10 (mainly) positive observations

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I think I've built something of a negative reputation through this season, so I felt like I'd share all my positiveity in one fell swoop.

These observations will probably progress along with the season, so don't get too mad.

1. Auburn will most likely have the best red zone defense in the SEC. We made LSU look like they forget how to play football when they came to the 20 yard line. One TD they got was nice, but since then they went to the red zone twice and was shut down twice.

2. Nick Marshall has earned the benefit of the doubt in ways that I haven't imagined. I give him this because he hasn't played a game yet this season that featured offensive ineptitude based off of him. Whether it be drops, Malzahn's playcalling/stubbornness, or this relatively bad offensive line. He's balled out today, and if he got the benefit of the 3rd quarter, he more than likely would've had his first 400 yard game as an Auburn QB.

3. Malzahn may never call a good third quarter as an Auburn head coach. There's nothing else to say here. He hasn't called one yet and he's in his second season. I don't particularly remember the specifics of the third quarter under 2010, but the Iron Bowl that year was the greatest second half I've ever seen. What happened to that? There's conservatism and then there's what he's doing.

4. As this season progresses, Duke and Sammie might become the best WR duo in the NCAA. If Duke gets a bit more seperation on one particular lob to the end zone, both him and Sammie have a TD for the first time, and both have over 60 yards receiving. Over time, this will become a vaunted duo, whether Marshall continues progressing or not.

5. Don't expect 3000 yards running, I believe just over 1000 yards through 6 games will tell you that. I figure theoretically if Auburn could perform this well for an entire 4 quarters it's more than possible, but we will definitely be playing better rush defenses than LSU.

6. This OLine combination has been their best of the season so far. There wasn't much running lanes to be had, but there's definitely been more than the past few games, and the pass blkcking was pretty good. Hopefully, the return of Miller helps out a bit.

7. This is the best defense we've fielded since at least 2007, and I understand we haven't played Miss State, OM, Alabama, TAMU yet, I understand that, but since the Chizik days, I haven't seen us do this good on the SCOREBOARD in a while.

8. Trovon will be our most draftable DB in quite a bit of time. For the most part, he knows how to ride the line of PI, a trait many NFL teams have been looking for since Seattle's secondary has risen. He has ball hawking skills and is decent at covering. Can't wait to see how his stock goes.

9. With this performance, I believe a College Football Playoff spot should be expected. The schedule is navigatable, and on paper the hardest tests we encounter will be Ole Miss and Mississippi State, two top 5 caliber teams. It seems Auburn could even survive with a 2008 LSU 10-2 season.

10 (last but not least) Auburn held back the playcalling to some extent the first few weeks. The particular drive where Jeremy threw his only pass revealed that Malzahn isn't like most spread coaches where he doesn't have a big backlog of plays. While we didn't see too much more additions to the base playcalling, we saw enough to make me think that Malzahn will be able to call on an elite level and not just depend on physical dominance up front like 2013.

And that's all, sorry for the length.

[WFE12 9,191]

well said rigz

[ReidMcLain 75]

Wow you know Auburn did great when Dual Threat Rigby says something positive! I jest, but FWIW I don't think your negative, just realistic. You're in good company. This forum needs people like you to balance out the sunshine pumpers and prove that Auburn fans REALLY know their football (aren't biased or only focus on Auburn).

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

well said rigz

Wow you know Auburn did great when Dual Threat Rigby says something positive! I jest, but FWIW I don't think your negative, just realistic. You're in good company. This forum needs people like you to balance out the sunshine pumpers and prove that Auburn fans REALLY know their football (aren't biased or only focus on Auburn).

Thank you, and I try to ride the line between realism and blatant negativity. I feel like I do it pretty well

[JDUBB4AU 5,112]

Great post rigby.

[AUtiger98 24]

I believe if T. Reed had 4 years of DB experience in college he would be a top 10 pick. He's still raw at times, but right now I could see him making a team as a free agent just because he could fill so many roles. DB, WR, PR, KR, coverage teams.

[Mr Bad Example 126]

Well, myself, I think we got conserative in the 2nd half, just get the game over & don't show any thing else. Gus knew we had the game in hand at half.

[GBAU83 212]

Well, myself, I think we got conserative in the 2nd half, just get the game over & don't show any thing else. Gus knew we had the game in hand at half.

This and work on a few items. That is why the last scoring drive with NM and CAP still in - working on improving some issues.

[WFE12 9,191]

Wow you know Auburn did great when Dual Threat Rigby says something positive! I jest, but FWIW I don't think your negative, just realistic. You're in good company. This forum needs people like you to balance out the sunshine pumpers and prove that Auburn fans REALLY know their football (aren't biased or only focus on Auburn).

exactly i try to do the same

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

Well, myself, I think we got conserative in the 2nd half, just get the game over & don't show any thing else. Gus knew we had the game in hand at half.

I only stated because coaching with that motto kills momentum and allows teams to come back in games.

Now you say, maybe if LSU started coming back, he would've put the pedal to the medal? I jut don't believe that.

[leglessdan 1,934]

True statements about the drop in play calling. ...but our D was playing lights out all game. There wasn't a need to get cute.

[bigbird 60,498]

For those of you that wanted to keep the pedal down, I have a question. We play MSU next week and it will arguably be our toughest game all year, so why give them more film? I know people will say they already have film on us, but more film equates to more opportunities for revelations about your opponent. Gus did right. Secure the win and shorten the game.

[Mr Bad Example 126]

Yes, even Rod & Stan commented on how they were taking time, running clock.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

For those of you that wanted to keep the pedal down, I have a question. We play MSU next week and it will arguably be our toughest game all year, so why give them more film? I know people will say they already have film on us, but more film equates to more opportunities for revelations about your opponent. Gus did right. Secure the win and shorten the game.

What would we have had to show them? When we used any tempo at all/used more than a designed handoff, we could score.

edit: why was my name edited from the thread title? It went along with the positive thing

[AURaptor 1,122]

Well, myself, I think we got conserative in the 2nd half, just get the game over & don't show any thing else. Gus knew we had the game in hand at half.

I fully understand ( or so I tell myself ) that Gus is playing not just for the game he's in, but for every game down the line. I have to believe that , part of the lack of urgency , if that's what we can call it , for the apparent power shortage in the 3rd quarter is on purpose. Gus is keeping things close to the vest, and trying to make a point on the players to suck it up and stay tough. Mentally and physically. That, and to keep the opposing DCs from picking up on too many of his tendencies.

Or I could be completely wrong, and Gus is just 2nd guessing himself way too much, in an effort to out think the other side. Which he consistently fails to do, and ends up doing the exact opposite of what he's attempting.

Regardless, I really wish we could have scored more early, and then gotten Jeremy and others into the game sooner. No need to put extra mileage on Nick and CAP when there's no need, and it would greatly benefit Jeremy to take some snaps, as well as let some of the other backs into the game and get more use to being in that position, running his offense i live competition.

But I'll take the 41-7 results, even over a hapless LSU team, any day.

[WarTiger 3,901]

I think I've built something of a negative reputation through this season, so I felt like I'd share all my positiveity in one fell swoop. Actually since you got here, not just this season

These observations will probably progress along with the season, so don't get too mad.

1. Auburn will most likely have the best red zone defense in the SEC. We made LSU look like they forget how to play football when they came to the 20 yard line. One TD they got was nice, but since then they went to the red zone twice and was shut down twice. We may very well have the best red zone OFFENSE in the league as well. I believe we are perfect in the redzone on offense (scoring every possession we get there).

2. Nick Marshall has earned the benefit of the doubt in ways that I haven't imagined. I give him this because he hasn't played a game yet this season that featured offensive ineptitude based off of him. Whether it be drops, Malzahn's playcalling/stubbornness, or this relatively bad offensive line. He's balled out today, and if he got the benefit of the 3rd quarter, he more than likely would've had his first 400 yard game as an Auburn QB. Another backhanded compliment. Our offensive line is not "relatively bad" in the least. It's one of our strongest positions on the field because of the quality depth the coaching staff has established. We have suffered a few injuries on the offensive live and had to shuffle players around a bit. Even with the players shuffling positions they turned in an outstanding performance yesterday.

3. Malzahn may never call a good third quarter as an Auburn head coach. There's nothing else to say here. He hasn't called one yet and he's in his second season. I don't particularly remember the specifics of the third quarter under 2010, but the Iron Bowl that year was the greatest second half I've ever seen. What happened to that? There's conservatism and then there's what he's doing. That's only your opinion (although it may be shared by other negative nancies looking for something to complain about. This was a game we had won at the half. There's zero reason to show any other teams anything more than necessary and prepare going forward. Why give teams we still have to play more things on film to defend?? It was a great game plan from start to finish and it equaled a blowout 41-7 win.

4. As this season progresses, Duke and Sammie might become the best WR duo in the NCAA. If Duke gets a bit more seperation on one particular lob to the end zone, both him and Sammie have a TD for the first time, and both have over 60 yards receiving. Over time, this will become a vaunted duo, whether Marshall continues progressing or not.

5. Don't expect 3000 yards running, I believe just over 1000 yards through 6 games will tell you that. I figure theoretically if Auburn could perform this well for an entire 4 quarters it's more than possible, but we will definitely be playing better rush defenses than LSU. First, you need to go back and check the schedule then, brush up on your statistics. We are in week 6 but had a bye week. We've only played FIVE games (not 6) and we have well over 1,000 yards at 1,340 (Not just over 1,000). That's an average of 268 yards rushing per game. If we maintain that average rushing through 12 games, it comes out to 3,216 yards RUSHING. We played great defenses all season last year playing most of the same teams (in conference) and NOBODY stopped us.

6. This OLine combination has been their best of the season so far. There wasn't much running lanes to be had, but there's definitely been more than the past few games, and the pass blkcking was pretty good. Hopefully, the return of Miller helps out a bit. We ran for 298 yards yesterday and averaged 6.1 yards a carry. That doesn't seem to support your statement.

7. This is the best defense we've fielded since at least 2007, and I understand we haven't played Miss State, OM, Alabama, TAMU yet, I understand that, but since the Chizik days, I haven't seen us do this good on the SCOREBOARD in a while. Defense is definitely playing great football

8. Trovon will be our most draftable DB in quite a bit of time. For the most part, he knows how to ride the line of PI, a trait many NFL teams have been looking for since Seattle's secondary has risen. He has ball hawking skills and is decent at covering. Can't wait to see how his stock goes.

9. With this performance, I believe a College Football Playoff spot should be expected. The schedule is navigatable, and on paper the hardest tests we encounter will be Ole Miss and Mississippi State, two top 5 caliber teams. It seems Auburn could even survive with a 2008 LSU 10-2 season. Too early for that speculation. Too many games left.

10 (last but not least) Auburn held back the playcalling to some extent the first few weeks. The particular drive where Jeremy threw his only pass revealed that Malzahn isn't like most spread coaches where he doesn't have a big backlog of plays. While we didn't see too much more additions to the base playcalling, we saw enough to make me think that Malzahn will be able to call on an elite level and not just depend on physical dominance up front like 2013. Auburn doesn't run a spread offense and Malzahn isn't a spread coach

And that's all, sorry for the length.

Seems to me most of your "positive" comments are backhanded compliments.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I think I've built something of a negative reputation through this season, so I felt like I'd share all my positiveity in one fell swoop. Actually since you got here, not just this season

These observations will probably progress along with the season, so don't get too mad.

1. Auburn will most likely have the best red zone defense in the SEC. We made LSU look like they forget how to play football when they came to the 20 yard line. One TD they got was nice, but since then they went to the red zone twice and was shut down twice. We may very well have the best red zone OFFENSE in the league as well. I believe we are perfect in the redzone on offense (scoring every possession we get there).

2. Nick Marshall has earned the benefit of the doubt in ways that I haven't imagined. I give him this because he hasn't played a game yet this season that featured offensive ineptitude based off of him. Whether it be drops, Malzahn's playcalling/stubbornness, or this relatively bad offensive line. He's balled out today, and if he got the benefit of the 3rd quarter, he more than likely would've had his first 400 yard game as an Auburn QB. Another backhanded compliment. Our offensive line is not "relatively bad" in the least. It's one of our strongest positions on the field because of the quality depth the coaching staff has established. We have suffered a few injuries on the offensive live and had to shuffle players around a bit. Even with the players shuffling positions they turned in an outstanding performance yesterday.

3. Malzahn may never call a good third quarter as an Auburn head coach. There's nothing else to say here. He hasn't called one yet and he's in his second season. I don't particularly remember the specifics of the third quarter under 2010, but the Iron Bowl that year was the greatest second half I've ever seen. What happened to that? There's conservatism and then there's what he's doing. That's only your opinion (although it may be shared by other negative nancies looking for something to complain about. This was a game we had won at the half. There's zero reason to show any other teams anything more than necessary and prepare going forward. Why give teams we still have to play more things on film to defend?? It was a great game plan from start to finish and it equaled a blowout 41-7 win.

4. As this season progresses, Duke and Sammie might become the best WR duo in the NCAA. If Duke gets a bit more seperation on one particular lob to the end zone, both him and Sammie have a TD for the first time, and both have over 60 yards receiving. Over time, this will become a vaunted duo, whether Marshall continues progressing or not.

5. Don't expect 3000 yards running, I believe just over 1000 yards through 6 games will tell you that. I figure theoretically if Auburn could perform this well for an entire 4 quarters it's more than possible, but we will definitely be playing better rush defenses than LSU. First, you need to go back and check the schedule then, brush up on your statistics. We are in week 6 but had a bye week. We've only played FIVE games (not 6) and we have well over 1,000 yards at 1,340 (Not just over 1,000). That's an average of 268 yards rushing per game. If we maintain that average rushing through 12 games, it comes out to 3,216 yards RUSHING. We played great defenses all season last year playing most of the same teams (in conference) and NOBODY stopped us.

6. This OLine combination has been their best of the season so far. There wasn't much running lanes to be had, but there's definitely been more than the past few games, and the pass blkcking was pretty good. Hopefully, the return of Miller helps out a bit. We ran for 298 yards yesterday and averaged 6.1 yards a carry. That doesn't seem to support your statement.

7. This is the best defense we've fielded since at least 2007, and I understand we haven't played Miss State, OM, Alabama, TAMU yet, I understand that, but since the Chizik days, I haven't seen us do this good on the SCOREBOARD in a while. Defense is definitely playing great football

8. Trovon will be our most draftable DB in quite a bit of time. For the most part, he knows how to ride the line of PI, a trait many NFL teams have been looking for since Seattle's secondary has risen. He has ball hawking skills and is decent at covering. Can't wait to see how his stock goes.

9. With this performance, I believe a College Football Playoff spot should be expected. The schedule is navigatable, and on paper the hardest tests we encounter will be Ole Miss and Mississippi State, two top 5 caliber teams. It seems Auburn could even survive with a 2008 LSU 10-2 season. Too early for that speculation. Too many games left.

10 (last but not least) Auburn held back the playcalling to some extent the first few weeks. The particular drive where Jeremy threw his only pass revealed that Malzahn isn't like most spread coaches where he doesn't have a big backlog of plays. While we didn't see too much more additions to the base playcalling, we saw enough to make me think that Malzahn will be able to call on an elite level and not just depend on physical dominance up front like 2013. Auburn doesn't run a spread offense and Malzahn isn't a spread coach

And that's all, sorry for the length.

Seems to me most of your "positive" comments are backhanded compliments.

If you think you can do it better, then you do it.

The only problem I had was ESPN didn't add the rushing statistics by the time of this thread, but Auburn would need an almost completely different OLine if they want to reach 3,000.

And it is relatively bad compared to 2013, even when they weren't running the ball then they were still getting more push than this squad has. They are better than they were against KSU and LaTech, and I don't know if that's because they are actually better or because Diaz and Snyder are better coaching against this scheme.

[japantiger 4,051]

We crushed a mediocre LSU team. They have major QB woes and that is not an LSU defense many have come to expect. Glad we won...always good to beat them given the performance of the last 6 or 7 years. But not sure it says much about anything. I agree with Rigby, we did our usual 3rd qtr swoon...not sure why it happens every game, but it does. Me and the boys commented on it during the 3rd qtr...it's not a secret. We can rush for 3k, easily. Most of what we did last year came in the 2H of the season against what was supposed to be the toughest competition. We seem to be following last years pattern of improvement each game...which is great.

[FootballFanatic 4]

I was nervous coming into the weekend and we destroyed an SEC west team that is full of young players but young top 10 recruiting class players. A team that had lost only one game so far to another team scorching the west.

I am impressed. Our old process was beat this team by maybe 1-2 touchdowns and give up tons of yards and plays. LSU only had 2 big plays the whole game and got shut down on two huge 4th down plays in scoring range.

Color me impressed based on previous weeks performances.

Next week looks like a huge showdown in the west now between two teams with similar styles of play.

[AURocketman 73]

I appreciate the balance in perspective but also take issue with the "relatively bad" point.

I think one could say many and possibly most OLs ever fielded in NCAA competition are "relatively bad" compared.to AU 2013 OL.

I would suggest "not as great".

Optimism might say "not as great yet".

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

We crushed a mediocre LSU team. They have major QB woes and that is not an LSU defense many have come to expect. Glad we won...always good to beat them given the performance of the last 6 or 7 years. But not sure it says much about anything. I agree with Rigby, we did our usual 3rd qtr swoon...not sure why it happens every game, but it does. Me and the boys commented on it during the 3rd qtr...it's not a secret. We can rush for 3k, easily. Most of what we did last year came in the 2H of the season against what was supposed to be the toughest competition. We seem to be following last years pattern of improvement each game...which is great.

To get 3K, we'd have to have a huge increase in OL play

Miss St, OM, and UGA are gonna be very tough in the front 7

[auburnphan 6,050]

Good post rigby, while we disagreed during the game yesterday, I have full respect for your opinion.

[bigbird 60,498]

For those of you that wanted to keep the pedal down, I have a question. We play MSU next week and it will arguably be our toughest game all year, so why give them more film? I know people will say they already have film on us, but more film equates to more opportunities for revelations about your opponent. Gus did right. Secure the win and shorten the game.

What would we have had to show them? When we used any tempo at all/used more than a designed handoff, we could score.

edit: why was my name edited from the thread title? It went along with the positive thing

Its not necessarily what they would see, it more about tendencies. As in what we run in regards to down and distance. The more data points you have the more accurate your scheme can become.

[CadillacCone 0]

The only negative I saw last night was 1st down defense. They gained between 5-8 yards on first down quite often. Other than that, great game!

[AUsince72 11,084]

For those of you that wanted to keep the pedal down, I have a question. We play MSU next week and it will arguably be our toughest game all year, so why give them more film? I know people will say they already have film on us, but more film equates to more opportunities for revelations about your opponent. Gus did right. Secure the win and shorten the game.

What would we have had to show them? When we used any tempo at all/used more than a designed handoff, we could score.

edit: why was my name edited from the thread title? It went along with the positive thing

Its not necessarily what they would see, it more about tendencies. As in what we run in regards to down and distance. The more data points you have the more accurate your scheme can become.

My take... Anybody worried about "keeping the pedal down"..... Did you take a look at the AU DEFENSE during the 2nd half. I'd say that THEY kept the pedal down!! .....and hasn't that been something that many (if not most) of us have been looking for FOR YEARS!??!??!

We even kept LSWho out of the end zone to prevent those pesky little "garbage points" that aTm got against MSU...

I'm 100% satisfied with the total AU performance yesterday.