Very Strange Moment Yesterday

[AUght2win 6,901]

I was at the game. Anybody else there see this?

Can't remember when exactly this was. I want to say it was after Miss State's TD late in the first half, or their first of the third. Play was stopped for a review or timeout. And this happened on the end of the field opposite the student section.

There was a bizarre exchange between Smoke Monday and the MSU coaches. Smoke was pointing and laughing at them, I'm guessing reveling in the lead. Essentially a classic "scoreboard" taunt. The coaches were clearly jawing back, coming out onto the field a few feet.

It was this demonstrative thing that lasted like half a minute, with the coaches yelling and Smoke acting like he was doubling over laughing. Idk who started it, or that it matters.

It was really strange. Smoke was off by himself, with nobody trying to wrangle his attention back to the upcoming play. And it flies in the face of this "1-0", "Finish", lunch pale discipline and laser focus. 

I remember thinking, "Maaaaan we better win this game, now. Because that could light a fire." Besides, it just looks terrible and is asking for bad karma. We all know what happened after. 

Anybody else see this? Like I said, it lasted a good half minute or minute.

[DAG 34,055]

1 minute ago, AUght2win said:

I was at the game. Anybody else there see this?

Can't remember when exactly this was. I want to say it was after Miss State's TD late in the first half, or their first of the third. Play was stopped for a review or timeout. And this happened on the end of the field opposite the student section.

There was a bizarre exchange between Smoke Monday and the MSU coaches. Smoke was pointing and laughing at them, I'm guessing reveling in the lead. Essentially a classic "scoreboard" taunt. The coaches were clearly jawing back, coming out onto the field a few feet.

It was this demonstrative thing that lasted like half a minute, with the coaches yelling and Smoke acting like he was doubling over laughing. Idk who started it, or that it matters.

It was really strange. Smoke was off by himself, with nobody trying to wrangle his attention back to the upcoming play. And it flies in the face of this "1-0", "Finish", lunch pale discipline and laser focus. 

I remember thinking, "Maaaaan we better win this game, now. Because that could light a fire." Besides, it just looks terrible and is asking for bad karma. We all know what happened after. 

Anybody else see this? Like I said, it lasted a good half minute or minute.

Things like this happen all the time. See it every Saturday. My issue is we have too many players who think they are better than what they show on the field. It is really frustrating to watch. Happens all the time. Just get out there and do your job. I watch UGA play and I am not naive to think they don't do any jawing, but they keep it to a minimum. It is another day in the office for them, then they just kick ass. And all of them dudes can play too.

[AUght2win 6,901]

1 minute ago, DAG said:

Things like this happen all the time. See it every Saturday. My issue is we have too many players who think they are better than what they show on the field. It is really frustrating to watch. Happens all the time. Just get out there and do your job. I watch UGA play and I am not naive to think they don't do any jawing, but they keep it to a minimum. It is another day in the office for them, then they just kick ass. And all of them dudes can play too.

Oh for sure. It was more that it was between players and coaches that grabbed me as weird. Why is that where Smoke's head is at? Jaw at the other players all you want. 

[DAG 34,055]

Just now, AUght2win said:

Oh for sure. It was more that it was between players and coaches that grabbed me as weird. Why is that where Smoke's head is at? Jaw at the other players all you want. 

Yeah a lot of assistant coaches be talking crap. I've seen it a bunch. I think they are more of GAs or something to that extent than anything. But I agree.

[Gowebb11 9,488]

Smoke is a solid player but better trash talker. The situation described in this thread is a great example of the part of culture that needs to change. 

[ToomersRevenge 284]

Like watching defenders scream and stomp around after making the one big play of a quarter when you’ve given up 40 points. Dude you’re getting smoked 90% of  the time maybe calm down acting like you lit Brady up in the superbowl.

[AUfan_UAgrad 230]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

Smoke is a solid player but better trash talker. The situation described in this thread is a great example of the part of culture that needs to change. 

Question is will Harsin change it and will they allow him the time to change it?  It seemed like initially from "the rumor mill" of course, he was beginning to change things especially with some of the departures before the season.  Definitely not an over night correction but it's time this type of attitude stops.  You might be the one guy that make a play in a game but damn the score board is what matters at the end, not your 1 sack, your 1 INT, your 1 catch for 20yds, etc...   The trash talking, taunting, and "me celebrations" because "I" made a great play seems to have gotten worse and worse over the years.

Edited November 14, 2021 by AUfan_UAgrad

[AUght2win 6,901]

Other couple of moments that stuck out to me the cameras may not have caught.

At a crucial moment in the game, 29-28 I think, we had just punted. Zakoby was animated, trying to fire up the defense before MSU's drive began. Next to nobody was listening to him, looking elsewhere. Ironically, Smoke was the only guy who acknowledged him positively.

Another thing was one of the assistants, maybe the LB coach, hounded everybody to get up and support the offense/defense rather than sit on the bench late in the game. 

[au302 2,669]

Smoke talks so much trash. I'm not against it necessarily, but you better back it up. Talking trash last year as USCe whipped our butts. Smoke wasn't involved with this one but part of the team dancing on the sidelines during the bowl game as we were getting whipped. I do believe the culture change is working, but Harsin is gonna have to run off a lot of players imo. We'll probably see a max exodus after the season, which is not a bad thing. I'm not arguing that culture is an excuse for yesterday whatsoever, but we need Harsin to get his players in and get a team with a killer instinct rather than trash talk when you're average

[3rdgeneration 6,473]

I hope it isn’t true, but crap like that ALWAYS bites you in the butt! Better to play focused and confident than arrogant.  

[cbo 8,063]

19 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

Other couple of moments that stuck out to me the cameras may not have caught.

At a crucial moment in the game, 29-28 I think, we had just punted. Zakoby was animated, trying to fire up the defense before MSU's drive began. Next to nobody was listening to him, looking elsewhere. Ironically, Smoke was the only guy who acknowledged him positively.

Another thing was one of the assistants, maybe the LB coach, hounded everybody to get up and support the offense/defense rather than sit on the bench late in the game. 

Interesting, thanks for sharing. Since you weren’t watching on TV, announcers were saying Harsin had challenged Bo to be a more vocal leader and to not show his disappointment. They said he was telling the offense to stand up and support the D late in the game. 
 

Not sure who the leaders are on this team. If they don’t listen to Zacoby, who the hell would they listen to? He seems to have it all as a leader. 

 

[Swamp Eagle 5,164]

1 hour ago, ToomersRevenge said:

Like watching defenders scream and stomp around after making the one big play of a quarter when you’ve given up 40 points. Dude you’re getting smoked 90% of  the time maybe calm down acting like you lit Brady up in the superbowl.

And it begs the question: Does today’s college player really GAS about Ws and Ls? It’s all about ‘my brand’ and a social media grab. Gettin’ bad as the NFL and once it turns into it, many won’t GAS about college football as well.

[AUght2win 6,901]

43 minutes ago, 3rdgeneration said:

I hope it isn’t true, but crap like that ALWAYS bites you in the butt! Better to play focused and confident than arrogant.  

It's not speculation. I saw it happen.

[DAG 34,055]

1 hour ago, ToomersRevenge said:

Like watching defenders scream and stomp around after making the one big play of a quarter when you’ve given up 40 points. Dude you’re getting smoked 90% of  the time maybe calm down acting like you lit Brady up in the superbowl.

My favorite is when the guy drops a pass and they finger wag like they had something to do with it 

[IronMan70 3,277]

29 minutes ago, au302 said:

Smoke talks so much trash. I'm not against it necessarily, but you better back it up. Talking trash last year as USCe whipped our butts. Smoke wasn't involved with this one but part of the team dancing on the sidelines during the bowl game as we were getting whipped. I do believe the culture change is working, but Harsin is gonna have to run off a lot of players imo. We'll probably see a max exodus after the season, which is not a bad thing. I'm not arguing that culture is an excuse for yesterday whatsoever, but we need Harsin to get his players in and get a team with a killer instinct rather than trash talk when you're average

Well if we are going to have to run off a lot more players to turn this thing around, it's going to take time, so I just hope people are patient.

[au302 2,669]

11 minutes ago, IronMan70 said:

Well if we are going to have to run off a lot more players to turn this thing around, it's going to take time, so I just hope people are patient.

I'm hopeful that this will be it in terms of mass exodus and culture building. With the portal every team is bound to see a fair amount every year unfortunately. Typically in year 1 you see a lot of guys run out from when the coach is hired until after spring ball, which we saw. The staff has now seen which guys have been able to stay focused and handle a full slate of summer, fall camp, and in-season grind.

I've seen opinions posted on other sites, that I tend to agree with, that it will be double digits run off. Clean out the infection and then rebuild. I think a lot of the team has bought into this staffs culture, but there's always going to be some malcontents from the previous staff. Run them off, get the high school guys in, and bring in a ton of portal guys. I'm looking forward to the melt, but it needs to be done

[imaolgatiger 523]

Talk smack and then whiff on tackles and get burned on touchdown passes is not a good look!

[AidiAU 1,270]

1 hour ago, AUght2win said:

It's not speculation. I saw it happen.

I saw it, too. Kind of forgot it happened until you posted this. I sit in section 43 closer to the Auburn sideline. I thought it was very strange and may have been yelling for Smoke to shut up and get back to work. 🤷🏻‍♀️ But yes, he was so animated and it was clear they were going back and forth. 
 

It was after this I asked my sister if she thought Tank ran his mouth or is a bad a** and does his talking with his legs on the field. 

[keesler 5,934]

12 minutes ago, imaolgatiger said:

Talk smack and then whiff on tackles and get burned on touchdown passes is not a good look!

Crap talk with NOTHING to back it up.  Been going on for years at AU.

[NoALtiger 3,873]

The “look at the scoreboard” smack talk taunt is always fun…until it isn’t. Another fun nugget in an incredibly epic meltdown I guess. 

[creed 1,682]

I sit in that end of the stadium and I saw it. I thought it was provoked by the MSU coaches/assistants. They were jawing with Smoke which seems weird. Now another player smack talking with Smoke yes I can see that, but I couldn't understand why a coach/assistant was smack talking with Smoke.

[gr82be 14,523]

27 minutes ago, keesler said:

Crap talk with NOTHING to back it up.  Been going on for years at AU.

It definitely seems that way. I'm partial to the "act like you've been there before" demeanor but that went out when SportsCenter highlights started. Don't get me wrong, the guys need to have fun but I'd rather them put up or shut up myself. 

[EastAl_Tiger 228]

I saw it from upper deck student section. I seem to remember an official nearby(maybe?) and thought that if it was getting serious, he would've stepped in. 

Still a terrible look for Smoke.

[Guest MustardSeed]

5 hours ago, AUght2win said:

I was at the game. Anybody else there see this?

Can't remember when exactly this was. I want to say it was after Miss State's TD late in the first half, or their first of the third. Play was stopped for a review or timeout. And this happened on the end of the field opposite the student section.

There was a bizarre exchange between Smoke Monday and the MSU coaches. Smoke was pointing and laughing at them, I'm guessing reveling in the lead. Essentially a classic "scoreboard" taunt. The coaches were clearly jawing back, coming out onto the field a few feet.

It was this demonstrative thing that lasted like half a minute, with the coaches yelling and Smoke acting like he was doubling over laughing. Idk who started it, or that it matters.

It was really strange. Smoke was off by himself, with nobody trying to wrangle his attention back to the upcoming play. And it flies in the face of this "1-0", "Finish", lunch pale discipline and laser focus. 

I remember thinking, "Maaaaan we better win this game, now. Because that could light a fire." Besides, it just looks terrible and is asking for bad karma. We all know what happened after. 

Anybody else see this? Like I said, it lasted a good half minute or minute.

Agree it’s not a good look. But I also get that these are competitive young men most of whom still have a lot of growing up to do. Therefore I don’t hold it against him but it should be discussed and addressed as something an upperclassman should be setting a better example. Not a big deal but certainly addressable

[homersapien 11,618]

5 hours ago, AUfan_UAgrad said:

Question is will Harsin change it and will they allow him the time to change it?  It seemed like initially from "the rumor mill" of course, he was beginning to change things especially with some of the departures before the season.  Definitely not an over night correction but it's time this type of attitude stops.  You might be the one guy that make a play in a game but damn the score board is what matters at the end, not your 1 sack, your 1 INT, your 1 catch for 20yds, etc...   The trash talking, taunting, and "me celebrations" because "I" made a great play seems to have gotten worse and worse over the years.

It's become very common in college football - unfortunately including Auburn - which only illustrates the opportunity to differentiate ourselves  by not doing it.

Edited November 15, 2021 by homersapien