Why is Gus so bad in bowl games?

[tigereye78 61]

On 1/2/2018 at 2:41 PM, Tiger said:

That was when Gus had turned the corner. We looked different during that stretch than we did the entire season. We attacked the whole field.

Then Gus turned right back around and went back to his old ways. Why?

It boggles the mind!!

[Mid Atlantic Tiger 150]

On 1/2/2018 at 11:00 AM, auskull said:

CGM has two stints at a power 5 school as the OC. This is not nearly enough to prepare him for competing for SEC Championships routinely. Our odds go up dramatically with a HC who has previous experience with other successful power 5 schools and the NFL. Even higher if he was a successful HC at the power 5 level. His staff has some first time position coaches with no or little power 5 coaching experience. His go to people came from the High School ranks with limited resumes at the power 5 level. He basically is a flash in the pan as OC and severely unprepared to be a HC in the WEST Division of the SEC.  In Bowl games he goes up against staffs who have had a winning season and several weeks to prepare. Talent level is usually on par, we are generally out-coached. He basically came up to quickly and missed some important steps professionally for this level of competition. His philosophy is basically the same as it was in High School. Steele has the resume to be the Defensive Coordinator and it shows. He is mostly surrounded by seasoned position coaches and as a former LB coach, can develop Travis Williams in that position and overcome inexperience. The Defense develops players, has talent, depth and hardly ever looks uncoordinated. Cannot say the same for the offense. The offense is usually inept in our bowl game loses. 

Pretty spot on.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

5 hours ago, casatiger said:

Gus is the opposite of most coaches.  The more time you give Gus to prepare, the more screwed up the plan formulated will be.  

Sadly this is true lol. 

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

6 hours ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

You would be right if it was just one game, but when you lose every bowl game like Gus has, then intelligent folks soon realize,  that if you have the same results every year with a different squad then it’s the coaches fault . So you can go ahead and make excuses all you want but facts are facts. 

Quote

“Just like every game this year, every game Auburn plays, every game I play in, every game Malzahn coaches in, it’ll be the same mentality — outside talk is just that, outside talk,” Johnson said. “To those who thought we weren’t motivated, you’re not in our locker room, you’re not in our practices, you’re not in our meeting rooms. Obviously they don’t know what is going on. We were plenty motivated to get this win. (We) just literally shot ourselves in the foot.”

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/auburn/2018/01/02/auburn-players-bristle-motivation-being-factor-peach-bowl-loss/997919001/

Or maybe the facts are that when you blow your championship opportunities bowl games just don't matter. Even Saban is 1-2 with two bombs to Utah and OU when not playing for titles. Isn't that what everyone wants... to be Alabama and Saban. Facts then are bowl games are meaningless if they have no title implications. Other bowls are just moral victories for teams that couldn't make the final 4.

[Southwest 186]

Difference is with Saban he has enough rings and expectations to play for a championship the following year, we don't have that luxury. 

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

17 minutes ago, Southwest said:

Difference is with Saban he has enough rings and expectations to play for a championship the following year, we don't have that luxury. 

Regardless, fact still is that it appears he has trouble, or his players have trouble, being motivated in non-championship post season competition. That was the conversation.

So is that the coach? the players? or is it that the new championship system leaves other bowl games as meaningless vacations with bonus practice time for underclassmen?

[DAG 33,997]

Why are we even comparing NS to whatever it is going on at Auburn. Just illogical on so many levels. The bowl game is just another smoke screen. The key is consistency . Alabama has it, Auburn does not. Stop picking at one minute issue.

[AUsince72 11,084]

34 minutes ago, DAG said:

Why are we even comparing NS to whatever it is going on at Auburn . Just illlgical on so many levels. The bowl game is just another smoke screen. The key is consistency . Alabama has it, Auburn does not. Stop picking at one minute issue.

Nick Saban = Minute.  ...I see what you did there... 

[1auburn1 1,120]

Another possible issue, who does Gus have as a peer to bounce ideas off of?    His best two HC buds that I know of are Freeze and Briles and they've both been bounced out of the profession.    Gus seems to be an introvert without a wide network of coaching friends who are removed from SEC play and will give him constructive advice.   This may be wrong but that's my impression.

[chimes 442]

16 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Did I already say I've missed you?

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

6 minutes ago, chimes said:

 

I'll get bromantic AF. Especially if it involves trading Denzel memes.

[chimes 442]

1 minute ago, McLoofus said:

I'll get bromantic AF. Especially if it involves trading Denzel memes.

? I’ve missed you Loof. Glad to see you’re still keeping everyone in line

[leglessdan 1,934]

1 hour ago, 1auburn1 said:

Another possible issue, who does Gus have as a peer to bounce ideas off of?    His best two HC buds that I know of are Freeze and Briles and they've both been bounced out of the profession.    Gus seems to be an introvert without a wide network of coaching friends who are removed from SEC play and will give him constructive advice.   This may be wrong but that's my impression.

Umm....his OC. He's a micromanager though. So he's the boss and only his ideas work.

[1auburn1 1,120]

1 minute ago, leglessdan said:

Umm....his OC. He's a micromanager though. So he's the boss and only his ideas work.

Yeah, I mean at a higher level.    Referring to previous comments about him being promoted by Auburn past his experience level.     I don't hear of any outside influences for him and that is, like you say, by his design and detriment.     Like running one RB in the ground and then running the next one in the ground.     Very antiquated way of thinking and doesn't attract the top-tier talent as you would expect for a high-profile, run-first program.    

[leglessdan 1,934]

1 minute ago, 1auburn1 said:

Yeah, I mean at a higher level.    Referring to previous comments about him being promoted by Auburn past his experience level.     I don't hear of any outside influences for him and that is, like you say, by his design and detriment.     Like running one RB in the ground and then running the next one in the ground.     Very antiquated way of thinking and doesn't attract the top-tier talent as you would expect for a high-profile, run-first program.    

I think Chip is more than capable of putting a productive product on the field with a good passing game. I just don't feel Gus wants to turn loose the reigns fully.  Jmo 

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

14 hours ago, Texan4Auburn said:

Regardless, fact still is that it appears he has trouble, or his players have trouble, being motivated in non-championship post season competition. That was the conversation.

So is that the coach? the players? or is it that the new championship system leaves other bowl games as meaningless vacations with bonus practice time for underclassmen?

If you bother to listen to Saben he usually owns up to the fact that the team wasn’t motivated and he calls them down for it . You can make all the excuses you want but for $7 million a year it’s his job to fix the problem. If it was his first couple of years then that is one   thing but year 5 should be different. When he is wearing a few championship rings then he might get a bye but for now he needs to produce. Not just some games but every game . He needs to find  recruits that are willing to motivate theirselves. I like KJ but maybe he had the NFL on his mind instead of the game. And don’t give m the crap about others. I watch plenty of players still give their best effort in every game. I never had a coach that was ok with that. All my coaches game pre game fire talks to get us ready. Bottom line Gus should have made correction during the game and he didn’t. He is the guy getting the big bucks. If it hurts his feelings to admit when he screws up then he needs to move on. At $7 million a year AU has every right in the world to expect him to fix whatever the problem is.

[milehighfan 1,240]

7 hours ago, DAG said:

Why are we even comparing NS to whatever it is going on at Auburn . Just illlgical on so many levels. The bowl game is just another smoke screen. The key is consistency . Alabama has it, Auburn does not. Stop picking at one minute issue.

How right you are.

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

19 minutes ago, Eagle Eye 7 said:

If you bother to listen to Saben he usually owns up to the fact that the team wasn’t motivated and he calls them down for it . You can make all the excuses you want but for $7 million a year it’s his job to fix the problem. If it was his first couple of years then that is one   thing but year 5 should be different. When he is wearing a few championship rings then he might get a bye but for now he needs to produce. Not just some games but every game . He needs to find  recruits that are willing to motivate theirselves. I like KJ but maybe he had the NFL on his mind instead of the game. And don’t give m the crap about others. I watch plenty of players still give their best effort in every game. I never had a coach that was ok with that. All my coaches game pre game fire talks to get us ready. Bottom line Gus should have made correction during the game and he didn’t. He is the guy getting the big bucks. If it hurts his feelings to admit when he screws up then he needs to move on. At $7 million a year AU has every right in the world to expect him to fix whatever the problem is.

Or Saban blames the media for "Rat Poisoning" his team.

I'm confused. This started because I said that motivation is an athletes responsibility which you then said was an excuse. Now you are saying we need athletes that have self-motivation.

You're calling KJ a liar I guess, not sure there. He says the motivation was there personally, you are saying he was thinking about the NFL. Sounds like an excuse to blame someone else for him not playing to his potential even though he admits not doing so.

I played a sport at an extremely high level of competition where you could play up to 8 games a weekend. We didn't get many or need pre game fire talks. They were usually "think, play your game by doing what you do, and maintain your focus... let's get it". You have to have a pre fire speech to get going.. sounds like an excuse to me for not putting yourself in the right mindset. By the college level you better know how to put your game face on by yourself.

Make the greatest adjustments in the world and if you half-ass it against a competent player not half-assing it you are still gonna get beat.

If you read the other post I made you will see I state there is plenty for the coaches to be blamed for. I also state that the new contract tightens the noose on his neck, so no adjustments, no player development, scandals, BBQ gang mentality with other coaches causing him not to cut them loose, etc etc are his responsibility and will be looked at more closely and with more prejudice.

[Apraser99 168]

The answer to why Gus is bad in bowl games is that he is "using the time to develop younger players". From his own mouth.