Is there a chance the OL is actually better than last year?

[AU64 10,122]

15 minutes ago, leglessdan said:

Was just responding to your comment on which 2 games to base success off of. I mean you can candy coat it all you want to, but those were the 2 games that defined the season whether you acknowledge it or not. If this season plays out the same it will be the same 2 games no matter how you wanna spin it.

OK that's good.....just wondering what are the "must win" games...…..

Of course most of us consider the other SEC games as "must win" also....  

[AUsince72 11,084]

59 minutes ago, AU64 said:

OK that's good.....just wondering what are the "must win" games...…..

Of course most of us consider the other SEC games as "must win" also....  

I don't disagree with you to a point.

However, since the actual goal (every single coach worth his salt will tell you) is Championships (whether conference or natty) I believe most of us would have rather lost thUga 1.0 and won the SECCG rematch than the other way around.  Thus somewhat negating the good will created by the "regular" victory.  I can tell you,  thUga fans don't even remember the first game but they will sure as hades rub the result of the SECCG into an Auburn Fan's face every chance they would get.

Then they doubled down on the hard feelings with such an embarrassing Bowl fiasco.

Had AU lost to say....a really good UF or UT or USC then at least we could totally still hang our hats on "at least we owned amen corner".  But letting thUga get revenge?  Yuck!

[AU64 10,122]

2 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

I don't disagree with you to a point.

However, since the actual goal (every single coach worth his salt will tell you) is Championships (whether conference or natty) I believe most of us would have rather lost thUga 1.0 and won the SECCG rematch than the other way around.  Thus somewhat negating the good will created by the "regular" victory.  I can tell you,  thUga fans don't even remember the first game but they will sure as hades rub the result of the SECCG into an Auburn Fan's face every chance they would get.

Then they doubled down on the hard feelings with such an embarrassing Bowl fiasco.

Had AU lost to say....a really good UF or UT or USC then at least we could totally still hang our hats on "at least we owned amen corner".  But letting thUga get revenge?  Yuck!

Could be wrong but if we lost Uga #1.....there would be no SEC championship game....would be our second conference loss....so we would be out anyway....and of course, lose that game and no telling what happens in the bama game when the division championship was no longer on the table.  

I still say....check this forum in the weeks after it was announced we would play CF and note how many people wrote the game off as unimportant and not worth playing......  .lots of people defending the possibility that a valuable starter decided not to play for unspecified reasons..." why take a chance of getting hurt in a meaningless game".

JMO but that kind of attitude among fans is hard to hide from the players..  and again, JMO, but nobody got seriously interested in that game until game day....  Gotta say that I was majorly pi**** by how so many people viewed the game....before it was played.     

[bigbird 60,460]

4 hours ago, AU64 said:

and not the bama or Georgia or Tex A and M games.?   

OK.... So if we are going to judge a season on 2 games....which two games this year will be the ones used to determine success this year? 

Do you think Alabama St. Is just as an important win as UA or UGA?  

 

If Gus won every game but UA and UGA for a few years do you think he'd still be coaching AU? Do you think if he had lost those two last year he would still be here?

[augolf1716 21,102]

4 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Do you think Alabama St. Is just as an important win as UA or UGA?  

 

If Gus won every game but UA and UGA for a few years do you think he'd still be coaching AU? Do you think if he had lost those two last year he would still be here?

nope and he knew it

[AU64 10,122]

1 minute ago, bigbird said:

Do you think Alabama St. Is just as an important win as UA or UGA?  

 

If Gus won every game but UA and UGA for a few years do you think he'd still be coaching AU? Do you think if he had lost those two last year he would still be here?

Probably not...but what if he won all the rest?    

Are UGa and bama the litmus test for a good season ?  .  Last year we beat both and the LSU game became the "one" that really mattered.   

Just saying that pretty much whatever happens  (except 14-0) there are folks who will think it should have been better.  I know in my heart that Gus will not make the full contract.....and we will find some coach that most people don't want (no proven history of beating UGa or bama or something like that)  but the best that Green can find....and we will start over again....JMO

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

3 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Do you think Alabama St. Is just as an important win as UA or UGA?  

 

If Gus won every game but UA and UGA for a few years do you think he'd still be coaching AU? Do you think if he had lost those two last year he would still be here?

You are absolutely right. He got his extension because he won. If folks were honest and educated our wish would be for our coach to have us in the hunt in late November. If your there you will win your share. Like Tiger always says , all he wants is a chance on the back nine on Sunday. If you get that your sucessful. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

42 minutes ago, AU64 said:

 

Are UGa and bama the litmus test for a good season ?  .  Last year we beat both and the LSU game became the "one" that really mattered

Uga and AL are always the litmus year for AU... and now more than ever. In the end LSU did not matter at all... just like it did not matter in 2013. We lost but we still could have won it all. 

On a side note... I really want us to beat Washington. Just once in my lifetime I want AU to start strong against a very good opponent. 

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Probably not...but what if he won all the rest?    

Are UGa and bama the litmus test for a good season ?  .  Last year we beat both and the LSU game became the "one" that really mattered.   

Just saying that pretty much whatever happens  (except 14-0) there are folks who will think it should have been better.  I know in my heart that Gus will not make the full contract.....and we will find some coach that most people don't want (no proven history of beating UGa or bama or something like that)  but the best that Green can find....and we will start over again....JMO

Well you’re just a ray of sunshine. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

4 hours ago, AU64 said:

Could be wrong but if we lost Uga #1.....there would be no SEC championship game....would be our second conference loss....so we would be out anyway....and of course, lose that game and no telling what happens in the bama game when the division championship was no longer on the table.  

I still say....check this forum in the weeks after it was announced we would play CF and note how many people wrote the game off as unimportant and not worth playing......  .lots of people defending the possibility that a valuable starter decided not to play for unspecified reasons..." why take a chance of getting hurt in a meaningless game".

JMO but that kind of attitude among fans is hard to hide from the players..  and again, JMO, but nobody got seriously interested in that game until game day....  Gotta say that I was majorly pi**** by how so many people viewed the game....before it was played.     

You're absolutely right regarding the bolded part.  I was just playing the "must win games" game so my point was assuming that the offense had decided to continue participating in the LSU game.  It's been bantied about that had AU defeated LSU, then they could have afforded a loss to thUga-beat bammer-and still played in the SECCG so that's the bucket in which my post held it's water.

As for the Bowl game, you're correct that it's a shame how the game was viewed by many fans and, obviously, many coaches & players too.  Nevertheless there is no what-if there....they actually did crap the bed in embarrassing fashion.

[IronMan70 3,277]

8 hours ago, AU64 said:

and not the bama or Georgia or Tex A and M games.?   

OK.... So if we are going to judge a season on 2 games....which two games this year will be the ones used to determine success this year? 

I hear you but I think what everybody is sort of saying is you play the regular season to earn the right to play in the SEC Championship game and a major bowl game hopefully in the semifinals. When you do get there you have to take advantage of the opportunity you worked so hard to achieve. So that's why those last 2 games are always different and in our case we laid an egg in both last year. 

[DAG 33,964]

4 hours ago, AU64 said:

Probably not...but what if he won all the rest?    

Are UGa and bama the litmus test for a good season ?  .  Last year we beat both and the LSU game became the "one" that really mattered.   

Just saying that pretty much whatever happens  (except 14-0) there are folks who will think it should have been better.  I know in my heart that Gus will not make the full contract.....and we will find some coach that most people don't want (no proven history of beating UGa or bama or something like that)  but the best that Green can find....and we will start over again....JMO

Listen, I am going to try to be as nice as possible about this. LSU game was a game we had no business losing. That is why UGA and BAMA mattered the most. If he had beaten LSU and One of either UGA or Bama, he would’ve been safe in my eyes. But he couldn’t lose all three at all and if he had only won one, he still would’ve been fighting for job security. I definitely don’t think he would’ve gotten that contract extension, that is for sure. The point is you can’t continuously lose to your rivals and expect to keep your job. You also shouldn’t be losing games that are very winnable. He needs to get out of that habit soon.

[AU64 10,122]

If...if...if...that is not an argument...and changing one thing in the past does not mean the rest just falls into line for you.    LSU was a bad loss....and I am not invested in Gus....I just get tired of that being the focus of last season.  

And I was frankly hoping he would take the Arky job just just so the anti-Gus folks would move along to another issue.

[bigbird 60,460]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

LSU was a bad loss....and I am not invested in Gus....I just get tired of that being the focus of last season.  

 

It wasn't just a bad loss. It was one of the losses that kept us out of the playoffs...and we had a 20 pt lead.  You're right though, I can't for the life of me think of why people still focus on it.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

I just get tired of that being the focus of last season.  

Stop arguing that the world isn't round and there will be no reason for others to keep pointing out that it is. 

[DAG 33,964]

2 hours ago, AU64 said:

If...if...if...that is not an argument...and changing one thing in the past does not mean the rest just falls into line for you.    LSU was a bad loss....and I am not invested in Gus....I just get tired of that being the focus of last season.  

And I was frankly hoping he would take the Arky job just just so the anti-Gus folks would move along to another issue.

The fact is he lost to LSU. This was a very winnable game. He deserves criticism for that. The fact is he lost to UCF. That team had very much less talent than us. He deserves criticism for that. The fact is he beat UGA/Bama. He got praised for that by majority of the fan base. Welcome to the world of football.

Things wouldn’t have changed at Arkansas. Go take a gander at how their fans reacted to the potential of Gus. It was legitimately a 50/50 split. You know what the biggest argument against Gus was by Arkansas fans opposed of this?

“He can’t even win consistently with the talent he has at AU, how is he going to win at Arkansas?”

Get a grip man. Stop being so bias and irrational. Nobody is anti-Gus on this thread. However, people aren’t going to just blindly follow someone because they personally like the guy. Some of you guys are Gus fans more than AU fans. 

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

Myself think the OL will be a little better. Grimes' OL is going to struggle against the better DC's he faces. The OL isn't going to know how to handle some blitzes. Grimes has problems with that aspect of the game. Going to rely on just some sheer mauling to get by sometimes. Will be something to watch. 

Why I don't buy into Chip throwing the ball more this year than last. Think it's still going to be 65% run. Won't be a very complicated WR tree as much as Chip would want. 

[WDEKC 187]

8 minutes ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Myself think the OL will be a little better. Grimes' OL is going to struggle against the better DC's he faces. The OL isn't going to know how to handle some blitzes. Grimes has problems with that aspect of the game. Going to rely on just some sheer mauling to get by sometimes. Will be something to watch. 

Why I don't buy into Chip throwing the ball more this year than last. Think it's still going to be 65% run. Won't be a very complicated WR tree as much as Chip would want. 

Thanks for bringing this back on topic.

 

Really shouldn't matter if we are focusing on a game or 2. The OL was flat out bad at least twice last year....Not average or slightly below average,  but BAD. That's not really excusable no matter what the circumstances are. I can handle getting out played, but those 2 examples were much more extreme than just getting outplayed by a better opponent.

[ellitor 33,080]

6 hours ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Think it's still going to be 65% run.

Surprisingly enough in our biggest games of the year last year the actual pass play called percentage was closer to 50% which as we know is a change from the Gus norm.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Quick reference of rush% (these are based off of pass attempts and rush attempts, not actual play calls, so  these percentages are going to be a couple points high on average). 

vs. Clemson 64%

vs. MSSU 70%

vs. Ole Miss 71%

vs. LSU 61%

vs. ARK 62%

vs. TAAMU 51%

vs. UGA(1) 65% 

vs. UA 63%

vs. UGA(2) 49%

vs. UCF 51%

 

 

[DAG 33,964]

1 hour ago, Barnacle said:

Quick reference of rush% (these are based off of pass attempts and rush attempts, not actual play calls, so  these percentages are going to be a couple points high on average). 

vs. Clemson 64%

vs. MSSU 70%

vs. Ole Miss 71%

vs. LSU 61%

vs. ARK 62%

vs. TAAMU 51%

vs. UGA(1) 65% 

vs. UA 63%

vs. UGA(2) 49%

vs. UCF 51%

 

 

Me thinks the play calling is going to have to reflect the team’s strength this year or it’s going to be a long haul...forcing the run might not be the best option.

Also if you look at this , it would seem we got to 50 percent not by choice . Those percentages seem to correlate with when KJ was hurt. Great reference.

[aubiefifty 16,742]

as far as coach grimes goes i think we get way better. on another board it was said he watched an eighty play scrimmage and the o line had 38 "loafing plays". that is almost half the scrimmage plays. i believe the o line starts out better this year and i believe their effort will be much improved. coach grimes was not impressed with the loafing and he made them pay for it.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I like the tone of this tweet. 

 

[Woodstock Tiger 131]

56 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I like the tone of this tweet. 

 

Indeed.  Seems like these days, the trend for big timers who are expected to come in and get the nod relatively quickly but don't will lose heart and start seeking a transfer or start grumbling about it.  Hopefully it continues to motivate the kid!

[ellitor 33,080]

7 hours ago, Barnacle said:

Quick reference of rush% (these are based off of pass attempts and rush attempts, not actual play calls, so  these percentages are going to be a couple points high on average). 

vs. Clemson 64%

vs. MSSU 70%

vs. Ole Miss 71%

vs. LSU 61%

vs. ARK 62%

vs. TAAMU 51%

vs. UGA(1) 65% 

vs. UA 63%

vs. UGA(2) 49%

vs. UCF 51%

 

 

More than a couple points on Clemson & UCF specifically before breaking it down. There was a combined 41 sacks & scrambles. We have to be smart enough to factor them as pass plays which is what I did in my previous post even though the NCAA is too dumb to do so. Actual numbers in the biggest games are...

Clem. 45% 11 sacks & 1 QB scramble on a pass play call
LSU 57% 3 sacks & 1 QB scramble
aTm 61% (Not sure where you got 51%)
UGA 61% 2 sacks & 1 QB scramble
Bama 56% 2 sacks & 3 QB scrambles
UGA 40% 3 sacks & 3 QB scrambles
UCF  41% 6 sacks & 3 QB scrambles

Total run call % in biggest games 51.7%