Spring Practice - Day 6 (Scrimmage 1)

[JDUBB4AU 5,123]

Chimes we have different outlooks. I'm not wrong. We just feel differently. There is wining and nothing else. I can assure you I'm the guy you want on your team.

[IronMan70 3,277]

But we didn't lose those four games. We......won........them. Why borrow sorrow from the made up past, when you can be excited about the potential of the future?

I'm with you on this one Weegs. Seems to me that a team that doesnt expect to win is a team that is beaten before the game even starts. Last year after the LSU game, I said that team has the ability to beat every team on the rest of the schedule. You could see it in the last 2 1/2 quarters when they never gave up and fought to the end.

Yes, I expected them to win every game the rest of the way in the regular season and it turned out just that way. Gus will have an explosive offense so I'm not even concerned with that. This year on A Day, I will be watching the defense very close to see if we have improved. It doesnt even have to be that much to make a big difference.

The volleyball team I coach doesn't expect to win every game they play and we're currently 23-1 and the top ranked team in Alabama in our age group. We're the #6 ranked team in the southern region. We've won every single tournament we've played in this year. I don't think we've been beaten before any game has started.

Knowing your team can win anytime they step on the court/field is very different from expecting them to win every time.

If a team is prepared they should expect to win imo. That's the way I have always played the game but to each their own.

[passthebiscuits 6,866]

^ Ha! Ok.

I'm one of the most optimistic fans in the world. I also don't believe in jinxing a good team. I think we will be the kind of team that should and will be most of the others. I am simply pointing out that, as some of the other posters have said, that we can have a super great team that has a loss or two or three when compared to last year. That's all my friend. Let's win em all and make it a moot point.

I'm sorry. I should have cooled down before hitting the post button. Didn't mean to come off like that. That wasn't cool.

No offense taken. I think you make a good point. The place to be is honestly believing your team is the best on the field and can win any game on their schedule without expectations that anything less than an undefeated season and a championship is a setback.

[Rednilla 5,396]

Listen, we go through this same crap every offseason. People here seem to feel it is their sworn duty to inform everybody else that they need to stop thinking that national titles are something that Auburn fans should expect, because, God forbid we look like bama fans in any way.

Weegs, you've been around long enough to know how much of an Auburn homer I am. But to see the polarizing statements thrown at those who are saying anything other than we're going to win it all is ridiculous.

Yes, we did come close to losing several games last season. No, we did not lose those games. Yes, I believe we will be better this season than we were last year, at least on paper. No, I do not believe that means we will win every game.

I believe we should go into each game with the expectation of winning...but that is not the same as expecting to win all the games. It's simply a matter of perspective. Teams that expect to win all the games routinely win the big ones and then get upset by a team or two they should handle easily. Tommy Tuberville had that happen to him a few times, derailing what could otherwise have been championship seasons in their own right.

As for my expectations going into the season, I think we have the potential to put one of the greatest teams in the history of college football on the field...but I also think there is plenty of potential to lose 3-4 games if things fall the wrong way. Playing a more difficult schedule is a factor, but the primary thing that I've not seen mentioned in this thread is the fact that we have a target on our back now. Last year, it really wasn't until we went down to college station and beat Texas A&M that anyone started taking us seriously, and even then it was considered a foregone conclusion that we couldn't beat the UAT machine by everyone outside of Auburn...until we did.

This year, we have no such luxury. EVERYBODY will know they're going to be in for a fight when they play the Tigers. That, in an of itself, makes a dramatic difference. Playing between the hedges at UGA and then travelling to T-town, where Saban has lost three games in the last five seasons, is no cakewalk, either.

At the end of the day, as long as the players keep the right attitude (which I believe they will), my expectation for the season is that we will, at the very least, be in the mix to win the conference heading into Amen Corner. If we win the SEC, that probably puts us at 11-2 in the worst case scenario, which probably gets into the 4 team playoff, and from there, anything can happen.

But, again guys, this is football, and the ball bounces pretty funny sometimes. My advice is just to strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride, because it's going to be a fun one for years to come!

[chimesAU 89]

JDUBB, Ironman, and Weegs we'll just have to agree to disagree and I'm fine with that. My outlook has treated me well over the years but I can't fault y'all for feeling differently about it. Y'all shouldn't fault others for feeling differently, either. To each his own and WDE.

[RunInRed 16,458]

***

Test*

[RunInRed 16,458]

Testv2

[RunInRed 16,458]

Instagram post messed up page 9 ... should be able to carry on now.

[chimesAU 89]

I thought it was just me...

[KnowledgeTiger 0]

I normally just roam around the boards and don't had my .02 cents, but here it goes...First, let me say that if you are a competitive athlete, you should have a mindset with the agenda of being succesful in whatever you do. In regards to a team approach, that should be to strive to do whatever you can to help your team become victorious. I do not consider that to be cocky or boastful one bit. Interesting enough, this AU team has some serious expectations that is not only being placed on them by their fans, but the media, their conference, their coaches and themseleves. The funny thing is those expectations are actually realistic!! This team should feel like they are the favorites in the SEC. They should feel like they are good enough to be one of the four teams selected in the first ever college football playoffs. Based on last year's product and what we have coming back, this is a very fair assessment.

Of course, you could lose on any given day, that is why the game is played. I just really don't understand the thinking of some..are we seriously going into next year thinking " well, in all honesty, we could have lost 3 or 4 games." That comes with playing such a feirce game in one of the more competitive leagues. You are not judged by the games you could've lost or should've won in my book. You are judged on the games that you did lose. That Florida State game showed our boys that they were literally 30 seconds away from being N.C. Folks, I can guarantee you that our first foe, from the ozarks, are coming into the plains EXPECTING to win. They do not give a crap that they had a goose egg in the SEC last year. If we want to make history, then we better come in with that very same attitude.

[chimesAU 89]

I normally just roam around the boards and don't had my .02 cents, but here it goes...First, let me say that if you are a competitive athlete, you should have a mindset with the agenda of being succesful in whatever you do. In regards to a team approach, that should be to strive to do whatever you can to help your team become victorious. I do not consider that to be cocky or boastful one bit. Interesting enough, this AU team has some serious expectations that is not only being placed on them by their fans, but the media, their conference, their coaches and themseleves. The funny thing is those expectations are actually realistic!! This team should feel like they are the favorites in the SEC. They should feel like they are good enough to be one of the four teams selected in the first ever college football playoffs. Based on last year's product and what we have coming back, this is a very fair assessment.

Of course, you could lose on any given day, that is why the game is played. I just really don't understand the thinking of some..are we seriously going into next year thinking " well, in all honesty, we could have lost 3 or 4 games." That comes with playing such a feirce game in one of the more competitive leagues. You are not judged by the games you could've lost or should've won in my book. You are judged on the games that you did lose. That Florida State game showed our boys that they were literally 30 seconds away from being N.C. Folks, I can guarantee you that our first foe, from the ozarks, are coming into the plains EXPECTING to win. They do not give a crap that they had a goose egg in the SEC last year. If we want to make history, then we better come in with that very same attitude.

I'm responding to this because I feel like it was directed at my comment a few pages back. I don't disagree with anything you said, but just know that it doesn't really address anything that's been discussed in prior posts. Regardless of who you are or what you do, you should "have a mindset with the agenda of being successful in whatever you do". I don't care if you're a collegiate football player, a student, a doctor or a hot dog vendor...you should always strive for success. Always. You should also "strive to do whatever you can to help your team become victorious". I feel like that one's pretty obvious.

Of course it isn't cocky or boastful to want to be successful or to do whatever it takes to help your team succeed. I feel, and some others disagree, that it is borderline cocky to expect to win every single time you take the field. I think that's how you lose your edge or motivation...whatever you want to call it. Do you think our men's hockey team expected to beat the Russians in 1980? Now you'd better damn well believe that you've got a shot to take down anyone you go up against. If you don't think you've got a shot then you might as well go ahead and throw in the towel. Knowing you've got a shot and giving it everything you have is vastly different from expecting to win.

[KnowledgeTiger 0]

I normally just roam around the boards and don't had my .02 cents, but here it goes...First, let me say that if you are a competitive athlete, you should have a mindset with the agenda of being succesful in whatever you do. In regards to a team approach, that should be to strive to do whatever you can to help your team become victorious. I do not consider that to be cocky or boastful one bit. Interesting enough, this AU team has some serious expectations that is not only being placed on them by their fans, but the media, their conference, their coaches and themseleves. The funny thing is those expectations are actually realistic!! This team should feel like they are the favorites in the SEC. They should feel like they are good enough to be one of the four teams selected in the first ever college football playoffs. Based on last year's product and what we have coming back, this is a very fair assessment.

Of course, you could lose on any given day, that is why the game is played. I just really don't understand the thinking of some..are we seriously going into next year thinking " well, in all honesty, we could have lost 3 or 4 games." That comes with playing such a feirce game in one of the more competitive leagues. You are not judged by the games you could've lost or should've won in my book. You are judged on the games that you did lose. That Florida State game showed our boys that they were literally 30 seconds away from being N.C. Folks, I can guarantee you that our first foe, from the ozarks, are coming into the plains EXPECTING to win. They do not give a crap that they had a goose egg in the SEC last year. If we want to make history, then we better come in with that very same attitude. Now expecting to win and knowing you are going to win are two different mindsets.

I'm responding to this because I feel like it was directed at my comment a few pages back. I don't disagree with anything you said, but just know that it doesn't really address anything that's been discussed in prior posts. Regardless of who you are or what you do, you should "have a mindset with the agenda of being successful in whatever you do". I don't care if you're a collegiate football player, a student, a doctor or a hot dog vendor...you should always strive for success. Always. You should also "strive to do whatever you can to help your team become victorious". I feel like that one's pretty obvious.

Of course it isn't cocky or boastful to want to be successful or to do whatever it takes to help your team succeed. I feel, and some others disagree, that it is borderline cocky to expect to win every single time you take the field. I think that's how you lose your edge or motivation...whatever you want to call it. Do you think our men's hockey team expected to beat the Russians in 1980? Now you'd better damn well believe that you've got a shot to take down anyone you go up against. If you don't think you've got a shot then you might as well go ahead and throw in the towel. Knowing you've got a shot and giving it everything you have is vastly different from expecting to win.

I do believe they expected to win and it showed by how they played the game. You should go into every game expecting to win. Whether you do win or not is another argument. As a competitor and collegiate track and athlete, I went into every meet with the attitude of expecting to win. Did I win every race? Of course not, but best dang believe I practiced with vigor with that mindset that it is not good enough to just finish or compete, but also to win. The question mark of the Americans wasn't could they compete? Heck, they are in the Olympics representing their country. Of course, they can compete! It is whether they can compete and WIN. That is part of what makes you become successful. It's beating the odds!!! The odds are better for some than others, but you have to at least have the mindset. It is a difference in expecting to win and knowing you are going to win. When you are expecting something to happen you still will prep to make sure that does indeed happen. When you KNOW you are going to win (Alas, the Russians), you just show up. Those are two different mindsets. I think we are going to have to just agree to disagree.

[WarDamnDenver 0]

So Rudy Ford had a big hit eh? That's a lot of speed on the back end. Think he'll get significant snaps this year?

[WarEagle84 0]

So Rudy Ford had a big hit eh? That's a lot of speed on the back end. Think he'll get significant snaps this year?

If he keeps that up in practice, yes.

[bzlivn 0]

Wow.

As I listened to CGM press conference, all the positive remarks about depth, players understanding the system, talent, how much more the coaches know, etc., I couldn't help but think about where we were last year at this time.

And just think, we played for the NC even so.

Still blows my mind when you type it out loud.

[IronMan70 3,277]

But we didn't lose those four games. We......won........them. Why borrow sorrow from the made up past, when you can be excited about the potential of the future?

I'm with you on this one Weegs. Seems to me that a team that doesnt expect to win is a team that is beaten before the game even starts. Last year after the LSU game, I said that team has the ability to beat every team on the rest of the schedule. You could see it in the last 2 1/2 quarters when they never gave up and fought to the end.

Yes, I expected them to win every game the rest of the way in the regular season and it turned out just that way. Gus will have an explosive offense so I'm not even concerned with that. This year on A Day, I will be watching the defense very close to see if we have improved. It doesnt even have to be that much to make a big difference.

The volleyball team I coach doesn't expect to win every game they play and we're currently 23-1 and the top ranked team in Alabama in our age group. We're the #6 ranked team in the southern region. We've won every single tournament we've played in this year. I don't think we've been beaten before any game has started.

Knowing your team can win anytime they step on the court/field is very different from expecting them to win every time.

If a team is prepared through hard work, both physically and mentally, they should expect to win. That is how I always approached the game but to each their own.

[chimesAU 89]

But we didn't lose those four games. We......won........them. Why borrow sorrow from the made up past, when you can be excited about the potential of the future?

I'm with you on this one Weegs. Seems to me that a team that doesnt expect to win is a team that is beaten before the game even starts. Last year after the LSU game, I said that team has the ability to beat every team on the rest of the schedule. You could see it in the last 2 1/2 quarters when they never gave up and fought to the end.

Yes, I expected them to win every game the rest of the way in the regular season and it turned out just that way. Gus will have an explosive offense so I'm not even concerned with that. This year on A Day, I will be watching the defense very close to see if we have improved. It doesnt even have to be that much to make a big difference.

The volleyball team I coach doesn't expect to win every game they play and we're currently 23-1 and the top ranked team in Alabama in our age group. We're the #6 ranked team in the southern region. We've won every single tournament we've played in this year. I don't think we've been beaten before any game has started.

Knowing your team can win anytime they step on the court/field is very different from expecting them to win every time.

If a team is prepared through hard work, both physically and mentally, they should expect to win. That is how I always approached the game but to each their own.

Some teams can prepare til the cows come home and be mentally tough as nails and still not have a real shot to win. There are a ton of factors that come into play.

My outlook has served me well and I think it will continue to do so in the future. We'll have to agree to disagree and I'm perfectly fine with that.

[Weegle777 78]

But we didn't lose those four games. We......won........them. Why borrow sorrow from the made up past, when you can be excited about the potential of the future?

I'm with you on this one Weegs. Seems to me that a team that doesnt expect to win is a team that is beaten before the game even starts. Last year after the LSU game, I said that team has the ability to beat every team on the rest of the schedule. You could see it in the last 2 1/2 quarters when they never gave up and fought to the end.

Yes, I expected them to win every game the rest of the way in the regular season and it turned out just that way. Gus will have an explosive offense so I'm not even concerned with that. This year on A Day, I will be watching the defense very close to see if we have improved. It doesnt even have to be that much to make a big difference.

The volleyball team I coach doesn't expect to win every game they play and we're currently 23-1 and the top ranked team in Alabama in our age group. We're the #6 ranked team in the southern region. We've won every single tournament we've played in this year. I don't think we've been beaten before any game has started.

Knowing your team can win anytime they step on the court/field is very different from expecting them to win every time.

If a team is prepared through hard work, both physically and mentally, they should expect to win. That is how I always approached the game but to each their own.

Some teams can prepare til the cows come home and be mentally tough as nails and still not have a real shot to win. There are a ton of factors that come into play.

My outlook has served me well and I think it will continue to do so in the future. We'll have to agree to disagree and I'm perfectly fine with that.

Yeah, but you don't go in not expecting to win. If you do that, you have lost before you even start playing. If you are a competitor, you never enter the field of battle without an expectation of victory. Ask any athlete and they will tell you that. No matter the sport. I think you have the expectation of winning confused with thinking you have won already, therefore not feeling like you have to give 110%. These are two totally different things.

[stoic-one 1,549]

You guys about done arguing about what an athletes mindset should be in a thread about a scrimmage?

.

If not, start another thread please.

[Weegle777 78]

We go through this ridiculousness every offseason. I should just stop responding to it. WDE.

[chimesAU 89]

I'll take it to PMs. Sorry for the hijacking.

[augrad68 165]

For some reason I can't get the video to play. Would anyone be so kind as to summarize?

I have to right-click on the video, click "copy video URL", open a new tab, paste the URL and play.

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

But we didn't lose those four games. We......won........them. Why borrow sorrow from the made up past, when you can be excited about the potential of the future?

I'm with you on this one Weegs. Seems to me that a team that doesnt expect to win is a team that is beaten before the game even starts. Last year after the LSU game, I said that team has the ability to beat every team on the rest of the schedule. You could see it in the last 2 1/2 quarters when they never gave up and fought to the end.

Yes, I expected them to win every game the rest of the way in the regular season and it turned out just that way. Gus will have an explosive offense so I'm not even concerned with that. This year on A Day, I will be watching the defense very close to see if we have improved. It doesnt even have to be that much to make a big difference.

The volleyball team I coach doesn't expect to win every game they play and we're currently 23-1 and the top ranked team in Alabama in our age group. We're the #6 ranked team in the southern region. We've won every single tournament we've played in this year. I don't think we've been beaten before any game has started.

Knowing your team can win anytime they step on the court/field is very different from expecting them to win every time.

If a team is prepared through hard work, both physically and mentally, they should expect to win. That is how I always approached the game but to each their own.

Some teams can prepare til the cows come home and be mentally tough as nails and still not have a real shot to win. There are a ton of factors that come into play.

My outlook has served me well and I think it will continue to do so in the future. We'll have to agree to disagree and I'm perfectly fine with that.

Yeah, but you don't go in not expecting to win. If you do that, you have lost before you even start playing...

Speaking as someone who used to make their living in sales, that's spot on, and the same principle applies. If you approach your customer expecting to lose the sale, you almost surely will lose the sale regardless of how well you know your product and how it fits their needs. You have to go in expecting to win, and believing that you will. I think that principle applies far and wide.

[Rednilla 5,396]

Yeah, but you don't go in not expecting to win. If you do that, you have lost before you even start playing...

Speaking as someone who used to make their living in sales, that's spot on, and the same principle applies. If you approach your customer expecting to lose the sale, you almost surely will lose the sale regardless of how well you know your product and how it fits their needs. You have to go in expecting to win, and believing that you will. I think that principle applies far and wide.

Honestly, I think this back and forth is much ado about nothing. Speaking as someone who has also made a living in sales, there is a difference in approaching the customer expecting to lose the sale and approaching the customer intent on helping them make the best selection, all things considered. There were times when I would make a suggestion that my store manager would not have approved of, because it made that particular sale go down, but because I was open about the products and honest in trying to help them make the best selection for them whether it was the most profitable for the store, I gained quite a few customers who would bring their business back to the store and request that I be the one to help. Those were the customers who, at the end of the day, spent quite a bit more money at the store simply because I didn't come across like a used car salesman.

The football translation of that is that there is a difference in "expecting to lose" and giving it all you've got, no matter what. Maintaining the attitude of expecting to win can often backfire simply by becoming too confident over time. There should never be an attitude of expecting to lose, no matter what, but playing with the attitude that anything can happen so we have to make our own breaks is a winning strategy that doesn't get into the realm of "expecting to win". Never underestimate your opponent, no matter what. Anyone remember what happened to Michigan against Appalachian State?

Weegs, I get what you're saying, and I know that you aren't meaning it like some are taking it. But at the same time, just because they don't agree with your philosophy, or at least the way you word it, that doesn't mean they "expect to lose". It's more like two different perspectives of the same message.

[stoic-one 1,549]

Ummm, am I talking to myself?

Say it ain't so...