Feeling better about next year

[thaitopher 807]

With Brown returning I think we will have another elite defense next year. Our offense can’t be much worse than last year’s team so maybe 7 wins is our floor?

[AU_Tiger_88 417]

Oline should be better...so hinging on who is the QB and RB play...

[aujeff11 6,243]

[Win4AU 4,052]

If Auburn can get past Oregon in game 1 then Tulane and Kent State will go a long way toward getting offensive rhythm before the SEC gauntlet begins.  The 2 games that may dictate the successfulness of the season IMO are TaMu and LSU road games.  Win those games and Auburn will have a punchers chance come Amen corner.  Not sure how good the Mississippi schools or Arkansas will be but I’m guessing not great.  Florida is a wildcard.  

Defense should be reloading at this point and could be better even with the loses.  

Offense returns a lot of fire power and hopefully the whole Oline.  Hoping Joey really steps up or Nix is the next super freshman.  Might actually have a functioning TE with Joiner, Fromm, and Deal.

[abw0004 10,104]

18 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Sunshine UNITE!

[AU64 10,122]

19 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Defense should be reloading at this point and could be better even with the loses.  

Hoping the D is better than it showed the last few games of the regular season.    Not sure what was going on but the D was better in the bowl game and hope that's a trend that can continue.  

[Mims44 1,864]

If Gatewood can turn the corner with his passing, things could get awesome real quick. His quickness in the Purdue game was surprising.

[aujeff11 6,243]

15 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

Sunshine UNITE!

Malzahn is on the hotseat and amen corner is at home. I’m just saying. 

[abw0004 10,104]

8 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Hoping the D is better than it showed the last few games of the regular season.    Not sure what was going on but the D was better in the bowl game and hope that's a trend that can continue.  

I think they were all injured.  In pretty much all of the games at least 3 of the 4 had soft or hard casts on.  

[Win4AU 4,052]

4 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Hoping the D is better than it showed the last few games of the regular season.    Not sure what was going on but the D was better in the bowl game and hope that's a trend that can continue.  

They said there were a lot of injuries toward the end of the season.  Britt, Tutt, Smoke, Coynis, Truesdale, Jibunor, Sherwood all played a ton down the stretch and looked good considering their youth.  Jiburnor and Britt were flying all over the field in the bowl game.

[WarEagle2423 357]

What’s our LB depth chart look like next year? I figure Britt will get one spot. Maybe Wooten and Pappoe for the other 1-2? We also have McClain and Marsh. Am I missing anybody? 

[jared52 4,354]

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

[James Howell 80]

Auburn wont amount to much as long as malzahn is there.  You guys sentiment is pretty much the same as after the 2007 peach bowl when Tony Franklin took over but what happened in 2008.  Gus was calling plays in 2015 and part of 2016.  Now you can believe that gus has become a sean Payton in play calling after 1 game but I am not believing any of it.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

supposedly every junior that's in the air about returning is supposed to come back from this front. I think no one gains more doing so than Javaris, who should be seeking to display that last year was an aberration. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

2 minutes ago, James Howell said:

Auburn wont amount to much as long as malzahn is there.  You guys sentiment is pretty much the same as after the 2007 peach bowl when Tony Franklin took over but what happened in 2008.  Gus was calling plays in 2015 and part of 2016.  Now you can believe that gus has become a sean Payton in play calling after 1 game but I am not believing any of it.

Im the last person to cape for Gus, but that 2015 team was probably the least talented he's had here and he put alot of eggs in Jeremy. that doesnt absolve him but that was the situation. Its far easier to believe Gus has relit the flame for play calling with his back against the wall than to not, especially when he won't be allowed to pick a true pocket passer that doesnt fit his typical offense

[AURex 1,984]

Ya'll sunshine pumpers can get together with Rednilla for a big group hug.

No QB, middling RBs, Cox gone, Davis gone, some quick midgets. Plus for 2019 we got an OC who will not be an OC, and instead Gus + Kodi  = the new Gus + Lashlee and the new playbook = the old playbook.

And of course, Auburn had an amazing, awesome, elite defense for 2018 according to all the experts, prognosticators, and fans (including me) with endless depth and lots of NFL talent, especially up front. Turns out, it was not so elite after all.

I'll be rah-rah-rah for my Tigers every week, because I AM Auburn thru and thru. But my rose colored glasses were shattered this season.

The prognosticators will have Auburn at 6-6. Optimists will have Auburn winning all the games Auburn is supposed to win (which rarely happens) plus picking up an upset for a 7-5 season. I'm trying to be optimistic. Not yet living in Strawberry Fields.

 

[AubFanCT 180]

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I too am very excited that DB is coming back but we are unfortunately way closer to a 6 win team than a 10 win team next year. Unless we get a grad transfer QB out of no where, Gustav will need to do the 1 thing he has never done at AU and that's develop a QB. Without a QB we won't get past 6 or 7 Ws. 

[Bottomfeeder 244]

My chickens are still unhatched. I'm reserving the right to celebrate until this summer and a peek at our secondary, quarterback and running back situation.  A-Day is usually vanilla, but as Summer approaches things will intensify.

[AidiAU 1,270]

46 minutes ago, Mims44 said:

If Gatewood can turn the corner with his passing, things could get awesome real quick. His quickness in the Purdue game was surprising.

@aujeff11 and I were not surprised. 

42 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Malzahn is on the hotseat and amen corner is at home. I’m just saying. 

We ready.

[keesler 5,923]

1 hour ago, thaitopher said:

With Brown returning I think we will have another elite defense next year. Our offense can’t be much worse than last year’s team so maybe 7 wins is our floor?

Auburn’s defense was not elite in 2018, it was serviceable in some games, crappy in a few games and great in the bowl game vs Purdue.

[aujeff11 6,243]

1 minute ago, AidiAU said:

@aujeff11 and I were not surprised. 

We ready.

Boom! He’s got that rangey speed. We want more!!!!!!

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Look you don’t have to be a sunshine pumper to know Auburn definitely has the talent to win big next year. I’m sure we will be in the top 15 in Preseason maybe even the top 10 if one of our QBs take the lead coming out of spring and we do have talent at QB , maybe not proven yet but their talent is there. Bottom line is Gus. Will he show he has a set or fade down the stretch like he has lately. If he loses one early I expect he will implode and we will have a 6-6 or 5-7 season. If he can stay on track and get through the first six without losing or nearly losing then we might have a chance to finish strong. Bottom line is it’s all on Gus.

[AU64 10,122]

10 minutes ago, keesler said:

Auburn’s defense was not elite in 2018, it was serviceable in some games, crappy in a few games and great in the bowl game vs Purdue.

That's my concern about the past year....going into the season we knew the offense was suspect..... but folks everywhere, national media, etc were declaring that we had a top 3 or 4 DL  which turned out to be far from factual.   Folks mentioned injuries which could have been an issue but from MSU forward,  the DL was not top drawer.....though the Purdue game is an indication of better things to come.  

Still gotta learn how to get pressure on a passer with the front four. 

[James Howell 80]

34 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Im the last person to cape for Gus, but that 2015 team was probably the least talented he's had here and he put alot of eggs in Jeremy. that doesnt absolve him but that was the situation. Its far easier to believe Gus has relit the flame for play calling with his back against the wall than to not, especially when he won't be allowed to pick a true pocket passer that doesnt fit his typical offense [unquote]

I know where you are coming from DT but I feel that we were a lot better than record indicated.  However, you indicated that his quarterbacks didnt fit his system.  Well this pretty much makes my point about gus coaching ability as a coach.  He recruited that personnel and tried to make them fit his scheme.  A good coach will develop a scheme to fit his personnel instead gus tried to fit the personnel to his scheme.

[autan 737]

With Sr leadership from DB I expect our defense to be better next year  (if we don't have key injuries). DBs will be far more talented and experienced which showed toward the end of season.  Achilles heel is LBs.  I was not as high on our Sr LBs as most of you. Next years group may be more talented but almost no experience to build on.  Hope Mikey waves his magic wand.