My Thoughts From the Stadium (Washington)

[abw0004 10,104]

Good morning all,

I hope this finds you in good spirits!  I know I am a day late in posting this, but with the holiday I just was not able to get to my computer.  I also wanted Coach John Ray and StatTiger to be able to post first as I highly respect their thoughts as well.  Just to recap, I typically try to post the Monday after every game I attended to give my perspective from the game that the cameras might not have caught.  I did have the chance to re-watch the game as I had it recorded.  I choose Monday so the emotions (good or bad) can even out and calmer heads can prevail.  Let's get started shall we?

Gameday:  The weather was fairly decent.  On the warm side, but that is expected.  I felt bad for those attending DragonCon as I know they were miserable in their costumes.  Washingston fans kept to themselves really.  They were nothing like the Husky forum posters.  Unlike what Todd McShay said, the mix was not 90-10, but more like 70-30 for what it is worth.  There were decent sized pockets of Husky fans in attendance.  The stadium was not full however which was a bummer.  This affected the crowd noise, and unlike what you heard on TV, it was not nearly as loud as what Jordan-Hare normally gets.  The loudest point was the final sack.  Auburn also released their tunnel video for the year (the video with the white backgrounds teased by RunInRed a few weeks ago).  You are in for a treat this Saturday.

Coaching Improvements:  In my last thread I touched on the improvements Gus is making each year.  I predicted last Monday: "This year I believe the items he (Malzahn) will fix are the predictability on first down, and the importance of special teams in regards to kick returns.  In five days we will see if that comes to fruition."  Did I nail it on the head or what?  We sure aired it out on first down, the most in Malzahn's tenure.  Not only that, our punt returning was stellar, with the exception of the block in he back that negated Ryan Davis' second big return.  We also got to see the usage of the tight ends.  Not only was Chandler Cox utilized, but so was John Samuel Shenker.  MY only critique is not not have Stidham run as much as he did.  We need him healthy all year, and this was just the first game.

Referees:  For the most part I was not thrilled with how they handled the game.  It was almost as if the refs were appalled that football can be physical.  There were some blatant missed calls as well that the broadcast did not show on reply that the stadium did.  The worst was a no-call on a holding call on Washington's OL holding Derrick Brown in the second half.  Not just a hold, but the whole arm was hooked around Brown's neck.  Luckily Washington punted two plays later but that was hard to miss.

Mistakes:  Were there mistakes?  Of course.  That will happen when you play a championship contender that has had a whole summer to prepare for you.  Most of the penalties incurred are easily fixable however.  I know the offensive line had their struggles, But I thought they did pretty well with how often Washington blitzed and the caliber of players they faced.   I look forward to their improvement moving forward.  It is always easier to correct a mistake after a win than it is a loss anyways... 

Coolest moment:  One moment the TV cameras did not catch was on Auburn's last possession in their attempt to run out the clock, Washington called a timeout.  Auburn had not sealed the victory yet and Deshaun Davis came off the sideline and ran directly into the offense's group to hype them up and give them the confidence they needed.  I have never seen a player do this, nor a coach let this happen.  I was expecting one of the offensive coaches ask him to go back so they could continue to strategize.  Either way it was a cool moment to see how close everyone really is.  I also noticed Jeff Holland was on the sidelines as well.  It is always fun to see former players return.

Biggest takeaway:  My biggest takeaway was that our team learned how to trail a team in the fourth quarter and find the will/grit within themselves to win the game.  That is everything for this season.  This is also something that cannot be taught.  You either have it or you don't.  That was a big quality in our 2013 team.  When behind the 8-ball, our team did not panic and knew how to take care of business.  Our team did not know how to do this last year and now we do.

Most Impressive True/Redshirt Freshmen:  While many would pick JaTarvious Whitlow with his Ronnie Brown Tennessee touchdown impression, I am actually going to go with Seth Williams.  That guy is going to be something special.  It was fun to see his confidence brimming on the sideline as each coach would go up to him after one of his catches.  Keep up the good work!

Looking Forward:  I don't know about you, but I am excited for Saturday's game against Alabama State.  It is the home opener, at night, and we get to welcome the winners of the Auburn/Washington game.  It is time to see the new inspiration video as well as the marching band hype video.  My biggest concern is getting everyone healthy for the LSU game.  Personally, I would hold out Dean, and Davis to let our green corners ball it out.  Let them get beat (if that even does happen) and learn.  Keep them in the entire game.  Experience is critical.  I would rather the mistakes be made now than in the future when something much greater is on the line.  Keep Stidham in for one half, max.  After that let the second stringers have a go across all positions with the exception of the offensive line.  I would also let Marshall start at punter.  He deserves more than one punt before we throw in the towel.

Let's show up and show out on Saturday!  

[RunInRed 16,360]

Nice write up ... thanks.

[McLoofus 35,182]

33 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Referees:  For the most part I was not thrilled with how they handled the game.  It was almost as if the refs were appalled that football can be physical.  There were some blatant missed calls as well that the broadcast did not show on reply that the stadium did.  The worst was a no-call on a holding call on Washington's OL holding Derrick Brown in the second half.  Not just a hold, but the whole arm was hooked around Brown's neck.  Luckily Washington punted two plays later but that was hard to miss.

I say this not to be argumentative but to highlight what a poor job they did: the most egregious missed call was the blatant targeting by Big Kat. They wanted to throw a lot of soft PI flags but missed a real player safety call. 

Thanks for your thoughts. 

[atl-tiger 655]

I'm also not a fan of the designed QB runs, they need to go.  He has the ability to scramble occasionally, but thats all I want to see.  

[AidiAU 1,270]

Totally did not see the coolest moment - that is awesome. Stidham has repeatedly said how great the team's chemistry is and I believe it. 

The Benz was MUCH louder than that darn UCF game...THANK GOODNESS. Def. not as loud as JHS. 

And I totally agree about the 70:30 ratio. I was sitting right above the Washing section and they were making some noise. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I say this not to be argumentative but to highlight what a poor job they did: the most egregious missed call was the blatant targeting by Big Kat. They wanted to throw a lot of soft PI flags but missed a real player safety call. 

Thanks for your thoughts. 

Plus, they reversed the (clearly) targeting call made on the defender hitting our guy (McLain?) on a key incompletion. .... even after review.

Maybe they felt bad and made up for it...

[nurbis 571]

2 hours ago, atl-tiger said:

I'm also not a fan of the designed QB runs, they need to go.  He has the ability to scramble occasionally, but thats all I want to see.  

I agree with this. When a play breaks down and Stidham runs he seems more committed to it and typically has more success. On the designed runs he appears to be tentative and slower moving. I guess it gives the opponent something to think about but they feel like wasted plays and I hate we are putting him in a position to get hit. 

[WFE12 9,191]

2 hours ago, atl-tiger said:

I'm also not a fan of the designed QB runs, they need to go.  He has the ability to scramble occasionally, but thats all I want to see.  

Well that's what you're gonna get with this offense. You have to keep the defense honest.

[AuburnEagle79 2,163]

Watching the D come off the field after that last stop was great. Not sure who it was, but one player had both arms raised like we had finally got the Mercedes Curse off our back. 

[meh130 1,043]

4 hours ago, abw0004 said:

Biggest takeaway:  My biggest takeaway was that our team learned how to trail a team in the fourth quarter and find the will/grit within themselves to win the game.  That is everything for this season.  This is also something that cannot be taught.  You either have it or you don't.  That was a big quality in our 2013 team.  When behind the 8-ball, our team did not panic and knew how to take care of business.  Our team did not know how to do this last year and now we do. 

^^^^This^^^^ x 1,000.

[McLoofus 35,182]

44 minutes ago, WFE12 said:

Well that's what you're gonna get with this offense. You have to keep the defense honest.

Exactly. Lots of those "wasted plays" are part of why other plays look so sexy. 

Not saying Gus bats a thousand on that, or Chip for that matter.

Also, Browning took the biggest and most dangerous hit of either QB just standing in the pocket. At least when they get out of the pocket they have a little more say in how the play ends. And Stidham absolutely has the wheels to make a defense pay if they forget about him. 

[abw0004 10,104]

2 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

And Stidham absolutely has the wheels to make a defense pay if they forget about him. 

Just ask Alabama from last year!

[weathergeakal 283]

I was at the game as well and it was defo not 70-30 more like 85-15. They had one pocked by there 10 person band (I'm pretty sure we have more people in our basketball traveling band) and then a smaller one by the auburn end zone. But way way way more AU fans.

[weathergeakal 283]

5 hours ago, abw0004 said:

Coolest moment:  One moment the TV cameras did not catch was on Auburn's last possession in their attempt to run out the clock, Washington called a timeout.  Auburn had not sealed the victory yet and Deshaun Davis came off the sideline and ran directly into the offense's group to hype them up and give them the confidence they needed.  I have never seen a player do this, nor a coach let this happen.  I was expecting one of the offensive coaches ask him to go back so they could continue to strategize.  Either way it was a cool moment to see how close everyone really is.  I also noticed Jeff Holland was on the sidelines as well.  It is always fun to see former players return.

 

to add. I noticed at the start of the game that every tackle the players celebrated with the guy like he just made a sack, and when we came off the field the sideline was all over the D celebrating with them. we got a close group.

[TETpodcast 3]

Couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised with this game. I picked Auburn to lose and I'm not ashamed to admit that I was wrong. While I don't think the early season offensive approach has been completely addressed as it needs to be, it's obvious that Malzahn and Lindsey have taken a step in the right direction. And at the end of the day, progress is all that matters. Auburn took a step forward and I could not be more thrilled about.

Great write up. I was at the game and had the time of my life. Definitely one of the more special games I've ever attended for various reasons both personally and as a fan.