Time to fire Gus.

[milehighfan 1,240]

I know this won't sit well with most AU fans. But due to Jacobs bungling of this situation by adding another year to Gus' contact, just wait for Gogue's replacement to be named and let him come in, clean house and bring in a head coach who knows exactly how to run a power 5 program.

[GwillMac6 20,746]

If we do not fire Gus after we go 6-6 or 5-7 we most likely will A. Lose all our Blue Chip Recruits that we have or B. If we by some miracle keep the blue chip recruits we have we will no doubt not add to many or any more to the class and be forced to go the Tubs route of hoping we get some Diamond in the roughs. It could set back recruiting for at least 2 years. Do y'all all remember how firing Chizik gave life to the program? It injects the fanbase (usually) it gives everyone hope and most importantly it gives recruiting a shot in the arm. Remember how we closed with a bang just 2 months after Gus took the job? We racked up on signing day and leading up to NSD. Off the top of my head we held on to Lawson which was a fight in itself to keep him committed plus we added 5 star Monty Adams and composite 5 star Elijah Daniel. Future was bright.

[ellitor 33,114]

7 hours ago, keesler said:

BINGO - You can't line up and beat any team when your oline gets blown up and the QB has to make a play in a split second or end up on his back.

The OTs actually did a deceint job in pass pro as Coach Ray pointed out in his Things I Thought I Saw thread. People just assumed they would be awful in that area so they have taken it to be true without paying close attention how much real time Sean actually had to throw.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

20 hours ago, ellitor said:

However the only ones that truly look like they are actively being developed is T-Will's LBs. Garner is a great recruiter but as @AUIH1  has said many times & I'm finally getting it, a developer he is not.

I see huge improvement in all areas. We suddenly have corners who cover, for example. And nobody's really blocked the DL: they get off blocks now.

 

[ellitor 33,114]

1 hour ago, DyeCampAlum said:

I see huge improvement in all areas. We suddenly have corners who cover, for example. And nobody's really blocked the DL: they get off blocks now.

 

The DL is still not playing up to their 5* potential as a whole. At CB Carlton has always been good & Holsey is finally healthy. Hard to tell how much coaching is going in that. Honestly though I'd be ok w/ keeping Steele, T-Will, & Crime Dog & swap Garner for a DL developer. T-Will & Crime Dog are big time recruiters & can recruit the position.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

3 minutes ago, ellitor said:

The DL is still not playing up to their 5* potential as a whole. At CB Carlton has always been good & Holsey is finally healthy. Hard to tell how much coaching is going in that. Honestly though I'd be ok w/ keeping Steele, T-Will, & Crime Dog & swap Garner for a DL developer. T-Will & Crime Dog are big time recruiters & can recruit the position.

Disagree E.  From everything I've been reading, the D-Line is grading out as one of the best in the country by NFL analysts. 

[ellitor 33,114]

2 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Disagree E.  From everything I've been reading, the D-Line is grading out as one of the best in the country by NFL analysts. 

Stat sheets disagree & I put more stock in that.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

Just now, ellitor said:

Stat sheets disagree & I put more stock in that.

What stats are you talking about? Sacks?  We've had A LOT of QB hurries.  We held Watson in check which is a trick all by itself. Watching the games, I have to agree with the analysts. The line is making a positive difference more often than not.  They just need to get better at finishing when they break up a play.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Personally, I don't put a lot of stock in stat sheets for defensive linemen, especially interior linemen. One stat I do track to grade the defensive line is LB tackles. The LBs are playing clean this year and making more tackles than they used to. That's because the DL is doing it's job.

Unlike in seasons past, three of our top six tacklers are LBs, and another one (Ford) has been playing some hybrid S/LB out of the Nickel position.

I'll agree that the DEs aren't finishing plays often enough for my taste, but outside of that one area, the DL has been pretty lights out.

[auburnphan 6,050]

i agree with you two, the DL has been solid disrupting and creating.

[oracle79 3,569]

2 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

Disagree E.  From everything I've been reading, the D-Line is grading out as one of the best in the country by NFL analysts. 

You got a link to what you been reading?  I've seen D-line breakthrough several times and miss tackles for loss and sacks consistently.  Guys not keeping lane containment and allowing QB's to make plays when they should have been contained.  I'll agree they did a heck of a job containing Watson and i can understand that game plan, but no reason to try the same thing against Trevor Knight.  They should have made him Brody Croyle 2.0 if they are as good as advertised.  Or maybe they're just solid and we don't have a Stanley McGlover or Quentin Groves or Dee Ford that can blow by OT's and get sacks in obvious passing situations.  One thing for sure, Carl Lawson ain't smoke.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

Clemson averaged 3.4 YPC against us. Clemson!

And yes, A&M got 6.2, but we watched the game. Apart from an 89 yard run after the tank was empty -- and that's on the back 7 anyway -- A&M's leading running back got 38 yards. Knight would've been their leading rusher.

I don't know how that's not improvement.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

27 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

You got a link to what you been reading?  I've seen D-line breakthrough several times and miss tackles for loss and sacks consistently.  Guys not keeping lane containment and allowing QB's to make plays when they should have been contained.  I'll agree they did a heck of a job containing Watson and i can understand that game plan, but no reason to try the same thing against Trevor Knight.  They should have made him Brody Croyle 2.0 if they are as good as advertised.  Or maybe they're just solid and we don't have a Stanley McGlover or Quentin Groves or Dee Ford that can blow by OT's and get sacks in obvious passing situations.  One thing for sure, Carl Lawson ain't smoke.

Not a specific link.  I actually keep trying to find someplace that lists the actual grades.  I just keep finding articles that mention Carl specifically, and also the defense grading out very well as part of another story about them or college defense in general.  The last one I read was about Carl and Garrett, pre-Saturday's game and it said that they currently graded 1 & 2 for pass rushers currently in the season (it didn't say who was 1, but I'm guessing it's Garrett).

I'm not sure I agree about Knight.  He likes to use his legs and Sumlin does not hesitate to run his QB.  I think this week is the one where we should see sacks, as Les doesn't run his QB much.  If we can shut down Fournette like some teams did later last season, I would expect to see our sack totals go up, but we do need to work on finishing and not overrunning the play.

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, DyeCampAlum said:

Clemson averaged 3.4 YPC against us. Clemson!

Clemson vs Auburn 44 rush for 151 yards

Clemson vs Troy 32 rush for 122 yards

We'll see.

[keesler 5,928]

21 hours ago, ellitor said:

If he stayed he was going to be asked to take an off field position. Gus was not happy Grimes did not make a harder run at 2016 5* legacy OT Jonah Williams and generally felt Grimes could  not put the hours needed to recruit given the health issues he was dealing with at the time.

Damn that kid looks good so far, he has out played Cam Robinson as far as I've seen.  He had some damn good high school coaching to come in as a true-frosh and perform like he has.

[WinningTradition 95]

I say fire Lashlee and get Art Briles in there as the OC. If that doesnt work just fire Gus ang get Briles as the HC. Hell I want a winner and Briles has proven that. Sure he left Baylor in a heap of s*** but Im tired of settling.Go out and make a splash hire no matter what. If you want to win this is how you do it and anyone who thinks overwise is living in LALA land. 

[WeagleAU 594]

I'm not on the fire Gus bus yet.  However, I do believe Lashlee needs to go.  Nice guy, but he's not cutting it as an offensive coordinator.  Imo if Gus wants to be around a little longer, he needs to get rid of his protégé.

[leglessdan 1,934]

10 hours ago, WeagleAU said:

I'm not on the fire Gus bus yet.  However, I do believe Lashlee needs to go.  Nice guy, but he's not cutting it as an offensive coordinator.  Imo if Gus wants to be around a little longer, he needs to get rid of his protégé.

The only way that works is if Gus hires a competent OC and gets the hell out of his way. I don't see that happening unless it's someone of Art Briles caliber. Kendall may even be a good choice with his pedigree, but I think that's Gus's #1 problem at this point. He's hardheaded with no one to call him out on it. 

I'll add...I think Gus is a good guy and could be a good HC, but he's got to open it up. He's got to let someone fresh come in and run his own offense. Gus is in a play calling rut right now.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

When we beat LSU, La-Monroe, and MS we will be sitting at 5-2 ranked around 20 and in the heat of the SEC West race. 

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Gus isn't the only one who needs to be fired. Jacobs keeps giving out extensions to head coaches who can't coach. First there Chizik who got like a 3 or 4 year extension after 2010. But what does Gene do after 2010? 8-5 then 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC. Now we have Malzahn. He gets an extension after going 7-6 and 2-6 in the SEC. Other than Jay Jacobs, what AD would give their head coach another year plus  more money after going 7-6, 2-6? Oh yeah, Gus 2-10 in the SEC and we haven't won an SEC home game since 2014.

[Cooper 10]

Honestly TAMU players were just in better physical and mental condition period.  The O line couldnt  block em.  Best case senario today is hire a couple of consultants like Briles to help out with the offense to get through the season.  Right now 5 wins tops with no change.

 

[Browning4AU 405]

4 hours ago, JwgreDeux said:

When we beat LSU, La-Monroe, and MS we will be sitting at 5-2 ranked around 20 and in the heat of the SEC West race. 

3-3 best case scenario after those games. 

[lutzcammed 469]

On Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 0:32 PM, lionheartkc said:

Not a specific link.  I actually keep trying to find someplace that lists the actual grades.  I just keep finding articles that mention Carl specifically, and also the defense grading out very well as part of another story about them or college defense in general.  The last one I read was about Carl and Garrett, pre-Saturday's game and it said that they currently graded 1 & 2 for pass rushers currently in the season (it didn't say who was 1, but I'm guessing it's Garrett).

I'm not sure I agree about Knight.  He likes to use his legs and Sumlin does not hesitate to run his QB.  I think this week is the one where we should see sacks, as Les doesn't run his QB much.  If we can shut down Fournette like some teams did later last season, I would expect to see our sack totals go up, but we do need to work on finishing and not overrunning the play.

If Garrett and Lawson are grading one and two, I kinda feel sorry for ever drafts the second defensive end next year.

While I'm glad to have Carl, there is no comparison. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

On 9/22/2016 at 6:43 PM, Browning4AU said:

3-3 best case scenario after those games. 

Still feel the same this morning? We got by LSU and now have a week to improve against LaMo and then a very winnable game at State. 

[Tiger 8,830]

2 hours ago, JwgreDeux said:

Still feel the same this morning? We got by LSU and now have a week to improve against LaMo and then a very winnable game at State. 

If we can hit 4-2 at the halfway mark I will be ecstatic. It's very do-able too.