Malzahn's bad coaching and play-calling?

[WarTim 3,457]

We lost to the then #3 team in the nation because they capitalized on turnovers and we didn't. Other aspects of the game may have been somewhat lacking, but the turnover to points ratio was the difference maker in this game. I don't see how anything else can be argued above that. With that said, I refuse to act like those from West Vance and start piling on the coaching staff after losing on the road to the now #1 team in the nation. We are still in a position to win the SEC and/or make it into one of those 4 slots if we win out. Count me as one of those that did not believe anybody in the SEC West could go through their schedule unscathed. We lost a game last year and still recovered, so I see no reason why we can't do the same thing again this year. The coaches have two weeks to learn from this loss and get it corrected. The sky is not falling.

Amen and AMEN!!!

[AURex 2,085]

Our coaches are smart enough to see the situations in which they might have madfe a different call. They are also smart enough to see where issues concerning execution need to be addressed. And they also have a LOT more knowledge about players and their capabilities than we do. So I'm not going to be picking apart any specific plays or blaming anyone in particular.

The big issue that I think the coaches will be reconsidering this week concerns the overall offensive strategy of this team. Going into the season, NM was hitting his passes in practice, the receivers were running their routes and catching their passes, JJ said NM was going to win the Heisman. Everyone (you, me, other coaches, everyone) knew what the evolution of the offense was going to be -- a more balanced attack that built upon the dominant running game, but made it even more lethal with an improved passing attack.

But the strategy has not panned out. The passing game is crappy. I'm not laying this on one person. It is on both the QB and the receivers. But I don't care what angle you use to look at it, completing only half your passes is a crappy passing offense. 115th nationally, to be precise. Trot out all the excuses and exceptions, but in the end, an incompletion is an incompletion, and we've seen a whole lot of them.

The thing is, if you are using more plays passing the ball, that's less plays you are running the ball. And if half those pass plays result in incompletions, that not only wastes a play, but it puts the running game at a disadvantage. That's okay against inferior opponents, but against a team that matches up well, it's a problem. And that is what happened with Miss State.

So., I suspect that, with this bye week, just like following the LSU loss last year, the coaches will look closely at the overall offensive strategy they've employed to date and decide what changes are in order. Do they continue trying to pass the ball? And if so, do they make changes in personnel to try to make the passing game more effective? Or do they shift the emphasis back to the running game? Are the OL and skill players up to that kind of offense?

I don't know the answer to these questions, but there is a bigger picture than just who missed a pass and was that call right?

[Shift 350]

Louis did not fumble...

Ahem, yes, he did.

[Oregon Tiger 0]

I have never posted here before. I just HAD to register after seeing this comment

What happened to being happy with a 10-2 season and a trip to a New Years day game.

What happened is Auburn fans got tired of accepting 2 or 3 losses every year. I've never understood people like you. Why is accepting 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best in the SEC and making it to some New Years Day bowl ok? After 50+ years, in 2010 we got a taste of being an elite program,then last season we were quite literally 13 seconds from our 2nd in 3 years. And we want to stay that way. The days of being the little brother are over.

I always have enjoyed reading everyone's point of view here. This just hit a nerve for me, as I just had this conversation with my father in Oneonta.

Thanks for having me. And especially thanks for keeping me up to date with my Tigers while I am 3000 miles away on the left coast!

[aucanucktiger 1,809]

I keep hearing all of the talk about Gus's poor decision-making as one of the primary causes of the loss last night, but by my count - we left tons of points on the field:

1) PI call on Coates that was an absolute travesty - 1st and goal on the 3. I'll say +7 points on that drive that was negated by horrific refs.

2) Missed chip shot field goal by Carlson in the 1st quarter. +3 points.

3) Coates TD catch where he stepped out of bounds - we settle for a field goal. +4 points. (By the way - at this point the score would've been 27-28, MSU or at least 24-28, MSU, if you believe we would be stopped from scoring a TD on 1st and goal from the 3 on the ridiculous call on Coates)

4) Regardless of what you think about the "fumble" (It baffles me how anyone could say that Louis' "fumble" was such when he has the ball in his hands, pressed against his helmet, and the ground causes a ricochet effect leading to the ball popping out of his hands. That would be the ground causing the fumble, but hey - why should I expect anything but a hometown call at this point, eh, stripes? And just because he bobbles the ball on the way down, does not a fumble make, if he has possession when he hits the ground, which he did!) - this is the score that puts them up 38-20, and effectively puts the game out of reach.

5) Marshall's two interceptions - go back and look at the film. Both were going to Duke Williams for an easy first down on the first play of the game, and a certain TD at the end. Add at least 7 for the end, and who knows what would have happened during the first drive?

I'm not saying that Gus, or any coach in the free world, calls a perfect game, but this has much more to do with execution, bad refs, and an early hole that we just could not crawl out of due to the aforementioned as opposed to Gus' coaching.

You do the math. Gus is a genius play-caller. Adjust the scores appropriately, and we win. Further, I think the image coming to mind when people critique Malzahn's play-calling is the run by Uzomah. Sure, not the best call. (Although someone else has already pointed out that if Slade had blocked ANYONE on that play, then Uzomah walks in.)

Gus is absolutely not the problem. Let's not be ridiculous.

Every great coach will point to plays in every game that they'd have done differently in hindsight. Gus, like all the great coaches, seems to learn from mistakes and that's one of the traits that will keep him great. Chicken & egg: player execution sabotages gameplan/coaches' coach player execution.

[AUY2K 272]

Not protecting the ball/missed opportunities has a tendency of losing games.

1. 1st offensive play of the game Tipped pass - INT = msu TD.

2. 2nd possession of the game - fumble = msu TD.

3. missed opportunity to score = missed FG inside the 20 yard line.

3. As soon as AU gets the scoring under control kickoff return - fumble = msu TD.

msu score 38-21 = 17

AU score = 23

It's not coaching and not play calling that cost us this game. Turnovers - not protecting the football.

[keesler 5,934]

Not protecting the ball/missed opportunities has a tendency of losing games.

1. 1st offensive play of the game Tipped pass - INT = msu TD.

2. 2nd possession of the game - fumble = msu TD.

3. missed opportunity to score = missed FG inside the 20 yard line.

3. As soon as AU gets the scoring under control kickoff return - fumble = msu TD.

msu score 38-21 = 17

AU score = 23

It's not coaching and not play calling that cost us this game. Turnovers - not protecting the football.

Didn't we intercept what would have been a MSU TD in their endzone which prevented them from tacking on another 7 pts?

[countoff 331]

I wouldn't trade Gus in for any other coach in the country (pro or college).

But now that Gus has made Auburn football relevant again, it is natural for us to be critical of the coaching staff following a loss.

I wonder why NM is not running the ball more. And if he is not going to run it, then why not get JJ in there to throw the ball?

Roc Thomas has looked great. Why isn't he seeing more playing time? I have to admit that Roc Thomas' running style (keep the play alive at all costs) is usually conducive to fumbling the ball. I wonder if he has been fumbling the ball in practice which translates to Gus' reluctance to give him more playing time.

I also hope Gus registered some sort of complaint with the SEC regarding the officiating. It was atrocious.

[cooltigger21 0]

I wish:

The defense had drawn a line in the sand after each early turnover, holding a least one State drive if not both to a fg.

The referee had not called PI on Coates.

The overthrown ball to Coates had been about a two feet shorter.

Malzahn had not called the Uzomah trick play.

Coates had not stepped out of the endzone.

Marshall threw more high percentage passes. I'm probably mistaken but it seems 2 out of every 3 passes were too far downfield.

Auburn had scored on at least one of the consecutive possessions after scoring on the 99 yard drive. The defense held back to back possessions but the offense could not capitalize.

Oh well. Didn't happen. We'll lick our wounds, drub SC and get ready for a showdown with OM.

This all day long, I think we will see a big performance against SC and regain confidence and a shot at redemption in Oxford.

we beat the hell out of everyone else.

Not unless we figure out how to block better up front or figure out how to work around the offensive line that doesn't block like last year. Ole Miss will be a dog fight for us to win. UGA over there is not going to be easy and would someone point out to me the last time we beat Alabama by more than 10 points.

That is about as relevant as someone asking last week, "when was the last time Miss St. was ranked #1."

I wish:

The defense had drawn a line in the sand after each early turnover, holding a least one State drive if not both to a fg.

The referee had not called PI on Coates.

The overthrown ball to Coates had been about a two feet shorter.

Malzahn had not called the Uzomah trick play.

Coates had not stepped out of the endzone.

Marshall threw more high percentage passes. I'm probably mistaken but it seems 2 out of every 3 passes were too far downfield.

Auburn had scored on at least one of the consecutive possessions after scoring on the 99 yard drive. The defense held back to back possessions but the offense could not capitalize.

Oh well. Didn't happen. We'll lick our wounds, drub SC and get ready for a showdown with OM.

This all day long, I think we will see a big performance against SC and regain confidence and a shot at redemption in Oxford.

we beat the hell out of everyone else.

Not unless we figure out how to block better up front or figure out how to work around the offensive line that doesn't block like last year. Ole Miss will be a dog fight for us to win. UGA over there is not going to be easy and would someone point out to me the last time we beat Alabama by more than 10 points.

That is about as relevant as someone asking last week, "when was the last time Miss St. was ranked #1."

My point was that some people seem to be thinking we are going to roll over Alabama and everybody else besides Ole Miss. I've seen some fantastic Auburn teams struggle with some bad Alabama teams. Even during the Tubby years we never just put them away in a game. 2005 was as close as we came. This team is going to have to come out and play top level ball every week or they will get beat at least 2 more times, probably 3. This is what I'm getting at. Lots of saying MSU was just a one off. Well actually LSU was the one off game. That was the only game Auburn has come out and played top level football for practically the entire game. Not saying they can't do it anymore but anyone thinking that everything is hunky dory and that was just one bad game is not seeing things clearly IMO.

[WarDamnDoc 390]

I have never posted here before. I just HAD to register after seeing this comment

What happened to being happy with a 10-2 season and a trip to a New Years day game.

What happened is Auburn fans got tired of accepting 2 or 3 losses every year. I've never understood people like you. Why is accepting 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best in the SEC and making it to some New Years Day bowl ok? After 50+ years, in 2010 we got a taste of being an elite program,then last season we were quite literally 13 seconds from our 2nd in 3 years. And we want to stay that way. The days of being the little brother are over.

I always have enjoyed reading everyone's point of view here. This just hit a nerve for me, as I just had this conversation with my father in Oneonta.

Thanks for having me. And especially thanks for keeping me up to date with my Tigers while I am 3000 miles away on the left coast!

No one is saying they don't want to win, or that they don't want the program to be elite. The issue is maintaining perspective. A 10-2 season is a great season of college football. Whining about not bringing home the crystal is not an attractive color on any fan base, and no one realistically wins out every year.

We have a phenomenal coaching staff and a lot of hard-working young men wearing the AU uniform these days. You should be proud of them both when they win, and when they play hard and don't win.

[AUY2K 272]

Not protecting the ball/missed opportunities has a tendency of losing games.

1. 1st offensive play of the game Tipped pass - INT = msu TD.

2. 2nd possession of the game - fumble = msu TD.

3. missed opportunity to score = missed FG inside the 20 yard line.

3. As soon as AU gets the scoring under control kickoff return - fumble = msu TD.

msu score 38-21 = 17

AU score = 23

It's not coaching and not play calling that cost us this game. Turnovers - not protecting the football.

Didn't we intercept what would have been a MSU TD in their endzone which prevented them from tacking on another 7 pts?

...and didnt msu intercept a sure TD for Auburn that got tipped towards the end of the game?

[kd4au 1,145]

I wouldn't trade Gus in for any other coach in the country (pro or college).

But now that Gus has made Auburn football relevant again, it is natural for us to be critical of the coaching staff following a loss.

I wonder why NM is not running the ball more. And if he is not going to run it, then why not get JJ in there to throw the ball?

Roc Thomas has looked great. Why isn't he seeing more playing time? I have to admit that Roc Thomas' running style (keep the play alive at all costs) is usually conducive to fumbling the ball. I wonder if he has been fumbling the ball in practice which translates to Gus' reluctance to give him more playing time.

I also hope Gus registered some sort of complaint with the SEC regarding the officiating. It was atrocious.

I can't understand why more people on here are not complaining about the ref's.You are right it was atrocious at best crooked at worst.

[DivisionN 102]

Gus Malzahn is the finest coach in America. Obviously things have not "jelled" yet for this team but I have faith in Gus!

[mom2kid 216]

Gus is great and so is the staff but this has been a frustrating season. We were supposed to be better this year and the motto is. "13 seconds better". There was lots if hype about NM as an improved QB and Lashlee set a goal of 65% passing efficiency. Our offense was going to be even better with DQ and we hoped our defense would improve.

That hasn't been the case and concerns about the offense have continued. Except for LSU, the offense has not been during on all cylinders. Playing a strong team like MSU exposed many things. I think the frustration is not that we are spoiled but that although we csn see the improved defense, our offense continues to have the same issues and our running offense has regressed. The improvement has not been there. NM has not improved as a consistent passer and now he isn't even running the zone read. We have weapons and talented playmakers praised by the coaches like Melvin Ray, Corey Grant, Bradon Smith, Roc and they hardly play. We have the most creative offensive mind and yet a defense covers the edges and shuts down our offense. Our 3rd quarter play calling is still questionable. We have the most talented back up QB with a 68% passing efficiency who the coaches say they trust putting in games and yet we make no move to put him in even for a series when it's clear he is the better option to pass the ball quickly down the field with time running out. I admit I'm still not over this loss because so much went wrong and the same problems emerged