Opining all things Gus (Merged)

[AUcivE09 582]

Just now, AUsince72 said:

This is something I've felt (and stated) for the last couple seasons.

Not starting a DT vs Drop Back debate, but with the obvious limitations to the Gus Malzahn offensive system, his offense MUST have a Cam of Nick.

Cam's are not realistic year in and year out but if you look at current QB's playing college football it's not unreasonable to find Nick type talent most years (recruiting).

Sorry, but (IMHO) Gus Malzahn QB's need to be running backs who can throw enough to keep a D honest.

I'm not saying this is for ALL offensive systems... Just for GUS's offensive system.  I just don't see Stidham having any more success than SW without a truly D1 level passing system.

He would be fine with a guy that could run around like Mayfield did last night. Or even SW if he could stay healthy. He has to be able to freeze the LBs for many of our plays to work.

[aujeff11 6,243]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

Jeff, I defend you most of the time behind the scenes because the people you're generally bickering with have their own issues.  But I'm not getting sucked into one of your vortexes today.  I've wasted enough time with you already.

And I defend you as being reasonable as well. There are times though when you have to have people see things your way and you force it on others. Like when we just had to call ISIS Daesh. Just because you think SW was effective doesn't mean it is true. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

1-3 against uga, uat, and in bowls has made his seat ultra hot. The only thing keeping fans from rioting at this point is Stidham and hope for 2017.  

[steeleagle 2,945]

Sorry, when there is nothing on the line, but winning a game..then with a healthy Petway or KJ running wildcat, then with less than a yard, it tells the players we are going to show confidence. Everyone knew OK was going to get their offense going...so keeping teh ball was critical. And if you are going to waste a timeout, then why not take the time to plan your best play...and go for it. I can understand not going for it if it was over 3 yards to go with our QB issues,but less than one with the line in tact and a bull of a runner....

[TitanTiger 20,510]

Just now, aujeff11 said:

And I defend you as being reasonable as well. There are times though when you have to have people see things your way and you force it on others. Like when we just had to call ISIS Daesh. Just because you think SW was effective doesn't mean it is true. 

It isn't about what I think.  It's about the facts.  And you're still welcome to disagree just as I'm welcome to continue to say you're full of crap.  So drop the persecution complex where you imply that I crush disagreement with my threatening admin power.  

[AUcivE09 582]

Did you know Buffalo Wild Wings use to be called Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck? This is how the BW3 shorthand came about and exist even today. The name was officially changed in 1998.

 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

I think the frustration is that with 5 QBs on the roster, our coaches could develop at least one of them to be a competent option. 

They did... and he broke his arm getting us a first down to put us in scoring position.

Unfortunately, once a guy gets to college level, he either has it or he doesn't. You can refine mechanics and make a decent passer better, but it's pretty rare that, that far into a players career, you're going to be able to take someone who doesn't have it and convert them into a quality passer.

Jeremy is a great example.  This game was a microcosm of his career.  He has a stellar 59 yard pass, but also an INT in the end zone and another near INT, both of which the D read his eyes the whole time. As a coach, you can do everything to hammer it into a player that they need to look off the pass, but that doesn't mean they are going to actually be able to do it, or will do it come game time.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, Sani-Freeze said:

The AU front seven's inability to get Mayfield on the ground was the most maddening thing for me. I lost count of the whiffs. If you get that safety and a couple of sacks in the first half, maybe the game stays within reach. 

Now we know how teams felt when they had to play Cam. There's a reason that Mayfield was the highest rated passer under pressure this year. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

It's about the facts.

What facts? That's what I've been looking for. There are zero facts to support your claim. 

I don't have a persecution complex. You seems to have the wrong impression of me.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

I think the frustration is that with 5 QBs on the roster, our coaches could develop at least one of them to be a competent option. 

Like a damn' sliver of glass in my sock!

I know it's there, 

Shoot! Can't walk without a limp for over a year now.

Just can't seem to find it and pull it out.

[afblue 128]

I wanted AU to go for it on 4th down, but understand the potential to give OU a short field if it doesn't work.  We still had a one score game and over a quarter remaining.  

It really doesn't matter which choice Gus made.  If he went for it and failed, there'd be plenty of posters raking him over the coals for that choice...a no win situation.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

9 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Jeff is correct.  He had two.

2013 - 339 yds vs Miss State

2014 - 456 yds vs Bama

My mistake. I read the wrong column for 2013.  Point still stands.  The two best QBs that we've had in the last decade had a total of 4 300 yard games.

[keesler 5,928]

1 hour ago, Sani-Freeze said:

The AU front seven's inability to get Mayfield on the ground was the most maddening thing for me. I lost count of the whiffs. If you get that safety and a couple of sacks in the first half, maybe the game stays within reach. 

Yep - The defense folding like they did is what had/has me so irritated.  I give the offense somewhat of a pass - we have one QB with a broken arm and one with cramps, that leaves JJ and a running game only left.  But did the defense give up?  Steele made no adjustments when his secondary was getting torched and his players were out of position and whiffing on tackles.

[AUsince72 11,084]

6 minutes ago, AUcivE09 said:

He would be fine with a guy that could run around like Mayfield did last night. Or even SW if he could stay healthy. He has to be able to freeze the LBs for many of our plays to work.

That could be right, I suppose we'll find out.....sigh....next year.

But it seems if the running game ain't popping in all cylinders Gus never has a "plan B". The running game ALWAYS has to open up the Gus passing game and it never seems to be the other way around.

If AU can't run it down your throat, then you've got them where you want them.

Again, hey...I could be wrong (usually am) but this is my perception anyway.

[Eagle-1 3,821]

The entire series was indicative of what we have become under Gus. We had just held OK to a missed field goal. We take over on offense, and run the SAME DADGUM PLAY 3 times in a row. We wind up with 4th and 5 inches, and punt the ball. OK gets the ball back. Carl Lawson runs himself out of the play, and while the rest of the defensive line plays pat-a cake with the OK offensive line, Mixon breaks off for 35 yards, and we were basically done after that.

[aujeff11 6,243]

Just now, lionheartkc said:

My mistake. I read the wrong column for 2013.  Point still stands.  The two best QBs that we've had in the last decade had a total of 4 300 yard games.

Those two QBs had more than a fair share of rushing yards per game which SW doesn't offer on top of their passing yards. Again, apples to oranges. Having to repeat this runs the risk of being called a jerk by the board sheriff.

[TitanTiger 20,510]

Just now, aujeff11 said:

What facts? That's what I've been looking for. There are zero facts to support your claim. 

I don't have a persecution complex. You seems to have the wrong impression of me.

I've pointed them out already.  The second we stopped the QB carousel and gave Sean the job for real, this offense improved.  It started with LSU, even though we couldn't punch it in in the red zone.  We gained 125% of the yardage LSU's excellent defense gave up per game, 130% of the yards per attempt passing and 114% of the point totals.  Regardless of their offensive woes, that defense has been great all season long.  

It continued over the next five games where we consistently put up numbers is excess of what those teams were typically giving up.  As I pointed out, if you put 400 yds on a team that gives up about 400 per game anyway, big whoop.  If you put 400 up on a team giving up 315, that's a fairly big deal.  If you score 28 points vs a team giving up 27.5, who cares?  If you hang 50 on them, that matters.  That's why the better statisticians don't just look at yardage and point totals, they compare them to opponent's averages to see how your offense is doing.

The plain fact of the matter is, we were clicking quite well - in excess of what one should have expected against the teams we were playing.  The effect was immediate when Sean couldn't play.  We still had a healthy Pettway the first half vs Vanderbilt and the offense was struggling the second it became the JF3 show.  The offense did better when Sean came in but then suffered another setback when Pettway pulled a quad.  It was never the same after that.  The offense was quite effective with Sean healthy and running the show and was a convoluted, one-dimensional mess without him.  That doesn't mean he was in the same league as Nick or Cam.  Far from it.  It just means what I said.

[TitanTiger 20,510]

2 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

Having to repeat this runs the risk of being called a jerk by the board sheriff.

Stop whining.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, AUDevil said:

The turning point was the 2nd possession of the game.  Gus' scripted plays gets us that first TD, after that we look clueless.

The turning point was the big hit on Sean on that 3 yard run.  He started 4/5, with the only incompletion being batted down. Once the pain set in and he was rendered ineffective as a passer, we were done, because you aren't going to score running on every down and Jeremy and John proved that neither one is reliable with their arm.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

6 minutes ago, afblue said:

I wanted AU to go for it on 4th down, but understand the potential to give OU a short field if it doesn't work.  We still had a one score game and over a quarter remaining.  

It really doesn't matter which choice Gus made.  If he went for it and failed, there'd be plenty of posters raking him over the coals for that choice...a no win situation.

Completely disagree. He should have gone for it. OK was going to score anyway at that point. We could not stop them. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

35 minutes ago, autigersj said:

The other stat I found was Auburn only even had one 250 yard passing game, ULM. I think it does matter...

We didn't have any 250 yard games, but we did have a 244, 234, 239, and 247 yard game. People are just looking for things to bitch about, now, because they aren't happy with how the season ended up. The one thing I can promise you is that the players and the staff are less happy about it than all of the whiny fans.

[autigersj 122]

1 minute ago, lionheartkc said:

We didn't have any 250 yard games, but we did have a 244, 234, 239, and 247 yard game. People are just looking for things to bitch about, now, because they aren't happy with how the season ended up. The one thing I can promise you is that the players and the staff are less happy about it than all of the whiny fans.

Aww cmon, can't I have a day to vent?? 

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

I've pointed them out already.  The second we stopped the QB carousel and gave Sean the job for real, this offense improved.

Noted. Clint Moseley would've been an improvement over the other two.

 

3 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

It started with LSU, even though we couldn't punch it in in the red zone.

Has been a problem for two years now. A temporary reprieve against garbage defenses only allowed our offense to be effective again.

 

5 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

We still had a healthy Pettway the first half vs Vanderbilt and the offense was struggling the second it became the JF3 show.  

The offense wasn't struggling that bad against Vandy with JF3. PFF even graded JF3 as better than SW that game.

 

7 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

The offense was quite effective with Sean healthy and running the show and was a convoluted, one-dimensional mess without him.  

Why was he benched against TAM? You know, the only good defense that SW played against in which we cannot use injury as excuse. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

Just now, autigersj said:

Aww cmon, can't I have a day to vent?? 

I'm not trying to single you out... hell... you're just quoting sports writers. But there are a lot of people being seriously whiny.

[aujeff11 6,243]

8 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Stop whining.

Yeah, that part was a joke, chief.