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Chemistry wasn't there


Randman5000

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Maybe it's just me, but it seems like all the guys that turned down the NFL (even to those that go late round/undrafted free agent, that's still a relative good deal of money, not to mention Duke who could've been a first/second-rounder) are showing a sense of urgency for next year's team. I like it. :)

This is a good sign for the 2015 team for certain and I certainly hope we continue to get good leadership. However; this topic was referring to an article that quoted one of our players discussing what went wrong in 2014.

wde

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It really irritates me that guys who are on full scholarship, who should be giving their best each and every week for the team and Auburn, will allow Mickey Mouse stuff like this to interfere. If you don't want to give your best for Auburn and the team then dammit, turn in your scholarship. It is disloyal, disrespectful and the epitome of selfish behavior. They owe Auburn and their team much more than this.

It is also the difference between a successful, first class team and an amateurish team. The former keeps it's focus on what is important and the latter doesn't. One would hope this next Senior class can demonstrate the type of leadership it should, both during the season AND in the off season.

I think Kris and Cass will be leaders of this team next year. I am reminded of Frost at the Ole Miss game getting into the guys about tthe elimination factor and then making a game saving tackle and Mckinzy jumping on the loose ball.

once it starts going downhill its hard to stop during the season. They gave effort. Frost had his problems but he made the tackle that saved the Ole Miss game.
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Maybe it's just me, but it seems like all the guys that turned down the NFL (even to those that go late round/undrafted free agent, that's still a relative good deal of money, not to mention Duke who could've been a first/second-rounder) are showing a sense of urgency for next year's team. I like it. :)

This is a good sign for the 2015 team for certain and I certainly hope we continue to get good leadership. However; this topic was referring to an article that quoted one of our players discussing what went wrong in 2014.

wde

Yes, the article discusses what went wrong in 2014, which was- according to the article- a lack of chemistry resulting from insufficient senior leadership. The juniors who will be returning as seniors in 2015 instead of going to the NFL might provide that leadership we so sorely missed in 2014. And, really, the only reason that anybody should be focusing on what went wrong in the past is to learn from it and make sure the mistake isn't repeated in the future.

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It's amazing how much leadership is always a critical factor. You can have talent and even good schemes but without solid leadership you only go so far.

Lots of application here for other arenas.

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Maybe it's just me, but it seems like all the guys that turned down the NFL (even to those that go late round/undrafted free agent, that's still a relative good deal of money, not to mention Duke who could've been a first/second-rounder) are showing a sense of urgency for next year's team. I like it. :)

This is a good sign for the 2015 team for certain and I certainly hope we continue to get good leadership. However; this topic was referring to an article that quoted one of our players discussing what went wrong in 2014.

wde

Yes, the article discusses what went wrong in 2014, which was- according to the article- a lack of chemistry resulting from insufficient senior leadership. The juniors who will be returning as seniors in 2015 instead of going to the NFL might provide that leadership we so sorely missed in 2014. And, really, the only reason that anybody should be focusing on what went wrong in the past is to learn from it and make sure the mistake isn't repeated in the future.

Totally agree.

wde

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I think we all knew the chemistry wasn't there and quite frankly I believe NM's and Mincy's issues during the summer started the "lack of chemistry" ball rolling. Regarding the Whitehead incident, IMO, Gus made a mistake by allowing Whitehead to return at all. If the altercation with Harbison was serious enough that a 4 game suspension was warranted then Gus should have kicked him off of the team. The players have to know who the bosses are and insubordination should be automatic dismissal. Again, this is only my opinion and I still support Gus, but I think he could have handled this situation a lot better. What is obvious is that the situation played a role in our collapse down the stretch.

wde

I agree with this. It started snowballing before the season even began. It definitely started the season on a shaky note, similar to the issues prior to the 2012 season, which was an entirely different animal, admittedly. Major red flag --> 3 guys in their final years of eligibility were making really dumb decisions.

In retrospect, the offseason shenanigans by those seniors likely affected the chemistry on defense. Despite that, I presumed others would step up to assume a more vocal leadership role since this was a senior-laden squad, which was evidently not the case. The Whitehead incident was obviously the nail in the coffin for the championship run. Still, very sobering considering all of the proverbial "pieces" appeared to be in place that had not been in quite some time.

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I think we all knew the chemistry wasn't there and quite frankly I believe NM's and Mincy's issues during the summer started the "lack of chemistry" ball rolling. Regarding the Whitehead incident, IMO, Gus made a mistake by allowing Whitehead to return at all. If the altercation with Harbison was serious enough that a 4 game suspension was warranted then Gus should have kicked him off of the team. The players have to know who the bosses are and insubordination should be automatic dismissal. Again, this is only my opinion and I still support Gus, but I think he could have handled this situation a lot better. What is obvious is that the situation played a role in our collapse down the stretch.

wde

I agree with this. It started snowballing before the season even began. It definitely started the season on a shaky note, similar to the issues prior to the 2012 season, which was an entirely different animal, admittedly. Major red flag --> 3 guys in their final years of eligibility were making really dumb decisions.

In retrospect, the offseason shenanigans by those seniors likely affected the chemistry on defense. Despite that, I presumed others would step up to assume a more vocal leadership role since this was a senior-laden squad, which was evidently not the case. The Whitehead incident was obviously the nail in the coffin for the championship run. Still, very sobering considering all of the proverbial "pieces" appeared to be in place that had not been in quite some time.

Agree to an extent. Our schedule was daunting to begin with so I don't know about a "championship run", but I do think I played a part in the Texas A&M melt down, the uga humiliation and the bowl game embarrassment.

wde

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I think we all knew the chemistry wasn't there and quite frankly I believe NM's and Mincy's issues during the summer started the "lack of chemistry" ball rolling. Regarding the Whitehead incident, IMO, Gus made a mistake by allowing Whitehead to return at all. If the altercation with Harbison was serious enough that a 4 game suspension was warranted then Gus should have kicked him off of the team. The players have to know who the bosses are and insubordination should be automatic dismissal. Again, this is only my opinion and I still support Gus, but I think he could have handled this situation a lot better. What is obvious is that the situation played a role in our collapse down the stretch.

wde

I agree with this. It started snowballing before the season even began. It definitely started the season on a shaky note, similar to the issues prior to the 2012 season, which was an entirely different animal, admittedly. Major red flag --> 3 guys in their final years of eligibility were making really dumb decisions.

In retrospect, the offseason shenanigans by those seniors likely affected the chemistry on defense. Despite that, I presumed others would step up to assume a more vocal leadership role since this was a senior-laden squad, which was evidently not the case. The Whitehead incident was obviously the nail in the coffin for the championship run. Still, very sobering considering all of the proverbial "pieces" appeared to be in place that had not been in quite some time.

Agree to an extent. Our schedule was daunting to begin with so I don't know about a "championship run", but I do think I played a part in the Texas A&M melt down, the uga humiliation and the bowl game embarrassment.

wde

The schedule may have been daunting, but this was one of of the most experienced veteran teams in the conference, if not the country. Ranked preseason top 5, fresh off of an SEC and BCS championship run. Garnered a little more offseason respect that many fans state Auburn hardly receives when it's warranted. From that particular summertime looking glass, a playoff run didn't appear to be far fetched.

This latest revelation, along with the preseason incidents, coaching deficiencies and conflicts obviously nixed any chance of that fairy tale being written.

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

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The whole saga is weird to me because our defense was better when Whitehead was suspended. Once he came back (literally the game he came back) our defense crumbles. If he was so essential for team chemistry, wouldn't the defense have improved once his presence on the field returned?

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

Part of it is that our schedule turns out tougher during seasons with high expectations. This is not an "always" thing, but the most prominent example I can think of is '03. We played two teams that would've been in the playoff if it had existed that year (and both co-national champions at that), and to top it off, we played a really good Georgia team away, a really good Tennessee team, and one of Ole Miss's best teams of the century. We also had to play a second BCS OOC opponent, a week after the game with USCw. You look at the '04 schedule and it was admittedly much more favorable.

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

If we get any respect next year, it will be well earned.

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

Yes we will

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

Yes we will

a lot of people think JJ will be a great QB. not just ok but "great". that along with Duke staying(i will believe Duke stays on 1/16) coupled with expectations for muschamp influence on D. we will be ranked higher than we showed we deserve our last 7 games.
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IMO there was chemistry issues on both sides of the ball including special teams. Lets hope the 2015 season doesn't start off with leaders of positions and seniors making bad choices or decisions causing issues for the entire TEAM before the first snap.

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

Yes we will

a lot of people think JJ will be a great QB. not just ok but "great". that along with Duke staying(i will believe Duke stays on 1/16) coupled with expectations for muschamp influence on D. we will be ranked higher than we showed we deserve our last 7 games.

I expect us to be ranked 18-23-ish--generally our preseason ranking for our best years ('04 and '10).

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Allow me to express the sentiment that I DON"T GIVE a S%IIII$ where we are ranked preseason.

I have no idea how to lead young men into the world of SEC football but in my office the harder we ask the

staff to work the less they bitch at each other.

I am concerned there is a softness in the core of the Auburn football program.

I Rx CWM BID.

Little doc

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Character isssues are the toughest to deal with for a coach. That is why you try to do the best background checks prior to offering scholarships. That is likely why we passed on several players.

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

Yes we will

a lot of people think JJ will be a great QB. not just ok but "great". that along with Duke staying(i will believe Duke stays on 1/16) coupled with expectations for muschamp influence on D. we will be ranked higher than we showed we deserve our last 7 games.

I expect us to be ranked 18-23-ish--generally our preseason ranking for our best years ('04 and '10).

That sounds possible...and reasonable....though I expect the media folks will look at the number of departed players and guys like Nick and CAP... rather than the potential of guys who have not played much in the big time.

After this bowl season I don't think 6-8 SEC teams will automatically get "byes" into the top 20 like in years past...nor will the SEC have half of the top 10....JMO.

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Pre-season doesn't mean anything, if we're handling our business come October everything will work itself out.

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BOTTOM LINE: raise your hand if you think a "verbal altercation" with a defensive position coach will happen under Boom's watch? No. Because Boom's presence is that of demanding respect.

Next order of business.

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What I don't understand about this is how our defense was the strongest during Whitehead's suspension. He comes back against USCe (even if just for special teams) and our defense all of a sudden crumbles. If he was such a vital part of the team, you'd have thought the defense would've been better when he came back. Maybe he should've just been straight up kicked off he team.

Miss St, OM, early part of TAMU game before they realized they needed him on defense. Defense was bad without him

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2014 is the latest of many AU teams that disappointed after starting the season highly ranked. I don't think that will be a problem for us in 2015 and we should have a minimum of gripe-posts about Auburn not getting any respect.

For no particular reason, AU seems to end up doing better when there are low media expectations.

I believe you will be correct.

We may not be top twenty preseason

Yes we will

if you say so

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What I don't understand about this is how our defense was the strongest during Whitehead's suspension. He comes back against USCe (even if just for special teams) and our defense all of a sudden crumbles. If he was such a vital part of the team, you'd have thought the defense would've been better when he came back. Maybe he should've just been straight up kicked off he team.

Miss St, OM, early part of TAMU game before they realized they needed him on defense. Defense was bad without him

But he played against OM and TAMU. Only game we lost that he didn't play in was Miss St.

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