Beaker 2,457 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 full disclosure: I am an Auburn fan and I am a homer. Now that I have made that clear.... Looking at this season and the depth at QB, the receiving corps, our two RBs and experienced line, when was the last time we had such potential on Offense? I know the D has some pretty good looking upside as well. Yes we have some depth issues, but the starters look strong. When was the last time Auburn started a season with this much promise? Some will quickly go to 2010, but I am not so sure. Was it 2004? Maybe one of those staunchly SEC champions in the mid 80's? I know in 84 there was a ton of buzz and I think we opened top 3 before falling 20-18 to Miami up in Jersey (fact check me if you want, I am working from memory). 1984, 2010, 1993, 2013, 1988, 2004, ????, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU Is Gold 410 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I honestly thought 2015 was going to be a big year. It looked very promising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,804 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Just now, AU Is Gold said: I honestly thought 2015 was going to be a big year. It looked very promising. And the last two great seasons came out of nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU Is Gold 410 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 1 minute ago, Strychnine said: And the last two great seasons came out of nowhere. The more hype we get, the worse we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,804 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 6 minutes ago, AU Is Gold said: The more hype we get, the worse we do. That is a stigma that will have to be eliminated if Auburn is ever to be consistently good/great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU Is Gold 410 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 The last time we lived up to hype was 2006. We had two bad losses against Arkansas and Georgia though. Edit: We went 11-2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheartkc 6,150 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 39 minutes ago, Beaker said: When was the last time Auburn started a season with this much promise? The key is the O-Line. Look back at all of our best seasons. Sure we had some great skill players, but the O-Line was top notch every time. If we have a great O-Line this year, we could have another magical season. If they struggle, there will be LOTS of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKEEL75 2,566 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I honestly can't remember the last time that we had this much depth at QB. When was the last time we had someone who had started more than 3 games as a backup? No matter who the starter is (SW or JS), we will have a quality backup with experience. That is something that has been VERY rare at AU. In fact it is probably pretty rare at most schools. With that said, I completely agree with @lionheartkc. All great season from any team hinge on line play on both sides of the ball. If we can find the right combination of OL talent and our DL can maintain from last year, then we will have a very promising season. If the OL can't gel together and can't pass protect good enough to give any QB time, then we could be in for another disappointing season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUwent 3,778 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I think Gus and Hand do some idiotic line shuffling again this season, and again it hurts us early, and again they move everyone back to their place and again the line starts to click. Sorry to keep trumpeting this, but I feel it is very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kd4au 1,145 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 4 minutes ago, AUwent said: I think Gus and Hand do some idiotic line shuffling again this season, and again it hurts us early, and again they move everyone back to their place and again the line starts to click. Sorry to keep trumpeting this, but I feel it is very important. I don't know how much I would blame Gus for line shuffling,but he did hire Hand soooo.As I've said before I'm not sold on Hand,he needs to start strong this year and keep it going all year for me to gain some trust in him.I guess, if he and Gus don't we will be talking about who our next coach will be in a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUwent 3,778 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On the other hand (no pun intended), the fact that we returned <15 percent of our rushing yards in 2015 should have been a hint. This year that figure is >90 percent from the SEC's best PG rushing offense. So the comparisons with two years ago aren't as strong as one might think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU Is Gold 410 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 3 hours ago, AUwent said: On the other hand (no pun intended), the fact that we returned <15 percent of our rushing yards in 2015 should have been a hint. This year that figure is >90 percent from the SEC's best PG rushing offense. So the comparisons with two years ago aren't as strong as one might think. I would say the expectations were exceedingly as high though. At running back we had Barber, Robinson, Thomas, and Johnson. I think every fan had their favorite and it seemed like at least one of them would have a big year. Do I need to bring up Jeremy Johnson? I could see Auburn going 10-2 in the regular season this year, but I could also see them going 7-5. 6-6 and 11-1 would be surprising. 5-7 and 12-0 would be very surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUwent 3,778 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 ^True. It's infuriating that we were able to waste two five star RBs. But at least our RBs are experienced this time. Stidham was also much higher ranked in his graduating class than Jeremy was. TIFWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgufcm 4,107 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 We didn't waste Roc Thomas. He just wasn't willing to do things he could do well. That's on him. Not us. Jovon Robinson wasted his own career as well. That's not anything we did. LSU wasted Malachi Dupre. Auburn didn't waste Robinson or Thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,240 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Unfortunately, there have been several seasons Auburn did not live up to the hype. These are a few I can remember: 1. 1984 2. 2003 3. 2014 4. 2015 It always seems when Auburn receives a lot of hype, the team believes everything written about them. Hopefully, this time coaches as well as players will realize talk is cheap. Go out and prove it on the field. As the saying goes, "It ain't braggin if you can back it up." 0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubaseball 2,673 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 1984 AU started the season in some polls #1. Lost 2 of the first 3 games. 2014 was another year ranked very high in the pre-season. One of the most disappointing seasons for me. Wasted a very good offensive team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUpreacherman22 3,892 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Yes. My expectations going into 2014 were higher than they are right now going into this season. 2003 I was convinced we were winning the BCSNC. Never been more disappointed!!!! My hesitation to be giddy about this year is probably because of previous disappointments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,033 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Auburn entered the '84 season ranked #1. Played Miami in the Kick Off Classic.Played poorly. Lost 20 to 18. Auburn and Pat Dye could not handle the #1 ranking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,240 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 6 hours ago, SumterAubie said: Auburn entered the '84 season ranked #1. Played Miami in the Kick Off Classic.Played poorly. Lost 20 to 18. Auburn and Pat Dye could not handle the #1 ranking. They also lost to Texas and not only did they lose the game they also lost Bo for four or five games with a dislocated shoulder. And then to , pardon the pun, add insult to injury, they lost to.a vastly inferior bama team when Bo went the wrong way They did manage to end up on a winning note by besting Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl 20-15. That loss to bama still ticks me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUwent 3,778 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Funny enough, I would put 2008 right up there. I honestly thought we would at least win the SEC west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerWar 82 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 On 7/7/2017 at 3:20 PM, lionheartkc said: The key is the O-Line. Look back at all of our best seasons. Sure we had some great skill players, but the O-Line was top notch every time. If we have a great O-Line this year, we could have another magical season. If they struggle, there will be LOTS of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Good thing offensive line is a team strength and could possibly have a senior starter at every position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Luckily most of the players weren't born during the years we didn't live up to the hype....it's a non issue to these players. Typically most teams don't live up to the hype. I am extremely disappointed in several years that we spit the bit, don't misread my tone. I just don't think the distant past matters - different type of players and they don't really know the history like we do. 11-1 this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwillMac6 20,791 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 2014. I absolutely thought we were going to avenge the natty game and win it all in 2014. Then I quickly realized this is Auburn and it is just not that easy for us like it would be for other schools with the amount of talent we returned that year. Something ALWAYS has to go wrong........ That TAMU game was so Auburn it hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AubTigers 25 Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 You can add 1985 to the list. Auburn started #2 and lost to unranked Tennessee in week 3. They got back up to #6, but would lose 3 out of there last 5 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker 2,457 Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 1 hour ago, AubTigers said: You can add 1985 to the list. Auburn started #2 and lost to unranked Tennessee in week 3. They got back up to #6, but would lose 3 out of there last 5 games. Geez. I had forgotten about that season. Maybe that was the game the ref was holding the ball inexplicably while both teams were ready as time expired? we easily could have had another snap. Bad memories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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