It's Not Either Or....IT'S BOTH.

[gr82be 14,402]

On 10/26/2019 at 11:15 PM, muxi87 said:

Nix is the worst QB I’ve seen in Auburn history.  Show me any stat that says he isn’t.  I’m done.  This is a disgrace...

First year fan? I know his stats are bad but this kid shows glimpses of what he can do and some of it is pretty darn good. Under the right coaching I really do think he would be much better. I feel like the QB we saw vs Oregon was the kid who made some mistakes early, settled down, and came through with a cool and collected last drive that showed me what he is inside. You can't play QB well if you're scared to make a mistake and that's what he seems to be doing now. I put that on Gus. There were things Gus could have done along the way to help him out and he hasn't. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 10/27/2019 at 12:02 PM, oracle79 said:

Edit: after reading other threads, it also occurred to me that him starting a true freshman QB gives him a built in excuse for losing big games like these.  Always have the excuse, he's improving and will be better next year and start winning these types of games. New OC needs time to work with him, etc. Making more sense now. 

I hadn't considered this. Very interesting. And that's exactly what he blamed the LSU loss on. Well, that and penalties. 

[alexava 6,973]

On 10/27/2019 at 2:48 PM, Eagle Eye 7 said:

Actually JJ was pretty decent his Freshman year playing backup. Started and won the game. Against aArkansas. But after one year under Gus it was all over for him. Just saying 

JJ’s stats for that game

12 for 16   243 yds   2 TDs  0 INT.

show me one game where Bo can match that True freshman record of JJ

This was JJ ‘s sophomore year. He started a game his freshman year vs a no conference team and did ok. I just don’t remember the stats or team. 

[AU-24 3,063]

On 10/26/2019 at 10:30 PM, IronMan70 said:

If you read many of the posts on the board they follow a similar pattern. A poster will say it's Gus's fault, another will say it's Bo's poor play. That, it seems to me, is talking right past each other and turns it into an either or situation. But imo it's not, it's both. I got into a very short but pleasant convo in the game thread after I posted, "if Bo had just been average we win this game going away." I believe that to be true. The other person said, "but reasons 1-20 are on Gus". I happen to agree with that too but it's a different topic. As a Gus fan albeit realistic and neutral on him going into the season, a Bo fan, a Joey fan and most importantly an Auburn fan, I would say this. 

Gus is the head coach and is responsible for everything, period. He decides who is recruited, how to develop players, who plays in the game and what plays to call. I said before the season that Gus's biggest issue over the years has been losing those games he never should have lost. I felt he had to change that and do it this year. Also, that he had to start consistently winning at least 9 games. Those 8-4 seasons easily turn into 9, 10 or 11 wins if not for that. Yet here we are again and 2 more games can be added to the list. We were better than Florida and LSU at their home field. It's very frustrating.  

Another topic is the skill set performance at the QB position, the most important position on offense. The head scratcher here is that Bo can make 1 or 2 very good passes then miss 2 or 3 in a row as badly as I've ever seen a QB miss. It's very puzzling and unfortunately it often occurs in key situations. Oh yes, there was definitely some bad play calling but even with the plays that were called, there were times he couldn't hit WRs wide open on basic short patterns. I can't explain it but it happens to be the reality at this point in time. 

So we don't know why this is the case but imo it's unfair to the rest of the team to let it continue, especially with this great defense. To consistently win big games, the team as a whole can't tolerate substandard play like that at any position let alone at QB. I would also add right here that it's Gus's decision to continue with any QB, that is on him. In addition, if we really don't have any other option at the QB position that is also on him. 

Finally, this year was all up to Gus. I was pulling for him and for the team to make it happen. Simply put, it was cautious optimism with more of a 'show me' posture than anything else. But honestly I don't see how he can keep losing games year after year he should have never lost in the first place and remain. I said that before the season too because it's the one thing that will keep a team from being an upper tier team and it hasn't improved this year. Let me end by saying, at JH with this defense we should beat UGA and bama can be beat there too. Who knows, maybe we still get those 9 regular season wins. We'll see what happens. 

Sometimes, I’m just confused as to what to think? Is it all on Gus? I guess so.

As far as LSU, probably more disappointed in our O-line play, than our teenage, freshmen QB. I would expect more from 5 seniors on the O-line. Other issues... I can’t explain why, but one former coach, former official and former expert after the other says: the holding on our D-line that is not being called, is reaching the atrocious level. So what gets done about it and by whom?

Disappointed the Alabama quarterback is playing for Oklahoma, Ohio State’s quarterback is playing for LSU, Georgia’s quarterback is playing for Ohio State. Wondering if we could’ve gotten one of those three, give Bo Nix a year or two to learn, we would probably be in better shape. It just didn’t happen.

The overall picture: In Bo Jackson’s (greatest athlete in the modern era) four years at Auburn, we won one SEC championship and zero national championships.

Ronnie Brown, Jason Campbell and Cadillac’s years at Auburn, (all number one draft picks) one SEC championships, zero national championships. 

Pat Sullivan’s (heisman Trophy winner) years at Auburn, zero SEC championships. 

I could go on, but the bottom line, in the history of Auburn, we have eight SEC championships. Only eight. The only coach to win more than two is Pat Dye and Coach Dye did not win a Natty. Are any of us happy with that? Certainly not!
 

So here we go again this year. Why?  At least some of the reasons are things like: our schedule, continues to be one of the toughest in the country year after year. Some of it is, we are the victims of the SEC West, playing Georgia every year out of the east. Some of it, in my opinion, is our own scheduling mistakes. Other reasons: We have no Organization that compares to the REC. We just don’t. We also just don’t seem to be as connected to the SEC office in Birmingham, as other teams are. (The lack of holding calls comes to mind)

So here we are. We all want a coach like the Bruce Pearl of college football. Who is this guy? Oklahoma has one win this season against a team with a winning record. Not a ranked team, but just a team with a winning record. Then they up and lose to an unranked team Saturday. So is Lincoln Riley really the answer? Do we really want Urban Meyer and all his baggage on the Planes? Would Bob Stoops really come to AU?
 

I wish, I had the answers, but I think we all know, what we’ve done in the past and what we’re doing currently, is just not working.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I hadn't considered this. Very interesting. And that's exactly what he blamed the LSU loss on. Well, that and penalties. 

If he were playing Gatewood as a redshirt freshman who sustained a thumb injury most of last year, there would still be the built-in excuse.

And I don't think it's unfair to place some blame on penalties considering so many were self inflicted. (I.e. Sooooo many false starts) those were drive killers.

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, JBiGGiE said:

If he were playing Gatewood as a redshirt freshman who sustained a thumb injury most of last year, there would still be the built-in excuse.

And I don't think it's unfair to place some blame on penalties considering so many were self inflicted. (I.e. Sooooo many false starts) those were drive killers.

It was part of the problem, for sure. But I didn't appreciate him citing it as the primary issue. And if he had to, framing it as, "We didn't get these guys ready, that's on us as coaches" would have been a little easier for me to swallow.

And maybe he was trying to protect Bo, but still, this all seems consistent with an inability to truly accept blame and seek a better way to do things. It always comes down to, "I told them to do the right things, they just didn't do them good enough". 

[IronMan70 3,277]

42 minutes ago, AU-24 said:

Sometimes, I’m just confused as to what to think? Is it all on Gus? I guess so.

As far as LSU, probably more disappointed in our O-line play, than our teenage, freshmen QB. I would expect more from 5 seniors on the O-line. Other issues... I can’t explain why, but one former coach, former official and former expert after the other says: the holding on our D-line that is not being called, is reaching the atrocious level. So what gets done about it and by whom?

Disappointed the Alabama quarterback is playing for Oklahoma, Ohio State’s quarterback is playing for LSU, Georgia’s quarterback is playing for Ohio State. Wondering if we could’ve gotten one of those three, give Bo Nix a year or two to learn, we would probably be in better shape. It just didn’t happen.

The overall picture: In Bo Jackson’s (greatest athlete in the modern era) four years at Auburn, we won one SEC championship and zero national championships.

Ronnie Brown, Jason Campbell and Cadillac’s years at Auburn, (all number one draft picks) one SEC championships, zero national championships. 

Pat Sullivan’s (heisman Trophy winner) years at Auburn, zero SEC championships. 

I could go on, but the bottom line, in the history of Auburn, we have eight SEC championships. Only eight. The only coach to win more than two is Pat Dye and Coach Dye did not win a Natty. Are any of us happy with that? Certainly not!
 

So here we go again this year. Why?  At least some of the reasons are things like: our schedule, continues to be one of the toughest in the country year after year. Some of it is, we are the victims of the SEC West, playing Georgia every year out of the east. Some of it, in my opinion, is our own scheduling mistakes. Other reasons: We have no Organization that compares to the REC. We just don’t. We also just don’t seem to be as connected to the SEC office in Birmingham, as other teams are. (The lack of holding calls comes to mind)

So here we are. We all want a coach like the Bruce Pearl of college football. Who is this guy? Oklahoma has one win this season against a team with a winning record. Not a ranked team, but just a team with a winning record. Then they up and lose to an unranked team Saturday. So is Lincoln Riley really the answer? Do we really want Urban Meyer and all his baggage on the Planes? Would Bob Stoops really come to AU?
 

I wish, I had the answers, but I think we all know, what we’ve done in the past and what we’re doing currently, is just not working.

24, I think your post is very well thought out and several of the points you make are valid. They explain some of the issues we are faced with and for any Head Coach to deal with. What I have tried to keep the focus on, at least for myself, is what is actually happening on the field during the games. Then I ask myself, is there improvement year to year in winning the games we shouldn't have lost in the first place ?

On that point I think the reality is that it isn't better, at least that's what I see on the field. As you know I had hoped and was cautiously optimistic that Gus would get over the hump this year. Take it to the next level, just do it, show me was my posture. Like you say, there are no guarantees that someone else could do better and I'm not even calling for that in my post. Others make those decisions. I'm just trying to focus on what "is", both with Gus and Bo. Gus can still get those 9 wins, heck he could even run the table the last 4 games. Now that would be something. Good post 24.

[Old fan 47 766]

On 10/27/2019 at 8:35 AM, TigerEyez13 said:

Bo was facing immense pressure on passing plays. There was literally a defender on him in less than two seconds. Even seasoned QBs would suffer under that barrage. Look what our defense does to the QBs we face. And we don't get the penetration that defenses get against us.

 

The majority of blame is on the head coach. The play calling was amateur hour. I will give Gus credit for finally learning to QB sneak from under center for short yards. But those calls up the middle... it was painful. He tries it with one running back. It fails. I know, let's put Boobee in there, that's the ticket. Same play. Same result. Okay, put Joey in, that's something different. Same play.  I feel sorry for the kids on this team. They are doing the best they can under the circumstances.

I agree with your thoughts. Whether or not he is 18 or 22 really is no longer the issue here. Gus is definitely no offensive guru, but as the son of a former QB and coach, Bo just is not getting it done. He is very inaccurate and you can’t blame GM for the points left on the field from poorly thrown balls when our receivers are getting three to five yards past the secondary. I hope he does improve as his career goes on, but there are plenty of true freshmen that have gotten better by the 8th game of the season. At this point what is it going to mess up by playing JG a lot more than he is, because the bottom line is that after next year, there is no defense like this one to bail a pedestrian offense out. 

[CCTAU 3,287]

1 hour ago, Old fan 47 said:

I agree with your thoughts. Whether or not he is 18 or 22 really is no longer the issue here. Gus is definitely no offensive guru, but as the son of a former QB and coach, Bo just is not getting it done. He is very inaccurate and you can’t blame GM for the points left on the field from poorly thrown balls when our receivers are getting three to five yards past the secondary. I hope he does improve as his career goes on, but there are plenty of true freshmen that have gotten better by the 8th game of the season. At this point what is it going to mess up by playing JG a lot more than he is, because the bottom line is that after next year, there is no defense like this one to bail a pedestrian offense out. 

Don't forget the drops. It all goes hand in hand.

This team is not disciplined. That's on the coach. And this QB is supposedly in sync with Gus. So when Gus panics, it spreads.

Gus may be the worst under pressure in-game coach I have seen at AU in my lifetime.

[Tiger 8,818]

Schedule has been brutal but we have looked exactly like we did vs UF and vs LSU going back several years in the Gustav era and spanning several QBs. That is the problem. Not that we have a young true freshman back there playing some bad ball. It's always a bad spot to be in if you're starting a true freshman in the Swamp or Death Valley. But this goes beyond that.

If you want to put it on Bo and give Gus a pass because Gus isn't the one throwing the passes then you gotta absolve CGM of the credit for Nick Marshall's wizardry because Gus wasn't the one eluding a defender in the backfield and busting big gains out of it, or making devastating blocks like G-Rob and Prosch.

There has been 1 common denominator and at this point in Gus' tenure we have had more offenses that look like garbage against our peers than good ones.

[Viper 3,120]

On 10/26/2019 at 11:15 PM, muxi87 said:

Nix is the worst QB I’ve seen in Auburn history.  Show me any stat that says he isn’t.  I’m done.  This is a disgrace...

I recall an AU Freshman QB scoring just 7 against FL. Also scored just 7 against bammer that season.

Went on to become AU's all-time leading passer...still holds that record.

Care to guess?

[AU84Grad 1]

On 10/27/2019 at 2:02 AM, Dan-0 said:

I know he´s 18 and a freshman. He may be a great QB one day, I hope so. But this is big-time SEC football and you don´t get a grace period or a certain number of bad games. He has to make those short throws, freshman or not. Bo was a hero in the Oregon game but I sounded the alarm back then because he was 13-31 passing. And that low completion percentage has repeated itself in both the FL & LSU games. How many bad games do you think he should get before a change is made?

I agree. They keep saying that Bo is a true Freshman. Buy this is our year with a truly remarkable defense. Nix shouldn't be practicing as a Starter with this National Championship caliber team. Nix looked good in the Spring  and won the job because he knew he couldn't be hit. He is scared in the real games and it definitely showed during the Florida game, Once they got to him in the first series, it went downhill fast after that. We should have played Gatewood a couple of series just to let Nix settle down and see how Gatewood competed. Even when Nix runs, he is looking for a place to fall or run out of bounds  when he's only 2 yards from a first down. It's not Nix's fault; he shouldn't be starting, He would have been AUsome as a redshirt sophomore.

[Mikey 16,550]

1 hour ago, AU84Grad said:

Even when Nix runs, he is looking for a place to fall or run out of bounds  when he's only 2 yards from a first down. It's not Nix's fault; he shouldn't be starting, He would have been AUsome as a redshirt sophomore.

What games have you been watching? He's picked up a bunch of key first downs. He may avoid a hit on 1st or 2nd down, but on his 3rd down runs he's done what was needed if he was anywhere near to close.

[beaumak 174]

On 10/27/2019 at 12:16 AM, nixtosanders94 said:

 

That UF team was 8-5...

haha, like us now. oh the irony.