How Would You Fix This Team? Pt. 1

[aubiefifty 16,737]

collegeandmagnolia.com

How Would You Fix This Team? Pt. 1

JackCondon

8-10 minutes

Well, everyone, we’ve hit the two-thirds mark of the season. Raise your hand if you thought that this Auburn team would be 5-3 heading into the bye week, with losses to LSU, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.

No, you didn’t. 99% of us thought that Auburn would be favored in every game leading up to the road trip in Athens, and that there was a great chance that the Tigers had one or fewer losses by that point. Well, the classic Auburn roller coaster hit, and we beat the sixth-ranked Washington Huskies away from Jordan-Hare before losing at home to LSU, getting rolled over in Starkville, and then sleepwalking through a loss to Tennessee.

After the ten-win season last year, we’re all pretty sure that next season is going to be a Playoff-bound affair, but there are a lot of areas that need improvement before that can happen. I will admit that Auburn fans have an alarmist attitude about this type of thing, and we’ve seen this same song and dance before. With the team’s struggles, there are many that want Gus Malzahn out of here and a new coach in the fold. Our own administration got rid of Terry Bowden midway through the year following Auburn’s first division title (with extenuating circumstances, yes), they wanted Tommy Tuberville out after he lost a lofty preseason ranking, and Gene Chizik was given the boot just two years after a national championship.

We’re pretty fickle. So, if Gus wants an extended stay on the Plains, what should he do to bounce back from this rough start? Here are a couple of ideas. We’ll be giving more each day this week.

CONTINUE THE YOUTH MOVEMENT

15 of Auburn’s 28 touchdowns this year have been scored by either true or redshirt freshmen. Jatarvious “Boobee” Whitlow, Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz, and Shaun Shivers have all been mixed into the offense and have become integral parts of the attack. After not having a feature tailback to start the season, it looks like Whitlow’s finally become the guy after his 170-yard effort at Ole Miss over the weekend (nothing like that Rebel D to get an offense on track). Seth Williams and Anthony Schwartz have been favored targets for Jarrett Stidham this season, and Shaun Shivers seems to have been given the backup tailback role with the number of carries he got on Saturday.

We’ve even seen guys like Harold Joiner and Asa Martin worked into the offense at times — WHERE’S THE WHEEL ROUTE TO ASA BEEN SINCE THE LSU GAME?? — but with the struggles on offense, there’s honestly not a whole lot of opportunities to get everyone involved as much as we’d like. It’s a bit disappointing to see Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton not quite as reliable as they were last year. Davis has dropped punts and can’t seem to find the same screen game magic that worked so well in 2017, while Slayton and Jarrett Stidham can’t seem to even get on the same page.

We’ve got a certain group that’s going to be the future. Much like the 2007 season, where young guys played on offense and forged the foundation for a championship season, this is a chance to build quite the base for years to come. They’ve been thrown into the fire, let’s unleash them completely down the stretch.

IDENTIFY THE WOES AND AVOID THEM

What led to each of Auburn’s losses? In the LSU game, penalties and turnovers were the name of the game. Against Mississippi State, we couldn’t stop their run game and again, turnovers came at critical times. Then at home with Tennessee, again it was turnovers.

Stidham’s two picks against LSU came on routine plays. There wasn’t pressure, we weren’t running any tricky, he just threw two interceptions. One was a great read by a defensive back, while the other was a miscommunication with Slayton. In Starkville, we couldn’t hold onto the ball, and the main turnover was the goal-line fumble from Whitlow that negated a touchdown and gave MSU the ball. Stidham’s picks against Tennessee stifled good drives for Auburn, and his fumble got returned for a touchdown. All three of those turnovers were the result of pressure.

With out offensive line, we may not be able to prevent those turnovers resulting from Stidham getting out on the run, but the others are totally avoidable. They’re such little fixes that shouldn’t be an issue going forward. The offense looked more crisp in terms of knowing what it wanted to do this past weekend, and while Boobee had trouble holding onto the ball again, he escaped this time and I imagine it’ll be a point of emphasis in practice going forward. It’s all about mental toughness.

LIVE ON THE EDGE

This one builds off of the last point. Aside from turnovers, penalties have killed us this year in certain games, while we’ve also had issues with field goals. Anders Carlson has not been good with lengthy field goals. It’s a fact. He’s got plenty of leg, but he’s struggled with the accuracy. He’s missed pretty much every try on a long kick. He hasn’t been a weapon for the Tigers like his brother was the past couple of seasons. This woe does have a solution. It’s to live on the edge.

When Auburn’s faced with a field goal of 45 yards or longer (which has happened quite a bit this year), I’d be hard-pressed not to go for it. That roughly means if you’re between the 30 and 40, go for it. Just do it. One thing that I’ve noticed is that Auburn has faced an inordinate number of fourth down conversions from the opposing offenses, so it’s time for the Tigers to put that pressure back on the opponent. If Auburn comes out and goes for it in those situations, using pace, knowing ahead of time what they want to do, then it might be a good way to...

BRING BACK OLD GUS

Remember the days of early Gus Malzahn, when Auburn would just keep rolling down the field? Same formation and same personnel, but the entire playbook was a possibility. How many times did an opponent get a substitution penalty, or have to call timeout to settle down and figure things out? How many times were we able to run a simple draw up the middle on first down, and then go with the dipsy doodle on second down because the personnel was the same and we caught the defense napping? Remember when you could actually see the vein in the middle of Saban’s forehead about to burst because of that? It was awesome.

That hasn’t been the case this season. It’s plainly evident what Auburn is going to be doing with certain guys on the field. When Bachelor winner Jordan Rogers can spot it easily, you know that SEC defensive coordinators can.

Old Gus used to find something that you couldn’t stop, and he’d run it until you learned to stop it. He and Chip Lindsey have been just fine for the most part when it comes to analyzing a defense, as Auburn’s opening drives haven’t been bad (when the script is still going). It’s when things have gotten off-script, and we’re trying to think on the fly, that the Tigers have had trouble.

Plus, the pace isn’t nearly as pervasive as it’s been in years past. Gus’ teams were infamous for running quickly and taking little time between snaps. Sure, that was easier with Nick Marshall running the show, where the zone read could burn anyone and the pre-snap reads were a little easier, but it still causes problems for the defense no matter what you’re running. I have to believe that some of these issues come from not really having an offensive identity eight games into the season, so maybe Whitlow’s breakout on Saturday can help Auburn find a base.

Either way, let’s give the offense a 90-degree turn and get it going up the field instead of side to side. Get Gus his old sweater vest (the source of his powers) and let him do the things that turned him into a successful coach in the first place. Run the 2009 Iron Bowl game plan, go all out, trash the old trick plays, and bring back the simple tricks that worked. Man, wouldn’t you love to see Stidham run the Chris Todd/Cam Newton pump fake to a receiver putting a double move on the defender? Where has that been?

Just give me the Gus that so confidently asked Chizik “SO YOU WANNA GO FOR IT” in Tuscaloosa in 2010. That’s the Gus we need right now. If you’re going to face the negativity that’s swirled around recently, face it head on with a smirk. That Gus will make November fun, and may even surprise some folks.

We’ll have more ways that this team can improve as the week rolls on. For now, enjoy the Saturday away from Auburn football. Watch everyone else put it on the line with no risk for us, and then be there at Jordan-Hare Stadium to send Jimbo and his boys out on a rail. War Eagle.

[alexava 6,973]

Thanks for posting. But that’s not very well written. Gus said “ I wanna go for it”! In 2010 iron bowl. 

[Hspoprn 199]

Can't run the "Old Gus" offense with a pro-style quarterback. IMO this has been the greatest coaching failure, having a pro-style qb and trying to run either a zone read or HUNH offense is a recipe for defeat and frustration.

[NorthGATiger 1,801]

I would start with this.  Gus can tell the OC that he wants to be a power run team and what he wants the identity to be but that is where it stops.  As far as the Offense go's Gus is the Head Coach and the figure head of the program.  He does not design the offense and he does not make any OC use his plays that are involved in his system.  In other words Gus would be like any defensive coach that becomes a head coach.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

28 minutes ago, Hspoprn said:

Can't run the "Old Gus" offense with a pro-style quarterback. IMO this has been the greatest coaching failure, having a pro-style qb and trying to run either a zone read or HUNH offense is a recipe for defeat and frustration.

Did you watch the 2009 Auburn Tigers that averaged 33 points per game?  Not like Chris Todd was mobile, yet that offense went crazy fast.  I vividly remember several times where the opposing defense had to call a time out just to catch their breath (at Tennessee comes to mind as an example).

[bigbird 60,452]

2 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Did you watch the 2009 Auburn Tigers that averaged 33 points per game?  Not like Chris Todd was mobile, yet that offense went crazy fast.  I vividly remember several times where the opposing defense had to call a time out just to catch their breath (at Tennessee comes to mind as an example).

I agree, but defenses are better conditioned and the new substitution rule negated a lot of the HUNH.

[steeleagle 2,945]

45 minutes ago, Hspoprn said:

Can't run the "Old Gus" offense with a pro-style quarterback. IMO this has been the greatest coaching failure, having a pro-style qb and trying to run either a zone read or HUNH offense is a recipe for defeat and frustration.

So how did we throw for 3,000 yards, and win 10 games w/ a Pro style QB last year?

The problem is the play calling, and a very weak OL, that compounds many plays we try to execute.

[Win4AU 4,052]

I would say Ole Miss was old school Gus.  Auburn played with tempo and didn’t sub as much as previous games.  I know Ole Miss is the worst rush defense in the SEC and all that but Auburn still executed fairly well.  I’d expect to see the same against the top rated rush defenses in 2 weeks.  Expect lots of Schwartz in motion and the defense will have to guess if it’s a the sweep, the Zone read, a screen, or a long bomb.  That’s Old school Gus.  Boobee’s health unfortunately May dictate the success.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

I agree, but defenses are better conditioned and the new substitution rule negated a lot of the HUNH.

Good point on the new rule.  Didn't take that into consideration.  Still think it's possible for us to go fast and be more diverse in play calling.  They can't sub if we don't sub

[bigbird 60,452]

49 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

So how did we throw for 3,000 yards, and win 10 games w/ a Pro style QB last year?

The problem is the play calling, and a very weak OL, that compounds many plays we try to execute.

The OL is, by far, the biggest issue.  We can't run and we can't pass because of them. 

The play calling is an enigma because we don't know how many would be successful if we had lanes to run or time to throw. However, even if the OL were the dominant '13 group,  I think we'd still be very predictable in our run game with very little inside/outside balance. Also, we would still have longer than necessary developing routes and we screens as our passing attack. Although I have seen an improvement in intermediate routes being ran(Thank you, Seth). Buuuut, we'd still not attack the MoF as much is necessary to keep a back 7 honest and create favorable mismatches.

 

[bigbird 60,452]

1 minute ago, Brad_ATX said:

Good point on the new rule.  Didn't take that into consideration.  Still think it's possible for us to go fast and be more diverse in play calling.  They can't sub if we don't sub

That is the key.  Gus has become to reliant on certain players only running certain plays and only certain players in certain sets.  Our O should want to ensure that all skill players can adjust and run every play out of every set.  That would allow us to keep the same personnel in the game running our entire offense(run and pass) from multiple sets. Allowing us to be fast paced and unpredictable for multiple plays.  We could then do a line change, as in hockey, and bring in an entirely new set of skills position players that can also run the whole O from multiple sets. We would quickly run down their D being able to limit their substituting.  It would also limit DC's ability to scheme based on formation and personnel (which is really easy vs Gus) and would make our O much more dynamic.

[OnthePlains 2,014]

3 minutes ago, bigbird said:

That is the key.  Gus has become to reliant on certain players only running certain plays and only certain players in certain sets.  Our O should want to ensure that all skill players can adjust and run every play out of every set.  That would allow us to keep the same personnel in the game running our entire offense(run and pass) from multiple sets. Allowing us to be fast paced and unpredictable for multiple plays.  We could then do a line change, as in hockey, and bring in an entirely new set of skills position players that can also run the whole O from multiple sets. We would quickly run down their D being able to limit their substituting.  It would also limit DC's ability to scheme based on formation and personnel (which is really easy vs Gus) and would make our O much more dynamic.

What he said☝️

[weagl1 1,782]

If I was Gus and I was counting on being around next year I would be scouring the JC and Grad Transfer market for offensive linemen.  Maybe a couple of the guys we have now will work out next year but we need 2-3 to fill in for the ones he has been put out there week after week only to see them getting run over, missing blocks, trying to block the wrong man, etc., etc, etc.  If that problem not fixed next year will be more of the same.  

[aubiefifty 16,737]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

I agree, but defenses are better conditioned and the new substitution rule negated a lot of the HUNH.

they changed the rule because we were winning and want to keep us down man. <<< my hippie voice

[OnthePlains 2,014]

1 minute ago, aubiefifty said:

they changed the rule because we were winning and want to keep us down man. <<< my hippie voice

 

[bigbird 60,452]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

I would say Ole Miss was old school Gus.  Auburn played with tempo and didn’t sub as much as previous games.  I know Ole Miss is the worst rush defense in the SEC and all that but Auburn still executed fairly well.  I’d expect to see the same against the top rated rush defenses in 2 weeks.  Expect lots of Schwartz in motion and the defense will have to guess if it’s a the sweep, the Zone read, a screen, or a long bomb.  That’s Old school Gus.  Boobee’s health unfortunately May dictate the success.

As dynamic as Schwartz is on the sweeps/reverses,. I'd prefer to see him running underneath crossing routes matced up against opposing LB.  A simple 3-5 yard cross with Schwartz, depending on coverage, could easily turn into 20+ gains.  I'd also prefer to see Shivers in the OMac sweep role.  He ran it a few times against OM and showed the same type of speed as OMac with a little more patience and a whole lot more power and aggression.  

Imagine this...

Twins formation. Slayton wide left, Schwartz slot left, Shivers slot right, Seth wide right. 

Slayton: Post breaking at 5-7 yards

Schwartz: 3-5 yard cross (adjusting to LB) run in between DL and LB

Seth: 12-15 yard drag in front of the safeties and behind the backers.

Shivers: Jet motion (option to hand off or continue on to a rail behind Slayton's post.)

 

How would you defend?

[steeleagle 2,945]

35 minutes ago, bigbird said:

The OL is, by far, the biggest issue.  We can't run and we can't pass because of them. 

The play calling is an enigma because we don't know how many would be successful if we had lanes to run or time to throw. However, even if the OL were the dominant '13 group,  I think we'd still be very predictable in our run game with very little inside/outside balance. Also, we would still have longer than necessary developing routes and we screens as our passing attack. Although I have seen an improvement in intermediate routes being ran(Thank you, Seth). Buuuut, we'd still not attack the MoF as much is necessary to keep a back 7 honest and create favorable mismatches.

 

THe MoF is also probably Stidhams best throws with his style. HE can be so accurate and quick on those throws. But when Gus calls a play action pass with OUR OL, lord I just hold my breath. Its either a sack, scramble and throw an INT, or throw away. 

I noticed the color guy on our game Saturday mentioned a lot of these weaknesses in our offense that doesn't use JS to his strengths. I thought the announcer was good, straight, blunt and knew his stuff.

[The Freak 2,526]

15 minutes ago, bigbird said:

As dynamic as Schwartz is on the sweeps/reverses,. I'd prefer to see him running underneath crossing routes matced up against opposing LB.  A simple 3-5 yard cross with Schwartz, depending on coverage, could easily turn into 20+ gains.  I'd also prefer to see Shivers in the OMac sweep role.  He ran it a few times against OM and showed the same type of speed as OMac with a little more patience and a whole lot more power and aggression.  

Imagine this...

Twins formation. Slayton wide left, Schwartz slot left, Shivers slot right, Seth wide right. 

Slayton: Post breaking at 5-7 yards

Schwartz: 3-5 yard cross (adjusting to LB) run in between DL and LB

Seth: 12-15 yard drag in front of the safeties and behind the backers.

Shivers: Jet motion (option to hand off or continue on to a rail behind Slayton's post.)

 

How would you defend?

Sack the QB before the ball gets to him.

[bigbird 60,452]

1 minute ago, The Freak said:

Sack the QB before the ball gets to him.

Especially with our OL.

[McLoofus 35,182]

27 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I'd also prefer to see Shivers in the OMac sweep role.  He ran it a few times against OM and showed the same type of speed as OMac with a little more patience and a whole lot more power and aggression.  

Corey Grant with better vision and hips. 

Is it just the complete failure of almost everything else that is taking away those sweeps? We've got like 5 guys who could be running them. 

[PigskinPat 2,575]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

That is the key.  Gus has become to reliant on certain players only running certain plays and only certain players in certain sets.  Our O should want to ensure that all skill players can adjust and run every play out of every set.  That would allow us to keep the same personnel in the game running our entire offense(run and pass) from multiple sets. Allowing us to be fast paced and unpredictable for multiple plays.  We could then do a line change, as in hockey, and bring in an entirely new set of skills position players that can also run the whole O from multiple sets. We would quickly run down their D being able to limit their substituting.  It would also limit DC's ability to scheme based on formation and personnel (which is really easy vs Gus) and would make our O much more dynamic.

This makes waaaay too much sense!!

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

That is the key.  Gus has become to reliant on certain players only running certain plays and only certain players in certain sets.  Our O should want to ensure that all skill players can adjust and run every play out of every set.  That would allow us to keep the same personnel in the game running our entire offense(run and pass) from multiple sets. Allowing us to be fast paced and unpredictable for multiple plays.  We could then do a line change, as in hockey, and bring in an entirely new set of skills position players that can also run the whole O from multiple sets. We would quickly run down their D being able to limit their substituting.  It would also limit DC's ability to scheme based on formation and personnel (which is really easy vs Gus) and would make our O much more dynamic.

Not sure how much you watch the Rams, but they are just incredibly impressive on offense.  Something like 97% of their plays are run out of a 1 RB/ 3 WR/ 1 TE set.  The multitude of plays they run out of that basic premise is quite amazing.

[homersapien 11,357]

"classic Auburn roller coaster"    That's great.   

 

[corchjay 5,311]

It’s not plays or scheme or not throwing in the middle of the field.

Its execution at every level of the offense.  Worst to best...  OL not run blocking good enough, OL not pass blocking good enough, Stidham not accurate enough and unable to read defenses very slow through progressions, running backs vision at times (understable with their experience and getting better), WRs drops, about the only good position play has been the TE/HBs.

The bottom line we need better OL play and better QB play.  You get those and the offense will be better.  It’s very hard to scheme around those issues it’s basically impossible.

[AURealist 2,185]

20 minutes ago, corchjay said:

It’s not plays or scheme or not throwing in the middle of the field.

Its execution at every level of the offense.  Worst to best...  OL not run blocking good enough, OL not pass blocking good enough, Stidham not accurate enough and unable to read defenses very slow through progressions, running backs vision at times (understable with their experience and getting better), WRs drops, about the only good position play has been the TE/HBs.

The bottom line we need better OL play and better QB play.  You get those and the offense will be better.  It’s very hard to scheme around those issues it’s basically impossible.

TE?   That's a blocker, right?    Heh.  Joking.   Don't get me started...