Post Game Thoughts

[StatTiger 3,188]

Yesterday’s game against Georgia has to rank right up there with the 2001 loss to Alabama. Now I know how the Georgia fans felt when Auburn jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead in 1999. To Auburn’s credit, the majority of fans hung around until the early fourth period before making their exit.

I thought the game would be close and Georgia was only as bad as they were (6-4) because of the turnovers. If they could eliminate their own mistakes, they had more than enough talent to beat Auburn simply because Ole Miss and South Carolina hung with Auburn until the very end.

I’m a numbers guy and I’m always looking for the trends. Auburn came into the game with some ugly trends and they caught up with the Tigers just as they did against Arkansas. Of course, Auburn has added a new trend since the Arkansas game, which is self-destruction. With the recent turnover bug, Auburn is now in position to make close victories into ugly losses.

Auburn cannot protect it’s quarterback against an above average defensive line. Auburn lacks the ability to make big plays on offense. Auburn’s passing game only works when the running game can provide support. The defense cannot apply consistent pressure on the quarterback, which has now resulted in too many big plays. The offense is starting to turn the ball over and the defense cannot get a “3 and out” to save it’s life. These are trends the Auburn team must combat, which makes for a very up and down performance on the field.

Offensive Comments:

Lots of talk about Coach Borges being predictable and I’ve wavered back and forth on this one. I believe there is some truth to this but I still believe that it’s more about Auburn’s personnel than the play calling.

The offensive line hasn’t improved this season, which is a major concern. Auburn’s offensive numbers improved in the three games prior to Georgia but I stated that I wasn’t sold until we played another quality defense. Four sacks and four interceptions later, I believe we have our answer. I’m thrilled by all the running backs we have recruited under Tuberville and the recent verbal from Kodi Burns but it would be nice to sign some big time offensive linemen too.

I realize Coach Nall has done wonders with making undersized walkons into competitive centers but it would be great to see him make a 4-star center into an All-American.

We are what we are on offense right now and not much will change this season. Brandon Cox is a solid quarterback when all about him is well. Take one working piece out of the lineup and it spells trouble. I like many others am disappointed that Tim Hawthorne was not allowed to play this season. This offense lacked play-makers at the receiver position and the few we had at running back have been plagued with injuries this season.

Looking at how Arkansas utilized all of it’s skilled players this season reminded me of the 2004 Auburn offense. It’s sad to know that players like Hawthorne, Mario Fannin and even Tristan Davis could have given this offense some spark, even if it were just for a few isolated plays per game. What happened to the quick passes to the running backs in the flat, we saw against Florida? What happened to getting the running backs or even the tightends more involved in the passing game? Have you noticed that the majority of Brandon’s interceptions have occurred outside the hash-marks?

Defense:

I’ve defended Coach Muschamp all season but will admit it’s becoming more difficult to do. I still believe that he’s a good coach trying to install his system with average talent in the heart of the Auburn defense. Other than Sen’Derrick Marks, what other DT has made more dominating players within the interior line?

Auburn has good rush-ends that struggle against the run and when you can’t apply pressure from the tackle position, it makes it easier to defend the speed we have from Groves and Gunn on the ends. Just push everything outside and up and the opposing quarterback can step up in the pocket to buy a few more seconds.

Dede plays with plenty of heart but he’s not a middle linebacker. Will Herring is tough as nails but it should have been a major red flag, when he was moved to linebacker this season. I do like Aaron Savage very much and Eric Brock too. Wilhite is good when healthy but Auburn’s front seven is slightly above average at best. This is the very reason why I believe Muschamp deserves a pass this season.

Special Teams:

Keep up the great work. I still cannot believe that we have not been able to find one punt returner that can pose some type of threat to the opponent. Not just this season but almost every season under this current staff.

Final comments:

I really like Coach Tuberville in terms of his overall abilities to run the Auburn football program. I’m no expert and will not get into the issue of staff changes but something needs to change. If it’s talent at certain positions, than go out and find it. If it’s coaching, then hire the right person for the job. Recruiting has been great under this staff except for down linemen on both sides of the ball.

It’s been a strange season when 9-2 isn’t being celebrated but there are good reasons for it. We all know what this coaching staff is capable of doing, which makes it even more frustrating. The 2004 season was no fluke. You don’t go 13-0 in the Southeastern Conference without doing things the right way the majority of time. Like many of you, I’m very frustrated because I’m not positive on what the correct solutions should be.

Next Saturday will be a war and it just might get ugly again based on the match ups across the board. I will continue to support this current staff and players because I know the effort is there. As long as they continue to fight, it’s all I can ask as a fan. Make no mistake about it, this team is in dire need of changes and I hope and pray the coaching staff finds the wisdom to make the right adjustments.

[302089 0]

Yesterday’s game against Georgia has to rank right up there with the 2001 loss to Alabama. Now I know how the Georgia fans felt when Auburn jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead in 1999. To Auburn’s credit, the majority of fans hung around until the early fourth period before making their exit.

I thought the game would be close and Georgia was only as bad as they were (6-4) because of the turnovers. If they could eliminate their own mistakes, they had more than enough talent to beat Auburn simply because Ole Miss and South Carolina hung with Auburn until the very end.

I’m a numbers guy and I’m always looking for the trends. Auburn came into the game with some ugly trends and they caught up with the Tigers just as they did against Arkansas. Of course, Auburn has added a new trend since the Arkansas game, which is self-destruction. With the recent turnover bug, Auburn is now in position to make close victories into ugly losses.

Auburn cannot protect it’s quarterback against an above average defensive line. Auburn lacks the ability to make big plays on offense. Auburn’s passing game only works when the running game can provide support. The defense cannot apply consistent pressure on the quarterback, which has now resulted in too many big plays. The offense is starting to turn the ball over and the defense cannot get a “3 and out†to save it’s life. These are trends the Auburn team must combat, which makes for a very up and down performance on the field.

Offensive Comments:

Lots of talk about Coach Borges being predictable and I’ve wavered back and forth on this one. I believe there is some truth to this but I still believe that it’s more about Auburn’s personnel than the play calling.

The offensive line hasn’t improved this season, which is a major concern. Auburn’s offensive numbers improved in the three games prior to Georgia but I stated that I wasn’t sold until we played another quality defense. Four sacks and four interceptions later, I believe we have our answer. I’m thrilled by all the running backs we have recruited under Tuberville and the recent verbal from Kodi Burns but it would be nice to sign some big time offensive linemen too.

I realize Coach Nall has done wonders with making undersized walkons into competitive centers but it would be great to see him make a 4-star center into an All-American.

We are what we are on offense right now and not much will change this season. Brandon Cox is a solid quarterback when all about him is well. Take one working piece out of the lineup and it spells trouble. I like many others am disappointed that Tim Hawthorne was not allowed to play this season. This offense lacked play-makers at the receiver position and the few we had at running back have been plagued with injuries this season.

Looking at how Arkansas utilized all of it’s skilled players this season reminded me of the 2004 Auburn offense. It’s sad to know that players like Hawthorne, Mario Fannin and even Tristan Davis could have given this offense some spark, even if it were just for a few isolated plays per game. What happened to the quick passes to the running backs in the flat, we saw against Florida? What happened to getting the running backs or even the tightends more involved in the passing game? Have you noticed that the majority of Brandon’s interceptions have occurred outside the hash-marks?

Defense:

I’ve defended Coach Muschamp all season but will admit it’s becoming more difficult to do. I still believe that he’s a good coach trying to install his system with average talent in the heart of the Auburn defense. Other than Sen’Derrick Marks, what other DT has made more dominating players within the interior line?

Auburn has good rush-ends that struggle against the run and when you can’t apply pressure from the tackle position, it makes it easier to defend the speed we have from Groves and Gunn on the ends. Just push everything outside and up and the opposing quarterback can step up in the pocket to buy a few more seconds.

Dede plays with plenty of heart but he’s not a middle linebacker. Will Herring is tough as nails but it should have been a major red flag, when he was moved to linebacker this season. I do like Aaron Savage very much and Eric Brock too. Wilhite is good when healthy but Auburn’s front seven is slightly above average at best. This is the very reason why I believe Muschamp deserves a pass this season.

Special Teams:

Keep up the great work. I still cannot believe that we have not been able to find one punt returner that can pose some type of threat to the opponent. Not just this season but almost every season under this current staff.

Final comments:

I really like Coach Tuberville in terms of his overall abilities to run the Auburn football program. I’m no expert and will not get into the issue of staff changes but something needs to change. If it’s talent at certain positions, than go out and find it. If it’s coaching, then hire the right person for the job. Recruiting has been great under this staff except for down linemen on both sides of the ball.

It’s been a strange season when 9-2 isn’t being celebrated but there are good reasons for it. We all know what this coaching staff is capable of doing, which makes it even more frustrating. The 2004 season was no fluke. You don’t go 13-0 in the Southeastern Conference without doing things the right way the majority of time. Like many of you, I’m very frustrated because I’m not positive on what the correct solutions should be.

Next Saturday will be a war and it just might get ugly again based on the match ups across the board. I will continue to support this current staff and players because I know the effort is there. As long as they continue to fight, it’s all I can ask as a fan. Make no mistake about it, this team is in dire need of changes and I hope and pray the coaching staff finds the wisdom to make the right adjustments.

Please read my post "REALISTIICLY".