aucom96

3 hours ago, KnightTiger said:

lets say for a minute we have a 2010/2013 type run next season 

7 hours ago, Paladin said:

* Freeze says Holden Geriner had a "heck of a week" at practice last week.

 

Holden Geriner:

We still look lost too much of the time, we haven’t been good on the road in years and Arky has some big play ability. 
 

Arkansas - 30

Auburn.    - 20

11 hours ago, keesler said:

It doesn’t scare me because I’ve always known that’s what Hugh/Gus were relative to their philosophy, creative perspective and stubbornness.  Everyone should know what they’re getting with Hugh.  Just got to hope he lands a QB, WRs and a line that gives him the tools to operate his offense in this league.  

I'm interested to see Freeze evolve as the talent problem lessens. 

One thing that (putting tin foil hat on for a moment) makes me nervous with Auburn football is the always stated commitment "to the run" when we hire a coach, regardless of what their background is. I love Auburn's history running the ball. I love Bo, Cadillac, Ronnie, the Irons... all of it. I also think that game has run its course. The top programs throw the ball. They set up the run off the pass. Unlike Gus, Freeze made his mark in the SEC throwing the ball, but that second half looked a little too familiar for me. Yes, I realize we were trying to burn clock and yes, I know the roster needs a lot of work. I just hope when we alleviate that roster deficiency - and I believe Freeze is doing good work towards that - we're not still limiting ourselves being "committed to the run". Let Freeze be Freeze. 

Good win. Shades of Malzahn are still very much there and unsettling, but we needed that SEC win before going on the road again. Jordan Hare showed up, one half showed a lot of potential, I think Thorne got a lot of needed confidence and Hunter continues to wake up. A lot of positives. 

It’s like Gus never left.

He did, didn’t he?

AU - 16

MS - 13

11 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

Yet, look at the two coaches that have had the most success in the sec in recent years… 

Nick Saban lost to La Monroe his first year. Kirby Smart lost to Vandy and Ga Tech his first year. Both came into better situations than Freeze. Shula was a bad coach, but still brought in relatively high rates recruiting classes. Richt’s recruiting had been on par with ours at the time, and this was before Gus’s recruiting fell off (I’d argue largely because of Kirby smart). Neither of their rosters were decimated like ours is, and they still both had a year of growing pains. 

 

Kirby was 8-5 with wins over two ranked teams and a bowl victory and brought in a top 10 class.

Saban walked into a tougher situation, finished 7-6 with a top 10 class.

Hugh will have it toughest of all as he has a worse roster situation and NIL to deal with. He not only has to recruit a good 24 class, he has to keep his roster from being whittled away by the portal. This offensive chaos on the field isn't going to help that. We have one sure win on the schedule. If we can't improve from here on out, Hugh's job is only going to get exponentially harder. 

Ashford is not a solution. 

Neither QB is reacting quickly when the ball is snapped. When Ashford is in, it's generally to run. Ole Miss, which is not a great defense, reacted quickly to that. Better defenses will shut it down. When he throws, his eyes are generally downfield and he holds the ball nearly as long as Thorne before looking to check down. Thorne is very slow to make a decision and seems overwhelmed by the pressure. I do feel he is more capable of making a wider range of throws, though. Ultimately, this two quarterback thing is hurting both players and probably causing dissension. I can't see them continuing to do this as anything other than bad coaching. 

Robby plays with a lot of intensity, which I think makes him a fan favorite in contrast to Thorne's rattled demeanor, but I don't think he's a markedly different player than last year. The roster is what it is, but there are definitely deficiencies with coaching which are aggravating our problems. 

10 hours ago, Swamp Eagle said:

Some of you really can’t see the talent deficit on the field? You don’t see the slow-footedness of our guys vs the opponents?\

Yeah, we see it. A team with low talent can run a basic offense. They can make high percentage throws, they can run the ball with some consistency, they can avoid procedure and other stupid penalties all of the time. We aren't the only team with a talent issue in the SEC and we aren't the worst case. We ARE a team with - right now - obvious poor on the field coaching. That's going to make it harder to bring in the players we need, it's going to cost more, it's going to make bringing in the best available transfers more difficult because other coaches are going to point at the chaos on the field and say "Is immediate playing time really enough?"

Freeze better bring in top classes on signing day because, so far, that's the only thing he's doing well. 

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 great week of practice

Thorne,  I just don't know. He was brought in to do something that isn't working and the air looks about out of his sails. 

Ashford, I mean, he can run option and throw the ball down the field...basically, what we saw last night. It might give us a better shot in some of the toss-ups on the schedule (Vandy, Arkansas, MSU) but I don't think it does anything substantial toward getting us where we want to be. 

Geriner, I suspect you'll see similar problems that we're seeing with Thorne. 

Our receivers are bad, bad, bad. We're trying to do things we obviously aren't able to yet do and the level of effort is baffling. Couple that with Freeze poor mouthing the team, and it's just a bad mess. Freeze has his work cut out for him. 

OM 37

AU 23

48 minutes ago, e808 said:

No one know what Robby can or can’t do in this system. He is being judged on last years coach and team. He should be given a real chance to prove people either right or wrong. So far good things happen when he is in the game and u can feel the difference when he is in there. He might not be the greatest but gonna give u  effort.

Robby played with more intensity, no doubt, but it was still largely option and QB keepers when he was in. 
 

Thorne isn’t it, but if there is some kind of player divide explaining the half hearted looking play out there, Freeze needs to clean house at soonest opportunity.

Just now, PigskinPat said:

When Ashford is moving the ball and you inexplicably take him out and put Thorne back in, I’m struggling to understand the reasoning behind it.

I see disorganization and chaos. The coaches we are recruiting against see it as well. The roster weakness is an explainable factor. The absolutely mess evident in our prep and coaching, not as much. 

Tonight I saw a 5 year correction, minimal. I am not so orange tinted glasses that I think he'll comfortable get that time. Changes are going to have to be made. 

Just now, SaltyTiger said:

He is

Signed.

Hugh better recruit his buttocks off, because I am not seeing any improvement week to week. I see confusion, boredom, penalties and stupid, stupid play calling. He’s got a weak roster, but Missouri lit these guys up with no much more. At some point, you have to prove something. If you’re a blue chip receiver, QB or offensive lineman, why would you want to play what we’re showing?

This is a POORLY coached team.

Montgomery and Davis need to be elsewhere next season.

I’d say sit Thorne, but as garbage as our receivers are, I don’t think it matters.

2 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Has he not? 

If he takes over, we're giving up on the passing game and running option. If that happens, we will lose. 

I'm just looking for the wide receivers to play with a pulse. They'll get enough good passes thrown their way, but if the stone-hands continue, if won't matter who is under center. 

LSU - 27

AU - 20

7 hours ago, woodford said:

Interesting. I think portal focuses need to be OL and on defense for 2024. 

If you go after a QB then HG and RA are probably gone.

I don’t see the big problem with that.