Kentucky Post-game Thread

[AuMarine 1,372]

19 minutes ago, DAG said:

Seth looked like an NFL wr out there. I will say he needs to be careful with the celebrations though. 

Seth= the truth. A man among boys. I think he and #1 from Kentucky had some jawing going on. I liked Seths aggressiveness but you are right they will get him eventually. 

[cole256 17,084]

Seth really saved this game. You won't see it in the score but everybody should be buying him dinners this week

[GwillMac6 20,689]

We need to commit fully to being a pass first team. I know Gus is against it but that is what puts this team in the best position to win. The OL run blocking is absolutely horrid. SAWWWWWWWWWFT. No push whatsoever. Pass pro? Not to bad. But the strength of this team is Bo and the WRs. It def was a different offense but there still was to many "gus plays" with running up the gut after first downs. Mass substitutions, not throwing enough on first downs and not going fast. But it is a huge huge step in the right direction. Still want to see RBs involved in the passing game. Obviously want to get the TE involved. Think we only threw their way once.

 

[Zeek 16,657]

Bo Nix 16/27 233 yards 3 touchdowns (who would have thought a few years ago we'd be talking about nearly 250 passing and 3 TDs and talking about room for improvement).

 

Here's the stat line I don't like. Here is how our rushing broke down:

Bo lead the team with 5 rushes for 34 yards

Shivers was 2nd with 6 carries for 29 yards

DJ had 8 carries for 21 yards and a TD

Tank had 6 carries for 15 yards

Those are ugly numbers. Only thing I like is no fumbles (a problem with Bo last year) and equal carries.

 

Receiving Leaders:

Seth Williams 6 catches for 112 yards and 2 TDs

Eli Stove 4 receptions for 55 yards and 1 TD

Anthony Schwartz 3 receptions for 40 yards

Defense turned it on with 3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, and 4 pass deflections. We were way better at taking the ball away today and had a lot of near picks.

2 sacks is nice too as we've struggled with sacks the last year or two.

Bo Nix has a NFL career as a pooch punter if nothing else.

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

I’m not adamant against DJ, and think he could have his times, but this is what I was saying all game

 

[AUFriction 1,179]

This might have been one of the best game projections I've had to date, and wish I had posted this much detail. Things I thought would happen in the game:

- UK scores first on an explosive run play. I figured the defense would look a little flat in the first quarter. I was wrong here. It was the first half. 

- I figured the offensive game plan would focus on throws to the perimeter with a new OL, and with UK's weakness being at linebacker. 

- UK never really goes away until the 4th quarter, where we pull away by 2 scores and cover. 

- My predicted score before kick off this morning was 34-20. If not for that BS penalty to end the half, we would have been just over at 36. And UK almost scored at the end of the game, which would've gotten them to 20.

- I figured we'd score at least once on defense and special teams. And I figured at least 1 offensive score would come off of a special teams or defensive play. We DID score on defense, and those points were stolen from us. We had the stop on the fake punt that led to a key touchdown. 

 

Can I just say, that was an incredible game. We looked sloppy in that first half, but I feel like we watched both sides of the ball find their footing and really grow up in a hurry in the second half. Now, if we can just get that OL to start gelling so that we can run it a little better...

- 

[Zeek 16,657]

1 minute ago, Maverick.AU said:

I’m not adamant against DJ, and think he could have his times, but this is what I was saying all game

 

He had 400 yards last year as a freshmen with 4.8 yards per carry. Fix the run blocking before judging any of the RBs. Plus we didn't even see MAR.

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

3 minutes ago, Zeek said:

He had 400 yards last year as a freshmen with 4.8 yards per carry. Fix the run blocking before judging any of the RBs. Plus we didn't even see MAR.

He’s much slower compared to tank and Shaun, not hating on him, but there were plays that were run with DJ in the game, had it been somebody like Shaun, it could’ve been the difference in extending a drive. Not saying he can’t be effective but today Shaun and tank looked like the better RBs

[AUFriction 1,179]

5 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

I’m not adamant against DJ, and think he could have his times, but this is what I was saying all game

 

Hard disagree. Shivers is clearly our best RB, but I thought Williams looked better than Tank out there. You can see that he's quick, but he didn't follow blocks very well and bailed on the run design several times very quickly. He had some good looking runs that gained yards, but his runs that lost yards were on him not following blocks very well. 

I still don't get the hate on Williams. He's not fast, but he's shifty and powerful. I think people are getting too attached to high school scouting ratings and don't think much of him because he was a 3*. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've been impressed with Williams. The one time I thought he had a bad run was the 4th down play, but something didn't look right on the timing of the handoff on that play. If the handoff was cleaner, I think he picks up the 1st down and then some. 

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

7 minutes ago, AUFriction said:

Hard disagree. Shivers is clearly our best RB, but I thought Williams looked better than Tank out there. You can see that he's quick, but he didn't follow blocks very well and bailed on the run design several times very quickly. He had some good looking runs that gained yards, but his runs that lost yards were on him not following blocks very well. 

I still don't get the hate on Williams. He's not fast, but he's shifty and powerful. I think people are getting too attached to high school scouting ratings and don't think much of him because he was a 3*. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've been impressed with Williams. The one time I thought he had a bad run was the 4th down play, but something didn't look right on the timing of the handoff on that play. If the handoff was cleaner, I think he picks up the 1st down and then some. 

Agree to disagree, I saw much more quickness and burst from tank than I did DJ. DJ looked slow in my opinion  (this has nothing to do with recruiting rating, it’s just my opinion). I’m also not saying DJ can’t be successful, but after game 1 I came away more impressed with Shaun and tank

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

Saturday Down South makes Al.com look orange & blue. After the FIRST QUARTER, it published it's story on the game - trashing Auburn. Usually they at least wait until half time. 

[abw0004 10,125]

20 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

I’m not adamant against DJ, and think he could have his times, but this is what I was saying all game

 

I think that Tweet was a little harsh considering this was only the first game of the season.  I liked DJ a lot last year even when playing hurt. 

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

1 minute ago, abw0004 said:

I think that Tweet was a little harsh considering this was only the first game of the season.  I liked DJ a lot last year even when playing hurt. 

Thats why I said I wasn’t as adamant lol. I think DJ can be successful. But I like the Shaun/tank combo at the moment 

[AUFriction 1,179]

19 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

Agree to disagree, I saw much more quickness and burst from tank than I did DJ. DJ looked slow in my opinion  (this has nothing to do with recruiting rating, it’s just my opinion). I’m also not saying DJ can’t be successful, but after game 1 I came away more impressed with Shaun and tank

Tank is faster. There’s no question. But there’s more to playing running back than speed.

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

1 minute ago, AUFriction said:

Tank is faster. There’s no question. But there’s more to playing running back than speed.

I 100% agree with that. However I still stand by that I’m in the camp of Shaun/tank. And I don’t mean that to hate on DJ. The tweet was a little harsh but that’s why I put the disclaimer that I wasn’t as adamant lol

[Barnacle 9,064]

16 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

Thats why I said I wasn’t as adamant lol. I think DJ can be successful. But I like the Shaun/tank combo at the moment 

It will happen eventually. I'm not sure Tank is quite there yet. But by mid season, that's what it's going to be just watching them today. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

Seth really saved this game. You won't see it in the score but everybody should be buying him dinners this week

Won't see it in the score? Dude scored two TDs!

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

2 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Won't see it in the score? Dude scored two TDs!

I thought the same thing 😂

[Barnacle 9,064]

2 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

I thought the same thing 😂

Haha but seriously, he's right. Seth is an alpha. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Unable to watch the game but I love the final score. Looking at the stats - they had more yards passing and rushing. Looks like we forced a bunch of turnovers. 

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

2 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

Haha but seriously, he's right. Seth is an alpha. 

The only person that can stop seth is himself, if he keeps up like today as far as making plays, it’s gonna be a great season for him

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, Maverick.AU said:

The only person that can stop seth is himself, if he keeps up like today as far as making plays, it’s gonna be a great season for him

We've got great speed opposite of him. Schwartz and Stove are true weapons. However, neither are possession receivers in the way that Seth is - although Seth is clearly more than that. My greatest wish for this passing game is the development of a possession receiver on the other side, someone else who Bo can develop rapport with - trust for jump balls and back shoulder throws. If that develops, this passing attack is going to be on an absolute other level. Development of a dependable TE would also serve this purpose. 

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

Just now, Barnacle said:

We've got great speed opposite of him. Schwartz and Stove are true weapons. However, neither are possession receivers in the way that Seth is - although Seth is clearly more than that. My greatest wish for this passing game is the development of a possession receiver on the other side, someone else who Bo can develop rapport with - trust for jump balls and back shoulder throws. If that develops, this passing attack is going to be on an absolute other level. Development of a dependable TE would also serve this purpose. 

Hoping capers can become more of a staple 

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, Maverick.AU said:

Hoping capers can become more of a staple 

Was searching for a name - there you go!

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

Quick thoughts:

- Offensive play calling and design was the best I've seen from AU in five years.  Route combinations.  Usage of personnel in the right spots.  Loved what I saw.

- OL needs work, but has some promise.

- Get Shivers the ball on the edge and let him do his thing.

- Seth is unreal.  I still think Bo locks in him a bit too much, but man, the dude is just so good.

- We're desperately going to need to find a push on the D line.

- K.J. Britt knows how to fill a hole

- The secondary is pretty damn good.  They can cover and tackle very well.

All in, happy with this win.  Lots of things to work on, but this team has some serious potential.