Who Are We???

[Deckhead 6]

I've read a ton of comments and opinions about what went wrong in Starkville and there are some great points being made. But my bottom like analysis is that we don't know who we are yet. All of the talking heads think we are a strong running team but we haven't really shown that to this point. My guesstimation is that this staff got a bit offended that the 2013 Tigers were considered to be ONLY a running team. They wanted the 2014 Tigers to be more balanced and we are. But we aren't great at either the run or pass.

2013 LSU is not equal to 2014 MSU because last year in that loss, we discovered our identity. But it still took a few more games before it was perfected. I wish that Gus would use this bye week to rededicate this team to the run. Maybe not 75/25 or whatever it was last year but 60/40 at least. This OL could become better if they got to run block more. We need an identity! What say you?

I'm constantly amazed at how many people throw out stats like this without actually checking anything. Through 5 games ( prior to MSU) we were ahead of last seasons rushing yards, carries and passing yards and completions. It was the 6th game last year (Auburn rushed for 511 vs. Western Carolina) that our running game really took off. Game 6 this year was vs. Mississippi State (much better obviously than Western Carolina) Auburn rushed for 232 yards. Through 6 games in 2013 we had 1722 yards rushing and 1123 yards passing. In 2014 through 6 games we have 1572 Rushing and 1355 Passing. Now, let's look at total plays:

2013 (through 6 games)

145 Pass attempts

275 Rushing attempts

420 TOTAL PLAYS that equals 65% RUSHING PLAYS

2014 (through 6 games)

158 Pass Attempts

283 Rushing attempts

441 TOTAL PLAYS that equals 64% RUSHING PLAYS

We've only thrown the ball 13 more times through 6 games this year than we did through 6 games last year.

Thats an interesting analysis. I didn't think we had thrown the ball that much more outside of the 1st half of the 1st game. Im looking forward to seeing this team come together and find their rhythm and Im betting they will.

Can the above be correct? Are we averaging 73 plays/game? I would have guessed we were averaging around 60. I just seems like we're not into the up tempo as much this year.

[GBAU83 212]

21 points in 75 yards. The defense shouldn't have allowed two third down conversions (3rd & 11 on the first TD; 3rd & 4 on the second TD) that resulted in scores on two of those "drives." They had chances to get off the field with minimal or no damage. Still, it's tough to pin the blame on a defense when you turn the ball over three times inside your 35.

I'll say again, even with all the craziness, we were two routine plays away from 21-20 with 6 minutes to play in the second quarter. All we needed was Carlson making a 28-yard FG and Coates staying in bounds on the TD pass. Make those two routine plays, and who knows what happens with that game. We didn't get blown out. We were more successful from 20 to 20. They finished drives in the redzone; we didn't.

Agreed, and we need to see how the season plays out. This team has the potential (as shown last year following the LSU loss), it is up to them to show it on the field.

Had we had this team following 2012, we would all be ecstatic on how much improvement has been made. The great team of 2013 spoiled us to quickly, now the expectations are higher. I still think we finish the regular season as a 1-loss team, win the West and repeat as SEC champs provided we can beat UGA twice in one season. We win out, State loses two (Ole Miss and Arkansas).

[AuburnSpider 2]

Very proud of how far our dline has come over the past year and a half. Complete 180 from how soft they were. Having said that we are still not up to elite SEC level. We have got to bring in some elite talent or this past game will be repeated too often. The online could sure make use of an Ivey type talent as well.

[StatTiger 3,188]

I think it is important to remember just what kind of "team" Auburn was in 2013. It is easy to remember the end results (SEC champ and MNC game). It overshadows the 6 games decided by 7 points or less. A few bounces the other way and 2013 could have been an 8-5 or 9-4 season.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

The frustration stems from expectations. Wrong or right, fans expected the offense to be improved from last year in all areas….based largely on the fact that this is the first returning QB Gus has coached.

This is the source of all the angst. This year's production in and of itself is pretty dang good. Particularly compared to 2012. But it pales a bit compared to last year. Thus the gnashing of teeth. Our defense is playing better than last year's yet there are some of us picking that nit also.

So true!

[Mikey 16,638]

21 points in 75 yards. The defense shouldn't have allowed two third down conversions (3rd & 11 on the first TD; 3rd & 4 on the second TD) that resulted in scores on two of those "drives." They had chances to get off the field with minimal or no damage. Still, it's tough to pin the blame on a defense when you turn the ball over three times inside your 35.

I'll say again, even with all the craziness, we were two routine plays away from 21-20 with 6 minutes to play in the second quarter. All we needed was Carlson making a 28-yard FG and Coates staying in bounds on the TD pass. Make those two routine plays, and who knows what happens with that game. We didn't get blown out. We were more successful from 20 to 20. They finished drives in the redzone; we didn't.

That moment right there, at the six minute mark of the second quarter was the key time in the game. Instead of going into the half no worse than 21-13, our defense surrendered a 75 yard, nine play drive that ended with their QB running 15 yards untouched right up the middle. The half ended then at 28-13 and we never recovered from being behind that eight-ball.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

It was a huge letdown. No doubt. I think the key time came in the third and into fourth. We had two possessions down 8 and another down 11 with almost the entire fourth quarter to play. Instead, we went three and out twice and fumbled a kickoff. That ended a game the defense, which was staggered early, gave us a chance to tie on multiple occasions.

Neither side of the ball was good enough. For my tastes, the offense was slightly worse than the defense because the offense put the defense in horrible positions in the first and fourth quarters.

[doc4aday 1,887]

we are a team that needs far more speed than what we have now. It seems that we are not as fast of a team overall than what we were in 2013. We get faster and play smarter, we will not lose to teams such as MSU and others.

[macauburn 6]

When the offensive line springs Marshall into the secondary, the offense flies high, Look at this offense that worked against MIss state last year

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Doc, are you talking offensively? If so, I can't agree. Marshall is probably the fastest QB in the country, Grant is still here, Sammie too, Louis can burn. Neither Mason nor CAP was/is a burner, but we have more team speed that State.

Are you talking about the defensive side of the ball?

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Why if we are as bad as some think are we still rated at #6 in the country. In fact several of the computer poles ( which deal with stats not personal opinions) have us still at #1 and ahead of M St. Just because they don't live up to your personal expectations doesn't make them a bad team. If losing one game makes you bad then there may not be a good team left in a couple of weeks. I really doubt any team goes undefeated this year. In fact going undefeated takes either a weak schedule or a lot of luck. As has been pointed out we are in the top 25 in a lot of key stats both offense and defense. Do we need to get better ? Yes. Gus has said constantly that it is his desire that the team get better every game and that we peak towards the end of the season just like we did last year. People forget last year and 2010 how bad we looked the first half of the season. I really don't count a season on wins and losses. If the players play with heart then it is a good season. Just my opinion. WDE

[WarTiger 3,910]

I've read a ton of comments and opinions about what went wrong in Starkville and there are some great points being made. But my bottom like analysis is that we don't know who we are yet. All of the talking heads think we are a strong running team but we haven't really shown that to this point. My guesstimation is that this staff got a bit offended that the 2013 Tigers were considered to be ONLY a running team. They wanted the 2014 Tigers to be more balanced and we are. But we aren't great at either the run or pass.

2013 LSU is not equal to 2014 MSU because last year in that loss, we discovered our identity. But it still took a few more games before it was perfected. I wish that Gus would use this bye week to rededicate this team to the run. Maybe not 75/25 or whatever it was last year but 60/40 at least. This OL could become better if they got to run block more. We need an identity! What say you?

I'm constantly amazed at how many people throw out stats like this without actually checking anything. Through 5 games ( prior to MSU) we were ahead of last seasons rushing yards, carries and passing yards and completions. It was the 6th game last year (Auburn rushed for 511 vs. Western Carolina) that our running game really took off. Game 6 this year was vs. Mississippi State (much better obviously than Western Carolina) Auburn rushed for 232 yards. Through 6 games in 2013 we had 1722 yards rushing and 1123 yards passing. In 2014 through 6 games we have 1572 Rushing and 1355 Passing. Now, let's look at total plays:

2013 (through 6 games)

145 Pass attempts

275 Rushing attempts

420 TOTAL PLAYS that equals 65% RUSHING PLAYS

2014 (through 6 games)

158 Pass Attempts

283 Rushing attempts

441 TOTAL PLAYS that equals 64% RUSHING PLAYS

We've only thrown the ball 13 more times through 6 games this year than we did through 6 games last year.

Key words in the text you highlighted are "last year". We played more than 6 games "last year" and ran the ball 72.4% of our plays...last year.

Wow.. we played more than 6 games last year? Who knew?? DUH. But, we haven't played all our games yet this year. The only comparison we have is where we are RIGHT NOW in the season. I'm not sure why that's so difficult for you to grasp. We all know our passing numbers in attempts, completions and yards went down once we found our identity as a running team and the amount of success we were having. BUT, we aren't there yet. It's a ludicrous comparison to put 12 (or 14) games up against only 6 for the current season.

You said you wanted this team to get back to 60/40 at least (and we are OVER that through 6 games ( the ONLY thing we have to compare too). Comparing 6 games played against an entire 14 game season just doesn't hold up nor is it fair to the development of this team.

[1TexasTiger 55]

Mikey what is your agenda?

[WarDamnDoc 390]

The frustration stems from expectations. Wrong or right, fans expected the offense to be improved from last year in all areas….based largely on the fact that this is the first returning QB Gus has coached.

This is the source of all the angst. This year's production in and of itself is pretty dang good. Particularly compared to 2012. But it pales a bit compared to last year. Thus the gnashing of teeth. Our defense is playing better than last year's yet there are some of us picking that nit also.

So true!

Agree with the above, this seems to be the source of expectations. However, when you lose a Heisman-finalist RB, an All-American L tackle, your Freshman All-American starting L guard, and one of the toughest FBs to ever put on orange and blue your rushing attack is going to take a step back regardless of who's under center. Hard to build in that context.

Nick remains a good quarterback, though an average passer. His strengths are his speed, elusiveness, and decision-making. His fundamental attributes have not changed, like some seemed to expect.

[AUbritt 611]

Mikey what is your agenda?

Linebackers.

[smackydoodle 200]

"Well last year" was last year. They aren't the same team and they aren't playing the same schedule against the same teams as last year. Last year doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what happens from this point forward.

[AU64 10,122]

The frustration stems from expectations. Wrong or right, fans expected the offense to be improved from last year in all areas….based largely on the fact that this is the first returning QB Gus has coached.

This is the source of all the angst. This year's production in and of itself is pretty dang good. Particularly compared to 2012. But it pales a bit compared to last year. Thus the gnashing of teeth. Our defense is playing better than last year's yet there are some of us picking that nit also.

So true!

Agree with the above, this seems to be the source of expectations. However, when you lose a Heisman-finalist RB, an All-American L tackle, your Freshman All-American starting L guard, and one of the toughest FBs to ever put on orange and blue your rushing attack is going to take a step back regardless of who's under center. Hard to build in that context.

Nick remains a good quarterback, though an average passer. His strengths are his speed, elusiveness, and decision-making. His fundamental attributes have not changed, like some seemed to expect.

One thing you count on is that at about any college, their fan's expectations have nothing to do with reality.

The more committed and vocal the supporter, the more they are drinking the koolaid and ignoring the realities of their team's various weaknesses...or the strength of their opponents.

[weagl1 1,785]

IMHO we must do whatever we have to do to get the ball to Williams and Coates. They are our most dangerous weapons and we are wasting them.

[StatTiger 3,188]

IMHO we must do whatever we have to do to get the ball to Williams and Coates. They are our most dangerous weapons and we are wasting them.

Williams on pace for a 65-70 reception season, so that is far from being wasted.

[Mikey 16,638]

Mikey what is your agenda?

The same thing it was when I joined this forum over seven years ago. Promote good AU football teams and good, accurate discussion.

With all the talk about offensive problems, I feel it necessary to point out that in the 15 games we have played against Power 5 teams in the last two years, we have given up an average of 28.4 points per game. That includes every Power 5 opponent, even the weaklings.That's too many points. In our three losses, we've given up 34, 35 and 38 points. Again, too many.

The offense is, in general, scoring enough to win. The area of concern should be a defense that gives up unacceptable amounts of points, yet there are pages of suggestions about "correcting" an offense that needs little correction. Let's look at where the real problem is: Opponents can score too much and too easily against us.

[gAUlf 1]

Mikey what is your agenda?

The same thing it was when I joined this forum over seven years ago. Promote good AU football teams and good, accurate discussion.

With all the talk about offensive problems, I feel it necessary to point out that in the 15 games we have played against Power 5 teams in the last two years, we have given up an average of 28.4 points per game. That includes every Power 5 opponent, even the weaklings.That's too many points. In our three losses, we've given up 34, 35 and 38 points. Again, too many.

The offense is, in general, scoring enough to win. The area of concern should be a defense that gives up unacceptable amounts of points, yet there are pages of suggestions about "correcting" an offense that needs little correction. Let's look at where the real problem is: Opponents can score too much and too easily against us.

But if you say that in one game there was a special team score and the other two the team turned it over inside the 30 twice it paints a more acurate picture of the game. Not to mention the one ref basically gave them 7 and took 7 away from us in the State game.

[WarTim 3,456]

Why if we are as bad as some think are we still rated at #6 in the country. In fact several of the computer poles ( which deal with stats not personal opinions) have us still at #1 and ahead of M St. Just because they don't live up to your personal expectations doesn't make them a bad team. If losing one game makes you bad then there may not be a good team left in a couple of weeks. I really doubt any team goes undefeated this year. In fact going undefeated takes either a weak schedule or a lot of luck. As has been pointed out we are in the top 25 in a lot of key stats both offense and defense. Do we need to get better ? Yes. Gus has said constantly that it is his desire that the team get better every game and that we peak towards the end of the season just like we did last year. People forget last year and 2010 how bad we looked the first half of the season. I really don't count a season on wins and losses. If the players play with heart then it is a good season. Just my opinion. WDE

Bingo! Yahtzee! Very well said!!!

[AuburnKev 15]

One thing we are is a team that gave up 38 points last Saturday. Our defense was not stout enough to stop MSU and make them settle for field goals after turnovers. Our offensive deficiencies are repairable and not that bad to begin with. I don't know what to say about how to fix the defense.

35, 41, 38, 28, 42, 34, 14, 38. Those are the number of points we've given up to our eight most recent toughest opponents, starting with the LSU game last year. That averages out to 34 points a game. Only one of those opponents, K-State, was held to less than 28 points.

Nobody can give up 34 points a game to their best opponents and expect to win many of those games. It's not as much fun to evaluate the defense as it is the offense, but if we're going to operate on the premise that we should fix the biggest problem first, then we need to be discussing the defense because that's where the big trouble is located.

We have let at least one team put a lot of points on us every single year in recent memory. You would have to go all the way back to the late 80's before you found an Auburn defense that throttled every opponent defensively. I'm not sure anyone is capable of doing that today with how good offenses have become. However, if we look at our overall record in all that time, we win far more than we lose. That has to be the best measuring stick to look at rather than the points.

[cole256 17,084]

04 team. Defense was awesome.

[AUbritt 611]

One thing we are is a team that gave up 38 points last Saturday. Our defense was not stout enough to stop MSU and make them settle for field goals after turnovers. Our offensive deficiencies are repairable and not that bad to begin with. I don't know what to say about how to fix the defense.

35, 41, 38, 28, 42, 34, 14, 38. Those are the number of points we've given up to our eight most recent toughest opponents, starting with the LSU game last year. That averages out to 34 points a game. Only one of those opponents, K-State, was held to less than 28 points.

Nobody can give up 34 points a game to their best opponents and expect to win many of those games. It's not as much fun to evaluate the defense as it is the offense, but if we're going to operate on the premise that we should fix the biggest problem first, then we need to be discussing the defense because that's where the big trouble is located.

We have let at least one team put a lot of points on us every single year in recent memory. You would have to go all the way back to the late 80's before you found an Auburn defense that throttled every opponent defensively. I'm not sure anyone is capable of doing that today with how good offenses have become. However, if we look at our overall record in all that time, we win far more than we lose. That has to be the best measuring stick to look at rather than the points.

I agree with a lot of this, Kev. But then you get games like Bama's against aTm last weekend, which looks like a counterexample.