O-Line????

[SupperClub 0]

NEWSFLASH:

Auburn WON! You are crying like we got our handed to us. It is a FACT that Hugh Nall is considered among his peers to be one of the top OL coaches in the nation. Are we perfect? No. Do we need to improve? Yes. Am I going to sit here, after we are 3-0 and just beat the #6 team in the nation, and nitpick about our O-line? Hell no. As was mentioned earlier, it takes time for an O-line to come together and play as a unit. I have read articles this week about how one of our O-Linemen (I can't remember off the top of my head who) was MAD after the game because of the O-Line's performance. If you are going to sit here and talk about needing a coaching change at that position after we are 3-0 and ranked #2 in the nation, it sounds to me like you are the one with an uneducated opinion.

[WarTim 3,456]

NEWSFLASH:

Auburn WON! You are crying like we got our handed to us. It is a FACT that Hugh Nall is considered among his peers to be one of the top OL coaches in the nation. Are we perfect? No. Do we need to improve? Yes. Am I going to sit here, after we are 3-0 and just beat the #6 team in the nation, and nitpick about our O-line? Hell no. As was mentioned earlier, it takes time for an O-line to come together and play as a unit. I have read articles this week about how one of our O-Linemen (I can't remember off the top of my head who) was MAD after the game because of the O-Line's performance. If you are going to sit here and talk about needing a coaching change at that position after we are 3-0 and ranked #2 in the nation, it sounds to me like you are the one with an uneducated opinion.

Thanks for the assist Supperclub. Hugh Nall is a VERY good O-line Coach. Again, anyone that says otherwise is just, well.....putting it nicely ....uneducated about the game of football and the AU Coaching Staff in general. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

WDE ! ! !

Tim

[jwise0022 1]

You guys are unwilling to admit any deficiencies in our team. On one hand you say the line could play better, on the other you say I am uneducated about football for pointing that out. What? Sorry I want our team to be better. Not sure what kind of a fan that makes me. I know I must be a naysayer and am not a true auburn fan. stick to the topic, either the oline has played great or it needs improvement. If the unit wasn't prepared then the responsibility lies with 1 person. We lost to GTech last year because of oline play, and we almost lost to LSU for the same reason. The line didn't look good against Mstate. I will bet we look great against Buffaloe but I am worried about Florida, UGA, SECCG, and bowl season. If we continue to give up 3-6 sacks a game we will be beat. Mark it down, IF we lose, you will all return to this board saying how the o-line didn't get it done. I am hoping this doesn't happen. To say I am uneducated about football is just plane dumb. No reason for me to defend myself because I know how I know as much about football as I do. The weakness on this team is the o-line. Argue with that. shouldn't we all want our biggest weakness to be fixed? Thats what real fans do. Win or lose, I support Auburn. Doesn't mean I can't state my opinion without being called an idiot.

[WarTim 3,456]

Does anyone remember WHERE we left that dead horse we have been smakin' around?

[SupperClub 0]

I'm not saying our O-line doesn't need to improve. As a matter of fact, I stated my point here:

Are we perfect? No. Do we need to improve? Yes.

The comment I take exception to is this:

I think after this season it might be time for an upgrade at the coaching staff position.

You are saying we need to replace one of the best O-line coaches in the country (not to mention one of our best recruiters). I disagree. I say that we are 3-0, ranked #2 in the country, and to start bitching and moaning about Nall proves to me that no matter how good we are there are going to be some people who will find something, anything, to come down on. I've got news for you - we won't see another defensive front the rest of the season like the one we saw last week. We will get better with each game we play. The future is bright! If you choose to live your life always looking for something negative to harp on, then that is your prerogative. Excuse me if I choose not to join you.

[jwise0022 1]

are you guys serious? are we really questioning the talent (or personnel) of a line that has four guys in the starting lineup who will be playing on sunday within the next two years (palmer, grubbs, duckworth this year... dunlap next)? we have personnel problems? i think not.

are we really going to use the argument, "hugh nall was a bad coordinator so we should can him because of a couple of bad games by his line three years later"? we serious with that? jwise answer this one for me. you said the olinemen are the most important players on the offense (for the record i think they are the most important UNIT, they don't have to have great amounts of talent as long as they play well together). so for an offense to play well, the line would have to play well right? right.

okay given that what does this say about our line the last two years:

2004 - SEC offensive rankings

Florida - 437.9 YPG (1st), 31.8 PPG (2nd)

Auburn - 431.3 YPG (2nd), 32.1 PPG (1st)

Georgia - 417.4 YPG (3rd), 27.9 PPG (6th)

LSU - 416.1 YPG (4th), 28.7 PPG (5th)

Arkansas - 407.9 YPG, 29.8 PPG (3rd)

2005 - SEC offensive rankings

Auburn - 423.6 YPG (1st), 32.2 PPG (1st)

Vanderbilt 411.7 YPG (2nd), 27.2 PPG (5th)

Georgia - 398.1 YPG (3rd), 29.5 PPG (t-2nd)

LSU - 394.3 YPG (4th), 29.5 PPG (t-2nd)

over that same stretch of time, we've had two offensive players of the year (from different positions: qb and rb) jason campbell and kenny irons, respectively. we had a guy lead the league in rushing (kenny), a guy finish second (carnell), and a guy finish 7th (ronnie), in only two years. we've also had a qb lead the league in qb rating (campbell) and seen a first year starter finish 5th (cox). not to mention the fact that our line had two guys drafted last year, two wrs drafted last year, two rbs drafted the year before, and one qb.

so, i think we can all agree that we've not only been successful, but we've been the single most dominant offense in the sec with borges as a coordinator and nall as a line coach. if the line is the most important position on offense (as you stated), then you'd be pretty hard pressed to find even a shred of evidence that this line, under this coach, hasn't been one of the best in the country over the last two years, especially if you think the sec is the best defensive conference in the nation (like i do).

also, it should be pointed out. we have the leading rusher in the conference right now (kenny), and while we're currently in the middle of the pack offensively, history tells us that bigger things are on the horizon. we also just became the first team to score a td on lsu in four games.

for what it's worth, i'm not saying the line is playing well right now. i'm just saying that this is a line incorporating two new starters, and you should give them time to gell. it's the position that relies the most of cohesiveness and we've avoided injuries after playing two very physical teams (re: the injured list for the rest of the team). we had communication breakdowns last game which caused two sacks, and we have a qb that's holding the ball longer either for lack of trust in his receivers, lack of ability to get open, or indecision (or all three). brandon ate two sacks against msu when he had plenty of time to get the ball off.

these guys are going to put it together soon. this is the best coaching staff in the country, and the only reason it should be tinkered with is if someone gets a better job elsewhere.

FSU's defense had something like 5 guys go in the first round of last years draft. In those players last 4 or 5 games, they gave up over 25 points in each. The argument that a team will have many players drafted does not automatically make a team great. In a way, you are defending my position. If we have 4 guys drafted from this line, why in the world can't they protect the quarterback better and/or help get Kenny going? Thanks for defending me

[JB33 1]

You guys are unwilling to admit any deficiencies in our team. On one hand you say the line could play better, on the other you say I am uneducated about football for pointing that out. What? Sorry I want our team to be better. Not sure what kind of a fan that makes me. I know I must be a naysayer and am not a true auburn fan. stick to the topic, either the oline has played great or it needs improvement. If the unit wasn't prepared then the responsibility lies with 1 person. We lost to GTech last year because of oline play, and we almost lost to LSU for the same reason. The line didn't look good against Mstate. I will bet we look great against Buffaloe but I am worried about Florida, UGA, SECCG, and bowl season. If we continue to give up 3-6 sacks a game we will be beat. Mark it down, IF we lose, you will all return to this board saying how the o-line didn't get it done. I am hoping this doesn't happen. To say I am uneducated about football is just plane dumb. No reason for me to defend myself because I know how I know as much about football as I do. The weakness on this team is the o-line. Argue with that. shouldn't we all want our biggest weakness to be fixed? Thats what real fans do. Win or lose, I support Auburn. Doesn't mean I can't state my opinion without being called an idiot.

You say our offensive line "sucks," then "it needs improvement." Well, which is it? If it's the latter, I doubt anyone here would debate you - in fact, I'd say our entire team needs improvement if we're going to compete for championships. On the other hand, if you're saying that our offensive line "sucks," then, well, you ought to be "called an idiot." They haven't played great the last two games, but (1) give some credit to the opponents ( stinks, but their D-line isn't bad, and we ran a very vanilla offense); and (2) bear in mind this is usually about the time CAB gets things clicking.

Make up your mind. And have a little faith.

[jwise0022 1]

You say our offensive line "sucks," then "it needs improvement." Well, which is it? If it's the latter, I doubt anyone here would debate you - in fact, I'd say our entire team needs improvement if we're going to compete for championships. On the other hand, if you're saying that our offensive line "sucks," then, well, you ought to be "called an idiot." They haven't played great the last two games, but (1) give some credit to the opponents ( stinks, but their D-line isn't bad, and we ran a very vanilla offense); and (2) bear in mind this is usually about the time CAB gets things clicking.

Make up your mind. And have a little faith.

Semantics. Sorry, you're right. Our offensive line doesn't suck. It is definately a top 25 line. It is not a top 10 line right now. I think we can improve to a top 10 line, I just hope we do it before it is too late. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. Not one facet of our team sucks. We have a really good team. If they get better, we will be great. I know they will. If they don't, we lose.

[AUesquire 1]

Most folks are simply saying that this unit needs to play together a little more before they hit their stride. That's been the M.O. of Nall's offensive lines over the years. I'm not going to look through totally orange and blue colored glasses and say we've been perfect there. As Club mentioned, one of our own(Duckworth) admits they haven't played up to par. But he's saying that his teammates need to step up, not Coach Nall. He's being a leader and trying to bring them together.

The problem is the comment about a coaching upgrade. Losing Nall would be devestating, in my opinion. The record his offensive lines have helped this team achieve are almost unparalleled in Auburn history. Hey, our line may NOT be as good as last year's or the year before. Who knows? But to say that Nall is a problem is just wrong.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

After the LSU game, Tim Duckworth said he and the whole OL were disgusted at how they played against LSU. He referenced several missed blocking assignments that resulted in Cox and Irons getting plastered. He vowed they would be corrected.

[WarTim 3,456]

Auburn has the SEC's Leading rusher in 4 of the last 5 years. (Yep, That Nall is a BAD coach!)

[stoic-one 1,543]

[SupperClub 0]

When does the beating a dead horse picture become beating a dead horse? Woah, I think my eyes just crossed.

[WarTim 3,456]

Come to think of it...We have ONLY won all but ONE SEC game over the past THREE years. Maybe we should start with the HEAD Coach! ! !

[eagle76 1]

Look, we are only 3 games into the season, and we have played the 2 most physical front 4's that we will see. It takes time for a offensive line to build its chemistry. This group has not played that much as a unit. Keep the poor coaching talk to yourselves. This unit will mold itself into a very good o-line within the next few weeks.

[tgr4lfe 220]

My 2 cents

Yes, the OL did not play well against MSU and LSU, that is obvious not only from watching but from the mouth of Duckworth as has been mentioned. I think some the "problems" with the sacks were due to inexperience at WR. IN that, they, other than CT, have not learned the finer points of getting open and reading the coverage, thus Cox has no where to throw on hot read, or the second read. Not many can get to making a 3rd read. Frankly, AU does not have that many 3rd reads b/c we do not alwasy send 3+ into pass routes. That is a long time to be able to pass block. LSU was rushing more than 4 a vast majority of the time. Whereas, our D was not blitzing a lot.

I honestly think the OL had a bad night. They know that, are thankful we pulled out the win, b/c they di run block on the critical drive to get us in the endzone, and now they are determined to get themselves better!!! And Coach is one of the best OL coaches!!!!!!!!!!

[mcgufcm 4,096]

jwise, either the line makes the skill players or the skill players make the line... it can't be both. they could compliment each other, BUT if our oline was/is a compliment to carnell, ronnie, jason, kenny, and brandon, that makes them one of the best in the nation. AND given that you think the oline is the most important part of the offense, it'd be a bit of a back-pedal to say that skill players make the line.

then you said that simply having nfl-caliber linemen is enough to have a great line. that's just silly because, as i pointed out earlier, a line that plays together will always, always, always beat a line that just has talented individuals. (it's a lot like basketball... which is why team usa keeps getting beat.) all this line needs is time to digest what nall has taught them and learn how to play together.

the reason everyone is bashing you is because you're talking about replacing an oline coach that has consistently been a part of great, not good, offenses. we churn out 1000 yard rushers like the amish churn butter. we're the denver broncos of college football. seriously. no one out in denver wanted to fire gibbs, and i'm sure no one in atlanta (the leading rushing team in the league) wants him out now either.

in the same regard, it's okay to dissect the play of the line and point out deficiencies. it just makes you look you're uninformed and have too short a memory to say that those problems (during a three game stretch in one single season) warrant firing a coach who has been incredibly successful in your program. i mean by your logic i'd look at the fact that q and browder and gunn didn't really put a lot of pressure on russell and say it's almost time to think about firing terry price... it's just dumb.

this offense will end up finishing in the top 3 in the conference in both yardage and scoring AND will have the leading rusher in the conference (barring injury). the offensive line is going to be a HUGE reason for that happening (for the third season in a row).

[ProgRock 0]

I'm just looking at the sacks in the game.When was the last time Auburn had no sacks against us?Maybe the blocking scheme needs to be tweaked with the aid of RB's and FB's...I really haven't witnessed shotgun formation ran throughly as of yet,but if given the chance to offer a suggestion.I would like to see a two back set in shotgun formation a little more in a passing situation,Cox seems to hold the ball too long a lot and needs more protection that most QB's ,this would help and also give him an automatic escape route by dumping the ball to a RB,FB when the may not have someone to block,or just hand off in a draw if no one is open in time.

[vatz22au 142]

After the LSU game, Tim Duckworth said he and the whole OL were disgusted at how they played against LSU. He referenced several missed blocking assignments that resulted in Cox and Irons getting plastered. He vowed they would be corrected.

That being said... I have no doubts in our OL

[jwise0022 1]

jwise, either the line makes the skill players or the skill players make the line... it can't be both. they could compliment each other, BUT if our oline was/is a compliment to carnell, ronnie, jason, kenny, and brandon, that makes them one of the best in the nation. AND given that you think the oline is the most important part of the offense, it'd be a bit of a back-pedal to say that skill players make the line.

then you said that simply having nfl-caliber linemen is enough to have a great line. that's just silly because, as i pointed out earlier, a line that plays together will always, always, always beat a line that just has talented individuals. (it's a lot like basketball... which is why team usa keeps getting beat.) all this line needs is time to digest what nall has taught them and learn how to play together.

the reason everyone is bashing you is because you're talking about replacing an oline coach that has consistently been a part of great, not good, offenses. we churn out 1000 yard rushers like the amish churn butter. we're the denver broncos of college football. seriously. no one out in denver wanted to fire gibbs, and i'm sure no one in atlanta (the leading rushing team in the league) wants him out now either.

in the same regard, it's okay to dissect the play of the line and point out deficiencies. it just makes you look you're uninformed and have too short a memory to say that those problems (during a three game stretch in one single season) warrant firing a coach who has been incredibly successful in your program. i mean by your logic i'd look at the fact that q and browder and gunn didn't really put a lot of pressure on russell and say it's almost time to think about firing terry price... it's just dumb.

this offense will end up finishing in the top 3 in the conference in both yardage and scoring AND will have the leading rusher in the conference (barring injury). the offensive line is going to be a HUGE reason for that happening (for the third season in a row).

Did you even read my previous post? Someone earlier said that 4 of our o-lineman should be drafted. So I said, that doesn't mean that they are playing great. Then I gave the example of FSU having 5 defensive guys go in the first round of last years draft having struggled as a team. My point was that just because we have the talent doesn't mean we are playing to our potential. I agree, a less talented team that plays disciplined fundamental football will always beat a more talented team. The fact that the poster says we have this talent but we still aren't playing well supported my point that Coach Nall needs to work on things. Believe me, my high school team had less talent than virtually every team we played...we NEVER lost. Why, because we were a well coached unit, playing together, not for ourselves. I don't mind people disagreeing with me, I think thats great. I do have a problem when it is said that I have no football knowledge. EVERYONE agrees with me that the line needs to improve, I guess I went too far by saying that I think coach Nall has not impressed me. I am glad he makes everyone else happy. Since he is obviously going to be at Auburn for awhile, I hope he can get the line to start playing better.

[tidesnightmare 0]

If you have doubts about our o-line and I thought about this...We were good enough to drive the ball down and score on one of the best if not the best D's and still win the game with that one score. Even though we all think our o-line needs improvement thats still pretty good in my book. Nall is a hard nose coach who'll get it done and I'm more than pleased with the coaches and players. It's great to be a AU fan right now and I really believe its gonna get better before the year ends.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

jwise, you didn't read my post either. no where in it did i say you lacked football knowledge. i said you overstepped any boundary of logic by saying we needed to replace a coach that has been a huge part of the most successful stretch of offensive play in school history. the line needs to improve, and as nall's track record shows, we have every reason to believe that they will do exactly that.

like i said, it is completely acceptable to look at a play, see that glen dorsey, a defensive tackle, went untouched through the a gap, then point out that either cope missed the call or the guard had a mental collapse and our coaches/players have to get that corrected. those are football evaluations that you're capable of making on your own. you lose credibility when you see that play and say "i think we should fire hugh nall."