prior to arriving at LSU.
Thanks as always for the recap.

[AdamsHouseCat 43]

 Coach I have question.

After most explosive offensive plays, we "hurry up" to run  up the middle for a one yard gain. 2nd an 9.  2nd and 9. 2nd and 9.

What is up with that?

 

[IronMan70 3,277]

Yes, Cox and the WRs are blocking a lot better. There were some noticeably good blocks by them on KJs TDs. On the first one, Cox got a great block after a pretty violent collision on their much bigger DE. Jalen Harris had a nice one downfield on the same play too.

On the 3rd TD, Craig-Myers made an excellent block to the inside, R. Davis to the outside and Cox neutralized his man. There were several other instances of Cox and the WRs with excellent blocks. It makes a big difference.

Thanks for the analysis Coach. I always enjoy them.

Edited October 9, 2017 by IronMan70

[JMR 2,118]

1 minute ago, AdamsHouseCat said:

 Coach I have question.

After most explosive offensive plays, we "hurry up" to run  up the middle for a one yard gain. 2nd an 9.  2nd and 9. 2nd and 9.

What is up with that?

 

I don't understand it either. But I've never made $4.7 mil a year, and maybe that's why. 

[Pedaler 1,000]

The OM tackle's holding had me shouting at the tv the whole time. On time, he pulled Holland to him, picked both feet up, and fell right on top of him (not a real pancake). I noticed that Holland began to do some last minute shifts from that guy's side to the other side. I wondered if it had something to do with it.

[JMR 2,118]

9 minutes ago, CR said:

I'm curious about the LSU not being very well coached comment. I get the HC is ultimately responsible for his team, but have you seen anything from Aranda or Canada to doubt their abilities? Both seemed to be pretty well regarded prior to arriving at LSU.
Thanks as always for the recap.

I feel like they do a lot of counter-productive things. Canada's pre-snap shifts and motion will give Steele a busy week, but Florida almost ignored it, especially up front, and I didn't see a numerical advantage gained. I would THINK that's the purpose of it, but I haven't seen it. At least not yet. 

[OnthePlains 2,014]

12 minutes ago, CR said:

I'm curious about the LSU not being very well coached comment. I get the HC is ultimately responsible for his team, but have you seen anything from Aranda or Canada to doubt their abilities? Both seemed to be pretty well regarded prior to arriving at LSU.
Thanks as always for the recap.

Yeah I thought they were too.  Wasn't it Canada's offense that beat Clemson last year?  

[WDavE 332]

I believe the defensive player that did the belly flop also earlier just made contact with the O-lineman. Then bent over and with his head down and did nothing else.

[JMR 2,118]

8 minutes ago, WDavE said:

I believe the defensive player that did the belly flop also earlier just made contact with the O-lineman. Then bent over and with his head down and did nothing else.

You saw what I did. 

[PowerOfDixieland 3,225]

Still no Sal Canella.

[TigerTennis80 343]

I think  many of us noticed the D not being as sharp as in past weeks. I note that Ok lost yesterday to a huge underdog while neither Bama nor Clemson won as big as expected. Meanwhile we were playing a huge underdog who got humiliated the week before. And it's midseason with the biggest games ahead. I can't help but think it was something of a let down day for a lot of teams & players, including our D. I think Gus was concerned about that. Under those circumstances, we should perhaps praise the offense more loudly for their play in the 1st half which put the game away. Or at least I hope that's what why the D was off a bit. I expect watching film will light a fire for them for Saturday, as watching film of the 2nd half should prevent any complacency on the part of the offense.

[JMR 2,118]

4 minutes ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Still no Sal Canella.

I watched Cannella's JUCO tape and had high hopes for him as a flexed receiver. But my admittedly sloppy count, he's been targeted three times, caught one, and dropped two. So I don't know. 

[PowerOfDixieland 3,225]

Ole Miss perfected the blueprint with Evan Engram.

[corchjay 5,311]

I expect to see some shorter practices this week.  More mental reps and scout reps.  I think some of our DBs and LBs legs are getting tired.  Still 2 more games until a BYE week. Just an observation from afar especially considering missed tackles and angles.  Normal has to do with fatigue.

[CR 2,427]

Thanks for the response. I'll admit to thinking the combination of Orgeron with some good coordinators could be a better combination than most thought. So far, looks like "most" were right and I was dead wrong.

[bigbird 60,368]

10 minutes ago, CR said:

Thanks for the response. I'll admit to thinking the combination of Orgeron with some good coordinators could be a better combination than most thought. So far, looks like "most" were right and I was dead wrong.

You're not the only one. I thought so too. I still think if they had a QB they would be dangerous.

[JDUBB4AU 5,102]

20 minutes ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

Ole Miss perfected the blueprint with Evan Engram.

Huge difference between Ingram and canella 

[1913-14 263]

Prince Tega didn't play a whole lot, but I noticed him on a couple of plays. On one, he put his head on the wrong side of the DL he was blocking, and KJ had to take a stutter step to let the penetrating defensive lineman overrun the play before taking off for a good gain. On another play, Tega showed excellent quickness and balance. The kid has the tools; he just has to understand the game. Head placement for an offensive lineman is as important as anything he does. That last statement is a mouthful...one of my three cardinal rules for o-line...

[wdefromtx 3,159]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

You're not the only one. I thought so too. I still think if they had a QB they would be dangerous.

Les Miles says hello.......LOL. 

I have always thought if he had the QB that some of the other SEC schools had they'd be dangerous. He'd also still be HC there. 

Edited October 9, 2017 by wdefromtx

[AidiAU 1,270]

No comment about the humidity? ?  I couldn’t remember a game being that bad, although the breeze and clouds were nice. 

Always like reading your insights. I was surprised and relieved that the stadium was somewhat full and decently loud for an 11 o’clock game. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

8 hours ago, AdamsHouseCat said:

 Coach I have question.

After most explosive offensive plays, we "hurry up" to run  up the middle for a one yard gain. 2nd an 9.  2nd and 9. 2nd and 9.

What is up with that?

 

Hopefully establishing firm tendencies prior to UGA and bammer...and in both games going play action pass on first down after explosive plays instead.  ("Get your sunshine! Get your sunshine here! Fresh from the pump and pulp free!")

[I_M4_AU 7,762]

3 hours ago, CleCoTiger said:

Hopefully establishing firm tendencies prior to UGA and bammer...and in both games going play action pass on first down after explosive plays instead.  ("Get your sunshine! Get your sunshine here! Fresh from the pump and pulp free!")

Man CleCo, we’ve been establishing these firm tendencies for years now, we sure are going to fool UGA and Bammer soon, I’m sure.