My AU vs OM observations

[AURex 2,129]

Just my observations. You go with your own.

 

A win is a win is a win and I would never complain about a win, especially on the road in the SEC. I am really happy to get a road win. Here are my observations, which you can agree with or not, just my own observations.

 

1. Tank is a genuine stud. Shivers ran well too and deserved his touches, and DJ actually had the best average yards per touch, but Tank is the best RB Auburn has had in a long while. If he can stay healthy, he'll be an NFL high pick. I hope Morris continues to rotate Tank with Shivers in order to help Tank remain fresh and strong and uninjured, but damm, he da man.

 

2. Bo looked much better today. He hit 76% of his passes. Part of that was because the running game was working so well. Another part was because he was not really pressured much. He felt comfortable. And the biggest part was, his primary receivers were usually open, he didn't have to go through progressions or play scared, he just chunk it to his #1 target.

 

WHY was he so successful and Auburn in his leadership? Well, Ole Miss is the absolute worst defense in FBS. Auburn was marginally better this day.

 

Even against the worst defense in NCAA Div I football,  Auburn had to come from behind at the end of the game, on ANOTHER controversial (blown?) call by the refs, in order to win. Saban has always said that Auburn is the *luckiest* team in football. So far this season, if it wasn't for refs "controversial" calls, Auburn could well be winless now.

 

3. My biggest concern coming out of this game is the injury to offensive lineman Council. That guy is the most versatile lineman Auburn has, and really has been an important, steady force on the OL. The OL seems like it is improving week to week. I hope his injury is not serious.. Without him, we got more problems up front.

 

 

 

 

[EagleEye67 1,948]

Im ok with the offense in this game.

 

 

Im troubled by the defense.

[AUpreacherman22 3,910]

If OM has the worst defense in the nation, AU is in the conversation for 2nd worst.   And yes, our O looked much better because they were playing the worst D in the country.   
We do have one NFL stud RB, and another very good RB!  And I love JJP!!!  If our OL can become competitive and our passing game good enough to keep defenses honest, there is potential on that side of the ball.  Granted, those are very big “IFs”!   There is nothing on the defensive side I’ve seen that gives me any hope this year.  

[aubaseball 2,739]

My take:  This was the worst defense that Auburn will face all year, and Auburn still had its problems scoring.   That should raise plenty of flags to everyone.   

The defense was lost.   I saw more arm grabbing than I’ve seen in a long time.   The linebacker play has taken three steps back this season.   The defensive tackles and ends can not get off blocks. When they do, they can’t make a tackle for a loss.   Big Kat looks like he has never played.

bright spots:  tank and Seth looked like they were ready to play and played with passion.   

[cole256 17,085]

You don't say? Great job as usual rex!

[Eisenhower_1952 87]

Nick Coe going pro and losing Miller right before the season has really hurt our defensive line. 

[EastAl_Tiger 228]

11 hours ago, aubaseball said:

My take:  This was the worst defense that Auburn will face all year, and Auburn still had its problems scoring.   That should raise plenty of flags to everyone.   

The defense was lost.   I saw more arm grabbing than I’ve seen in a long time.   The linebacker play has taken three steps back this season.   The defensive tackles and ends can not get off blocks. When they do, they can’t make a tackle for a loss.   Big Kat looks like he has never played.

bright spots:  tank and Seth looked like they were ready to play and played with passion.   

"Big" Kat looks much too small to be playing his position (as does Pappoe).  He gets handled easily by the OT and has NO chance when rushing the QB if the OG steps over to double

[Zeek 16,684]

Quarterback - improvement for sure and a more realistic game plan for Bo. Lots of short slants and passes at the LOS. Helps the OL too. However, against better teams we have to hit the intermediate passes. Stayed in the pocket better and had some really nice runs. He's a solid straight line runner.

Running Back - Tank is the best freshman running back we've had in my lifetime (93). Hope he doesn't get a big head, stays healthy, and doesn't get in trouble. Worth noting... we did a way better job of having a feature back but subbing him out well. Shiv didn't have huge runs but this is the best and most consistent he has looked. DJ is still a baller who deserves respect. Only complaint is what in tf is going on with MAR?

Wide Receivers - not a huge focus on Seth (still forcing it to him on 3rd down). Didn't play lazy and didn't have any hissy fits or showboating. Schwartz looked good. Stove looked good. Younger guys had some bad drops unfortunately. The TE coming off a block for a pass was awesome (Shenker I believe). Peguess still needs more action. 

OL - looked better in a closed formation with an extra blocker. Still inconsistent though... there were a few run plays where Tank was taking a hand off with someone on his back. I think someone was zone read blocking (letting the DE go to pick up the LB) when they shouldn't have been.

DL - needs help. Big Kat is not looking like the next top two round draft pick we hoped for. Wooden has been the most notable DL and he's a redshirt Freshman. No pass rush from this group (haven't had a real one since Sensei Mud) and definitely not being run stuffers. Defensive Tackles have been almost non-existent. 

LB - I don't think our LBs have regressed I think they're just having to do a lot more with a much weaker DL. We leave the middle of the field with either no LBs or one LB making it easy for mobile QBs to rip us up the middle. Still not covering routes well either. Paoppoe plays his tail off but without Britt he seems to wind up in the wash too much.

DBs - Just not a great group. Missed plays, blown assignments, and getting burnt. Love Tutt but man he feels like a liability sometimes. Never have a deep safety coming to break up a deep play. The pick in the endzone had no business being brought out. Smoke has been okay but not what I hoped and same goes for Sherwood. 13, Tennison I think, looked good at times.

P - our Aussie punter looked okay but not great. Kind of what our punting has been for a while. Would like to see him take those extra steps if rushers aren't coming in...

 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

12 hours ago, AURex said:

Bo looked much better today. He hit 76% of his passes.

I think we ran about 7 Wr screens. That helps the average. 

[EastAl_Tiger 228]

11 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

I think we ran about 7 Wr screens. That helps the average. 

If the only reason they are calling these plays is to give Nix some confidence (it certainly isn't to gain yds), I wish they'd at least have the TE run 5 yds and turn around. At least then it would be 2nd and 5 and not 10.

[ScubaSteve 194]

Another positive is TD Moultry played a couple of snaps and didn’t jump offsides.  I wish we could move him to middle linebacker.

[AUApostle 7,665]

Spot on.  This was like playing an FCS defense...Jax state or similar.  If we didn’t slow down the game to avoid our defensive deficiencies then we should’ve scored 40-50 points on O.

[woodford 3,688]

My initial thoughts - Auburn beat a bad defense by one TD. Auburn’s defense is soft and lacks the physicality needed to win in the SEC. The Tigers ran the ball just fine and have talented athletes on the offense side of the ball that can make plays. Overall, they’re still not very good. Poorly coached team. That drive at the end of the first half? Wheres the 2 minute offense? Were they banking on a field goal or something? We all know how much they lack in leadership. They can probably beat MSU, but that’s probably it. 

[autan 773]

3 hours ago, ScubaSteve said:

Another positive is TD Moultry played a couple of snaps and didn’t jump offsides.  I wish we could move him to middle linebacker.

That's a thought.  It would cut down on his offsides unless we're blitzing. And If you're going to jump please tackle the QB and don't let him beat us with a free play.

[Sani-Freeze 552]

22 hours ago, Eisenhower_1952 said:

Nick Coe going pro and losing Miller right before the season has really hurt our defensive line. 

No question. Also losing the previous year DT signee Moore hurt. We have under-recruited at DT in recent years and also poached Manning and Jackson from DT to cover for abysmal OL recruiting. It's a mess right now and I think is the root of the defensive struggles. 

[AURex 2,129]

As I pointed out, OM is the worst defense in FBS and Auburn still had to come from behind (with an assist from a ref controversial call) to win.

Bo has not yet demonstrated that he can play SEC QB under pressure. And the loss of Council on the OL is a big worry, IMO!

 

[twilli13 600]

11 hours ago, EastAl_Tiger said:

If the only reason they are calling these plays is to give Nix some confidence (it certainly isn't to gain yds), I wish they'd at least have the TE run 5 yds and turn around. At least then it would be 2nd and 5 and not 10.

Yeah I cant for the life of me figure out why we arent using the tight end in more conventional routes over the middle when we are in desperate need of easy passing options for Nix. For most of the game, this gameplan reminded me of the 2015 one we had once Jeremy Johnson came back briefly from his benching (I think maybe Sean White got hurt, cant remember). Screen after screen from sideline to sideline. Gus still to me hasn't evolved the offense effectively much since then. 

[AURex 2,129]

In the 2nd year of this MR WONDERFUL, MR SPECTACULAR, MAGNIFICENT QB, we are still looking for excused for why he is completing only 50% of his passes and he is still like some bobblehead in the pocket.

Okay, I'm not like "Bo is the slobbering blob at QB." And I WANT him to succeed. But he has done NOTHING so far to suggest that he is anything more than Mr Mediocre at bottom of the SEC.

Gimme some HOPE!