AUIH1

Good stuff as always Stat.  The proof will be in the pudding when the real games start.

wde

Of course you must have a very good run game to win in the SEC.  But, your O must also be sophisticated enough to pass when necessary and by far the most important thing is that you must have an excellent D to compliment a strong running game. AU has been less than average in terms of a a sophisticated passing game (coaching) and until Muschamp was hired, the D was terrible.

wde

Great stuff as usual Stat.  I am begging for Gus to prove me wrong and actually not meddle with Lindsay and let him run the O. My initial reaction was meh, but it may the best for AU in the long run, because had we hired someone like Lincoln Riley, I am afraid that may have been a wasted hire due to my concerns about Gus not meddling.  With Lindsay, who I think is a better than Lashlee, AU is in a win win situation should he prove to be a Gus puppet.

wde

I think Stat has tapped out on this site and on AU football in general.

wde

49 minutes ago, RunInRed said:

Hammer meets nail.

Yep.

wde

Losing to uga again should put Gus on the Hot Seat next year no doubt.

wde

We are going to realize that what "stinginest" our D had this year was the result of one year of Muschamp and TRob.  They instilled a Pat Dye-type of attitude of toughness when it came to D.  I took all of the 2015 season for it to start to come to fruition, but it did.  That carried over into this season. I hope the regression we have seen the last two games is not a reflection on the current DC and DB coach.  Our DL has only played up to par or less this season.  That is a reflection on their coaching as well.

wde

32 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

• During the first seven games, Auburn's defense forced a "3 & out", 35% of the time. During the past two games, it has dropped to 5%.

Says it all for our D the last two games.

The D has played less than good the last two games.  To beat uga, they must improve greatly.

wde

We are going to kick Ole Miss' ass.  We now have competent defense which is the most important variable on the team.  This is the first time AU has had a real D since Tuberville.

wde

11 hours ago, StatTiger said:

Dye was .302

Bowden was .391

Tuberville was .275

Chizik was .294

Malzahn is .286

 The last 3 coaches faced more ranked opponents.

Thanks Stat.  You are the man.

wde

33 minutes ago, StatTiger said:

At Auburn as HFC, Malzahn is...

24-4 when leading at halftime.

3-1 when tied.

4-10 when trailing at halftime.

I did not realize it was that bad when trailing at the half.  

wde

4 minutes ago, StatTiger said:

We did score a TD but a holding penalty cancelled it. That play is a prime example of youthful players letting up. If JF3 sprints to the end zone, Jalen Harris doesn't have to resort to grabbing the defenders jersey on the edge. Because the QB strolled in, Harris was forced to hold the edge longer than he should have.

My only gripe from the second-half was not playing JF3 the entire second-half. How often will Auburn hold a 35-0 lead against a SEC opponent on the road? Wasted opportunity to get him some valuable reps. Of course it has been a long time since Auburn has held this kind of lead against a SEC team. Added to the lack of snaps against MSU, JF3 took 39 combined snaps against ASU and ULM but attempted ONE pass. Sean White SHOULD be the starter but it would be nice to see the #2 guy get some valuable playing time when the opportunity is there.

I hear you, but I wanted to see Sean at QB with the foot on the gas in the 3rd quarter for one for scoring drive before giving it up to JF3.  Also, knowing Gus' problems in the 3rd quarter with the O made we want to see the hammer down.  I understand that it was 35-0.

wde

Fair points and I agree and have harped that Gus just needs to win period.  So mission accomplished.  I would like to have seen the O score at least another TD or more in the 2nd half before going 100% conservative.

wde

Yes the O play calling/scheme was bad in the 2nd half after a good 1st half.  Yes, the D played well given the stress that was put on them on them in the 2nd half, but the D was lights out the 1st half..  Very happy for the win.

wde

Just now, Strychnine said:

 

While his delivery can be brutal, he rarely ends up being wrong.

Agree.  

wde

18 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

Last night was Gus's worst nightmare.  Sean White had an off night and it killed the offense.  JF3 came in but it became pretty clear that auburn was running 9/10 of the time.  The LSU game becomes a must win.  TaMu dominated Auburn offensively and defensively last night.  Sean is still only a sophmore and Auburn's best option to have a complete offense.  I say stick with him and he'll get better every game. He will win Auburn more games than he loses.

Our offense's worst nightmare IS Gus.  SW did not kill the O.  Gus did.  

wde

7 minutes ago, metafour said:

Things I Think I Saw: A dead man walking.

To give you credit (and I disagreed with you at the time) you had problems with Gus even after 2013.

wde

2 minutes ago, around4ever said:

It may be time to take a look at Coach Russell and our off season and in season conditioning. It appears to me that both O & D Lines are weak and slow.  The OLine footwork is not good. The DLine can't get off of or beat the blocks. Then they seem to have a hard time wrapping up when they are in position to make a tackle. 

Once we get to this point in a HC's tenure where we are questioning/pointing fingers at the S&C staff (rightly or wrongly) is a pretty strong indicator, IMO, that the HC's tenure should probably come to an end sooner rather than later.

wde

Just now, aujeff11 said:

The D is fine. The pass rush is non existent though. And we have to much talent for that.

I agree.

wde

Interesting as usual Stat.  I found it interesting your opinion about how the DL is not performing up to potential.  That is getting overshadowed by the mess that is our offense and the fact that overall, the D is beacon of shining light compared to Gus' play calling and personnel use on O.

wde

I was happy with what I saw last night.  The team (especially the O) needed it.

wde

1 hour ago, AUsince72 said:

I thought that initially as well, about the lack of pressure. However, I started wondering if maybe it was more of a "gameplan" to make sure the rush didn't over-pursue and let DW escape outside and kill them with his legs.  I know that in recent history mobile QB's have been a killer against AU's D...  He was not on Saturday night.  Aside from that one killer run near the end to get the first down (which was still only 8-9 yards vs 50 yards) he had to beat AU with his arm.

You would know more than me, for sure, but is that possible?  If so, I thought it rather genius because all in all, if it weren't for 175 yards gained on that danged back-shoulder throw to Williams, and Gallman was pretty good too, DW did nothing else that I would call "great" against Auburn's D.

Used up all of my "likes" but I liked this.

wde

On 9/3/2016 at 1:44 PM, RunInRed said:

I did not realize Dabo has strung together that many 10-win seasons in a row ... ACC but still ... not too shabby.

i don't like him but Dabo has proven to be a damn good HC.  When Saban retires, I bet bammer goes after him.

wde

11 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

@StatTiger I do take issue with your post.

You were far too rational and made way, way, WAY too much sense.  Next time throw in some ARGH's & maybe curse a little... 

Stat always brings it to the table.

wde

I am 100% behind the players.  The D staff did its job.  I feel sorry for the players in that we have an offensive guru for a HC who can't coach offense unless Cam Newton or Nick Marshal and Tre Mason are in the line up.

wde