Looking back on Saturday

[Aubie7 0]

I enjoyed the game and the stadium was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. The campus, what little I saw, was okay also. However, it's a long drive to Fayetteville!

QB- Good job, not great, but he bounced back. Next week will really tell the story. Two interceptions in the first half this week, and we are doomed.

RB's- Let's hope Irons stays healthy.

Punting- Didn't have to use him much, but same story. It would have been better to pin the Pigs up inside the 10, not letting them start on the 20.

DE's- Where are they? Did they play at all? Many times I saw one of them down inside at the Guard slot. They were consistently blocked down and to the inside. There was barely any containment. If this happens next week, with LSWho's speed, we are doomed again.

WR's- Too many drops.

I will have to say that the halftime adjustments made by CTT and staff were the best he has ever done. If fact, they may have been the only adjustments he has ever made at the half!

Overall: B

Of course this is not the same "great" Arkansas team that mighty UAT beat. This was the team that got beat by Vandy, not the one that had UAT beat.

If Auburn plays the same way in the first half this week, they will be too far back to make a second half run.

[WarTim 3,457]

Hard to believe this Coach and staff, that NEVER make adjustments at the half, was voted National "Coach of the Year" after leading his team to a perfect season.

[PowerI 0]

I enjoyed the game and the stadium was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. The campus, what little I saw, was okay also. However, it's a long drive to Fayetteville!

QB- Good job, not great, but he bounced back. Next week will really tell the story. Two interceptions in the first half this week, and we are doomed.

RB's- Let's hope Irons stays healthy.

Punting- Didn't have to use him much, but same story. It would have been better to pin the Pigs up inside the 10, not letting them start on the 20.

DE's- Where are they? Did they play at all? Many times I saw one of them down inside at the Guard slot. They were consistently blocked down and to the inside. There was barely any containment. If this happens next week, with LSWho's speed, we are doomed again.

WR's- Too many drops.

I will have to say that the halftime adjustments made by CTT and staff were the best he has ever done. If fact, they may have been the only adjustments he has ever made at the half!

Overall: B

Of course this is not the same "great" Arkansas team that mighty UAT beat. This was the team that got beat by Vandy, not the one that had UAT beat.

If Auburn plays the same way in the first half this week, they will be too far back to make a second half run.

190048[/snapback]

I think we played better than you give us credit for. I know Arkansas is having some trouble, however it was the first game on the road and the coaches made adjustments when they needed to. Do I think we can take a half or quarter off and beat LSU? No. But, the important thing is that we continue to get better. Do we have the ability and potential to beat LSU in Baton Rouge? Yes. But, will we? I don't know, it's going to be hard.

Out of the Big Three, LSU, Georgia, and bammer, we need to win atleast 1 and take care of ole piss and kentucky. If we do that, it will be a pretty good year for a rebuilding year, which is what it is.

[Aubie7 0]

Hard to believe this Coach and staff, that NEVER make adjustments at the half, was voted National "Coach of the Year" after leading his team to a perfect season.  

190054[/snapback]

I believe that we lead every game at the half last year, bar two, and it took a seldom used rule to get one to go our way.

The "sit on the lead" strategy worked to perfection last year.

[vatz22au 142]

Where were our DEs? Busy stopping one of the best rushing teams in the nation. They had a bigger part than you can imagine in stopping that. Kudos to them.

Wrs dropping balls? I saw a maybe one or two...but they were pretty consistent...

Punting? We barely punted the ball, but anytime you lock your opponent even at the 20 consistently is a good thing. Some teams are lucky just to punt the ball and lock their opponent in their 40 or 30 yard line.

As far as your other concerns, I actually agree with.

Your grade is probably accurate. I'd give them a B as well. We could've played better believe it or not and we will have to bring our A game this weekend.

[Aubie7 0]

Where were our DEs?  Busy stopping one of the best rushing teams in the nation.  They had a bigger part than you can imagine in stopping that.  Kudos to them.

Wrs dropping balls?  I saw a maybe one or two...but they were pretty consistent...

Punting?  We barely punted the ball, but anytime you lock your opponent even at the 20 consistently is a good thing.  Some teams are lucky just to punt the ball and lock their opponent in their 40 or 30 yard line.

As far as your other concerns, I actually agree with.

Your grade is probably accurate.  I'd give them a B as well.  We could've played better believe it or not and we will have to bring our A game this weekend.

190064[/snapback]

Arky's biggst gains, other than the QB run up the middle, were on the corners. The QB even got away out there, several times.

[vatz22au 142]

Where were our DEs?  Busy stopping one of the best rushing teams in the nation.  They had a bigger part than you can imagine in stopping that.  Kudos to them.

Wrs dropping balls?  I saw a maybe one or two...but they were pretty consistent...

Punting?  We barely punted the ball, but anytime you lock your opponent even at the 20 consistently is a good thing.  Some teams are lucky just to punt the ball and lock their opponent in their 40 or 30 yard line.

As far as your other concerns, I actually agree with.

Your grade is probably accurate.  I'd give them a B as well.  We could've played better believe it or not and we will have to bring our A game this weekend.

190064[/snapback]

Arky's biggst gains, other than the QB run up the middle, were on the corners. The QB even got away out there, several times.

190066[/snapback]

Your going to find that 3 out of your 4 big runs in any team's game are on the corners. Our DEs are doing their job just fine.

[Aubie7 0]

Where were our DEs?  Busy stopping one of the best rushing teams in the nation.  They had a bigger part than you can imagine in stopping that.  Kudos to them.

Wrs dropping balls?  I saw a maybe one or two...but they were pretty consistent...

Punting?  We barely punted the ball, but anytime you lock your opponent even at the 20 consistently is a good thing.  Some teams are lucky just to punt the ball and lock their opponent in their 40 or 30 yard line.

As far as your other concerns, I actually agree with.

Your grade is probably accurate.  I'd give them a B as well.  We could've played better believe it or not and we will have to bring our A game this weekend.

190064[/snapback]

Arky's biggst gains, other than the QB run up the middle, were on the corners. The QB even got away out there, several times.

190066[/snapback]

Your going to find that 3 out of your 4 big runs in any team's game are on the corners. Our DEs are doing their job just fine.

190070[/snapback]

And their total tackles were what ... 4? That's a good job? They were man-handled all night and ineffective. After all the hype, all the stories, the video... not the results they were expectd to give. Hopefully, they get much better very quickly.

[vatz22au 142]

Where were our DEs?  Busy stopping one of the best rushing teams in the nation.  They had a bigger part than you can imagine in stopping that.  Kudos to them.

Wrs dropping balls?  I saw a maybe one or two...but they were pretty consistent...

Punting?  We barely punted the ball, but anytime you lock your opponent even at the 20 consistently is a good thing.  Some teams are lucky just to punt the ball and lock their opponent in their 40 or 30 yard line.

As far as your other concerns, I actually agree with.

Your grade is probably accurate.  I'd give them a B as well.  We could've played better believe it or not and we will have to bring our A game this weekend.

190064[/snapback]

Arky's biggst gains, other than the QB run up the middle, were on the corners. The QB even got away out there, several times.

190066[/snapback]

Your going to find that 3 out of your 4 big runs in any team's game are on the corners. Our DEs are doing their job just fine.

190070[/snapback]

And their total tackles were what ... 4? That's a good job? They were man-handled all night and ineffective. After all the hype, all the stories, the video... not the results they were expectd to give. Hopefully, they get much better very quickly.

190072[/snapback]

Theres more to playing DE than tackles and sacks. Closing the holes, clogging up the TEs, & taking the blocks off the LBs are all examples of things that stats wont ever cover. I admit I expect our DEs to do better than what they are doing this year, but understand that they were hyped up this season, and are probably being double teamed consistently. I am content with their performance although I am on the same page as you in the sense that more could be produced.

[AUesquire 1]

I haven't seen the game so I'm just going off what has been said and the radio description. If the DE's were pinching down, I would imagine it was for help in the middle with the running game. Obviously, that has become the main weapon for Arky and I think McFadden is going to be awesome by this time next year.

Sometimes, the hype causes things to be blown way out of proportion. Going in to the season, our DEs were becoming legendary figures. We all had ourselves seeing SMac and Q running through hapless offensive lines like swiss cheese and annhialating all opposing QBs who would dare to drop back. Well, Predator has been slowed by injury and played less than half the season to date, Q has been solid but this is his first real stint as a starter and he's got a lot to learn.

Browder has been solid and as effective as any of them. Gunn gives us all the depth we need at that position. These guys are all incredibly athletic and will have some monster games before they are through. The reality is that sometimes, they'll just do their job and look like they have "disappeared" when we don't see them crushing the QB every other play.

[80Tiger 902]

Our DE are smaller from a weight stand point than in a long time. This makes for good pass rush and potential problems for stopping the run. We do not have the same ability to use our DE in situations as we did last year. Bigger guys for the run and the fast guys for the pass. Even though our starting DT have been pretty good, the depth at this position is concerning. I think I only saw 3 guys playing the down positions last Saturday; TJ, Thompson, and Dickens. To me this is the key for LSU game. Our defensive line ability to stop the run.

[AUesquire 1]

You're right 80. Our DEs are all under 250 and have the ability to cause havoc in the backfield but a 245 DE against a 330 lb tackle is not a fair fight. Last year, we had the luxury of having both size and experience on the outside and could then change it up with the speed guys in Predator, Gunn and Q. Eddins was listed at 6'5" and anywhere from 255-265 and even though he was a tackle, you could almost throw Ratliff in the mix at 6'5" and 280 of twisted steel.

Our DEs as a group, are fast as lightning but a bit undersized so that's why I've been harping on recruiting several big bodies for the middle.

[80Tiger 902]

Esquire, what is your take on the DT position? Better or worse from last year?

[chinook 0]

i agree with giving auburn a "B". auburn will need an "A+" performance to beat an unpredictable LSU team. i don't won't to relive the 2003 game @ Tiger Stadium. i think this LSU team is much better than last year's team.

my biggest disappointment in this year's team is the DE position. where is the high level of energy and enthusiasm that we saw last year? does anyone agree?

biggest suprise of the season in my opinion is the d-backs. i think they have stepped up since the gt game.

[texaubie 0]

If LSU plays offensively like they did against UF and Vandy, our "B" game should provide us a "W". We get 4-5 turnovers and we'll win the game with an average offensive performance. If LSU plays like they are capable of playing, we will need our A+ game to have a chance. JMHO

[jaydubb121 22]

The day that Aubie7 produces a totally positive post based on Auburn WINNING a football game will be the day I ..............never mind. It'll never happen.

[big dude 0]

I'm gonna agree with vatz on this one. There is much more to playing DE than just being a pass rusher and making tackles. I'm sure the game plan called for them to CONTAIN (which is everyone's primary objective). If they pinch to the inside and make the RB's cut to the outside, then they have done their job. When a runner gets to the outside like that and the DE has pinched inside, it turns into someone else's job to make that tackle. If the DE can get there, it's just a bonus. Just because our guys aren't getting sacks and making TFL's, that doesn't mean they're ineffective AT ALL. Containment is they key against an offense that runs the ball as well as Arkansas.

There were plenty of times a guy like David Pollack wouldn't get but a few tackles, but you can't argue with how well he CONTAINED. Just an example...