***2014 Auburn A-Day Thread***

[cammycam2 173]

No serious injuries. Marshall gets to pass the ball. We are stacked on offense. Defense 1st team looked good. Made a 50 yard FG and had a good crowd day before Easter on ESPN. Geez. What did some people want?

For real. I was watching the game and thinking to myself "holy heck we are looking good." I guess some people were watching a different game. I mean it's a glorified practice and the coaches are scripting everything. I was pleased with almost everything I saw.

1. Marshall looked way more comfortable and was throwing better (and the defense didn't even have to account for him as a runner)

2. Grant and Artis-Payne are ready to pick up were Tre left off (and Barber's injury isn't serious)

3. Shon Coleman looked like he's ready to fill Robinson's shoes at LT.

4. Duke Williams is raw.

5. Moncrief looks ready to start at safety and be a good one

6. Trovon looked like he will provide quality corner depth.

7. The 1st team defense didn't give up any chunk plays I can remember

8. Flowers appears ready to provide quality depth at LB

9. Kicking game missed an XP, but besides that looked solid.

The only saw I few negatives:

1. Johnson looked a little shaky

2. The D-Line didn't do anything to wow me, but nothing that looked bad either.

Other than that I came away thinking we are going to be awesome come fall. I don't know what some were watching. Guys, buy-in to the hype! A season can go in 1000 different directions so who knows what's gonna happen next year, but trust me, we are THAT talented on paper that we could dominate almost everyone we play.

On the note of the d-line, we have to remember that our best d linemen didnt get to play. I think it will be a strength when the season kicks off. Just an opinion i suppose

[AubTiger14 0]

No serious injuries. Marshall gets to pass the ball. We are stacked on offense. Defense 1st team looked good. Made a 50 yard FG and had a good crowd day before Easter on ESPN. Geez. What did some people want?

For real. I was watching the game and thinking to myself "holy heck we are looking good." I guess some people were watching a different game. I mean it's a glorified practice and the coaches are scripting everything. I was pleased with almost everything I saw.

1. Marshall looked way more comfortable and was throwing better (and the defense didn't even have to account for him as a runner)

2. Grant and Artis-Payne are ready to pick up were Tre left off (and Barber's injury isn't serious)

3. Shon Coleman looked like he's ready to fill Robinson's shoes at LT.

4. Duke Williams is raw.

5. Moncrief looks ready to start at safety and be a good one

6. Trovon looked like he will provide quality corner depth.

7. The 1st team defense didn't give up any chunk plays I can remember

8. Flowers appears ready to provide quality depth at LB

9. Kicking game missed an XP, but besides that looked solid.

The only saw I few negatives:

1. Johnson looked a little shaky

2. The D-Line didn't do anything to wow me, but nothing that looked bad either.

Other than that I came away thinking we are going to be awesome come fall. I don't know what some were watching. Guys, buy-in to the hype! A season can go in 1000 different directions so who knows what's gonna happen next year, but trust me, we are THAT talented on paper that we could dominate almost everyone we play.

On the note of the d-line, we have to remember that our best d linemen didnt get to play. I think it will be a strength when the season kicks off. Just an opinion i suppose

agreed

[war eagle6 0]

I'm curious why everyone, including the media, was so impressed with Marshall today.

(1) He was playing against a defense that was really depleted. With all the injuries, the best of the second string were on the blue defense, so most of the white defense were down the depth chart.

(2) And, his passes were often off target, with some great catches by the WRs (especially Duke). And even with those catches and the depleted defense, he still only completed 59% of his passes (13 of 22) -- the same percentage he averaged last season. Big yardage, because of the downfield throws, but not the kind of accuracy I was expecting from all the chatter.

I'm not dissing on NM. He is a winner and I expect Auburn to have great success with him leading the way. But he's still got a long way to go as a passer. Completing 59% of his passes will not lead the SEC, much less get him in the Heisman conversation. I hope he really works hard on his accuracy this summer.

^^ SMH, some people are hard to please!

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

I'm curious why everyone, including the media, was so impressed with Marshall today.

(1) He was playing against a defense that was really depleted. With all the injuries, the best of the second string were on the blue defense, so most of the white defense were down the depth chart.

(2) And, his passes were often off target, with some great catches by the WRs (especially Duke). And even with those catches and the depleted defense, he still only completed 59% of his passes (13 of 22) -- the same percentage he averaged last season. Big yardage, because of the downfield throws, but not the kind of accuracy I was expecting from all the chatter.

I'm not dissing on NM. He is a winner and I expect Auburn to have great success with him leading the way. But he's still got a long way to go as a passer. Completing 59% of his passes will not lead the SEC, much less get him in the Heisman conversation. I hope he really works hard on his accuracy this summer.

You should try and play QB at Auburn.

[Stripe 5]

AURex it was about the type of passes that he threw and how he threw them more than his completion percentage. It was exciting to see him complete passes that he struggled to make.

Don't worry so much about percentages because they are deceiving. You can. Complete 80% and lose a game and yet at the same time only hit 40% and win the game if you just hit the must have receptions.

NM was much improved and it showed in spades today...err yesterday now I guess.

[passthebiscuits 6,862]

I finally got to watch the game in its entirety. If you watch that first half and aren't excited about how good we could be, you're not human and worse, you just may be a bammer.

[AUbritt 611]

I finally got to watch the game in its entirety. If you watch that first half and aren't excited about how good we could be, you're not human and worse, you just may be a bammer.

[gilstein21 1]

watching the highlights again:

Marshall and Williams have a chemistry that we didn't see with any WRs last year. Duke did a great job working back to the ball when needed and finding space, plus he had his body in great position for post catch.

Dampier is a solid option at center. He gets down field great and moves really well.

The left side of the OL is a huge force again. That's to be expected though when you have an Avatar next to a Barbarian.

Payne and Grant are a nice 1-2 punch.

I will still harp on the offensive package of Duke, Coates, Fulse, Uzomah. Throw in the read option with what that package already gives us and wow.

[AU64 10,122]

watching the highlights again:

Marshall and Williams have a chemistry that we didn't see with any WRs last year. Duke did a great job working back to the ball when needed and finding space, plus he had his body in great position for post catch.

Dampier is a solid option at center. He gets down field great and moves really well.

The left side of the OL is a huge force again. That's to be expected though when you have an Avatar next to a Barbarian.

Payne and Grant are a nice 1-2 punch.

I will still harp on the offensive package of Duke, Coates, Fulse, Uzomah. Throw in the read option with what that package already gives us and wow.

Watched the game summary video from page 52 and it was obvious that the D knew the QBs would not keep the ball and they totally ignored them on the fakes. NOBODY is going to ignore Nick on the read-option in a real ball game....and that will make the running game even more deadly.

And though this was practice, IMO Nick was 100% improved over last year on the intermediate passes.....plus Sammie and Duke are more aggressive about going to get the ball and not just waiting until it arrives.

[GBAU83 212]

Say what you will, but I feel like we beat ourselves today.

And that is the statement for the year - the only team that will beat us this year is ourselves!

[JFDTiger80 790]

I'm curious why everyone, including the media, was so impressed with Marshall today.

(1) He was playing against a defense that was really depleted. With all the injuries, the best of the second string were on the blue defense, so most of the white defense were down the depth chart.

(2) And, his passes were often off target, with some great catches by the WRs (especially Duke). And even with those catches and the depleted defense, he still only completed 59% of his passes (13 of 22) -- the same percentage he averaged last season. Big yardage, because of the downfield throws, but not the kind of accuracy I was expecting from all the chatter.

I'm not dissing on NM. He is a winner and I expect Auburn to have great success with him leading the way. But he's still got a long way to go as a passer. Completing 59% of his passes will not lead the SEC, much less get him in the Heisman conversation. I hope he really works hard on his accuracy this summer.

You should try and play QB at Auburn.

You are dissing on NM. I do not think you watched the same game that many of us saw. Maybe you liked the BAMA offensive performance better yesterday. We looked lethal, IMO. Our receiving crew looks better than any I have seen at AU. Grant must have world class speed, CAP was fast with nice moves. Marshall looked like he was in total control. I also really liked how excited Duke was during the game. When JJ threw his TD pass, Duke ran down the sidelines to congratulate him.

I think this team has great chemistry. I cannot wait for the season.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

I noticed the chemistry thing too. It seemed as if our whole receiving corps has gelled. They were smacking each other on the back and congratulating anyone who caught the ball. There was a lot of encouragement and excitement on the field. It was great to see!

[chimesAU 89]

I'm curious why everyone, including the media, was so impressed with Marshall today.

(1) He was playing against a defense that was really depleted. With all the injuries, the best of the second string were on the blue defense, so most of the white defense were down the depth chart.

(2) And, his passes were often off target, with some great catches by the WRs (especially Duke). And even with those catches and the depleted defense, he still only completed 59% of his passes (13 of 22) -- the same percentage he averaged last season. Big yardage, because of the downfield throws, but not the kind of accuracy I was expecting from all the chatter.

I'm not dissing on NM. He is a winner and I expect Auburn to have great success with him leading the way. But he's still got a long way to go as a passer. Completing 59% of his passes will not lead the SEC, much less get him in the Heisman conversation. I hope he really works hard on his accuracy this summer.

You should try and play QB at Auburn.

What does that even mean? If he couldn't do better then he can't point out what he saw?

I don't even agree with Rex's assessment but he has the right to say how he feels without some guy saying "Well I bet you couldn't have done it any better!"...no sh%#. I can't play middle linebacker better than Jake Holland but I can still see that he was slow and took poor angles.

[cole256 17,084]

As usual people getting too up and down by a spring game.....

[WarEagle84 0]

As usual people getting too up and down by a spring game.....

Isn't that what message boards are for?

[AURex 2,020]

Well, I knew my post would cause a stir. I guess I should have just not posted it, because it wasn't sunshine.

Marshall did look more confident. He did look more steady in the pocket. His footwork looked better.

Duke Williams is a hoss, and Sammie Coates stretched out for a ball better than at any time last year. Bray and Uz also looked really good. The entire starting receiving corps played well. NM working with them all summer -- the passing game will definitely be a big improvement next fall.

[Weegle777 78]

Wow if Trovon would have been at corner this whole time.

[cole256 17,084]

As usual people getting too up and down by a spring game.....

Isn't that what message boards are for?

Too claim championships off a spring game or if the spring game is bad claim doom and gloom? I wouldn't think it's for that but I could be wrong I guess?

[chimesAU 89]

I've seen a lot of posts praising defensive players like Reed, Moncrief, Melton, etc but I don't remember seeing any stand out plays from the defensive side. Admittedly, I'm much more focused on the offensive side of the ball...could someone fill me in on which defensive players stood out and maybe a few examples of plays that they made? TIA

[AURex 2,020]

It has been funny hearing about Bret Bielema and Arkansas spending the last two weeks of their spring practice concentrating on trying to stop Auburn's running game. This spring game sent a message, and I don't think Bielema and other coaches around the league were happy to see it.

[au75 75]

Yes, stop the and we will pass; stop the pass and we will run. This is what is called a vicious cycle for the opposition.

[WarEagle84 0]

Yes, stop the and we will pass; stop the pass and we will run. This is what is called a vicious cycle for the opposition.

If being "one-dimensional" last year was good enough to get us to the NCG, we are going to be devastating this year.

[JFDTiger80 790]

It has been funny hearing about Bret Bielema and Arkansas spending the last two weeks of their spring practice concentrating on trying to stop Auburn's running game. This spring game sent a message, and I don't think Bielema and other coaches around the league were happy to see it.

I agree. I do not think they have talented enough people on their squads to replicate what they will see when they play us. Who are they going to have play the skill player parts. Arky has no Marshall, no CAP, no Duke, no Grant, no Coats, no CJ, no Bray, no JJ, and on and on.

[AU64 10,122]

For those who might have missed this analysis of the game and player performance, you might check this link

http://trackemtigers.com/?p=26541#more-26541

Some interesting observations...for example, the effect of the wind on the kicking game and passing game and some information on defensive players who seemed to have a good game on a day when the Blue offense ruled.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

Good article AU64! Thanks for the link.