Thorne vs Ashford

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

 

  

On 2/28/2023 at 10:39 PM, Quietmaninthecorner said:

It starts here: Hope springs eternal. That is why it is called spring practice.

 

 Posters on this board will have a favorite QB and will use confirmation bias to cement their view of the best QB.  

 

As spring practice goes on, different posters will have a different favorite QB that they are backing and pulling for. 

 

Some  posters  will try to give the perception they know more about QB's than anyone else and post how their  choice of QB   WILL be  number 1.   A bunch of posters will agree.

 

Another poster will say, "Wait!!  This other QB is better and he should start".  A bunch of other posters will agree.

 

The first group will say "nuh uh"  and post a bunch of reasons why the second group is wrong.

 

"Uh Huh", says the second group  and they  post a bunch of reasons why the first group is wrong.

 

This will go around and around for a bit until there are lots of posters on both sides dug in with their prediction. 

 

UNTIL...

 

Someone alludes to "your guy sucks.  He cant run,  throw,  and is dumb"

 

The other retaliates with the same.

 

A poster will feel insulted and lash out "well, you're a dummy."

 

The other side will say, "I know you are but what am I?"

 

Both sides start hurling insults and sarcastic backhanded compliments back and forth until both sides are so dug in that neither will ever change their mind.   Some will spend the rest of the summer tearing down the other side's QB.

 

Game One:  everyone somehow pulls together.   The posters pulling for the QB that is not the starter will still grumble and moan a little.

 

We win a game!!!   Everyone is either Happy or Content. (depending on which QB you were pulling for.)  

This continues on.

 

UNTIL...

 

When we lose our first game.   The QB #2 backers come out of the woodwork with a vengeance.  The coach needs to be fired for not starting QB 2.   QB 2 crowd suddenly knows more about football and QBs than the coaching staff.   Freeze needs to be fired because he doesn't know what he is doing. The freeze haters will join in.  The Freeze backers will join in.

 

until the next win.  Then the QB 1 fans start back up with, "See, WE were right and YOU were wrong."

QB 2 fans, "you SUCK!"

QB1 fans, "YOU do!" 

And the cycle on message boards continues.

Maybe I should change my name to Nostradamusinthecorner LOL

[aucat 69]

A 5* QB is a must to have if you want to be the top teams in SEC.   If Bo stay here, AU can be the west champ this yr. Loss to the ATM is not the end of the life， its an expected result, at least by most of us, we still need to better use our best resource to try our best.  Like coach PD said, love what you have and these kids will fight for the best!

[NoALtiger 3,873]

It’s sad that these are our options. Especially since the guy that should be QB’ing this team is lighting it up for Oregon. I have faith in Hugh, just hate he walked in to this $hit show. 

[Swamp Eagle 5,153]

Yeah, honestly, I haven’t seen an SEC winning QB hit the field, yet. We’re discussing the lesser of two evils as it were, and it’s not a good place to be. 
 

No amount of keeping either on the field is a positive solution.
 

But it is what it is.  

[CCTAU 3,355]

Regarding many of these posts, absinthe can be a helluva drug(turning Pelosi into Kunis), or a relief to the pain(AUs's offense).

Shots anyone...

[HAPvsOA 339]

15 hours ago, W.E.D said:

Both suck, don't want either 

Perhaps. But I wish we'd just pick one and stick with it for a couple of games and stop all this back and forth wishy washy stuff. It seems like our entire offense is confused and not prepared to pivot if their defense is set up to stop exactly what we're running (e.g., the RPO in this game). We should have had Thorne and the receivers ready to make A&M pay for selling out against the RPO.  

[icanthearyou 4,464]

How many QBs have gone through our program and had success over the past 7 seasons?

Our OL has been substandard for almost a decade.  We cannot seem to recruit, develop, or even scheme average blocking.

Time to stop blaming QBs.  The problem is the OL and, rests in recruiting and, coaching.  Gus ignored it.  Harsin ignored it.  CHF???

Until it is fixed, you have to play Robby.  Robby is the only type of QB that can buy time, make something out of nothing.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by icanthearyou

[AUx 3,016]

Gastritis or migraine? Which is better? And you can't pick option 3: potential exposure to hepatitis.

[Bro Johnny Mac 1,402]

We’ve had a a small sample size of Thorne..
We know what Robbie brings...

The only unknown is HG.

If the season is not going to be salvaged (bowl game eligible being our best obtainable goal) I say go with Holden after the UGA game

[gravejd 3,272]

No reason to put Thorne out there if he is going to watch the pass rush and start to go down whenever they get close. IDK if he lost his nerve or doesn't have faith in the play calls or what. But that dude wasn't willing to stand in the pocket and give us a chance. I say either give Holden a shot or redesign the offense to play to Robby's strength. Maybe Montgomery can ask Caddy how he ran the offense when he was interim. It was much better then what we are seeing today

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,813]

17 hours ago, LPTiger said:

Those who know me know I am a glass half full guy.   But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why we are playing Robby.  

The starter stinks (no offense to Thorne) and Robby is the guy that they feel is best equipped to come in after the starter gets to stinking. I don’t think it even matters if Robby is good or not, they just had to pull Thorne for anyone else in that game. 

I really don’t mean to be offensive to anyone with this post, but Robby has gotten ZERO burn when they’ve felt half decent about Payton over the last two games. He has only gotten in when the game felt like it was out of reach, one way or the other. This hasn’t been a 2 QB system since Cal

[e808 3,028]

34 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

The starter stinks (no offense to Thorne) and Robby is the guy that they feel is best equipped to come in after the starter gets to stinking. I don’t think it even matters if Robby is good or not, they just had to pull Thorne for anyone else in that game. 

I really don’t mean to be offensive to anyone with this post, but Robby has gotten ZERO burn when they’ve felt half decent about Payton over the last two games. He has only gotten in when the game felt like it was out of reach, one way or the other. This hasn’t been a 2 QB system since Cal

Not saying Robby is the answer but that was my argument. He hasn’t really played much to say he is still the same, worse or better. It’s a new staff with a different oline. If he still stinks it up than HG it is.  

Edited September 25, 2023 by e808

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,813]

41 minutes ago, e808 said:

Not saying Robby is the answer but that was my argument. He hasn’t really played much to say he is still the same, worse or better. It’s a new staff with a different oline. If he still stinks it up than HG it is.  

I don’t think Robby can throw particularly well, but they’re going to have to just let him loose and play Robby ball if they’re going to have him as backup. I don’t get going down 10 thinking he’s your best chance to be competitive and then having him just run every play. If he can’t throw he can’t throw but that just ain’t going to work this OL this season 

[tigeraddikt 1,621]

18 hours ago, TheDob06 said:

Thorne doesn't look like the guy we thought we were getting when he transferred here. Freeze brought him here so that's on him. 

Not sure why we are doing the 2 QB thing either. Freeze named Thorne the starter so he should focus his efforts on getting his starter to play better.

We know what Ashford is at this point. Freeze should take a play from Saban and get the team to rally around Thorne and commit to him as the starter for a few games. I don't see how you recruit a guy from the portal, name him the starter and then be completely uncommitted to him. It's poor leadership on Freeze's part.

I appreciate the overall point of this post, but did you not watch PT be 100% wholly ineffective during the game? He crumbled like a dry biscuit at signs of pressure, overthrew surefire big gainers, and just looked completely inept. He literally looked like they snagged a frat guy with a very tough haircut from the stands and suited him up and ran him out there. CHF was willing to try anything for a spark. I don’t blame him for that. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

30 minutes ago, tigeraddikt said:

I appreciate the overall point of this post, but did you not watch PT be 100% wholly ineffective during the game? He crumbled like a dry biscuit at signs of pressure, overthrew surefire big gainers, and just looked completely inept. He literally looked like they snagged a frat guy with a very tough haircut from the stands and suited him up and ran him out there. CHF was willing to try anything for a spark. I don’t blame him for that. 

Speaking of which,  what do u call that haircut PT has? I may request it next time I get a   trim.

[AUINSY 2,228]

20 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

There’s a sad reality for AU QBs of late. Auburn is a graveyard for them the past several seasons. Jeremy Johnson showed great promise as a freshman and sophomore. By the time he was a junior he was terrible. Sean White was an Elite 11 guy and fizzled. Stidham had a really good sophomore year then regressed in year two at AU. (His best year statistically for completion % and TD/int was his freshman year at Baylor) Malik Willis was relegated to mop up duty at AU then became an NFL QB at Liberty under Freeze. Nix was very erratic and much maligned  at AU. Now a Heisman contender at Oregon. Finley put up solid numbers at LSU as a freshman, regressed at AU and is now thriving at his new school. Now a guy with 6000 yards and over 50 TDs is suddenly inept at Auburn. This is the third coach it’s happening under. It’s a terrible trend for Auburn and we’re not moving forward as a program until we reverse it. 

^^^this x 1,000,000

Looks it all starts and ends with the O-line. Until we can get some hosses and consistency in the trenches, it doesn’t matter who’s at QB. And whoever it is will look like garbage. And until then, it looks like we’ll put forth record-setting offensive numbers and performances, in a really bad way. For me this product is unwatchable, like a family member making really bad life decisions. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by AUINSY

[Hank2020 3,223]

43 minutes ago, tigeraddikt said:

I appreciate the overall point of this post, but did you not watch PT be 100% wholly ineffective during the game? He crumbled like a dry biscuit at signs of pressure, overthrew surefire big gainers, and just looked completely inept. He literally looked like they snagged a frat guy with a very tough haircut from the stands and suited him up and ran him out there. CHF was willing to try anything for a spark. I don’t blame him for that. 

Judging from CHF, the poster you responded to hit the nail on the head for what he will do.

[Hank2020 3,223]

15 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Speaking of which,  what do u call that haircut PT has? I may request it next time I get a   trim.

They must be paying you money whete you get your haircut.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

5 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

They must be paying you money whete you get your haircut.

I'm sure the cat that cuts my hair will have no idea how to cut that style

[ScotsAU 1,343]

22 hours ago, LPTiger said:

Here are the stats over the last 2 years:

Ashford: 2022  123 of 250  49%.  7 TDs 7 Ints   rating 107

               2023    7 of 17     41%.    1 TD.    rating 92.7

as a reference, in 2022 Finley was 33 of 53    62%.

 

Thorne: 2022.   63%.   19 TDs  11 Ints.  rating 131

              2023.    65%    4 Tds 3 ints  rating 137

 

So why are the coaches doing the 2 QB thing?    Is it because of RA's legs?   Last year he averaged 4.6 yards per carry.   This year he has 23 rushes for 111 yards or 4.4 yards per carry.

 

Those who know me know I am a glass half full guy.   But, for the life of me, I can't figure out why we are playing Robby.   He is a career, over 250 attempts, 50% passer.   His running numbers show he is average.   I know we don't have a good roster.   I know we haven't recruited well.  I know it will be years before we are SEC competitive.   BUT, there is NO reason we can't look at the numbers and make better decisions NOW.     

A couple of things:

1. Using Ashford correctly is a good idea. Yes, he’s more of a threat to run than throw, but he’s a major threat to run. Teams have to respect that, and it opens up run lanes for our running backs as a result. If he is really used only situationally in packages, he can be a real weapon. People are acting like this is some weird decision. But lots of teams do this, including Auburn when it has run wildcat plays in the past. If that gadget player is also even a slight threat to throw, it is actually relatively effective. 

2. I think a lot of people have completely written Robby off perhaps too quickly, but players can and often do improve. No idea if he will. But the possibility needs to be considered. Chris Todd, Jason Campbell, and Nick Marshall all had rough starts throwing the football. They all got better with time. If Robby does improve passing the ball even a little bit, he could be an even more dangerous weapon in the future because even an adequate passing game paired with his legs would open the offense up completely. Marshall was never great throwing the football, but his mobility opened up one on one situations with receivers. He was able to throw well enough to make that offense effective. Coaches seemed to see some improvement in the off-season, which is part of the why he is ahead of Geriner on the depth chart. If the coaches see that potential (and perhaps have seen something in practice that we haven’t), they may want to put some reps in there to help prepare for the future, in part to see if he can take that step forward.
 

3. This is more related to how we saw Robby used at A&M. He didn’t really have a package. He just replaced Thorne at some point in the game. That was more related to the fact that Thorne wasn’t being effective. He wasn’t getting great protection. But he was also not seeing receivers, overthrowing a lot, and just generally seemed anxious and uncomfortable. Since Robby is no.2 on the depth chart, the coaches inserted him hoping for a spark that Thorne hadn’t been able to deliver. He stayed in at QB until the game was out of reach and A&M started putting in reserves. At that point, we started playing reserves, at which point Geriner entered the game with the second team offense. So, in the last game, he was inserted in the hope that he’d be able to do what Thorne wasn’t able to do in that game… get something going on offense.

Edited September 25, 2023 by ScotsAU

[Hank2020 3,223]

2 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

I'm sure the cat that cuts my hair will have no idea how to cut that style

Mine would but someone would have to pay me alot, or I lost a bet!!

[TheDob06 443]

4 hours ago, tigeraddikt said:

I appreciate the overall point of this post, but did you not watch PT be 100% wholly ineffective during the game? He crumbled like a dry biscuit at signs of pressure, overthrew surefire big gainers, and just looked completely inept. He literally looked like they snagged a frat guy with a very tough haircut from the stands and suited him up and ran him out there. CHF was willing to try anything for a spark. I don’t blame him for that. 

Absolutely saw Thorne be completely ineffective - it was hard to watch 😬

I don't blame Hugh for wanting a spark either, I just think he should have firmly installed Thorne as the starter (he was also named a captain) and said the team is behind him and he has our support (basically what Saleh is doing with Zach Wilson right now).

From day 1, Freeze has been saying things like other guys are nipping at his heels, Robby needs touches, etc. This has caused Thorne to play scared for his job and is likely a large contributing factor to his poor play.

Had Freeze done this, only for Thorne to fall apart as he did this past week, ok, bring another guy in and look for that spark. Robby is a hell of an athlete, but is a career 50% (or worse) passer and has missed hitting the hole when he does run. To me, our best shot is to try and help Thorne return to his MSU form. If he can't do this after a few games with full support, the season is likely lost anyway and we can give Geriner a shot.

[e808 3,028]

45 minutes ago, TheDob06 said:

Absolutely saw Thorne be completely ineffective - it was hard to watch 😬

I don't blame Hugh for wanting a spark either, I just think he should have firmly installed Thorne as the starter (he was also named a captain) and said the team is behind him and he has our support (basically what Saleh is doing with Zach Wilson right now).

From day 1, Freeze has been saying things like other guys are nipping at his heels, Robby needs touches, etc. This has caused Thorne to play scared for his job and is likely a large contributing factor to his poor play.

Had Freeze done this, only for Thorne to fall apart as he did this past week, ok, bring another guy in and look for that spark. Robby is a hell of an athlete, but is a career 50% (or worse) passer and has missed hitting the hole when he does run. To me, our best shot is to try and help Thorne return to his MSU form. If he can't do this after a few games with full support, the season is likely lost anyway and we can give Geriner a shot.

Respectfully there isn’t a Keon Coleman on the team where he can throw 50/50 balls and he just go get it. Just like it has been mentioned if he is this sensitive he would never make it in the league. If he played better all the other stuff would be irrelevant.  
 

[AURex 2,049]

Thorne vs Ashford.

Is this a competition for worse? Or worst?

 

[Tiger 8,833]

9 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Speaking of which,  what do u call that haircut PT has? I may request it next time I get a   trim.

There's is only one person who can give you that cut and it's Peyton Thorne himself