A-Day

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

It's a beautiful Spring morning in Auburn. Let's hope the rain holds off until after the FB game and the baseball game following.

I'm going to the pregame Letterman's Bar-BQ. Any of you going to be there?

[WAR-GIGEM-EAGLE 4]

It's a beautiful Spring morning in Auburn. Let's hope the rain holds off until after the FB game and the baseball game following.

I'm going to the pregame Letterman's Bar-BQ. Any of you going to be there?

have to work all freaking day --- any updates from the game worth noting??

how's the Todd/Burns match up going???

[bigsixfive 341]

It's a beautiful Spring morning in Auburn. Let's hope the rain holds off until after the FB game and the baseball game following.

I'm going to the pregame Letterman's Bar-BQ. Any of you going to be there?

have to work all freaking day --- any updates from the game worth noting??

how's the Todd/Burns match up going???

Todd started off looking not-so hot. He did get a little better as the game progressed. It seemed like the plays that were called for a while were just beyond his current ability (a bunch of longer passes). When they started giving him shorter stuff, he did much better. He did well just getting the ball to a receiver in the middle and letting them make the plays. The worst thing he did, in my opinion, was hold on to the ball too long resulting in long yardage sacks. We can't continue doing that.

Burns looked pretty good. He made several bonehead decisions that would have more than likely led to a turnover in a game, but he made some good ones as well. He had some nice touch on some of his passes, but the boy still has a cannon. I liked the TD pass over the middle, that was excellent - timing, touch, and accuracy were dead on. He's fast too, the 2 hand touch rule was a disadvantage to him. He's got some room to improve, but from what I saw today, I like Burns.

Caudle looked pretty bad. Reckless with the ball.

I headed out as Furr was going in, but he sounded impressive on the radio. Very physical guy.

[Auburn 6 101]

It's a beautiful Spring morning in Auburn. Let's hope the rain holds off until after the FB game and the baseball game following.

I'm going to the pregame Letterman's Bar-BQ. Any of you going to be there?

have to work all freaking day --- any updates from the game worth noting??

how's the Todd/Burns match up going???

Todd started off looking not-so hot. He did get a little better as the game progressed. It seemed like the plays that were called for a while were just beyond his current ability (a bunch of longer passes). When they started giving him shorter stuff, he did much better. He did well just getting the ball to a receiver in the middle and letting them make the plays. The worst thing he did, in my opinion, was hold on to the ball too long resulting in long yardage sacks. We can't continue doing that.

Burns looked pretty good. He made several bonehead decisions that would have more than likely led to a turnover in a game, but he made some good ones as well. He had some nice touch on some of his passes, but the boy still has a cannon. I liked the TD pass over the middle, that was excellent - timing, touch, and accuracy were dead on. He's fast too, the 2 hand touch rule was a disadvantage to him. He's got some room to improve, but from what I saw today, I like Burns.

Caudle looked pretty bad. Reckless with the ball.

I headed out as Furr was going in, but he sounded impressive on the radio. Very physical guy.

agree with most of it, although i didn't think caudle looked that bad. not as good as burns or todd, but not terrible. furr looked good running the ball, and like burns, suffered from the touch rule. his passing was off most of the time, he was missing wide open receivers and overthrowing or underthrowing screen passes. he did lay out marks, that was awesome. one of the running backs cut back and was being chased by marks, furr ran and just leveled marks. the student section erupted in cheers.

[AUman43 5]

Nice Summary by Phillip Marshall with more to come later

A-Day game is in the books

Posted by Phillip Marshall, The Huntsville Times March 29, 2008 4:04 PM

Categories: FootballI've made the quick walk from Jordan-Hare Stadium to Plainsman Park, where Auburn's baseball team leads Tennessee 2-0 with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Another A-Day game has come and gone. As spring games go, this one was more entertaining than most. The Blue team, represented by the No. 1 offense, won 30-14.

Here are some stats of interest:

* Sophomore quarterback Kodi Burns completed 14-of-18 for 142 yards playing for the Blue team. He threw a 28-yard scoring strike to Robert Dunn. Playing for the White, Burns was 0-for-3.

* Junior college transfer quarterback Chris Todd completed 17-of-24 for 183 yards while playing for the Blue team. He threw a 3-yard touchdown pas to Dunn. Playing for the White team, he was 1-for-3 for 7 yards.

* Ben Tate scored two rushing touchdowns and and had 22 yards on five carries.

* The Blue team ran 80 plays in Tony Franklin's spread, gained 332 yards passing and 53 yards rushing. The rushing stats are badly skewed because all it takes to get a sack is to touch the quarterback.

* The White team managed just 171 yards total offense.

* Linebacker Josh Bynes got one of the White team's touchdowns when he intercepted a Neil Caudle pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.

* Caudle was 10-for-17 for 80 yards for the White team. He threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Chris Slaughter. The interception was his only pass for the Blue team.

* There was only one penalty in the game, a 5-yarder in the fourth quarter.

I'll be back later with lots of notes, quotes and analysis.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

The game format didn't lend itself to really judging the QBs but none of them looked good to me. Todd got better after a slow start and has a good touch on the ball. Kodi was just very average. Caudle was a step behind and I thought Furr was terrible. He made lots of bad throws, didn't seem to know what to do except scramble a lot, and threw the only interception of the day which Bynes ran back for a TD. He did make the lick of the day when he clobbered #96 (?) who didn't see it coming. There were lots of dropped balls. Tate, Dunn and Ziemba stood out on offense as much as I could tell.

The defense was somewhat better. Vickers and Bynes made some noticibly good plays. The kicking game was hot and cold and rates a C at best.

Overall it was just a typical A-Day. Just a nice day on the plains with lots of former players and a lot of visiting prospects here.

[bigsixfive 341]

Bynes is gonna be a stud. He stood out to me today. He's like Blackmon because he's all over the place and in a lot of plays, but bigger. Vickers looks like a force back there too. That kid is freaking tall, and he's solid. Everyone is buzzing about the offense, but its the defense that we'll have next year that should really get folks pumped up.

[weagle83 0]

I think Todd will be the QB to beat in the fall. Once he settled down a little in the second qtr., he looked like the better QB......much more "cool headed". However, Burns did look pretty sharp on the 28 yarder for a TD.

I thought Evans had a good day at LB. Did anyone see the block DeRon Furr put on the DE late in the game. Definitely the hardest lick of the day.....it was a pancake.

[Auburn 6 101]

The game format didn't lend itself to really judging the QBs but none of them looked good to me. Todd got better after a slow start and has a good touch on the ball. Kodi was just very average. Caudle was a step behind and I thought Furr was terrible. He made lots of bad throws, didn't seem to know what to do except scramble a lot, and threw the only interception of the day which Bynes ran back for a TD. He did make the lick of the day when he clobbered #96 (?) who didn't see it coming. There were lots of dropped balls. Tate, Dunn and Ziemba stood out on offense as much as I could tell.

The defense was somewhat better. Vickers and Bynes made some noticibly good plays. The kicking game was hot and cold and rates a C at best.

Overall it was just a typical A-Day. Just a nice day on the plains with lots of former players and a lot of visiting prospects here.

it was actually caudle that threw the interception, not furr. furr did look lost out there when progressing through his reads, i was expecting better. in addition to the players you mentioned, tommy trott really stodd out to me. he seemed to be cathing the ball all the time. vickers, bynes, and blackmon looked great out there. kicking game was not so great, they missed a field goal and an extra point, made worse by the fact that the defense didn't try to block any kicking attempts. it wasn't just byrum out there kicking, he didn't kick very much, but i don't remember the other kicker's name.

[SkeeterAUfan 0]

War Damn Eagle!!!!!!1

I had been plannin on drivin my truck over that way to catch some of the action today, but I woke up with a bit of a cold today and decided that i was going to stay home and was gonna watch some of this basketball thats gonna be on tonight. sure do wish we had our tigers still alive in the action on the hardwood, but oh well, cant have everything, at least we still have our tigers on the field! war eagle!

video somewhere>?

[AUTiger1 0]

We were cleaning up the house to have some friends over to grill out tonight so I didn't catch that much from the radio. I had it streaming but caught bits and pieces. Then the turds (they are a couple of bammers) call us and tell us they are not going to make it so I wasted an entire day instead of listening to the game. From what I heard Kodi and Chris Todd didn't look all that bad. Sounded pretty good what little I caught. How did the D look other than Bynes interception?

[AU alum 2]

CSS was supposed to show a replay of the game at 6 pm. It hasn't started yet (it is almost 7 pm) because the AU-UT baseball game went into the 11th inning. And I imagine it will cut into the game, since something else is scheduled after the Auburn game. Don't they realize, they have shown 9 innings? They can switch over to football? I mean, it's not like there isn't another baseball game tomorrow. Football we won't see for 5 months. And to make it worse, Auburn is losing the baseball game.

[Orange_and_Blue 0]

Burns looked the best out of all the QB's today, and it shows in his stats. He is too explosive and dynamic running it as well, (which was hurt by the touch rule today), to even consider Todd as having the upper hand. This is not to say Todd looked bad because he did look good, but overall none of the QB's look to be quite where we want them. So until that happens Kodi with his ability to run or pass is clearly the best. Todd showed signs of Brandon Cox like pocket presence in terms of holding on to the ball too long. Lets hope he fixes this fast because taking some of those sacks he took is unacceptable and will cause us a win if he pulls that in a game.

[Hoopie 6]

Todd had second string receivers most of the time that didn't get open early. Todd easily had the best drive of the day when with the first string. He found the open receiver and at times looked at 4 receivers until he foundthe open guy. Burns took off running if the first 2 weren't open. Todd looked better when they only gave him short routes to throw.

[GoAU 1,696]

Just got back (stopped at AU with the camper on the way back from FL, and drove in the rain the whole way back) and I think Burns looked quite a bit better than Todd. To be honest, I thought Caudle looked as good as Todd too. Furr did have the hit of the game too, wow what a shot. There were several times Todd held on to the ball way too long and got sacked - granted all may not have been sacks with the "touch" rule, but then again there weren't any fumbles from a hit either.

I thought for the most part our recievers looked good (Dunn stands out as well as Billings). The D seemed to be tackling pretty well too. Overall I am still pretty optimistic about next season.

[autiger4life 3]

Todd had second string receivers most of the time that didn't get open early. Todd easily had the best drive of the day when with the first string. He found the open receiver and at times looked at 4 receivers until he foundthe open guy. Burns took off running if the first 2 weren't open. Todd looked better when they only gave him short routes to throw.

I think you might be confusing Todd hanging on to the ball to find the open reciever with Todd holding on to the ball way to long and taking several sacks. I would rather a player go through progressions and be able to scramble if possible. I though Todd looked content to sit in the pocket and if nothing got open just take a sack. I thought Burns looked much better and would have looked tons better if it was tackle.

To be honest, I thought Caudle looked as good as Todd too.

Completely agree. Neil had some guys drop wide open passes, I remember two at the beggining of the second half really well. He only threw one with the starters(the interception) but I thought he did well and had two nice scrambles.

[lca408 380]

I think you might be confusing Todd hanging on to the ball to find the open reciever with Todd holding on to the ball way to long and taking several sacks. I would rather a player go through progressions and be able to scramble if possible. I though Todd looked content to sit in the pocket and if nothing got open just take a sack. I thought Burns looked much better and would have looked tons better if it was tackle.

I agree. I didn't think Todd looked bad, he just didn't look good. He didn't impress me. He made a few very good throws, and then negated them by taking a sack. But I do wonder what he'll look like when his shoulder is back to normal. There's no doubt that he's the better passer, but Kodi looked slightly better out there yesterday.

IMO, Caudle still has a case. He didn't look awful, in fact, I don't think he looked any worse than Todd did. Caudle just didn't distinguish himself. The most impressive aspect of Neil Caudle's performance? His runs. He's faster than I thought.

Todd will get better by the end of summer, but Kodi will be getting better too. He didn't make too many bad decisions. I remember 1 pass thrown into double coverage, 1 pass thrown behind the reciever, and 1 pass to Smith thrown too high. He'll get better. Barring academic problems or an injury, Kodi should make steady progress through summer workouts and by fall, I expect him to be a capable player in the spread. Of course, it may take him another year of trials to become "dynamic."

Ryan

[RunInRed 18,613]

Why all the drama? Todd is being propped up to push Burns and nothing more. KB will be the QB by the time the warhawks come into town. Sure we will hear the back and forth coach speak between now and then but make no mistake, barring a total collaspe, Kodi will be the guy.

[LegalEagle 22]

Did anyone notice the strange throwing motion Todd has? Is this due to injury or is it his normal motion. It seemed he was pushing the ball away from his neck or the side of his head. It did not look natural or fluid to me.

If you watch the replay Thursday evening, look for this and comment.

[quietfan 233]

This concerned me when I read it:

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/mobilereg...&thispage=2

Reserve quarterbacks Neil Caudle and DeRon Furr played for large parts of the second half. Franklin said he was annoyed at the sideline demeanor of Burns and Todd.

"I didn't like their leadership on the sidelines," Franklin said. "Both of them were signaling in formations and a couple times when Neil was doing it, they weren't. I don't like that. I don't like that they didn't do what they were supposed to do. They weren't being good team guys at the time."

Hopefully, this was just an aberration and not a sign of real attitude problems. Otherwise, CTF might need to plan a few post-practice "attitude adjustment" sessions for the two QB's. Did anyone there notice anything? This is the first hint I've heard of any such behavior from Burns or Todd, however, so I'll assume it was a fluke.

[Hoopie 6]

Actually, I noticed earlier in the game that the Qb's were going out of their way to support and discuss amongst themselves, especially Todd. I remember when Caudle threw the pick six, KB and CT came over to give a pat and advice. Furr was in there with 2-4 stringers and the sideline attitude relaxed, maybe the Qb's forgot to support the young kid. I can't imagine it was on purpose. It is great that CTF noticed and called them out for it. I bet it doesn't happen again.

[weagle83 0]

I noticed several occasions in the second half where Todd and Burns were not signaling plays. Todd was sitting on his helmet and Burns was standing off to the side with his arms crossed. My understanding of the offense is that if a QB is not in the game, he is suppose to help signal. The more signaling, the less chance the opposing team has of recognizing signals.

[dyehardaufan 0]

i noticed this as well. I only stayed for the first half but I never saw Todd signaling plays when Burns was on the field. I saw Burns do it in the first half when he was not in the game. Caudle did it when Burns was on the field.

I thought Burns looked better and if his first couple reads were not there he took off and if it wasnt for the touch rule he could have had several 20 plus yard runs. Todd i thought looked inconsistent and sat way too long in the pocket. He also seems like he has a hard time seeing over the line. But from what it sounds like listening to CTF if Todd can walk in the Fall he will be the starter.

[autiger4life 3]

But from what it sounds like listening to CTF if Todd can walk in the Fall he will be the starter.

Man, that is exactly what I am getting from it. It seems no matter what happens out there, CTF is still convinced that Todd is the one. If he is, then he will prove it in practice. Don't worry about what he did at Texas Tech, if he is all that then he should be showing it.

[vatz22au 142]

But from what it sounds like listening to CTF if Todd can walk in the Fall he will be the starter.

Man, that is exactly what I am getting from it. It seems no matter what happens out there, CTF is still convinced that Todd is the one. If he is, then he will prove it in practice. Don't worry about what he did at Texas Tech, if he is all that then he should be showing it.

Seems like runinred63 had a good point earlier. Although I disagree Todd was brought in just to push Burns... a coach knows that the players also read the media. What seems to be a common thing on this thread is much more negativity towards everybody but Burns. That either says alot or there is alot of hope. We'll see.