Popular Post JMR 2,118 Posted September 24, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted September 24, 2017 I'm well aware that the competition was the struggling Missouri Tigers. But we all realize one of the keys to a successful season is improvement every day and every week. Auburn accomplished that in spades this week, as I'm not sure there was a single phase or even sub-phase of the game that wasn't improved over the three previous games. I always like to remind everyone, I just watch the game, then sit down and list some things I think I saw, whether good or bad, team or individual. I don't sit and study the tape to make sure I saw it accurately, so I'm certainly not always right. With that caveat out of the way, here are some things I think I saw vs Mizzou.... The pre-snap shifting of Auburn's defensive line caused Missouri's offensive line problems. The shifts came very late, which makes it really difficult for an offensive lineman to be confident of his assignment, and virtually rules out communication between offensive linemen. It's unusual when the home team is having problems with false starts, which are usually attributed to crowd noise, but in this case, there was little if any noise. As expected, Mizzou QB Drew Lock was difficult to sack. He's got plenty of experience, and the arm to throw the ball away when necessary, but Auburn, particularly Jeff Holland, was able to put some major pressure on him. Holland is noticeably improved this season, quicker, and a much more "complete" player. Was great to see Tray Matthews playing physical football again. Matthews has fought through a variety of injuries, and he appears to be back healthy again and able to play recklessly again. The same applies to JB. After suffering that horrendous injury in the Texas A&M game two years ago, Dinson is finally back on the field and enjoying every snap he gets to be part of. He got beaten deep once last night (the pass was incomplete), then made a tremendous play on the next snap. As I've said before, I'm no quarterback coach, period. But even I can see the improvement Jarrett Stidham has made from the Georgia Southern game to now. He is much more confident, and obviously has a better understanding of the offense. He also seems to have fine-tuned the clock in his head that says "Time to throw it or take off". Got to give some credit to the AU offensive line for greatly improved pass protection. It wasn't always perfect, but it was usually pretty darn good. Run blocking wasn't "great", but it was better than it's been recently. After watching the game, I have to think the OL combination of Casey Dunn at center and Austin Golson at right tackle is the most productive we've had so far this season. Dunn isn't a "pretty" blocker, but he gets after it and stays there until the whistle. I'll take that anytime. And I believe Golson was more productive at tackle than he's been at center. Will be interesting to see what Herb Hand does once Darius James is fully healthy. Braden Smith had another outstanding game. Mike Horton was lost a couple of times when he pulled. He's got the physical talent, just needs to refine his technique. Noticed that former walk-on Tucker Brown played early and often at tight end. Brown showed some run-blocking ability vs Georgia Southern in Game One, and his role has apparently increased. At 290 pounds, Brown provides some size at the edge of the offensive formation. LB Richard McBryde played more in this game than I've seen before, and stood out a few times. I liked McBryde's high school tape, as he showed good speed, but he was a little undersized. Now up to around 235, he's still got his quickness and hits like a truck. Saw Nick Coe get himself hooked once due to poor technique and give up the edge on a running play. Also saw him correct that problem a few plays later. Coe's emergence at DE has allowed Marlon Davidson to move inside to DT in Auburn's "Rabbit Package" on obvious passing downs, and that has given us a much stronger pass rush. Kerryon Johnson looked to be pretty close to 100% recovered from his hamstring problem. A couple of the Wildcat plays KJ scored on were not really blocked all that well, but as often happens, the better athlete won out anyway. Great to see him back in the game. Going into the game, I wondered whether Auburn would choose to attack the perimeter of the Mizzou defense with the running game. Sure enough they did, and both the perimeter runs and the jet motion on some between-the-tackles made things much tougher on the Zoo defense. I thought I saw more effort from the wide receivers this week than in any game this year or last. Both in the passing game and the running game, our WRs were engaged and giving great effort. That improvement is HUGE going forward. Daniel Carlson appears to be back in the groove, thank goodness. He looked near perfect, and the best he's looked this season. Lots of backups played this week, and not just after AU had a comfortable lead. Defensively, Auburn played quite a few second-teamers and even a couple of third-teamers, even in the first half. That's great news, as a player who expects to get into the game is much more productive at practice than one who knows he won't play. Plus, playing experience is critical to learning. Kudos to Kevin Steele and his staff for getting those guys in the game, and for having them coached up to the point they didn't play poorly. We finally got to see Malik Willis. And not only did he get some playing time, he was actually allowed to do more than just hand the ball off. I'm still plenty excited about the kid's future, but he's obviously not "there" yet. Part of the process of him becoming a quarterback, though, is being in the fire. He appeared to handle it very well, for a freshman QB in his first game. This was a game Auburn very much needed. The offense should have regained some of the confidence they began the season with and the defense got another game's worth of experience, including a lot for some guys who haven't played much. I enjoyed watching Chip Lindsey call the game. I wasn't thrilled with every call (never saw a game where I was, even if I was the one calling it), but I loved the concepts, and the incorporation of things that history said would likely cause Mizzou some defensive problems. Next week will tell us more about our team. State is obviously better than Missouri. But for the first time this season, I feel like we are on the right track, and I'm excited about where more improvement can take us.WAR EAGLE!! 15 12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm well aware that the competition was the struggling Missouri Tigers. But we all realize one of the keys to a successful season is improvement every day and every week. Auburn accomplished that in spades this week, as I'm not sure there was a single phase or even sub-phase of the game that wasn't improved over the three previous games. I always like to remind everyone, I just watch the game, then sit down and list some things I think I saw, whether good or bad, team or individual. I don't sit and study the tape to make sure I saw it accurately, so I'm certainly not always right. With that caveat out of the way, here are some things I think I saw vs Mizzou.... The pre-snap shifting of Auburn's defensive line caused Missouri's offensive line problems. The shifts came very late, which makes it really difficult for an offensive lineman to be confident of his assignment, and virtually rules out communication between offensive linemen. It's unusual when the home team is having problems with false starts, which are usually attributed to crowd noise, but in this case, there was little if any noise. As expected, Mizzou QB Drew Lock was difficult to sack. He's got plenty of experience, and the arm to throw the ball away when necessary, but Auburn, particularly Jeff Holland, was able to put some major pressure on him. Holland is noticeably improved this season, quicker, and a much more "complete" player. Was great to see Tray Matthews playing physical football again. Matthews has fought through a variety of injuries, and he appears to be back healthy again and able to play recklessly again. The same applies to JB. After suffering that horrendous injury in the Texas A&M game two years ago, Dinson is finally back on the field and enjoying every snap he gets to be part of. He got beaten deep once last night (the pass was incomplete), then made a tremendous play on the next snap. As I've said before, I'm no quarterback coach, period. But even I can see the improvement Jarrett Stidham has made from the Georgia Southern game to now. He is much more confident, and obviously has a better understanding of the offense. He also seems to have fine-tuned the clock in his head that says "Time to throw it or take off". Got to give some credit to the AU offensive line for greatly improved pass protection. It wasn't always perfect, but it was usually pretty darn good. Run blocking wasn't "great", but it was better than it's been recently. After watching the game, I have to think the OL combination of Casey Dunn at center and Austin Golson at right tackle is the most productive we've had so far this season. Dunn isn't a "pretty" blocker, but he gets after it and stays there until the whistle. I'll take that anytime. And I believe Golson was more productive at tackle than he's been at center. Will be interesting to see what Herb Hand does once Darius James is fully healthy. Braden Smith had another outstanding game. Mike Horton was lost a couple of times when he pulled. He's got the physical talent, just needs to refine his technique. Noticed that former walk-on Tucker Brown played early and often at tight end. Brown showed some run-blocking ability vs Georgia Southern in Game One, and his role has apparently increased. At 290 pounds, Brown provides some size at the edge of the offensive formation. LB Richard McBryde played more in this game than I've seen before, and stood out a few times. I liked McBryde's high school tape, as he showed good speed, but he was a little undersized. Now up to around 235, he's still got his quickness and hits like a truck. Saw Nick Coe get himself hooked once due to poor technique and give up the edge on a running play. Also saw him correct that problem a few plays later. Coe's emergence at DE has allowed Marlon Davidson to move inside to DT in Auburn's "Rabbit Package" on obvious passing downs, and that has given us a much stronger pass rush. Kerryon Johnson looked to be pretty close to 100% recovered from his hamstring problem. A couple of the Wildcat plays KJ scored on were not really blocked all that well, but as often happens, the better athlete won out anyway. Great to see him back in the game. Going into the game, I wondered whether Auburn would choose to attack the perimeter of the Mizzou defense with the running game. Sure enough they did, and both the perimeter runs and the jet motion on some between-the-tackles made things much tougher on the Zoo defense. I thought I saw more effort from the wide receivers this week than in any game this year or last. Both in the passing game and the running game, our WRs were engaged and giving great effort. That improvement is HUGE going forward. Daniel Carlson appears to be back in the groove, thank goodness. He looked near perfect, and the best he's looked this season. Lots of backups played this week, and not just after AU had a comfortable lead. Defensively, Auburn played quite a few second-teamers and even a couple of third-teamers, even in the first half. That's great news, as a player who expects to get into the game is much more productive at practice than one who knows he won't play. Plus, playing experience is critical to learning. Kudos to Kevin Steele and his staff for getting those guys in the game, and for having them coached up to the point they didn't play poorly. We finally got to see Malik Willis. And not only did he get some playing time, he was actually allowed to do more than just hand the ball off. I'm still plenty excited about the kid's future, but he's obviously not "there" yet. Part of the process of him becoming a quarterback, though, is being in the fire. He appeared to handle it very well, for a freshman QB in his first game. This was a game Auburn very much needed. The offense should have regained some of the confidence they began the season with and the defense got another game's worth of experience, including a lot for some guys who haven't played much. I enjoyed watching Chip Lindsey call the game. I wasn't thrilled with every call (never saw a game where I was, even if I was the one calling it), but I loved the concepts, and the incorporation of things that history said would likely cause Mizzou some defensive problems. Next week will tell us more about our team. State is obviously better than Missouri. But for the first time this season, I feel like we are on the right track, and I'm excited about where more improvement can take us.WAR EAGLE!!
Ber798297 241 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Thanks Coach for your insight. I look forward to your post every week! WDE!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen from West Glenn Ave 44 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I would like to ask a question of the group about something I saw last night. After several of the series that Malik Willis was in, he was shown talking to an Auburn staffer of the sidelines. Anyone know who that staffer was? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR 2,448 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Holland looks way quicker coming off the line than he has in years past. And I agree 100% on Matthews he is playing like fans hoped he would after transferring to AU. I'm still not sold offensively but this defense is legit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarEagle2423 357 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Jeremiah Dinson is a STUD. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift 350 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Malik is quick. I mean real quick. And it appears that he is going to give us that true dual threat QB position that so many have said that CGM offenses needs to be successful. However, he seemed to be a little too quick to pull the ball and run last night. I'm going to chalk it up to being nervous and wanting to impress but against better defenses, he will need to slow it down a bit to make the right read and let the plays develop. Nonetheless, I think we got a good one in Malik Willis. Looking forward to watching him play more. And, I like your assessment of McBryde. He was one of my favorite LB targets and I was excited to see him sign with Auburn. I too thought he looked very good last night and played well. We finally have quality depth at the LB position so I'm afraid we won't get to see much more of McBryde but he looked like a baller in the Mizzou game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTim 3,457 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Thanks as always Coach!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsboroAuburnFan 462 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Darrell Williams played well and Atkinson caused a fumble while making some big Tackles. Broussard is the DB who made most mistakes imo, the others looked good. Did Dean play? Never saw his name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowebb11 9,429 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 The fact that Stidham made plays with his feet is big going forward. He's not Nick Marshall but more athletic that I thought. Defenses will have to respect that and it should open the playbook for CL a little more. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaSteve 194 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 3 hours ago, Glen from West Glenn Ave said: I would like to ask a question of the group about something I saw last night. After several of the series that Malik Willis was in, he was shown talking to an Auburn staffer of the sidelines. Anyone know who that staffer was? Cole weeks offensive GA is the young man with the headset talking to both Stidham and Willis. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,194 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Great job as always coach! It was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the game in the second half for a change! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 17,100 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Your posts after the game is something I really look forward to every week. You are fair and balanced In your observations unlike a lot of posters....myself included.'tis a treat indeed and you help make the aufam experience fun. Thanks for taking the time for us. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aufan57 922 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I saw more inability for Auburn to execute a successful screen pass, running back or wide out. I do not understand why Auburn has such difficulty with screens. Can anyone provide insight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw0004 10,134 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 5 hours ago, ScottsboroAuburnFan said: Darrell Williams played well and Atkinson caused a fumble while making some big Tackles. Broussard is the DB who made most mistakes imo, the others looked good. Did Dean play? Never saw his name. Dean started in place of Javaris Davis at corner, who was held out with Tre Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,416 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 6 hours ago, Gowebb11 said: The fact that Stidham made plays with his feet is big going forward. He's not Nick Marshall but more athletic that I thought. Defenses will have to respect that and it should open the playbook for CL a little more. I thought he took a couple hits I wish he didn't. One close to the sideline and near the goal line looked like he was a little groggy id like for him to learn to take a hit better. He doesn't appear to be the type to dole hits out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubiewood 46 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 6 hours ago, ScubaSteve said: Cole weeks offensive GA is the young man with the headset talking to both Stidham and Willis. Looked to me like he was mostly relaying info from Chip Lyndsey in the box. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsboroAuburnFan 462 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 4 hours ago, abw0004 said: Dean started in place of Javaris Davis at corner, who was held out with Tre Williams. Thought so, just couldn't remember his name being called... Probably because he shut his guy down all night... Dinson is gonna be a shut down DB, future is so bright. I'd like to see Broussard add weight 205-210lbs and play Safety or like the role Threzie played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyeCampAlum 335 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 I so appreciate these posts, Coach. My big worry all along has been run blocking and receivers getting open. Well, we got receivers open. But the run blocking still leaves me thinking we have some tough matchups ahead. What do y'all think? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triangletiger 1,599 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 11 hours ago, ScottsboroAuburnFan said: Thought so, just couldn't remember his name being called... Probably because he shut his guy down all night... Dinson is gonna be a shut down DB, future is so bright. I'd like to see Broussard add weight 205-210lbs and play Safety or like the role Threzie played. Other than that 1 PI call, I thought Broussard did a good job in man coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMR 2,118 Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 19 minutes ago, DyeCampAlum said: I so appreciate these posts, Coach. My big worry all along has been run blocking and receivers getting open. Well, we got receivers open. But the run blocking still leaves me thinking we have some tough matchups ahead. What do y'all think? Absolutely we have to get better with our run blocking, although I thought it was better this week than it has been. To be fair, a lot of our runs so far have been inside zones against a 3-3 box. That defensive alignment is tough on the inside zone, with 5 offensive linemen to block 6 defenders. We've accounted for the sixth guy some using Chandler Cox as a lead blocker, but still, 6 vs 6 is NOT a numerical advantage, which is something you strive for as an OC. This week, we ran a LOT more perimeter stuff, which puts a lot of pressure on "overhang" defenders (kind of half-in and half-out of the box), which have been making a ton of tackles in our first three games. But, other than Braden Smith, none of our offensive linemen have been consistently "overpowering". Work to be done, for sure, but I do like the combination of Dunn at center and Golson at right tackle. We'll find out this week whether we can handle a fairly physical defensive front. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WFE12 9,191 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 21 hours ago, Gowebb11 said: The fact that Stidham made plays with his feet is big going forward. He's not Nick Marshall but more athletic that I thought. Defenses will have to respect that and it should open the playbook for CL a little more. Yeah he looked good but I was nervous as crap every time he ran, especially when he got hit out of bounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc4aday 1,887 Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Did I hear one of the announcers say the Willis has 4.35 forty speed? That is insane fast and can eat up some defenses that think they can match up with him. I hope he gets more and more reps to spell JS when needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyeCampAlum 335 Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 On 9/25/2017 at 0:10 PM, JMR said: We'll find out this week whether we can handle a fairly physical defensive front. We sure will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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