DKW 86 7,410 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/p...09008/-1/NEWS05 Tigers fine tune running game in scrimmageBy Jay G. Tate Montgomery Advertiser AUBURN -- Tommy Tuberville led his team through its first scrimmage today. It lasted almost two hours and was dedicated to the running game almost exclusively. Only 22 of the 77 plays were passes. Kenny Irons rushed for 68 yards on six carries. Brad Lester, back after a season mostly lost to injury, gained 60 yards on his 10 carries. Junior Carl Stewart was the most impressive runner, blowing through at least one tackle each time he touched the ball. He finished with 65 yards on six carries. “Same old Carl  the first guy has trouble getting him down,†offensive coordinator Al Borges said. “All of our backs ran the ball very hard and broke a lot of tackles. This scrimmage was about getting tough and coming off the ball.†The defense tackled well and didn’t surrender significant yardage on pass plays. Quentin Groves and redshirt freshman linebacker Courtney Hardin were the most active players. Hardin made five tackles, recovered a fumble and returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. That was one of five turnovers. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp wasn’t swayed by the overall performance. “ We got a little leg-weary and tired late, and not a whole lot of leadership showed up for us,“ he said. “I don’t care who it is  senior, freshman  I don’t care where they’re from. We need somebody to stand up and take control of the defense. We haven’t done that so far. Hopefully that will come forward for us.“ Auburn will hold another scrimmage in the coming days. Tuberville said a firm date hasn’t been set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM4AU 329 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 DANG-IT! I can hardly wait for the season to start. I'm ready to see these guys run through the competition! WDE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PChamp119 96 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 or is this a sign of a bad front 7? i hope not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchandlerh 0 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 By the time the season starts i think they will be able to go 110% all game long. The leadership is something that has to happen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,410 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 or is this a sign of a bad front 7? i hope not D is supposed to be running the practices early. However, this is the first O Borges has had running his schemes for 2 consecutive years. The lack of LBs is hurting us no matter what they say. Gotta wonder what those three game suspensions are gonna cost down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vatz22au 142 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 *Sigh... 3 game suspensions? Tuberville has yet to set the amount of games. Anyways, we are just fine at LB. This was what, the first scrimmage?? Not only that, but I'm willing to bet a good dollar that the LBs weren't allowed to blitz... therefore taking alot of the playbook out as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Sanders 123 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Yeah.. we are fine at LB like we are at our field goal kicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger12 46 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Maybe the have been practicing the wishbone in secret. One can hope can't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 So, if I'm reading this right (and not trying to step into StatTiger's domain): Kenny Irons: 68 yds/6 carries = 11.33 ypc Brad Lester: 60 yds/10 carries = 6.00 ypc Carl Stewart: 65 yds/6 carries = 10.83 ypc I don't know if those averages excite me or scare me. Is our running game that good or was our defense that flat that day? And that's not including Tre Smith, Ben Tate, or Mario Fannin. A lot of fresh legs in that stable. It doesn't seem like there are real plans to redshirt either of the freshmen (Ben or Mario) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Sanders 123 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 If I was in control.. which I never will. I would probably atleast redshirt one of the freshmen, unless they are both just amazing already. I hope Tre Smith isn't lost in the pack again.. I almost forget he is on the team because of how long he has been here. I guess it is up to him to work harder to get on the field as much as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,410 Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 1) You are probably right, we were likely running a very vanilla D...Forgot about that. 2) We need Tate etc to get some snaps this year for a good O next year. Brad Lester and Carl Stewart are hosses no doubt, but a really prepped Tate ready to go next year would be a great plus. 3) The real left out info on all this was... The D had 7 turnovers 4 INTs and 3 fumble recoveries! Maybe a mistake laden day for both sides but the TOs are a focus for this D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Nobody wants to believe me, but this backfield will be better than what Auburn put on the field in 2004. Carl Stewart will be an animal in the F Back spot and being able to rotate a minimum of 3 guys into the RB spot will wear opposing defenses down. Combine all of that with Brandon's play action ability and I see the possibility of great things coming this year on offense. I also believe that the inexperience and overall lack of size at LB will hurt somewhat in early games, hopefully not by the time LSU comes to town though. The front four will be just fine, they just need to gel as a group. One playmaker at MLB needs to step up early for this to be a dominant type of defense IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKieAuburnDoug 1 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Maybe the have been practicing the wishbone in secret. One can hope can't he? Coud u imagine the roar in JHS if they lined up in the WB...course they would shift out of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKieAuburnDoug 1 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Nobody wants to believe me, but this backfield will be better than what Auburn put on the field in 2004. Carl Stewart will be an animal in the F Back spot and being able to rotate a minimum of 3 guys into the RB spot will wear opposing defenses down. Combine all of that with Brandon's play action ability and I see the possibility of great things coming this year on offense. I also believe that the inexperience and overall lack of size at LB will hurt somewhat in early games, hopefully not by the time LSU comes to town though. The front four will be just fine, they just need to gel as a group. One playmaker at MLB needs to step up early for this to be a dominant type of defense IMO. NOBODY DOES..... First off Stew should be a solid power back but he's no RB...neither is Irons...they are DEEPER in the backfield but NOT better MAN 4 MAN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKieAuburnDoug 1 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 `03,man for man was as good as it gets!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKCAUB 0 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 `03,man for man was as good as it gets!! Well there were these guys named Jackson and Fullwood a few years back who were pretty good too...and there was this Agee guy in the bone too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longtrainn 2 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 1) You are probably right, we were likely running a very vanilla D...Forgot about that. I saw a quote from Muschamp to this effect. While true, you still have to think the offense probably wasn't running everything in the book either. I doubt they were allowed to cut-block and that sort of stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolltoomer 0 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Weeshbone!? We don' need no stinkin' weeshbone! We don' have no weeshbone quartah-bock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle76 1 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I know we are all anxious for this season to get started but don't put too much emphasis on early season scrimmages. Most of these are play, technique, or segment of game specific -- especially the first 3 of the season. We'll be just fine as long as we stay healthy. Players will step up and shape up, leaders will rise up and speak up, the offense/defense will firm up and toughen up, and the coaches will continue to push this team until they feel the team is mentaly ready to accept the challenges of playing in the SEC. At this time of year, I would rather hear about the bad practices and how much work is needed than to feel all warm and fuzzy. There is way too much time before opening kickoff to put a lot of emphasis on individual practice reports and making a lot of judgements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sogaaufan 27 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I know we are all anxious for this season to get started but don't put too much emphasis on early season scrimmages. Most of these are play, technique, or segment of game specific -- especially the first 3 of the season. We'll be just fine as long as we stay healthy. Players will step up and shape up, leaders will rise up and speak up, the offense/defense will firm up and toughen up, and the coaches will continue to push this team until they feel the team is mentally ready to accept the challenges of playing in the SEC. At this time of year, I would rather hear about the bad practices and how much work is needed than to feel all warm and fuzzy. There is way too much time before opening kickoff to put a lot of emphasis on individual practice reports and making al lot of judgements. I agree. Most of these early scrimmages are also designed to put individual players in certain situations to see how they respond. I think its a lot like boot camp. A lot of head games are being played by the coaches to find out who will be able to stand up to pressure (especially younger ones). That was probably the reason the DL had to spend the extra time running after practice. A little "character building" I would get VERY worried if all I heard coming from practice was how good everyone looked. Sometimes, coaches talk to their team through the media. Sometimes, seeing your name in the paper or on TV can have a greater effect than a pat on the back (or a foot in your butt) in private. I'm glad we have some football to talk about (rather than scandals), but I'd bet this team will look A LOT different a month from now. Before its over, everyone will have his chance to shine. There is wicked competition going on at a lot of positions right now, and it will be interesting to see how it willplay out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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