Ten Passes? This is not progress!

[cptau 169]

Reading these comments and watching the game makes me think the main issue for the team is the receivers. we have one whose level of effort is questionable and Ricardo Louis who is still recovering from injury, but still tries. The rest, I don't know why.

Other than coaching the only other reason for this is possible unhappiness with the QB change.

[metafour 4,969]

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

Dude, they are running an offense on training wheels with him behind the wheel. How can you expect White to 'wow' you in this mess?

If I give the greatest musician on the planet a stick and two rocks and ask him to make music, are you going to hear a master-piece?

[tiger88 934]

Can I ask a legitimate question, and I am really trying to be civil. What is it in SW that you guys see that makes you believe he is our future QB for the rest of the season and next year? I'm asking honestly. I know my posts have been about us needing a DT QB to be prolific, but I am wondering what you guys see in him honestly? I feel like SW to most of you is like some savior of the team, a guy that is of no flaws. I understand he has confidence and heart, but physically, I see nothing that is special about him and nothing that screams that he can carry a team. I see a guy that is a good fit in a game-manager type of offense, not this kind of offense. I am just confused on why so many believe he is amazing. And before you ask, I wasn't buying into the JJ hype all season. However, I believe he got a raw deal. The offense we are running with SW is completely different than what JJ was running. I believe JJ might have succeeded more in the offense we are running now, but alas. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to point out that the long pass to Jason Smith was not on him, but SW. If you rewatch the play, Jason Smith is expecting the ball to be on the inside, however, SW threw it on the outside of his shoulder, making JS adjust at full speed. I'm not saying he couldn't have caught that still, but that wasn't the best throw in the first place as some are saying on here. I point that out because if JJ made that throw, I believe most of you guys would be saying it was JJ's fault...

If the game isn't called to suit his skills better we will never know how good he may or may not be. The jury is still out on how good he will be. If we are going to run a read option offense and throw 10 times a game I don't understand why we would have ever recruited two pocket passing qb's. That is baffling logic right there.

There isn't alot of difference in the O between JJ and SW other than the passing calls. SW threw 3 deep balls today. All three could have been caught. The smith ball was a little off but should have been caught, most agree on that. Duke barely fought at all to catch his even though he had size advantage on the db. Louis caught his even though it wasn't that deep. SW has played well. No td's yet, but could have easily had some. At least he's not throwing every third or 4th pass to the d.

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

As stated he could have easily hit three deep balls out of 10 passes if the receivers had excelled. JJ is FAR from a running threat. His only really good run of the season was because it came as a shock to LSU.

More time is needed to evaluate SW. If our playcalling doesn't improve I don't think it will matter who the qb is.

You donxt like SW. Thatxs fine. Most do and the board is full of reasons why. Feel free to read away.

[Auburnguy101 325]

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

Dude, they are running an offense on training wheels with him behind the wheel. How can you expect White to 'wow' you in this mess?

If I give the greatest musician on the planet a stick and two rocks and ask him to make music, are you going to hear a master-piece?

Ok, I'll agree with your analogy, but then if you're going to run this type of offense like we've ran the past two games, which is run-heavy, why put SW in there in the first place? JJ's issues were being able to read defenses, not throwing a 5 yard pass or screen. And I'm no JJ apologist. I just think we hit the panic button way too quickly on him. I would have given JJ a half against MSU with this offense, and then pulled him if he was making mistakes. By the way, SW has fumbling issues of his own, 3 or 4 that he lost today, but luckily recovered by us...

[metafour 4,969]

but then if you're going to run this type of offense like we've ran the past two games, which is run-heavy, why put SW in there in the first place?

No one here is arguing with you on this. This is Gus being Gus. I have no idea WTF he's trying to do or accomplish. I literally stated before this move was even made that if what you are seeing now was their intention, they should have just bitten the bullet and thrown Jason Smith in at QB.

[Auburnguy101 325]

Can I ask a legitimate question, and I am really trying to be civil. What is it in SW that you guys see that makes you believe he is our future QB for the rest of the season and next year? I'm asking honestly. I know my posts have been about us needing a DT QB to be prolific, but I am wondering what you guys see in him honestly? I feel like SW to most of you is like some savior of the team, a guy that is of no flaws. I understand he has confidence and heart, but physically, I see nothing that is special about him and nothing that screams that he can carry a team. I see a guy that is a good fit in a game-manager type of offense, not this kind of offense. I am just confused on why so many believe he is amazing. And before you ask, I wasn't buying into the JJ hype all season. However, I believe he got a raw deal. The offense we are running with SW is completely different than what JJ was running. I believe JJ might have succeeded more in the offense we are running now, but alas. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to point out that the long pass to Jason Smith was not on him, but SW. If you rewatch the play, Jason Smith is expecting the ball to be on the inside, however, SW threw it on the outside of his shoulder, making JS adjust at full speed. I'm not saying he couldn't have caught that still, but that wasn't the best throw in the first place as some are saying on here. I point that out because if JJ made that throw, I believe most of you guys would be saying it was JJ's fault...

If the game isn't called to suit his skills better we will never know how good he may or may not be. The jury is still out on how good he will be. If we are going to run a read option offense and throw 10 times a game I don't understand why we would have ever recruited two pocket passing qb's. That is baffling logic right there.

There isn't alot of difference in the O between JJ and SW other than the passing calls. SW threw 3 deep balls today. All three could have been caught. The smith ball was a little off but should have been caught, most agree on that. Duke barely fought at all to catch his even though he had size advantage on the db. Louis caught his even though it wasn't that deep. SW has played well. No td's yet, but could have easily had some. At least he's not throwing every third or 4th pass to the d.

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

As stated he could have easily hit three deep balls out of 10 passes if the receivers had excelled. JJ is FAR from a running threat. His only really good run of the season was because it came as a shock to LSU.

More time is needed to evaluate SW. If our playcalling doesn't improve I don't think it will matter who the qb is.

You donxt like SW. Thatxs fine. Most do and the board is full of reasons why. Feel free to read away.

See, I have no qualms about SW as a person, I bet he is a good kid, and from what I heard, he is. I feel that people believe when a person criticizes a player's ability, they think it's a personal attack on the player. I am obviously in the minority in this forum, but I am just unimpressed with SW, and I'll happily say I'm wrong if he takes us to a winning record this year. I just feel like he's a QB that is a better fit in UAT's or LSU's offense...

[Barnacle 9,064]

Can I ask a legitimate question, and I am really trying to be civil. What is it in SW that you guys see that makes you believe he is our future QB for the rest of the season and next year? I'm asking honestly. I know my posts have been about us needing a DT QB to be prolific, but I am wondering what you guys see in him honestly? I feel like SW to most of you is like some savior of the team, a guy that is of no flaws. I understand he has confidence and heart, but physically, I see nothing that is special about him and nothing that screams that he can carry a team. I see a guy that is a good fit in a game-manager type of offense, not this kind of offense. I am just confused on why so many believe he is amazing. And before you ask, I wasn't buying into the JJ hype all season. However, I believe he got a raw deal. The offense we are running with SW is completely different than what JJ was running. I believe JJ might have succeeded more in the offense we are running now, but alas. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to point out that the long pass to Jason Smith was not on him, but SW. If you rewatch the play, Jason Smith is expecting the ball to be on the inside, however, SW threw it on the outside of his shoulder, making JS adjust at full speed. I'm not saying he couldn't have caught that still, but that wasn't the best throw in the first place as some are saying on here. I point that out because if JJ made that throw, I believe most of you guys would be saying it was JJ's fault...

If the game isn't called to suit his skills better we will never know how good he may or may not be. The jury is still out on how good he will be. If we are going to run a read option offense and throw 10 times a game I don't understand why we would have ever recruited two pocket passing qb's. That is baffling logic right there.

There isn't alot of difference in the O between JJ and SW other than the passing calls. SW threw 3 deep balls today. All three could have been caught. The smith ball was a little off but should have been caught, most agree on that. Duke barely fought at all to catch his even though he had size advantage on the db. Louis caught his even though it wasn't that deep. SW has played well. No td's yet, but could have easily had some. At least he's not throwing every third or 4th pass to the d.

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

As stated he could have easily hit three deep balls out of 10 passes if the receivers had excelled. JJ is FAR from a running threat. His only really good run of the season was because it came as a shock to LSU.

More time is needed to evaluate SW. If our playcalling doesn't improve I don't think it will matter who the qb is.

You donxt like SW. Thatxs fine. Most do and the board is full of reasons why. Feel free to read away.

See, I have no qualms about SW as a person, I bet he is a good kid, and from what I heard, he is. I feel that people believe when a person criticizes a player's ability, they think it's a personal attack on the player. I am obviously in the minority in this forum, but I am just unimpressed with SW, and I'll happily say I'm wrong if he takes us to a winning record this year. I just feel like he's a QB that is a better fit in UAT's or LSU's offense...

If Sean White hasn't shown flashes of greatness, its because our coaches haven't given him the chance. I'm not saying he is great, but with what they are giving him, he's doing a fine job.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

Today was not the time to "work on things".

Right, the time to "work on things" is against our upcoming SEC opponents who will throttle us. We will be glad we spent this entire game running up the middle repeatedly when we're all of a sudden asking Sean White to complete 3rd and longs against SEC defenses blitzing his ass.

This...ALL of this! Today was the perfect time to work on things.

[tiger88 934]

Can I ask a legitimate question, and I am really trying to be civil. What is it in SW that you guys see that makes you believe he is our future QB for the rest of the season and next year? I'm asking honestly. I know my posts have been about us needing a DT QB to be prolific, but I am wondering what you guys see in him honestly? I feel like SW to most of you is like some savior of the team, a guy that is of no flaws. I understand he has confidence and heart, but physically, I see nothing that is special about him and nothing that screams that he can carry a team. I see a guy that is a good fit in a game-manager type of offense, not this kind of offense. I am just confused on why so many believe he is amazing. And before you ask, I wasn't buying into the JJ hype all season. However, I believe he got a raw deal. The offense we are running with SW is completely different than what JJ was running. I believe JJ might have succeeded more in the offense we are running now, but alas. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to point out that the long pass to Jason Smith was not on him, but SW. If you rewatch the play, Jason Smith is expecting the ball to be on the inside, however, SW threw it on the outside of his shoulder, making JS adjust at full speed. I'm not saying he couldn't have caught that still, but that wasn't the best throw in the first place as some are saying on here. I point that out because if JJ made that throw, I believe most of you guys would be saying it was JJ's fault...

If the game isn't called to suit his skills better we will never know how good he may or may not be. The jury is still out on how good he will be. If we are going to run a read option offense and throw 10 times a game I don't understand why we would have ever recruited two pocket passing qb's. That is baffling logic right there.

There isn't alot of difference in the O between JJ and SW other than the passing calls. SW threw 3 deep balls today. All three could have been caught. The smith ball was a little off but should have been caught, most agree on that. Duke barely fought at all to catch his even though he had size advantage on the db. Louis caught his even though it wasn't that deep. SW has played well. No td's yet, but could have easily had some. At least he's not throwing every third or 4th pass to the d.

And I agree that he is not turning the ball over, but what else is he doing well? I know he's only played 2 games, but there's nothing that jumps out and says, you know if we got better play from others, we would be unstoppable. I mean, you or I could have played QB today and wouldn't have noticed a difference. And that's my point with SW. He doesn't have game-changing abilities. Usually, even with true freshmen playing in mop-up duty, you see glimpses of an athlete that makes you go wow. If you are a defensive coordinator, are you scared about SW beating you? If we're just going to do zone-read, why not just put Jason Smith or another QB to run it, because SW clearly is clearly the least threatening QB on the roster to run....

As stated he could have easily hit three deep balls out of 10 passes if the receivers had excelled. JJ is FAR from a running threat. His only really good run of the season was because it came as a shock to LSU.

More time is needed to evaluate SW. If our playcalling doesn't improve I don't think it will matter who the qb is.

You donxt like SW. Thatxs fine. Most do and the board is full of reasons why. Feel free to read away.

See, I have no qualms about SW as a person, I bet he is a good kid, and from what I heard, he is. I feel that people believe when a person criticizes a player's ability, they think it's a personal attack on the player. I am obviously in the minority in this forum, but I am just unimpressed with SW, and I'll happily say I'm wrong if he takes us to a winning record this year. I just feel like he's a QB that is a better fit in UAT's or LSU's offense...

I said earlier that they aren't calling plays that suit him and it is confusing why they would recruit pocket passers to run the exact same offense Cam and Nick ran. It is idiotic. So much for Gus the genius who adapts his offense to his players strengths.

I'd still rather have him in there than than JJ, just running less, or he will get hurt. If they are going to try try to run him 8-10 times off the zone read as well as scrambles and such against a good sec d they may as well put JJ back in or jason smith, because hexs not built for it.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

Can I ask a legitimate question, and I am really trying to be civil. What is it in SW that you guys see that makes you believe he is our future QB for the rest of the season and next year? I'm asking honestly. I know my posts have been about us needing a DT QB to be prolific, but I am wondering what you guys see in him honestly? I feel like SW to most of you is like some savior of the team, a guy that is of no flaws. I understand he has confidence and heart, but physically, I see nothing that is special about him and nothing that screams that he can carry a team. I see a guy that is a good fit in a game-manager type of offense, not this kind of offense. I am just confused on why so many believe he is amazing. And before you ask, I wasn't buying into the JJ hype all season. However, I believe he got a raw deal. The offense we are running with SW is completely different than what JJ was running. I believe JJ might have succeeded more in the offense we are running now, but alas. Oh, and by the way, I wanted to point out that the long pass to Jason Smith was not on him, but SW. If you rewatch the play, Jason Smith is expecting the ball to be on the inside, however, SW threw it on the outside of his shoulder, making JS adjust at full speed. I'm not saying he couldn't have caught that still, but that wasn't the best throw in the first place as some are saying on here. I point that out because if JJ made that throw, I believe most of you guys would be saying it was JJ's fault...

I don't see how it's fair to say SW is or isn't our future QB if we don't allow him to open up the offense. That's not fair to Sean in my opinion. For what little he has been asked to do he has done a decent job. However, we're going to need a lot more than that and we have no earthly idea if he can deliver that to this point. That's why handcuffing him is not a good idea. He hasn't handled blitzes well and what do you think the entire SEC West is going to do to us? Blitz the h3ll out of us. I don't see anyone in here acting like SW is our savior. I see a lot of people who want to find out just what we have in SW to see if he is or isn't the future.

I like JJ but i grew very tired of seeing 3-4 INTs a game. What are you going to do with a QB who can't read simple defenses? No matter if he's athletic or not. Unless JJ has magically fixed that issue..might as well go with SW but we need to open it up for him.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

but then if you're going to run this type of offense like we've ran the past two games, which is run-heavy, why put SW in there in the first place?

No one here is arguing with you on this. This is Gus being Gus. I have no idea WTF he's trying to do or accomplish. I literally stated before this move was even made that if what you are seeing now was their intention, they should have just bitten the bullet and thrown Jason Smith in at QB.

I'm down with this idea if we're going to keep running an elementary offense with SW. I said if SW didn't work out i hope we went to Jason Smith but it's not the case of SW not playing well.

[tiger88 934]

Really don't think JS would work out or we would be seeing him in the wildcat already. Plus, if he fit Gus' qb mold, surely he would have cracked the qb roatation. I think we would see the return of JJ before JS.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

Wasn't SJSU like the worst rushing defense in their league?

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

Main reason why Jason didn't crack our QB rotation because we felt like we were set with JJ. A lot of faith was put into JJ so why waste Jason at QB when you can have a weapon on the field at WR. No one imagined it would turn out this bad with JJ. Hind sight is certainly 20/20 but if Jason would've gotten a few reps here and there in camp he could be a threat. I think it's the fact he hasn't had any kind of work with WRs as a QB versus him not being able to handle the QB spot. At this point we're pretty much stuck going with JJ or Sean.

[cole256 17,084]

Wait...did I read sw looked good? Wow.

[AUbritt 611]

We only threw 10 passes in a tougher than it should have been game and that is supposedly what our QB's strength is. If anyone sees the logic in that then more power to ya.

And just noting the excuse that we need to let him gain his confidence.....that's hard to buy. Every week we see some freshman come into rescue his team after the starter gets hurt or whatever. The Cincy QB last week, a freshman from the state of Alabama threw for about 500 yards and today the Missouri freshman QB started after the Mizzou QB was suspended and he completed 21 of 28 passes.

Coaches have different theories of course but I have to wonder if allowing SW to toss only 10 passes is doing anything to prepare him for the rest of the season. Just sayin"

I agree, 64. Really an odd choice by Gus/Rhett.

[SIR ISAAC 46]

Lots of focus on the offense here and understandably so. But when struggling to get the defense off the field, the dynamics of a game change and the establishment of a solid run game become more imperative. You handicap your defense even further with a few dropped passes and a 3 and out, so giving your D a breather with some time consuming run plays becomes a necessity.

This team has the opportunity to take a step forward offensively s soon as we deliver some consecutive 3 and outs of our own on defense.

[cole256 17,084]

Well the run game hasn't been good either. If I had to pick which one to work on and get in sync, I'd pick the run game as well.

[AUbritt 611]

Why on earth would we have to pick just one thing to work on? We need to work on the offense. Just working on the run game (or just the pass game) won't help us too much in games.

I can understand working on just one at a time in practice. But in a game it makes no sense to me.

[cole256 17,084]

Yeah, you're right there. We had some good first down runs....seems like a perfect time to work on some passes

[tombigbeetiger 223]

Clayton normally I would be right there with you but something is going on with the way the team is playing. When I see a pass play called and 2 of the 3 receivers run no true route just kind of walk thru there so called patterns. I mean we needed a first down and it looked like we had one receiver running a route with 2 guys covering him. I have never seen a play set up like that.

yep.....something is not right, and why it has not been handled is a sign of what type leadership we have....I wonder if lashley is the problem or is malzahn just weak in his approach to discipline?...also,I am really sick of watching some of these seniors play for 4 years and are no better than they were as freshmen

[AUbritt 611]

Clayton normally I would be right there with you but something is going on with the way the team is playing. When I see a pass play called and 2 of the 3 receivers run no true route just kind of walk thru there so called patterns. I mean we needed a first down and it looked like we had one receiver running a route with 2 guys covering him. I have never seen a play set up like that.

yep.....something is not right, and why it has not been handled is a sign of what type leadership we have....I wonder if lashley is the problem or is malzahn just weak in his approach to discipline?...also,I am really sick of watching some of these seniors play for 4 years and are no better than they were as freshmen

Players shouldn't be rewarded for lack of effort. Muschamp is handling this the right way on D. Any players that loaf should be benched immediately. Only players giving full effort should be rewarded with playing time. If we continue to allow players showing no effort to play, then it will undermine the motivation of the players who are giving full effort and not seeing the field enough. This isn't rocket science.

[FoundationEagle 637]

Today was not the time to "work on things".

Right, the time to "work on things" is against our upcoming SEC opponents who will throttle us. We will be glad we spent this entire game running up the middle repeatedly when we're all of a sudden asking Sean White to complete 3rd and longs against SEC defenses blitzing his ass.

This...ALL of this! Today was the perfect time to work on things.

What you guys fail to realize is that we WERE working on things. The way Gus builds his O, the run needs to be dominant. Until today it has not been. We had a whopping 165 yards rushing against JACK ST!!! 165!!!! Yesterday we had 240 against a better team. For us to survive the SEC at all, our Oline needed big improvements. Unfortunately for those who are dying for a 300 yard passing game, passing AND running were broken and we chose to fix running this week..and did. Now we have KY about to load up the box and hopefully we can work on passing. Before today, teams could cover the run and the pass at the same time. Now they have to focus on the run. I'm not saying we are a great team, but this is what has to be done to get this team better. Now we feel better about the rushing attack and we can work more on passing.

And an fyi for those dying to fire Rhett and move DC to OC....have you seen our receiver play the last 3 years????? Why does anyone think he should be moved up????? He is failing terribly at coaching just 1 position. I respect him and all he's done for AU, but if Rhett goes, DC should be moved to QB coach and hire an OC that can coach WRS. JMO

[TitanTiger 20,499]

I felt like this was Gus wanting to force the O-line to run block better. He knows that with a young QB we are going to need a running game that can start being rock solid again and that doesn't require a super-human effort from Barber every week to make something happen. We're still a run-first, play action type of offense. If the running game isn't consistently effective, the play action won't do anything to the defense. They won't fear it enough to react to the fake.

[lbutler127 1]

The thing that scares me is the offense is so vanilla and predictable. Everybody and their grandmother knows we are going to run it on first down and 80% of the time on second down. It doesn't help that we have been through two quarterbacks now and still don't have one that can look past his primary receiver. That is why the wide outs have quit. They know if the play isn't called for them, there is no way they will ever see the ball because we don't have a quarterback who can read defenses and follow his progressions.

I keep hoping that the coaches have been holding something back, but the more I watch, the more I realize that history and 2012 are about to repeat themselves.