Missed opportunities

[Raven_tiger 5]

This year shaped up as possibly one of the better years to make a run at the MNC. With tough opponents such as LSU, UF, Arky and UGA at home could you really ask for anything more? A veteran QB with an outstanding (deep) backfield. An OC with a history of success with the returning QB. Questions were yet to be answered in several areas, specifically: WRs, DBs and OL. However, it seems as the season has progressed that the talent is in place but the offensive gameplans are not as innovative as they were two years ago. I believe the novelty (to the SEC) of Borges' offense has worn off.

I have been critical of Muschamp, but if you look at the statistics, the offense has not pulled its weight all season. How can you expect a defense to play well when the offense can not put together sustained drives and score TDs in the redzone? With the stable of running backs that we possess, it is difficult to understand why we can not run and rely on our QB for only 10-15 pass attempts per game. Run, play field position, and play good defense.

We found ourselves back in the hunt for a BCS bowl and a very large bowl payout. Unfortunately we “Tubby Flopped”, again. Home blowout losses can happen, but TWO in one season??? Not only did the loss cost the program in terms in national respect but AU loss several MILLION DOLLARS in lost revenue that would have been part of a BCS appearance. Why can’t Tubby enjoy and capitalize on prosperity? The more time passes, the more I believe that 2004 was an aberration for Tubby. Tubby has done a great job recruiting and running a clean program. For that I thank him. However those are only facets of the head coaching job, Tubby’s ultimate goal is the win the NC. Tubby stated that goal, more than once.

I hope that the issues that have been so obvious ALL season are corrected before the Iron Bowl. If not, there is a very distinct possibility that Bama won’t roll over just because we showed up in BDS. UAT scored 14 on LSU in DV; we could only muster 7 AT HOME. Let’s hope that the coaches get their act together. 11-2 or 9-4, it’s up to the coaching staff.

WDE

[OKieAuburnDoug 1]

I don't see any improvement offensively or defensively unless the backup Ols (who will be starters next year) improve and AU gets a new DC..........

senior LBs do what they are told..if the schemes put them out of position it's teh DC's fault. PERIOD!

[Raven_tiger 5]

I don't see any improvement offensively or defensively unless the backup Ols (who will be starters next year) improve and AU gets a new DC..........

senior LBs do what they are told..if the schemes put them out of position it's teh DC's fault. PERIOD!

Well our offense (scoring) is ranked #48 while the defense is ranked #11. Who deserves to be under the microscope???

[edgecy 3]

Raven, why do you always have to make so much sense?

[TigerGlide 1]

I don't see any improvement offensively or defensively unless the backup Ols (who will be starters next year) improve and AU gets a new DC..........

senior LBs do what they are told..if the schemes put them out of position it's teh DC's fault. PERIOD!

Well our offense (scoring) is ranked #48 while the defense is ranked #11. Who deserves to be under the microscope???

Thank you for pointing that out. Although, I will point out that Brandon, Kenny and Courtney have been banged up all year.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

raven, i usually disagree with you. i really opened this fully expecting a semi-standard, "hugh nall sucks. the defense is terrible. it's all the coaches' fault," rant, and i was (nearly) excited to get to say some good stuff in contradiction to your normal eeyore routine. but ya done good here.

this was a team with opportunity. personally, i thought the expectations were too high for a number of reasons (too much youth at wr with a qb that can't really ad lib b/c of a lack of arm strength and speed, another new dc, etc.), but they definitely had a favorable schedule to go along with a lot of talent.

and they've been a very good team. for all their flaws this still has a chance to be one of 3 (i think) teams in auburn history to win 11 games in a year. that's a nice notch on the belt. we did cost ourselves money by losing to uga, but i will disagree with you in one regard. we didn't lose a lot of national prominence. we dropped in the polls that's about where we belong, not because people don't respect us anymore.

i think anyone with eyes can see that arkansas has turned from a charmed good team (with early lucky wins over bama and vandy) to a very, very good sec champion caliber team. they're better than us. that's why they beat us. uga was the blip. that's the one game we lost to a team we were better than. so i don't feel like our coaches have done a bad job of prepping the team for this season, and i actually feel pretty good about our chances this week and in bowl season (especially if we get psu).

and i agree with you about borges. he a good coach. i just think he got a little spoiled. offensively, this season has always felt like we were talking about what we didn't have: namely, 3 first rounders in the backfield and 4 1,000 yard receivers. but all you have to do is look at arkansas to see what we should've been. same setup. one good receiver, one great running back, one really good running back, and a qb that can make a play when asked. instead, we've been stale and never really gained a balance or hit a stride in playcalling this year.

neither borges or muschamp need to go. we need to give the players (especially defensively) time to learn the systems (young offense next year) and trust the coaches to find it. i still think we have the best (or damn near) staff in the sec. if you like football (and aren't solely focused on winning a national title with everything else disappointing you), next year will be a lot of fun. it's going to be a good time watching that team develop and grow, and i, for one, won't miss the self-impossed pressure of this season. i'm ready for the iron bowl! and i'm excited to see this team finish strong, but i am just as excited for next year.

[autigeremt 6,666]

I will agree with 99% of these posts.....but one thing is for sure to me.

UGA is more talented than we are! Their size and speed on defense, as well as their QB and O line.

Our D line and middle LB needs to be bigger. Speed is one thing, but size with quickness is another ball of wax!

I am a huge Brandon Cox fan. I watched him beat UGA last year, rip UAT apart, and push this team to victory in several games. But he is hobled, and his arm strength is noticable (lack there of).