Defense

[TexasTiger 13,006]

Our D gave up too many big plays, but only 263 yards today. Chizik's D has given up 357 passing yards in the first half alone. Just a little perspective...

[bigsixfive 328]

Most teams looked bad again today, with the exception of OSU. UM, UW, USC, UTex, and UF all had off days - AGAIN. I know its said every year, but this has been a weird season.

[aerotiger 0]

Our D gave up too many big plays, but only 263 yards today. Chizik's D has given up 357 passing yards in the first half alone. Just a little perspective...

Chizik is playing against one of the most high powered offenses in the country and they are shutting them down in the second half.

Our D got punked by Ole Miss...not quite the same offense as Texas Tech...

[TexasTiger 13,006]

Our D gave up too many big plays, but only 263 yards today. Chizik's D has given up 357 passing yards in the first half alone. Just a little perspective...

Chizik is playing against one of the most high powered offenses in the country and they are shutting them down in the second half.

Our D got punked by Ole Miss...not quite the same offense as Texas Tech...

If AU had given up 357 yards and 31 points in a half to ANYONE, including Texas Tech, this board would be going ballistic.

[aerotiger 0]

I agree, but the comparison between Texas Tech and Ole Miss is still completely invalid. There's no telling how many yards (or points) a good offense would have put on us today. Ole Myth scored 3 points last week. They are dead last in SEC offensive statisics...completely inept, yet they were movin the ball pretty well on us. The only reason they didn't have more yards is that our drives took up a lot of time.

[Ranger12 46]

If AU had given up 357 yards and 31 points in a half to ANYONE, including Texas Tech, this board would be going ballistic.

Very good point. Regardless of who you are playing, if you give up that many yards in just one half of play, you ain't doing too good.

I am not happy with our defensive play either, but I think more of the blame falls on the players for lack of execution then it does CWM. I do think there are some things CWM can do to make it a little better, but as far as the tackling goes, he can't show them anything new because they all should know how to do that by now. If you bench them, then who do you replace them with? It is not like we our deep on defense. We are young enough as it is with our starters.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Did anyone mention we won

[Ranger12 46]

Did anyone mention we won

If you do that, you are called a "sunshine pumper"...like that is some type of bad thing.

[Raven_tiger 5]

If AU had given up 357 yards and 31 points in a half to ANYONE, including Texas Tech, this board would be going ballistic.

Very good point. Regardless of who you are playing, if you give up that many yards in just one half of play, you ain't doing too good.

I am not happy with our defensive play either, but I think more of the blame falls on the players for lack of execution then it does CWM. I do think there are some things CWM can do to make it a little better, but as far as the tackling goes, he can't show them anything new because they all should know how to do that by now. If you bench them, then who do you replace them with? It is not like we our deep on defense. We are young enough as it is with our starters.

The big difference is that Chizik made adjustments at halftime with the result being ZERO second half points for Tech. I'm still waiting for Muschamp to make adjustments 9 games into the season.

[edgecy 3]

Um.. yeah... that logic is not gonna fly around here. Texas Tech is not the samething as Ole Miss. That's apple and orange.

Guys, our D did great today, we held them to 260 yards, 30 yards below our average. For a D that has been sucking all year, this is one positive development!

[mcgufcm 4,107]

texas tech is by no means an offensive powerhouse. they WERE. as in: in the past, they could score, but that's not this year.

texas tech at tcu? 3 points in a loss. at colorado? 6 points in a loss. have they scored some big point games? sure. but how impressive are those 42 against iowa state, which is currently sitting at 0-5 in the big 12. they were the 7th ranked scoring offense in the big 12 at the start of the day. this was not an offensive powerhouse. texas just played a pathetic ballgame.

does that make auburn's defense better? nope. we're play sloppy and inconsistent. one second q and gunn look like they can't be blocked... the next you don't know they're on the field. we still get gashed on inside running plays. our safeties apparently don't know that a tight end is eligible. all of that is true.

here's what else is true: this auburn team knows how to win. we've had teams that were actually a lot better than this one with much worse records (2002 is a group that jumps out at me) because they let games slip away (florida and uga). this team doesn't do that. they win close games, and that's a great thing to see. it means you're tough. it means you know how to execute down the stretch. do i think this team is frustratingly inconsistent? yes, but i'm also proud of them for winning games week in and week out.

[edgecy 3]

texas tech is by no means an offensive powerhouse. they WERE. as in: in the past, they could score, but that's not this year.

texas tech at tcu? 3 points in a loss. at colorado? 6 points in a loss. have they scored some big point games? sure. but how impressive are those 42 against iowa state, which is currently sitting at 0-5 in the big 12. they were the 7th ranked scoring offense in the big 12 at the start of the day. this was not an offensive powerhouse. texas just played a pathetic ballgame.

does that make auburn's defense better? nope. we're play sloppy and inconsistent. one second q and gunn look like they can't be blocked... the next you don't know they're on the field. we still get gashed on inside running plays. our safeties apparently don't know that a tight end is eligible. all of that is true.

here's what else is true: this auburn team knows how to win. we've had teams that were actually a lot better than this one with much worse records (2002 is a group that jumps out at me) because they let games slip away (florida and uga). this team doesn't do that. they win close games, and that's a great thing to see. it means you're tough. it means you know how to execute down the stretch. do i think this team is frustratingly inconsistent? yes, but i'm also proud of them for winning games week in and week out.

Pfft. What's with the sunshine pumping?

[mcgufcm 4,107]

oh you're right raven. our defense looked the exact same in the first half against florida as they did in the second half. no adjustment there at all. i'm cool with complaining when it's warranted. the selective memory is just ridiculous.

oh and uf didn't score a point on us in the second half... and their offense is a lot better than texas tech's. jeez.

[edgecy 3]

here's some perspective into how our D did against the 2nd mobile QB they faced this season:

Syvelle Newton:

Passing 21/35 for 240 yards

Rushing 20 for 44 yards

Brent Schaeffer:

Passing 8/16 for 161 yards

Rushing 7 for -19 yards

Considering both were considered dual threat I think our D has done a good job containing Brent Schaeffer. Now, why the yardage? Simple, inexperience and simply being too eager. Our linebacker bit on the play action on two plays, one resulted in 41 yards and another resulted in 38 yards. If you take away those two plays, Schaeffer passed for only 82 yards.

One of the things I keep hearing about our D today is that we can't stop the run when they run straight against our line. Well, Ole Miss called for 28 rushing plays and total net yards: 86, with 27 of those came on the first drive of the game where they scored a TD. Even with that calculated in our D gave up 3.1 yards per carry. Without that one rushing play by the WR, they average 2.2 yards per carry.

In this game we also committed a total of 9 penalties for 84 yards. One of them came on a 3rd and 1 which resulted in a 3rd and 6, our drive ended after the penalty, one could only imagine what would happen if we had not had that penalty. Another penalty was personal foul in the fourth quarter that brought the Ole Miss offense to Auburn 22 from Auburn 38 and resulted in an Ole Miss FG. My point? 9 penalties are not something we see everyday and it's definitely something we can fix. Hopefully by Arkansas State we will learn to play like real men out there instead of taking cheap shots at opposing players.

So, cheer up folks. We didn't do as bad as we thought and we didn't play as well as we wanted. But it's not all gloom and doom.

[Ryan Sanders 123]

What I thought kept us from blowing this game open like we should have was the field position. I don't care who you are.. It is very hard to drive 95 and 99 yards without stalling or turning the ball over, especially with an offense like ours, which takes its time.

[Raven_tiger 5]

oh you're right raven. our defense looked the exact same in the first half against florida as they did in the second half. no adjustment there at all. i'm cool with complaining when it's warranted. the selective memory is just ridiculous.

oh and uf didn't score a point on us in the second half... and their offense is a lot better than texas tech's. jeez.

You got me, Muschamp has made adjustments in 1 out of 9 games. I'm starting to feel better about Muschamp already...

[Ryan Sanders 123]

Was it his adjustments or Tuberville's mouth?

[DKW 86 7,440]

Our D gave up too many big plays, but only 263 yards today. Chizik's D has given up 357 passing yards in the first half alone. Just a little perspective...

Chizik is playing against one of the most high powered offenses in the country and they are shutting them down in the second half.

Our D got punked by Ole Miss...not quite the same offense as Texas Tech...

If AU had given up 357 yards and 31 points in a half to ANYONE, including Texas Tech, this board would be going ballistic.

I totally agree with Tex. We would be in total meltdown. We would have to clean the server for all the spittle coming through the keyboards.

[Ranger12 46]

I totally agree with Tex. We would be in total meltdown. We would have to clean the server for all the spittle coming through the keyboards.

Spittle on the server? Too funny. But probably true.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

256 yards is totally acceptable by me. especially given 1/4th of them came on 2 plays, right? other offenses have the ability to execute...we're not infallable.

we should be more upset at the dumb penalties, dropped balls, and suspect officiating than the defense, IMO.

ct

[GoAU 1,600]

oh you're right raven. our defense looked the exact same in the first half against florida as they did in the second half. no adjustment there at all. i'm cool with complaining when it's warranted. the selective memory is just ridiculous.

oh and uf didn't score a point on us in the second half... and their offense is a lot better than texas tech's. jeez.

You got me, Muschamp has made adjustments in 1 out of 9 games. I'm starting to feel better about Muschamp already...

Do you go through everything in your life with the "glass is half empty" attitude you always seem to have on this board? If so, what a miserable existance you must have.

[Raven_tiger 5]

oh you're right raven. our defense looked the exact same in the first half against florida as they did in the second half. no adjustment there at all. i'm cool with complaining when it's warranted. the selective memory is just ridiculous.

oh and uf didn't score a point on us in the second half... and their offense is a lot better than texas tech's. jeez.

You got me, Muschamp has made adjustments in 1 out of 9 games. I'm starting to feel better about Muschamp already...

Do you go through everything in your life with the "glass is half empty" attitude you always seem to have on this board? If so, what a miserable existance you must have.

Not at all. Like I said before, I just wonder why the glass wasn't optimized for the specific amount of liquid. There are ALWAYS areas to improve; sometimes accepting mediocrity is just...unacceptable. Perhaps you have just grown to accept mediocrity in your life. I don't and I'm living the dream. Try it; you may discover that you’re capable of great good things.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

If it is allowed to be positive here, I would note that:

--Cox had 253 yards passing, his season high

--we have now gone 10 quarters without a sack

--we ran 75 plays to Ole piss's 45

--we had the ball 15 min. and 44 sec. longer than Ole Piss

(that's a whole quarter).

I think we will get the O and D together against the dawgs and bammies.

[eagle76 1]

Maybe we just need to chill out and face the facts as they have presented themselves this season. AU is a good team but not GREAT. We have not developed total team chemistry (I have mentioned this several times now) and have not put a total game together.aybe we won't the entire year. I'm sure all the things that are driving us crazy about this team are just as baffling to the coaches. Sometimes no matter how kids are coached, they just seem to do things their own way in the game. The coaches can scream and "motivate' all they can but sometimes it just doesn't last very long in their minds. This team has found a way to win without looking good but they are still winning. They are a lot like your teenage children (those that have them or remember the days). You can teach/preach all you want and they will/may still do things their own way. If they turn out good kids, then just be thankful.

Let's just enjoy this team for who they are.

[TexasTiger 13,006]

Our D gave up too many big plays, but only 263 yards today. Chizik's D has given up 357 passing yards in the first half alone. Just a little perspective...

Chizik is playing against one of the most high powered offenses in the country and they are shutting them down in the second half.

Our D got punked by Ole Miss...not quite the same offense as Texas Tech...

If AU had given up 357 yards and 31 points in a half to ANYONE, including Texas Tech, this board would be going ballistic.

I totally agree with Tex. We would be in total meltdown. We would have to clean the server for all the spittle coming through the keyboards.

Great visual!