Popular Post JMR 2,118 Posted October 3, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 3, 2018 Not an easy game to write about, unless you’re the beat reporter for the Auburn defense. I thought the defense played well overall, and did a good job schematically of defending what Southern Miss does well. Kudos to Kevin Steele and the defensive staff. On the offensive side, it’s always tempting to find fault with the game plan or the play-calling, etc. when things don’t go well. But in all honesty, the greatest play caller in the game would have a hard time finding something that worked consistently when the offensive line fails consistently to do its job. I like to look for improvements, by both the group as a whole, and by individual players. I can’t truthfully say I saw any of either in this one. It was bad, and believe it or not, I do try to look for some positives. I saw pretty much none in the offensive line play, but there were some offensive players who I thought made some progress. With that said, here are some things I think I saw…… DeShaun Davis continues to impress with his play. He is the very definition of a “cerebral player,” and it’s easy to tell he watches a ton of film on upcoming opponents. His speed of recognition and his understanding of his assignment are truly a pleasure to watch. AU fans should savor watching that kid play; they don’t come along that often. Hard not to notice how young Jordyn Peters is evolving into an impact player. He’s made plays on special teams, and now is beginning to earn his stripes as a part of the defensive secondary. Again, fun to watch. Speaking of the secondary, those guys are coming along quickly in their coverage skills. Peters, Tutt, and Sherwood are all earning a significant role in the AU defensive scheme, and they seem to be more impactful every week. I feel like the entire secondary has made noteworthy progress since the opening game. I’ve been impressed with the all-around skills of LB Darrell Williams since he first arrived at Auburn. Williams is better than most linebackers in coverage, and is a terrific tackler. He made some key plays in this game, denying Southern Miss a first down at some critical points in the game. Auburn’s big defensive tackles Derrick Brown and Dontavius Russell both played very well. Brown got a hands-to-the-face penalty which gave Sou Miss a first down, but it was unintentional IMO, and all part of the battle that goes on in the trenches. Russell was sideline-to-sideline, at 340 pounds. Chandler Cox played very well again. Cox has been a more integral part of this team than most casual fans realize. He isn’t perfect, but he plays the game the way it should be played….all out, all the time. I’m glad he came to Auburn. I thought Nick Brahms was going to give us some stability at the center position. Thought he played reasonably well in his first start, and expected him to improve with experience. That may still prove to be the case, but after this game, I’ll be surprised if it does. Brahms played poorly. On Auburn’s first third down conversion attempt, Southern Miss brought four rushers, Auburn had five blockers. Four guys made some semblance of a block, and our right guard never made contact with a Southern defender. Needless to say, the offense went three and out. Everyone is aware of the barrage of penalties Auburn continues to incur game after game. Marquel Harrell had two false starts, and Horton had one. It’s easy to understand false starts in an away stadium, with the crowd noise and all, but how do you have false start problems in your own stadium? All the holding penalties I saw called looked legitimate to me. The rules on holding are extremely liberal, and the penalties we are getting are flagrant. I did see several plays by both teams where holding could have been called but wasn’t. Mike Horton was making an effort to execute the combo blocks with the right tackle, but he is still too slow coming off the initial contact with the down lineman and climbing to the linebacker at the second level. How long is it going to take to learn that technique? I thought Jarrett Stidham improved some in the pocket this week. No, he is absolutely not “seeing the field”, and once again failed to see some open receivers. But I thought he did a better job of standing in and delivering the ball under pressure. Not always, of course, but more than I’ve seen from him this season. While watching the game, I made a mental note to mention what an intelligent play it was by Ryan Davis to dive on a SouMiss punt that was rolling inexorably toward the AU goal line. But then I saw him run a three-yard hitch on a third-and-six, and decided he may not be as sharp as I thought. Seriously, the punt play was a smart play, and the kind of play we should expect from a senior leader. As easy as it is to point to the offensive line as the key to all our offensive woes, it’s becoming clear as time goes by that we have no running backs who can pass protect. Kam Martin is apparently too small, and Boobee Whitlow got bowled over backwards on the TD pass to Seth Williams. Fortunately, that was one of the plays where Stidham chose to deliver the ball and take the hit. Malik Miller looked like he was on the way to becoming our third down running back because of his ability to pass protect, then he got run over for a sack. Miller is big enough to do that job, but he will need to be coached up on not taking a play off. I was extremely disappointed in our backup tackles after Driscoll and Tega left the game. Neither Bailey Sharp nor Austin Troxell is ready to play at this point. Developing backups on the offensive line is not an easy task. Once the season starts, your focus is on getting your starters as good as they can be (still work to be done there, obviously), and it’s tough to spend much of your limited time working with the backups. Still, it’s got to be done, as even if both Driscoll and Tega return next week, there will be other times when one or more backups are all there is to play. For what it’s worth, based on one game, I’d say Calvin Ashley is our sixth-best offensive lineman right now. That’s not including Tucker Brown, who is actually a very decent blocker at tight end. I was impressed with the tough runs Kam Martin gave us late in the game. Downright proud of the kid, as a matter of fact. I confess I did not realize he has that kind of toughness. The unpleasant thought crossed my mind in the days immediately following this game that it may be too late to get this offensive line on track. After watching this game carefully, I don’t believe that has to be true. Many of the problems are correctable, and go back to fundamentals. We have linemen putting their heads on the wrong side of defenders, we have false starts, and we have uncertainty of assignments. Every one of those things can be corrected through hard work, discipline, and pride of ownership. I don’t know whether J.B. Grimes can get that done or not, but the time is now. That group will be tested this week by a very good Miss State front. I look for either Malik Miller or possibly Asa Martin to get lots of playing time, as they are the best pass protectors we have in the backfield. There are a few things we can do to make it easier for Stidham to escape the State rush; whether we choose to use those, we will know pretty early. I do not mean for this to be overly negative. I respect and appreciate the work the players and coaches put in. I appreciate that we only have one loss and are #8 in the country. There is obviously more work to be done. For us to go to Starkville and beat a strong Mississippi State, we will need to make some progress this week. Let’s get to it, and WAR EAGLE!! 11 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not an easy game to write about, unless you’re the beat reporter for the Auburn defense. I thought the defense played well overall, and did a good job schematically of defending what Southern Miss does well. Kudos to Kevin Steele and the defensive staff. On the offensive side, it’s always tempting to find fault with the game plan or the play-calling, etc. when things don’t go well. But in all honesty, the greatest play caller in the game would have a hard time finding something that worked consistently when the offensive line fails consistently to do its job. I like to look for improvements, by both the group as a whole, and by individual players. I can’t truthfully say I saw any of either in this one. It was bad, and believe it or not, I do try to look for some positives. I saw pretty much none in the offensive line play, but there were some offensive players who I thought made some progress. With that said, here are some things I think I saw…… DeShaun Davis continues to impress with his play. He is the very definition of a “cerebral player,” and it’s easy to tell he watches a ton of film on upcoming opponents. His speed of recognition and his understanding of his assignment are truly a pleasure to watch. AU fans should savor watching that kid play; they don’t come along that often. Hard not to notice how young Jordyn Peters is evolving into an impact player. He’s made plays on special teams, and now is beginning to earn his stripes as a part of the defensive secondary. Again, fun to watch. Speaking of the secondary, those guys are coming along quickly in their coverage skills. Peters, Tutt, and Sherwood are all earning a significant role in the AU defensive scheme, and they seem to be more impactful every week. I feel like the entire secondary has made noteworthy progress since the opening game. I’ve been impressed with the all-around skills of LB Darrell Williams since he first arrived at Auburn. Williams is better than most linebackers in coverage, and is a terrific tackler. He made some key plays in this game, denying Southern Miss a first down at some critical points in the game. Auburn’s big defensive tackles Derrick Brown and Dontavius Russell both played very well. Brown got a hands-to-the-face penalty which gave Sou Miss a first down, but it was unintentional IMO, and all part of the battle that goes on in the trenches. Russell was sideline-to-sideline, at 340 pounds. Chandler Cox played very well again. Cox has been a more integral part of this team than most casual fans realize. He isn’t perfect, but he plays the game the way it should be played….all out, all the time. I’m glad he came to Auburn. I thought Nick Brahms was going to give us some stability at the center position. Thought he played reasonably well in his first start, and expected him to improve with experience. That may still prove to be the case, but after this game, I’ll be surprised if it does. Brahms played poorly. On Auburn’s first third down conversion attempt, Southern Miss brought four rushers, Auburn had five blockers. Four guys made some semblance of a block, and our right guard never made contact with a Southern defender. Needless to say, the offense went three and out. Everyone is aware of the barrage of penalties Auburn continues to incur game after game. Marquel Harrell had two false starts, and Horton had one. It’s easy to understand false starts in an away stadium, with the crowd noise and all, but how do you have false start problems in your own stadium? All the holding penalties I saw called looked legitimate to me. The rules on holding are extremely liberal, and the penalties we are getting are flagrant. I did see several plays by both teams where holding could have been called but wasn’t. Mike Horton was making an effort to execute the combo blocks with the right tackle, but he is still too slow coming off the initial contact with the down lineman and climbing to the linebacker at the second level. How long is it going to take to learn that technique? I thought Jarrett Stidham improved some in the pocket this week. No, he is absolutely not “seeing the field”, and once again failed to see some open receivers. But I thought he did a better job of standing in and delivering the ball under pressure. Not always, of course, but more than I’ve seen from him this season. While watching the game, I made a mental note to mention what an intelligent play it was by Ryan Davis to dive on a SouMiss punt that was rolling inexorably toward the AU goal line. But then I saw him run a three-yard hitch on a third-and-six, and decided he may not be as sharp as I thought. Seriously, the punt play was a smart play, and the kind of play we should expect from a senior leader. As easy as it is to point to the offensive line as the key to all our offensive woes, it’s becoming clear as time goes by that we have no running backs who can pass protect. Kam Martin is apparently too small, and Boobee Whitlow got bowled over backwards on the TD pass to Seth Williams. Fortunately, that was one of the plays where Stidham chose to deliver the ball and take the hit. Malik Miller looked like he was on the way to becoming our third down running back because of his ability to pass protect, then he got run over for a sack. Miller is big enough to do that job, but he will need to be coached up on not taking a play off. I was extremely disappointed in our backup tackles after Driscoll and Tega left the game. Neither Bailey Sharp nor Austin Troxell is ready to play at this point. Developing backups on the offensive line is not an easy task. Once the season starts, your focus is on getting your starters as good as they can be (still work to be done there, obviously), and it’s tough to spend much of your limited time working with the backups. Still, it’s got to be done, as even if both Driscoll and Tega return next week, there will be other times when one or more backups are all there is to play. For what it’s worth, based on one game, I’d say Calvin Ashley is our sixth-best offensive lineman right now. That’s not including Tucker Brown, who is actually a very decent blocker at tight end. I was impressed with the tough runs Kam Martin gave us late in the game. Downright proud of the kid, as a matter of fact. I confess I did not realize he has that kind of toughness. The unpleasant thought crossed my mind in the days immediately following this game that it may be too late to get this offensive line on track. After watching this game carefully, I don’t believe that has to be true. Many of the problems are correctable, and go back to fundamentals. We have linemen putting their heads on the wrong side of defenders, we have false starts, and we have uncertainty of assignments. Every one of those things can be corrected through hard work, discipline, and pride of ownership. I don’t know whether J.B. Grimes can get that done or not, but the time is now. That group will be tested this week by a very good Miss State front. I look for either Malik Miller or possibly Asa Martin to get lots of playing time, as they are the best pass protectors we have in the backfield. There are a few things we can do to make it easier for Stidham to escape the State rush; whether we choose to use those, we will know pretty early. I do not mean for this to be overly negative. I respect and appreciate the work the players and coaches put in. I appreciate that we only have one loss and are #8 in the country. There is obviously more work to be done. For us to go to Starkville and beat a strong Mississippi State, we will need to make some progress this week. Let’s get to it, and WAR EAGLE!!
corchjay 5,311 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 9 minutes ago, L I G E R said: Lol. Not sure what the response is in regard to? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kd4au 1,145 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 13 minutes ago, JMR said: Tucker Brown, who is actually a very decent blocker at tight end. Why in your opinion will Gus not use a tight end to help with blocking? I agree that T. Brown does a decent job when he gets his chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrustmaxwell 413 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 28 minutes ago, corchjay said: Not sure what the response is in regard to? Probably the part about the OL getting better this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) I still believe in Auburn and love it!!! I know deep in my heart Jarrett is the best QB in the nation and we’ll see it soon enough. Edited October 3, 2018 by 2010champs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L I G E R 120 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Just now, 2010champs said: I still believe in Auburn and love it!!! I know deep in my heat Jarrett is the best QB in the nation and we’ll see it soon enough. Reported for obvious trolling. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 minute ago, L I G E R said: Reported for obvious trolling. Stidham is a great QB who will play many years in the NFL. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat Stanley 0 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 If Asa doesn’t take the lead role on Saturday, we don’t leave Starkville with a W. He’s the only back that can survive this atrocious o-line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 2 minutes ago, Flat Stanley said: If Asa doesn’t take the lead role on Saturday, we don’t leave Starkville with a W. He’s the only back that can survive this atrocious o-line You forgot about Martin as well. I’m not worried about our backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L I G E R 120 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, 2010champs said: Stidham is a great QB who will play many years in the NFL. I don’t doubt he could have a long, successful pro career, but the whole “I believe in Auburn and love it” and “he’s the best QB in the nation” was just laying it on a bit too thick, IMO. Apologies if you weren’t trolling, but it certainly checked all the boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flat Stanley 0 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 4 minutes ago, 2010champs said: You forgot about Martin as well. I’m not worried about our backs. I like your optimism, but I think we will find out quickly on Saturday we are in trouble without Whitlow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 minute ago, L I G E R said: I don’t doubt he could have a long, successful pro career, but the whole “I believe in Auburn and love it” and “he’s the best QB in the nation” was just laying it on a bit too thick, IMO. Apologies if you weren’t trolling, but it certainly checked all the boxes. I do love Auburn, probably too much at times. I’ve got a feeling we are gonna finish 10-2 this year. This offense has the potential to be elite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnthePlains 2,014 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, L I G E R said: I don’t doubt he could have a long, successful pro career, but the whole “I believe in Auburn and love it” and “he’s the best QB in the nation” was just laying it on a bit too thick, IMO. Apologies if you weren’t trolling, but it certainly checked all the boxes. I don’t think he’s a troll...I do however believe him to be about 8 years old.... Edited October 3, 2018 by OnthePlains Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 (edited) 2 minutes ago, OnthePlains said: I donuthink he’s a troll...I do however believe him to be about 8 years old.... ^^^^^^AUM grad or Shelton State. Edited October 3, 2018 by 2010champs 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURex 1,984 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Thanks for your incisive analysis, JMR. I'm sure there are many here who will sidetrack or hijack with their anti-Gus, anti-Stidham agenda, but the reality is, the struggles of the offense are obvious, but Auburn is 4-1 and the sky has no yet fallen! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnthePlains 2,014 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 minute ago, 2010champs said: ^^^^^^AUM grad or Shelton State. Ok man. I believe you...do your parents know you’re up? Its 10:15. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L I G E R 120 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 JMR: Can I get your honest thoughts on JB Grimes as an all-around OL coach? I personally think he’s the best “technician” in the country and a better than average recruiter who should have our OL whipped into shape within the next 4-5 years. IMO, our current situation is 100% Herb Hand’s fault and has nothing to do with JBG’s first tenure at AU. What do you think you see? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auskip07 930 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 2 minutes ago, 2010champs said: ^^^^^^AUM grad That explains it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 9 minutes ago, Flat Stanley said: I like your optimism, but I think we will find out quickly on Saturday we are in trouble without Whitlow. It will come together this weekend. It is hard to be patient, especially when the team across the state is winning at a high level. we’ll be ok though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 minute ago, auskip07 said: That explains it Nice to see you, Skip. Are you ready for our boys to hit the hardwood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 5 minutes ago, OnthePlains said: Ok man. I believe you...do your parents know you’re up? Its 10:15. Very childish response. Are you gonna start doing “your momma” jokes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR 2,427 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 10 minutes ago, 2010champs said: I do love Auburn, probably too much at times. I’ve got a feeling we are gonna finish 10-2 this year. This offense has the potential to be elite. We just need improvement at OL, QB, RB and WR. I've never seen an elite offense with a below average to terrible OL. Kentucky is better at both OL and RB than Auburn. Sad but true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auskip07 930 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Just now, 2010champs said: Nice to see you, Skip. Are you ready for our boys to hit the hardwood? i took 1 class and a lab at AUM in the summer of 2003. Im ready i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2010champs 8 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 minute ago, auskip07 said: i took 1 class and a lab at AUM in the summer of 2003. Im ready i guess I’m ready as well. Good talking to you, Skip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnthePlains 2,014 Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, 2010champs said: Very childish response. Are you gonna start doing “your momma” jokes? Don’t get salty man I’m just joshin ya. Chill... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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