Practice News & Notes: 8/14 (Scrimmage #2)

[aujeff11 6,243]

8 minutes ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

 I believe that if we got max ability out of both QBs, Malzahn offense seems like a better fit for Joey.

For sure. Don’t want to harp on Stidham too much because he’s irrelevant, but he could throw passes all over the field but yet we constantly chose to throw it to Ryan Davis  who averaged less than 4 yards per route. Stidham sucked at some things (lot of things that would show up in a live scrimmage), but wasn’t utilized very effectively either. Same with SW. He had a skill set that didn’t work with Malzahn. 

But like I said, and like you touched on a little in different words, Gus wants a high floor QB to rescue him. Nix will be a high floor guy right out of the gate and probably a great NFL prospect in a couple years if he has a different coach.

I root for Malzahn but can’t defend all of his decisions.

God forbid Joey transfers to Dan Mullen. That’s all I have to say. 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

2 hours ago, DAG said:

So why not work on his passing and make him an incredible prospect? 

If Gatewood already was named the starter then there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

But when he is fighting a 5* who gets ALL of the press, taking away his ability to break plays open with his legs causes him an incredibly difficult time to even win the job. 

 

No one is suggesting Gatewood doesn't need to practice passing the ball. What we are saying is that the two QBs are competing against each other while one QB is allowed to showcase his strengths and the other isn't allowed to bring his strengths into play. It's like Joey is trying to win the competition with one arm tied behind his back. 

It's about the competition Joey is trying to win. Once he wins the job then by all means make him pass all day long in practice. But to not let him use his biggest asset during a competition isn't a truly fair competition. 

[DAG 34,017]

11 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

If Gatewood already was named the starter then there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

But when he is fighting a 5* who gets ALL of the press, taking away his ability to break plays open with his legs causes him an incredibly difficult time to even win the job. 

 

No one is suggesting Gatewood doesn't need to practice passing the ball. What we are saying is that the two QBs are competing against each other while one QB is allowed to showcase his strengths and the other isn't allowed to bring his strengths into play. It's like Joey is trying to win the competition with one arm tied behind his back. 

It's about the competition Joey is trying to win. Once he wins the job then by all means make him pass all day long in practice. But to not let him use his biggest asset during a competition isn't a truly fair competition. 

And I’ve suggested that Gus is prioritizing passing versus run first . Although I will say your premise about having the QB first win the job then practice on his passing sounds quite ridiculous at face value. I am one of those people that thinks the QB should be as fundamentally sound passing first and foremost . Based on my limited view from reports , I am thinking Gus feels the same way.

[DAG 34,017]

20 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

For sure. Don’t want to harp on Stidham too much because he’s irrelevant, but he could throw passes all over the field but yet we constantly chose to throw it to Ryan Davis  who averaged less than 4 yards per route. Stidham sucked at some things (lot of things that would show up in a live scrimmage), but wasn’t utilized very effectively either. Same with SW. He had a skill set that didn’t work with Malzahn. 

But like I said, and like you touched on a little in different words, Gus wants a high floor QB to rescue him. Nix will be a high floor guy right out of the gate and probably a great NFL prospect in a couple years if he has a different coach.

I root for Malzahn but can’t defend all of his decisions.

God forbid Joey transfers to Dan Mullen. That’s all I have to say. 

I think you hit the nail on the head and what is the 1 million dollar question ..can Gus tailor his offense around his QBs biggest strengths in today’s game? I honestly don’t know 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

19 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

If Gatewood already was named the starter then there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

But when he is fighting a 5* who gets ALL of the press, taking away his ability to break plays open with his legs causes him an incredibly difficult time to even win the job. 

 

No one is suggesting Gatewood doesn't need to practice passing the ball. What we are saying is that the two QBs are competing against each other while one QB is allowed to showcase his strengths and the other isn't allowed to bring his strengths into play. It's like Joey is trying to win the competition with one arm tied behind his back. 

It's about the competition Joey is trying to win. Once he wins the job then by all means make him pass all day long in practice. But to not let him use his biggest asset during a competition isn't a truly fair competition. 

Bo Nix wasn't getting all the press and hype until practices. Almost the entire offseason, at least since spring, nearly everyone was all over JG. I think that is what hurts people the most. If Bo is getting all the buzz from the media, then there is a reason for that. If Bo wins, it is because he beat JG flat out. 

For everybody clamoring to go live, I do not think that is necessary. If you do not think Gus knows what Joey brings to the table live then I don't know what to say. I think that is why he putting most emphasis on the passing aspect now. He already knows what he has in both guys from an athleticism and running ability standpoint from the first live scrimmage. JMO

[gr82b4au 5,568]

15 minutes ago, DAG said:

I think you hit the nail on the head and what is the 1 million dollar question ..can Gus tailor his offense around his QBs biggest strengths in today’s game? I honestly don’t know 

Did he not do that in 2017? He has a QB that held on to the ball too long and was a statue, and yet we still won. I criticize Gus often for things, especially for how he has handled the OL coaching fiasco and OL subsequently OL recruiting, but I actually think he did ok in this department. I do not think he is the best at it like the guy at Oklahoma but he has been able to to take different types of QBs and win.  

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

21 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

Bo Nix wasn't getting all the press and hype until practices. Almost the entire offseason, at least since spring, nearly everyone was all over JG. I think that is what hurts people the most. If Bo is getting all the buzz from the media, then there is a reason for that. If Bo wins, it is because he beat JG flat out. 

For everybody clamoring to go live, I do not think that is necessary. If you do not think Gus knows what Joey brings to the table live then I don't know what to say. I think that is why he putting most emphasis on the passing aspect now. He already knows what he has in both guys from an athleticism and running ability standpoint from the first live scrimmage. JMO

We're talking about the same guy who didn't know how to use Cam Newton properly until week 4, right?

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

50 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

For sure. Don’t want to harp on Stidham too much because he’s irrelevant, but he could throw passes all over the field but yet we constantly chose to throw it to Ryan Davis  who averaged less than 4 yards per route. Stidham sucked at some things (lot of things that would show up in a live scrimmage), but wasn’t utilized very effectively either. Same with SW. He had a skill set that didn’t work with Malzahn. 

But like I said, and like you touched on a little in different words, Gus wants a high floor QB to rescue him. Nix will be a high floor guy right out of the gate and probably a great NFL prospect in a couple years if he has a different coach.

I root for Malzahn but can’t defend all of his decisions.

God forbid Joey transfers to Dan Mullen. That’s all I have to say. 

One thing I really disliked about Stidham (besides his happy feet) is that he constantly told DBs where he was going by staring the receiver down. One thing I like about Bo Nix is he’s good at keeping a defense honest and going through all his reads before he throws. You can definitely tell he’s a coaches son 

[BigWhiskey91 632]

53 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

For sure. Don’t want to harp on Stidham too much because he’s irrelevant, but he could throw passes all over the field but yet we constantly chose to throw it to Ryan Davis  who averaged less than 4 yards per route. Stidham sucked at some things (lot of things that would show up in a live scrimmage), but wasn’t utilized very effectively either. Same with SW. He had a skill set that didn’t work with Malzahn. 

But like I said, and like you touched on a little in different words, Gus wants a high floor QB to rescue him. Nix will be a high floor guy right out of the gate and probably a great NFL prospect in a couple years if he has a different coach.

I root for Malzahn but can’t defend all of his decisions.

God forbid Joey transfers to Dan Mullen. That’s all I have to say. 

Yeah I think the Ryan Davis deal stems from our OL issues. We masked what we saw in 2018 in 2017 by being heavily reliant on screen game (StatTiger showed nearly 51% of our passing yardage came from screens). That and Kerryon being a magician allowed our offense to move the ball and kept the deep ball open. 

Losing Joey to an SEC team would suck.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

3 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

We're talking about the same guy who didn't know how to use Cam Newton properly until week 4, right?

Point noted...but can we honestly say he didn't know how to use Cam?  How can you say that is true.  There could be multiple factors to the evolution of Cam and the 2010 Offense. I suspect that whoever we ride with this year will continue to grow into the offense as the season progresses as well. 

[DAG 34,017]

39 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

Did he not do that in 2017? He has a QB that held on to the ball too long and was a statue, and yet we still won. I criticize Gus often for things, especially for how he has handled the OL coaching fiasco and OL subsequently OL recruiting, but I actually think he did ok in this department. I do not think he is the best at it like the guy at Oklahoma but he has been able to to take different types of QBs and win.  

No I do not think he came close to maximizing Jarrett Stidham skill set if that is what you are getting at. With that being said, I don't think JS did himself any favors  either.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

19 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

Point noted...but can we honestly say he didn't know how to use Cam?  How can you say that is true.  There could be multiple factors to the evolution of Cam and the 2010 Offense. I suspect that whoever we ride with this year will continue to grow into the offense as the season progresses as well. 

The scorelines of games 2 & 3 of the 2010 season should be all you need to see for proof that he didn't know how to use Cam early on.  17-14 vs MSU and 27-24 vs Clemson.

Offense didn't really get rolling until a week later in the 2nd half against USC.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

Just now, Brad_ATX said:

The scorelines of games 2 & 3 of the 2010 season should be all you need to see for proof that he didn't know how to use Cam early on.  17-14 vs MSU and 27-24 vs Clemson.

Offense didn't really get rolling until a week later in the 2nd half against USC.

I am not disputing when the Offense got rolling. I am just stating that is speculation to suggest that it was "because Gus didn't know how to use Cam". There are many contributing factors to the success of the Offense.

[Tiger 8,830]

25 minutes ago, BigWhiskey91 said:

Yeah I think the Ryan Davis deal stems from our OL issues. We masked what we saw in 2018 in 2017 by being heavily reliant on screen game (StatTiger showed nearly 51% of our passing yardage came from screens). That and Kerryon being a magician allowed our offense to move the ball and kept the deep ball open. 

Losing Joey to an SEC team would suck.

IIRC, the "bomb or screen and nothing in between" passing O has been a staple of our O since Gus became our HC it is not limited to the last 2 seasons

[DAG 34,017]

30 minutes ago, AuburnTiger4Life said:

One thing I really disliked about Stidham (besides his happy feet) is that he constantly told DBs where he was going by staring the receiver down. One thing I like about Bo Nix is he’s good at keeping a defense honest and going through all his reads before he throws. You can definitely tell he’s a coaches son 

JS has never been naturally gifted at navigated in the pocket. He still had glimpses of that in his preseason game but he is getting better. I saw Bo doing this during the A day game. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

13 minutes ago, DAG said:

No I do not think he came close to maximizing Jarrett Stidham skill set if that is what you are getting at. With that being said, I don't think JS did himself any favors himself either.

Stidham looked more natural last year when he was throwing to 20 yard crossing routes against A&M. Probably could’ve brought more of that out on the table. 

[DAG 34,017]

1 minute ago, Tiger said:

IIRC, the "bomb or screen and nothing in between" passing O has been a staple of our O since Gus became our HC it is not limited to the last 2 seasons

Statue of Liberty play action anyone , but it works lol.

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

3 minutes ago, Tiger said:

IIRC, the "bomb or screen and nothing in between" passing O has been a staple of our O since Gus became our HC it is not limited to the last 2 seasons

I re-watched the NC game against Oregon last night We had several Intermediate and crossing routes in that game. I think the Screen or Bomb is exaggerated to an extent. I do also believe it has been worse the past 2 years.

[Tiger 8,830]

Just now, Tigerpro2a said:

I re-watched the NC game against Oregon last night We had several Intermediate and crossing routes in that game. I think the Screen or Bomb is exaggerated to an extent. I do also believe it has been worse the past 2 years.

Right, that's 2010. Back when we used Darvin Adams in a variety of ways. 2013 and beyond though? Not so much any of that stuff

[DAG 34,017]

I am just really worried about using a two QB system against a quality team like Oregon. I think it is very important in this game to have a rhythm developed. The good thing is Gus is really good at scripting opening drives so hopefully he has two great scripts for JG and Bo.

[aujeff11 6,243]

3 minutes ago, Tigerpro2a said:

I am not disputing when the Offense got rolling. I am just stating that is speculation to suggest that it was "because Gus didn't know how to use Cam". There are many contributing factors to the success of the Offense.

I think this can be a chicken and egg argument to our overall slow starts each year. Can’t be denied that Gus didn’t find the respective niches for Cam, Marshall, or Pettway until later in the season. Maybe even 2017 Stidham. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

5 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Back when we used Darvin Adams in a variety of ways. 2013 and beyond though? Not so much any of that stuff

He worked Duke Williams pretty good in tbe intermediate stuff. This year I think Hastings will have option routes that can take him all over the field. 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

4 minutes ago, aujeff11 said:

I think this can be a chicken and egg argument to our overall slow starts each year. Can’t be denied that Gus didn’t find the respective niches for Cam, Marshall, or Pettway until later in the season. Maybe even 2017 Stidham. 

Thanks Jeff. That's what I was trying to say LOL you just put the words together for me.

[Tiger 8,830]

1 minute ago, aujeff11 said:

He worked Duke Williams pretty good in tbe intermediate stuff. This year I think Hastings will have option routes that can take him all over the field. 

That's true. I hope you're right. Teams have been begging us attack big portions of the field and we have been refusing to. I hope this changes this year. 

[GwillMac6 20,742]

Like@Tiger has always said. How many times does Gus have to show y'all HE. DOES. NOT. WANT. TO. START. A. GUY. WHO'S. BEST. STRENGTH. IS. HIS. LEGS. He only started Cam because WELL CAM IS THE FREAKING GOAT college QB and second string was who? Neil freaking Caudle?! And he only started Nick because we all saw life with Jeremy Johnson as the QB. There has to be a huge obvious gap between the runner and the passer for Gustav to start the true Dual Threat QB. Gus idol is Steve Spurrier. He wants to throw the ball all over the field. Look what he did at Springdale with Mitch Mustain. Look what he did at Tulsa. That is who he is and what he wants to be. He wants to chuck the ball all over the yard. Hell look at Ryan Aplin the 1 season he was under Gus. 3.3k yards passing with 24 tds through the air and only 4 ints. The problem is he refuses to adjust and adapt his scheme the way other offenses that resemble a base Gus offense has done. That is why we see the same chicken s#$t vanilla routes being run by the WRS and why for secondary's it is so easy to defend. There is only 3 seasons of Gus career that he started a true dual threat QB and that was with Cam and Nick. It is clear he does not want to go back to that and why he keeps recruiting the QBs he does recruit that are better passers than runners.