During the first quarter of Saturday night's game, I couldn't help but be reminded of the 2003 USC/Auburn game. Auburn's offense was absolutely atrocious and the defense couldn't seem to stop anything. I swear by all that is good and holy, if I never see another tight end drag, I'll die a happy man. In the end, though, Auburn pulled out a win against a quality opponent that will probably win seven or eight games this year. Here are the things that (1) impressed me; and (2) made me want to curl up in the fetal position:
Impressed:
(1) Quentin Groves: This guy is officially a monster. As a defensive force, Quentin has become the type of player that team's have to specifically gameplan against. He has the ability to single-handedly take over games, something that is extremely rare in the SEC.
(2) Defensive Line: Although Groves will get all of the headlines (deservedly), AU's d-line could be one of the best to ever suit up in the orange and blue. Sen'Derrick Marks, Josh Thompson, Pat Simms and Groves are absolutely filthy. Add in quality backups like Michael Goggans, Antonio Coleman, Antoine Carter, and Jake Ricks, and this D-line could be extremely special.
(3) Tray Blackmon: Although he was out of position on a few plays in the first half, Tray showed the speed and leverage that are going to make him a household name. Between blitzes and breaking up passes across the middle, this kid was a terror on the field. His last play was an interception right before halftime. During the return (in which he ran like a freakin' deer for 49 yards), Tray twisted his ankle and was out the rest of the game. If you need any evidence of what his play brings to the table, all you have to do is watch K-State's first two drives after halftime, which resulted in K-State's lone touchdown and a fieldgoal. The ankle injury reportedly is not serious and Blackmon should be fine for the USF game.
(4) Defense: Give credit to Muschamp. K-State came out with a very, very good offensive game plan: short passes, dink/dunk drives that didn't give time for AU's d-line to reach the behemoth that is Josh Freeman. After two drives, Muschamp adjusted effectively and took Freeman out of his comfort zone. Then, after K-State put together impressive drives coming out of halftime (see #3 above), Muschamp, again, put the D in a position to make plays. The end result was 318 total yards of offense (not bad), but only 13 points (when it could have been much, much worse).
(5) Special Teams: If you would have told me that the special teams were going to be the biggest strength in the game, I would have laughed in your face. Freshmen punter and field goal kicker with both starting kick returners out should have resulted in at least seven points for K-State. As it was, the special teams did not skip a beat from last year. Ryan Shoemaker averaged 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 53. Wes Byrum made 3 of 4 fieldgoals (missing a 47 yarder). Robert Dunn returned a punt 58 yards. Great observation by Ed Cunningham (who, along with Ron Franklin, is the Best Commentating Duo on T.V.): Dunn is not a blazer, but he has great body control and it certainly showed on that return.
Field goal kicker Byrum is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. When I think kicker, I think 5'8", 160 lbs soaking wet. Wes is 6'1", 213 lbs. On the opening kickoff, Wes twisted his ankle while trying to get in on the tackle. Tuberville's reaction? "He has not watched film: Kickers do not run down the field and make tackles," joked Tuberville. "That's the ol' defensive mentality." Beautiful.
(6) Ben Tate: Although his running was not overly impressive (23 carries, 82 yards, 3.9 per carry), Tate did a lot of the things you want your starting back to do. He ran north to south and followed his blockers well. He didn't fumble the ball. And, if you want some fun, rewatch the game and take a look at his blitz pickups. He was delivering some devastating blocks to protect Cox. Without Tate's blocking, Cox is sacked 3 or 4 more times. Running north/south, not fumbling, blitz pickups...doesn't sound like much, right? But these are the little things that are the difference between winning and losing ballgames. Give him some decent blocking and this kid will be reeling off 100 yard games. I was extremely worried about Lester's suspension. Now, I think AU will be fine.
(7) Receivers (catching): With the exception of Tommy "Not a Blocking Tight End" Trott, I thought the WR's and TE's did a great job catching the ball. Rodriquez stepped up and gave Cox a good target. The diving catch Gabe McKenzie made on 3rd down showed the remarkable athletic ability of this 6'4", 253 lb sophomore. All in all, a good game for a group of players that historically have not performed up to their potential.
Fetal Position
(1) Offense: The playcalling of 2004 and 2005 were nowhere to be found Saturday night. I'm not sure what has happened with Borges. It's one thing to have to gameplan with injuries (as he did last year). It's another to obstinately stick with a gameplan when it just isn't working. Here's the thing. K-State's defense was pretty predictable. They stacked the box and blitzed frequently. That meant, hypothetically, (1) it would be difficult to sustain a running game; and (2) Cox would be sacked on slow-developing pass plays. And guess what, it was difficult to sustain a running game and Cox was sacked on slow-developing pass plays. These two things happened over and over until the last drive of the game. Then, Borges called quick slants and TE releases and, I'll be damned, AU scored it's lone touchdown. Amazing. I have no idea why it took that long to change the gameplan. It may have been the stubborn need to create a running game; it may have been a desire not to "give away" looks for future opponents (doubtful); or, it may just have been an off night for Borges. Regardless of the reason, the playcalling was severely lacking.
Impressed:
(1) Quentin Groves: This guy is officially a monster. As a defensive force, Quentin has become the type of player that team's have to specifically gameplan against. He has the ability to single-handedly take over games, something that is extremely rare in the SEC.
(2) Defensive Line: Although Groves will get all of the headlines (deservedly), AU's d-line could be one of the best to ever suit up in the orange and blue. Sen'Derrick Marks, Josh Thompson, Pat Simms and Groves are absolutely filthy. Add in quality backups like Michael Goggans, Antonio Coleman, Antoine Carter, and Jake Ricks, and this D-line could be extremely special.
(3) Tray Blackmon: Although he was out of position on a few plays in the first half, Tray showed the speed and leverage that are going to make him a household name. Between blitzes and breaking up passes across the middle, this kid was a terror on the field. His last play was an interception right before halftime. During the return (in which he ran like a freakin' deer for 49 yards), Tray twisted his ankle and was out the rest of the game. If you need any evidence of what his play brings to the table, all you have to do is watch K-State's first two drives after halftime, which resulted in K-State's lone touchdown and a fieldgoal. The ankle injury reportedly is not serious and Blackmon should be fine for the USF game.
(4) Defense: Give credit to Muschamp. K-State came out with a very, very good offensive game plan: short passes, dink/dunk drives that didn't give time for AU's d-line to reach the behemoth that is Josh Freeman. After two drives, Muschamp adjusted effectively and took Freeman out of his comfort zone. Then, after K-State put together impressive drives coming out of halftime (see #3 above), Muschamp, again, put the D in a position to make plays. The end result was 318 total yards of offense (not bad), but only 13 points (when it could have been much, much worse).
(5) Special Teams: If you would have told me that the special teams were going to be the biggest strength in the game, I would have laughed in your face. Freshmen punter and field goal kicker with both starting kick returners out should have resulted in at least seven points for K-State. As it was, the special teams did not skip a beat from last year. Ryan Shoemaker averaged 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 53. Wes Byrum made 3 of 4 fieldgoals (missing a 47 yarder). Robert Dunn returned a punt 58 yards. Great observation by Ed Cunningham (who, along with Ron Franklin, is the Best Commentating Duo on T.V.): Dunn is not a blazer, but he has great body control and it certainly showed on that return.
Field goal kicker Byrum is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. When I think kicker, I think 5'8", 160 lbs soaking wet. Wes is 6'1", 213 lbs. On the opening kickoff, Wes twisted his ankle while trying to get in on the tackle. Tuberville's reaction? "He has not watched film: Kickers do not run down the field and make tackles," joked Tuberville. "That's the ol' defensive mentality." Beautiful.
(6) Ben Tate: Although his running was not overly impressive (23 carries, 82 yards, 3.9 per carry), Tate did a lot of the things you want your starting back to do. He ran north to south and followed his blockers well. He didn't fumble the ball. And, if you want some fun, rewatch the game and take a look at his blitz pickups. He was delivering some devastating blocks to protect Cox. Without Tate's blocking, Cox is sacked 3 or 4 more times. Running north/south, not fumbling, blitz pickups...doesn't sound like much, right? But these are the little things that are the difference between winning and losing ballgames. Give him some decent blocking and this kid will be reeling off 100 yard games. I was extremely worried about Lester's suspension. Now, I think AU will be fine.
(7) Receivers (catching): With the exception of Tommy "Not a Blocking Tight End" Trott, I thought the WR's and TE's did a great job catching the ball. Rodriquez stepped up and gave Cox a good target. The diving catch Gabe McKenzie made on 3rd down showed the remarkable athletic ability of this 6'4", 253 lb sophomore. All in all, a good game for a group of players that historically have not performed up to their potential.
Fetal Position
(1) Offense: The playcalling of 2004 and 2005 were nowhere to be found Saturday night. I'm not sure what has happened with Borges. It's one thing to have to gameplan with injuries (as he did last year). It's another to obstinately stick with a gameplan when it just isn't working. Here's the thing. K-State's defense was pretty predictable. They stacked the box and blitzed frequently. That meant, hypothetically, (1) it would be difficult to sustain a running game; and (2) Cox would be sacked on slow-developing pass plays. And guess what, it was difficult to sustain a running game and Cox was sacked on slow-developing pass plays. These two things happened over and over until the last drive of the game. Then, Borges called quick slants and TE releases and, I'll be damned, AU scored it's lone touchdown. Amazing. I have no idea why it took that long to change the gameplan. It may have been the stubborn need to create a running game; it may have been a desire not to "give away" looks for future opponents (doubtful); or, it may just have been an off night for Borges. Regardless of the reason, the playcalling was severely lacking.
The scary part: Every Defense Is Going to Play Auburn the Exact Same Way. Borges better be able to come up with an answer (which I think he partially did on the last drive) or it's going to be a very, very long season.
(2) Offensive Line: All right, going into this game, I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from the OL. Two freshman and only one returning starter tempered my expectations. But, 5 freakin' sacks? That doesn't even count the number of times Cox was hit after the play. The worst part?Oscar Gonzalez King Dunlap, left tackle, fifth year senior, preseason All-SEC pick and the only returning starter, graded out the worst. That is extremely disappointing. Cox (who suffered a bruised right shoulder and torn fingernail) will not make it through the season if this continues.
(3) Brandon Cox: OL woes aside, Cox played well below the expectations of what a fifth (sixth???) year starter should look like. He was staring down receivers all night (resulting in two interceptions). There were numerous plays where he focused on the "go to" receiver and missed open receivers. Even his audibles (usually a strong point) were often wrong, allowing blitzing LB's to come through unscathed. These are all things that he should not be doing this far into his career. Look, the kids a gamer; he's a winner; but last night he made a lot of stupid mistakes. What concerns me is that he should be beyond these mistakes by now. For now, I'll chalk it up to opening game jitters. Hopefully, by next Saturday, we'll see improvement.
(4) Receivers (blocking): Even though the receivers (TE's and WR's) did a great job catching the ball, they were pretty piss poor on blocking. There were a number of plays that could have resulting in big yards if the WR's had just blocked downfield. Instead, Tate or Stewart were gang tackled either at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. This is usually a strong point for AU, so I expect to see this taken care of pretty quickly.
(5) Tackling: As with blocking for receivers, AU usually plays very good fundamental football, including tackling. Last night, however, I saw a lot of arm tackling and bad angles (especially from the secondary). If we play like that against LSU, there will be about 300 yards made off of bubble screens and slants across the middle.
Bottom Line
A win is a win is a win. Get ready, because a lot of the games this year are going to be this way.
For a little perspective, though, remember, this weekend included the greatest upset of all time (and that is not hyperbole); an emotional V-Tech barely beat East Carolina; UCF beat NC State; SEC East darkhorse South Carolina did not play well against the Ragin Cajuns; and Texas was almost upset by Arkansas State. In other words, take AU's performance with a grain of salt. It was the opening game, where Goliath's are taken down and anything can happen.
As I wrote above, it was an ugly win, but I'll take it.
(2) Offensive Line: All right, going into this game, I wasn't expecting anything spectacular from the OL. Two freshman and only one returning starter tempered my expectations. But, 5 freakin' sacks? That doesn't even count the number of times Cox was hit after the play. The worst part?
(3) Brandon Cox: OL woes aside, Cox played well below the expectations of what a fifth (sixth???) year starter should look like. He was staring down receivers all night (resulting in two interceptions). There were numerous plays where he focused on the "go to" receiver and missed open receivers. Even his audibles (usually a strong point) were often wrong, allowing blitzing LB's to come through unscathed. These are all things that he should not be doing this far into his career. Look, the kids a gamer; he's a winner; but last night he made a lot of stupid mistakes. What concerns me is that he should be beyond these mistakes by now. For now, I'll chalk it up to opening game jitters. Hopefully, by next Saturday, we'll see improvement.
(4) Receivers (blocking): Even though the receivers (TE's and WR's) did a great job catching the ball, they were pretty piss poor on blocking. There were a number of plays that could have resulting in big yards if the WR's had just blocked downfield. Instead, Tate or Stewart were gang tackled either at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. This is usually a strong point for AU, so I expect to see this taken care of pretty quickly.
(5) Tackling: As with blocking for receivers, AU usually plays very good fundamental football, including tackling. Last night, however, I saw a lot of arm tackling and bad angles (especially from the secondary). If we play like that against LSU, there will be about 300 yards made off of bubble screens and slants across the middle.
Bottom Line
A win is a win is a win. Get ready, because a lot of the games this year are going to be this way.
For a little perspective, though, remember, this weekend included the greatest upset of all time (and that is not hyperbole); an emotional V-Tech barely beat East Carolina; UCF beat NC State; SEC East darkhorse South Carolina did not play well against the Ragin Cajuns; and Texas was almost upset by Arkansas State. In other words, take AU's performance with a grain of salt. It was the opening game, where Goliath's are taken down and anything can happen.
As I wrote above, it was an ugly win, but I'll take it.
2 comments:
Nice piece. I really have to think that CAB and CTT "scaled back" the gameplan in order to protect the young and inexperienced OL. I think that is rooted in their inability to trust our players to just make plays. It almost cost us. it will be interesting to see if we come out attacking USF.
BTW, you mention Oscar Gonzales in your OL section and it was King Dunlap.
WDE!
I think your reason is as good as any. I've never doubted Borges, but the playcalling against K-State was just so abnormally bad. Ugh. Hopefully, just an off night, or, as you wrote, hiding the hand.
Also, corrected as to Oscar.
Post a Comment