Things I Think I Saw: AU vs Tennessee

[McLoofus 35,182]

Btw, props to @mcgufcm on the long kicks thing. He pointed it out weeks ago. Yet, Gus persists.

[Auburn Kev 1,653]

 

This guy needs to listen to the video. Pruitt says Baylen cover your guy, not coming to your guy. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 hour ago, Auburn Kev said:

 

This guy needs to listen to the video. Pruitt says Baylen cover your guy, not coming to your guy. 

fake news huh? lol. When things go bad, everyone looks for reasons no matter how far fetched or inaccurate they are?

 

[TigerTennis80 345]

Coach, I always appreciate your insights, even in a rough season. In case you check in again, I hope you might answer a couple questions from your perspective as a coach. 1st, it seems to me that some of the kinds of mistakes we've made the past 2 games (Jarrett's overthrow & Boobee's fumble last week; Jarrett's interception after a blocked field goal followed by a botched coverage leading to a UT touchdown, a scoop & score, Darius' drop, etc.) are particularly deflating. In addition to the points we don't get, we hand momentum to the other side & totally deflate ourselves. On top of this, the very guys we need to count on to pull us out a downward spiral, are the ones making these mistakes. That's how it seems to me, & my question is whether or not you'd agree, or if you have a different take on the intangibles which happened in these games? 2nd, your comments about the continuing failures of the O line are depressing. Coach Grimes has the reputation of being a great teacher of linemen, & his lines in the past were strong. So, my question is, are some guys just not teach-able? Or maybe I should ask if you had experience as a coach when things that always worked before don't work with some players? If so, did you have a sense that there was anything you could do to change that situation? 3rd (ok, more than a couple), I think it's fair to say that all of Gus' teams in the past improved during the season. But not this one. As a coach who's "been there," are you able to speculate on what might be different with this team? Now that's I've written this out, I realize that all my questions are about the "intangibles" with this team--morale, confidence, leadership, teach-ability, etc. Right now all of those things seem to be working against us. Fundamentally I'm wondering if or how coaches can affect such things. 

[homersapien 11,366]

On 10/18/2018 at 9:31 AM, TigerTennis80 said:

Coach, I always appreciate your insights, even in a rough season. In case you check in again, I hope you might answer a couple questions from your perspective as a coach. 1st, it seems to me that some of the kinds of mistakes we've made the past 2 games (Jarrett's overthrow & Boobee's fumble last week; Jarrett's interception after a blocked field goal followed by a botched coverage leading to a UT touchdown, a scoop & score, Darius' drop, etc.) are particularly deflating. In addition to the points we don't get, we hand momentum to the other side & totally deflate ourselves. On top of this, the very guys we need to count on to pull us out a downward spiral, are the ones making these mistakes. That's how it seems to me, & my question is whether or not you'd agree, or if you have a different take on the intangibles which happened in these games? 2nd, your comments about the continuing failures of the O line are depressing. Coach Grimes has the reputation of being a great teacher of linemen, & his lines in the past were strong. So, my question is, are some guys just not teach-able? Or maybe I should ask if you had experience as a coach when things that always worked before don't work with some players? If so, did you have a sense that there was anything you could do to change that situation? 3rd (ok, more than a couple), I think it's fair to say that all of Gus' teams in the past improved during the season. But not this one. As a coach who's "been there," are you able to speculate on what might be different with this team? Now that's I've written this out, I realize that all my questions are about the "intangibles" with this team--morale, confidence, leadership, teach-ability, etc. Right now all of those things seem to be working against us. Fundamentally I'm wondering if or how coaches can affect such things. 

I don't know if we employ a psychologist as a consultant, but we should. 

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2012/10/alabamas_head_coach_kevin_elko.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/alabama-coach-nick-saban-process-2015-8

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/01/06/alabama-football-personality-profile-workshops-ilead-chenavis-evans-nick-saban-college-football-playoff/78344398/

[JMR 2,118]

On 10/18/2018 at 9:31 AM, TigerTennis80 said:

Coach, I always appreciate your insights, even in a rough season. In case you check in again, I hope you might answer a couple questions from your perspective as a coach. 1st, it seems to me that some of the kinds of mistakes we've made the past 2 games (Jarrett's overthrow & Boobee's fumble last week; Jarrett's interception after a blocked field goal followed by a botched coverage leading to a UT touchdown, a scoop & score, Darius' drop, etc.) are particularly deflating. In addition to the points we don't get, we hand momentum to the other side & totally deflate ourselves. On top of this, the very guys we need to count on to pull us out a downward spiral, are the ones making these mistakes. That's how it seems to me, & my question is whether or not you'd agree, or if you have a different take on the intangibles which happened in these games? 2nd, your comments about the continuing failures of the O line are depressing. Coach Grimes has the reputation of being a great teacher of linemen, & his lines in the past were strong. So, my question is, are some guys just not teach-able? Or maybe I should ask if you had experience as a coach when things that always worked before don't work with some players? If so, did you have a sense that there was anything you could do to change that situation? 3rd (ok, more than a couple), I think it's fair to say that all of Gus' teams in the past improved during the season. But not this one. As a coach who's "been there," are you able to speculate on what might be different with this team? Now that's I've written this out, I realize that all my questions are about the "intangibles" with this team--morale, confidence, leadership, teach-ability, etc. Right now all of those things seem to be working against us. Fundamentally I'm wondering if or how coaches can affect such things. 

TT, I have never been to one of Gus' practices, so I don't really know what J.B. does, or how he does it. To your point about trying different things with offensive linemen, I'll just "state the obvious": Every kid is different. What works with one may or may not work with another. One of the keys to success is knowing your players. Not just their strengths and weaknesses, but what makes them tick. It's really hard for me to understand how nearly ALL of our offensive linemen struggle with drop-back pass protection. To be fair, it is NOT easy to teach a guy to be a dominant drive-blocker AND a skilled dropback guy. But people do get it done. Takes time (NOT YEARS!) and lots of attention to detail. Nobody wants to hear this, but IMO our inability to pass protect is very likely more about what is being taught than it is about some mysterious "virus" that has infected every one of our linemen and rendered them universally unable to perform that function.

[TigerTennis80 345]

On 10/20/2018 at 6:42 AM, JMR said:

TT, I have never been to one of Gus' practices, so I don't really know what J.B. does, or how he does it. To your point about trying different things with offensive linemen, I'll just "state the obvious": Every kid is different. What works with one may or may not work with another. One of the keys to success is knowing your players. Not just their strengths and weaknesses, but what makes them tick. It's really hard for me to understand how nearly ALL of our offensive linemen struggle with drop-back pass protection. To be fair, it is NOT easy to teach a guy to be a dominant drive-blocker AND a skilled dropback guy. But people do get it done. Takes time (NOT YEARS!) and lots of attention to detail. Nobody wants to hear this, but IMO our inability to pass protect is very likely more about what is being taught than it is about some mysterious "virus" that has infected every one of our linemen and rendered them universally unable to perform that function.

Always appreciate your honest responses, even when it's not what we want to hear. ☺ 

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 10/20/2018 at 7:42 AM, JMR said:

our inability to pass protect is very likely more about what is being taught than it is about some mysterious "virus" that has infected every one of our linemen and rendered them universally unable to perform that function.

Thank you. I'm not here to bag on the coaches and I fought tooth and nail to defend JB's honor when he was re-hired, but player problems affect a player or a few players. When almost or even every player is under-performing, you have a coaching problem. 

JB lost something while he was gone, or maybe even before he left. We need help. 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

On 10/22/2018 at 7:56 AM, McLoofus said:

 

JB lost something while he was gone, or maybe even before he left. We need help. 

Or maybe never had 'it'. I'm beginning to believe Auburn's success on offense during his first stint was due more to the quality of the lineman Auburn had rather than Grimes's coaching thereof.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, SumterAubie said:

Or maybe never had 'it'. I'm beginning to believe Auburn's success on offense during his first stint was due more to the quality of the lineman Auburn had rather than Grimes's coaching thereof.

You could be right. I personally think it was both. I think he had very good clay and he molded it well. Guys need at least a little help becoming first rounders and Rimington winners. 

But the difference in talent between those groups and this one isn't as vast as the difference in performance, imo. 

Probably a moot point because it seems a safe bet we'll be assessing a different OL coach next year.