SB Nation - Neiko Thorpe

Oh, What Might Have Been!

Acid Reign — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:40:51 -0000

Alabama escapes from Auburn, 26-21.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now for the Acid Reign Report on the 2009 Iron Bowl. I'm of two minds about this game. Honestly, I think we should have won this game, but a few mistakes held us back. However, there is no questioning that Auburn put forth a superhuman effort. If Coach Gene Chizik and his staff can summon forth that sort energy in future Iron Bowls, we will do well!

In my keys to victory post 10 days ago, I said that the Tigers needed to chiefly do three things: run the ball, stop the run, and play turnover-free. There was a little bit of success running. Auburn stopped the run emphatically. Turnovers were costly. Both Chris Todd turnovers, a fumble and an interception, set up Bama field goal attempts. Leigh Tiffin honked one of those wide right, but the other was good, pulling Alabama within 1 point. Had we not had those turnovers, Wes Byrum might have been attempting a 54 yard field goal at the end to send it to overtime. I like Byrum's chances a lot better than a Hail Mary! Auburn also gave up avoiding kicking to Javier Arenas, and that cost Auburn. A 56 yard punt return set Alabama up at the Auburn 33, which resulted in another field goal. We'd have been better off punting it out of bounds for no gain, on that one!

The Tigers came out with a wide-open offensive game plan, utilizing all sorts of misdirection plays, reverses, double passes, and swinging gates. The scheme really slowed down the Alabama pursuit, and forced them to attack more than they wanted. When Alabama started crowding the line, that opened up the Auburn passing game. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not do a good job of taking advantage. Tommy Trott was doing such a good job blocking on the corner that Tide defenders were avoiding being in the same zip code with Trott. We tried several slant passes to Trott, and missed them all. We had a number of opportunities to get running backs loose on screens, but didn't pull the trigger till 3^rd down, when Bama was sitting back in zone coverage. We managed to burn Alabama's corner blitz package with an out and up for a 72 yard touchdown, but never tried it again. Alabama secondary members totaled 5.5 tackles for loss. There was opportunity to throw over them, but we could not do it.

Special teams had a few good plays, but were not very good, overall. There were multiple kickoffs out of bounds, multiple fumbled punts, short punts, and line drive punts. We let Javier Arenas get 3 returns, and he burned us for 102 yards on those. The few bright spots were a successful onside kick, 2 punts killed inside the 20 by Clinton Durst, and 99 kick return yards on 4 kickoffs.

For the first time all season, Auburn utilized a run-blitz package, and it paid dividends! Bama was forced to operate from the shotgun and try mostly short passes. When you've held Alabama to 73 rushing yards, with a first year linebacker and two first year safeties, you've done really well! With good pressure, Greg McElroy avoided the costly turnover, but he was forced into drive-killing bad throws. I'd say defensive coordinator Ted Roof called a brilliant defensive game plan, except for one play. On third and nine from the Auburn 33 in the second quarter, we went with a safety blitz and left a linebacker in man coverage with Colin Peek. That decision resulted in an easy Alabama TD pass. You just don't call safety blitzes on 3^rd and long! ESPECIALLY if you're going to hand an all-SEC tight end off to a linebacker to cover!

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: A. There is little to find fault with, here. Auburn had their best day of the season, up front! Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter both proved that they could sacrifice personal glory and stats, to play great contain on the Alabama running game. When it was an obvious passing situation, Coleman took James Carpenter and Drew Davis to school a few times. The tackle-end twist worked well too, with Nick Fairley able to turn the corner on Bama tackles. Mike Blanc and Jake Ricks stoned the Bama line, and plugged the middle. Points off on one Jake Ricks offside penalty.

Linebackers: B+. This might have been the best game of the season for the linebackers. It certainly was, against teams with a pulse! True freshman Jonathan Evans stepped up and did not back down against Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram. Bama ran it right at Evans and Evans responded with 8 solo tackles! Josh Bynes was a force, with ten total tackles. Points off on Craig Stevens vs. Bama's Preston Dial, Brad Smelley, and Colin Peek. Bama blockers mostly handled Stevens. Points off also on Josh Bynes letting Peek loose for a second quarter touchdown. Bynes should have never been put in that situation, though.

Secondary: B. Auburn did a good job in two deep zone, taking the long pass away from Alabama. The Tide did try to force a couple into coverage, and both Walter McFadden and Neiko Thorpe responded with pass breakups. Run support from the whole secondary was good, but not great. On Alabama's last drive, the safeties got played a bit. The big 17 yard catch and run on the screen to Trent Richardson was on the safeties. Bates barely hung on at the ten. The fullback on the game-winning touchdown was Washington's man. As you might expect, that was a difficult adjustment to ask of a first year player.

A note on the Auburn defense this season: When Gene Chizik first arrived in Auburn in 2002, he had a very talented defense to work with, including future pro stars Carlos Rogers, Carlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas, Reggie Torbor, Spencer Johnson, and Jay Ratliff. Still, it took awhile before those guys "got it." We were diced pretty badly, in the first half of the season, including giving up record rushing yards to Arkansas at home in a 38-17 loss. The light didn't really come on till late in the year, against Georgia, Bama, and Penn State. This year, Chizik and Roof have had to deal with a sub-par interior line, and a woefully thin back seven. Against Alabama, the light came on for this defense. There now seems to be some chemistry, and understanding of what the coaching staff wants. When the light came on in 2002, we were treated to some awesome defense for the next few years. For the 2009 Tiger defense, the light is now on again!

Punting: C+. If Clinton Durst had kicked every punt out of bounds for a 30 yard average, I'd have given the punting unit an A! Auburn did that early on, but in the second half they gave Javier Arenas some chances. Overall it was a solid performance. I hated giving up the 56 yard return, but we are hardly the only team Arenas has done that to! We ended up averaging a mediocre 40 yards per punt, with only a 31.6 yard net. Two punts killed inside the 20 helps this grade.

Punt Returns: D-. On five punts, dropped two on the ground. I pass this unit only because Auburn got both bobbles back. Priority one in the offseason is recruiting, priority two is finding and grooming a new quarterback. But I'd say that next on the list is finding a punt returner. This has been the worst year for Auburn punt returners EVER. We've had some bad years before, but nothing like this!

Kick Returns: C. Demond Washington averaged 24.8 yards on four returns. If that stat is compared to team averages this season, Washington would be tied for 3^rd in the SEC. Not bad, but against the last-place kick coverage team in the league, I had hoped for more.

Kickoffs: B. Morgan Hull kicked deep 3 times, and two of them went out of bounds. Against Javier Arenas, that's a favorable result. I'm surprised Bama didn't make us kick it again, on those! The two out of bounders gave Bama the ball at the 40. When we DID kick it to Arenas at the goal line, he returned it to the 46. Should have kicked all three out of bounds! The Tigers had a perfectly executed onside kick. It was brilliantly conceived, with the team acting lackadaisical, and not even lining up before Byrum suddenly just bunted that ball, and raced with it. It caught Alabama totally off-guard. That cat's out of the bag, I think. We won't be able to catch anyone else on that for at least five years!

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum continued a near-perfect season by hitting all of his extra points. Byrum finishes the season having converted 14 of 15 field goals attempts, and 100% of his extra points. Magnificent!

Offensive Line: B+. It wouldn't be an Auburn football game without a Lee Ziemba false start. At least he got it over with in the first quarter. Ziemba had a pretty good day blocking on Lorenzo Washington and Brandon Deaderick, as did Andrew McCain. The two Tide ends combined for only 4 tackles, none for a loss. Auburn had less success dealing with Alabama blitzers. Eryk Anders was particularly elusive, racking up 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hurries. The Auburn line basically held their own, but didn't generate much push. Nearly all of Auburn's successful running plays were on trick plays to the outside. Pass protection was decent, most of the time.

Receivers: A. You can't ask for much more than these guys produced. They had great downfield blocking, no drops, and got a lot of separation on a very good Bama secondary. The greatest failure in this game was not utilizing these guys more. Both Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachary looked FAST against the Bama secondary.

Running Backs: C. Ben Tate ran hard, as did Onterrio McCalebb, but that's about all you can say. Great catch early for a touchdown, by Eric Smith. Blocking was quite poor, in this one. The only times the backs slowed Tide defenders down was when Ben Tate picked up a holding call. Mario Fannin bobbled a screen pass away that had the potential to go for a long TD. This might have been the worst day by the backs all year. Bonus points for no fumbles. Still, we needed a LOT better production blocking.

Quarterback: C-. Auburn had a plan to exploit the Alabama defense. When it moved to phase two, and we had to hit some short passes, we couldn't. Chris Todd had some nice downfield throws to Darvin Adams, but none to any other outside receivers. Terrell Zachary can run down the field all alone, and Todd will never look his way. Todd completed a decent amount of screen passes, but these were usually on third and long, and ended up well short of the first down. Todd missed the slant to Tommy Trott three times way high, ending up with an interception on the last one. Todd missed the quick hitch three times. Todd had a sack-fumble. Sack-fumbles are somewhat excusable from the blind side, but Todd was hit from the front. Sometimes a QB just has to fall down and eat it. After the first quarter, Todd kept us in the game with the 72-yard pass to Adams, but did very little beyond that. A half dozen better throws would have given Auburn a double digit win over the Tide.

I hate losing to Alabama, make no mistake about it. At home, it's an even more bitter pill to swallow. This one is easier than the last two Iron Bowl losses in Jordan Hare, because we appear to be on an upswing with our program. This is a game a more experienced Auburn squad might have dominated. It also makes one wonder where we'd be if we had played like this against Arkansas, against Kentucky, against LSU. Carrying the momentum over will be a challenge for the returning players and coaching staff.

My hat's off to Alabama. They got a lot more than they bargained for on this road trip, but they didn't panic. They didn't turn the ball over, and they didn't give up. Perseverance gave the Tide their second perfect regular season in a row. I think the Tide folks also know that they'll need a LOT better performance in the SEC Championship game, if they are to defeat the Gators.

It will be an exciting bowl and off season, for Auburn, but we must temper our expectations with realism. As Pat Dye said last week, next year's team won't be much better than this one. Problems will have to be worked on, and newcomers brought in that will play immediately. Nowhere will Auburn be hit harder by graduation than on the defensive line. The loss of Antonio Coleman and Jake Ricks will be huge. The loss of Walter McFadden will be big, too. McFadden was a top-flight cover corner, AND a great leader. Auburn will be solid kicking the ball, but will have to find a new punter. Returns and coverage were an absolute mess this season, and should see a lot of work. The offensive line will have to replace a tackle, and the replacement of seniors Tommy Trott, Ben Tate, and Chris Todd will not be easy. The quarterback race will be critical. Unless Kodi Burns makes a dramatic comeback, we'll be starting a green QB, next fall. If we learned nothing this season, we know that Malzhan's offense is heavily tied to quarterback play.

War Eagle to all, and have a great finish to Thanksgiving Weekend!

The Iron Bowl Preview

outsidethesidelines — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Alabama's Mark Ingram (22) runs on a 14-yard touchdown as Auburn's Josh Bynes (17) and Sen Derrick Marks (94) fail to tackle him in the 2008 Iron Bowl. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

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No fancy introductions needed this week, you know exactly what this game is all about. Alabama comes in at 11-0 with their sights on a national championship, while 7-4 Auburn has proven to be a pleasant surprise in the debut campaign of Gene Chizik. Nothing more really needs to be said, so let's just straight into the match-ups.

Alabama Offense v. Auburn Defense

When the Alabama offense takes the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium, it will have the luxury of facing probably the worst defense it has faced all season in conference play. Auburn ranks dead last in the SEC in scoring defense, and even though they still have two games remaining, they have already allowed more points this year than any other defense in the history of Auburn football. First year defensive coordinator Ted Roof has probably done as well as reasonably could be expected with the group he inherited, but the issues for this defense run deep in terms of both top-end talent and quality depth. Specifically, there is almost no top-end talent on this unit, and absolutely no depth whatsoever. You do the math. The end result has been about what you would expect given those two harsh realities.

At the point of attack, Auburn's defensive line is led by senior Antonio Coleman, arguably one of the most underrated players in the conference. Coleman is great off the edge -- see the 7.5 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss -- and he will play on Sunday. Opposite Coleman you generally find a rotation between Antonio Carter and Michael Goggans. Carter is good off the edge, but struggles against the run have kept him from being a full-time starter, and while Goggans is bigger than Carter and brings a better force against the run, Auburn loses some of its pass rushing ability off the edge with him in the game. Coleman is the clear breadwinner here, and he's the one that makes the unit go. Thanks to his efforts, Auburn is fairly respectable seventh in the conference in sacks, which is about as good as they are in any defensive metric. It's not a great pass rush by any stretch, but it's at least respectable.

The real issue for Auburn is an inability to stop the run, and a lot of that is the result of a lack of run-stuffers on the defensive line. Coleman isn't particularly good against the run, and the same goes for Antonio Carter. Playing inside they have Mike Blanc and Jake Ricks, and while they are decent players, both are a bit undersized and they tend to get swallowed up by good offensive lines. And when you mix that with the fact that there is no quality depth on the line, it just gets ugly in the running game. Auburn is 88th in the country in run defense, and it's not hard to see why.

The real train wreck of the Auburn defense, however, is at linebacker, where everything that could have gone wrong for the Tigers has gone wrong. They came into the year with no depth at the position, and it hasn't gotten any easier since. Josh Bynes is the leader of this group, and while he's an outstanding physical specimen, he has struggled this year with injuries and adjusting to a new scheme. He hasn't made the plays behind the line like he did a year ago, and even though he has still been the strength of the linebacker corps, he has been a disappointment this year. Meanwhile, Eltoro Freeman was a five-star JUCO recruit that Auburn was hoping to be an instant impact player, but he has really struggled this year and only has a couple of good games to date. At any rate, he's not likely to play in this game after suffering a concussion and a leg injury against Georgia. Craig Stevens has quietly had a solid year, but he effectively rounds out the depth chart. Aside from him, all you have left is Jonathon Evans... he backs up all three position, but he's really undersized and probably only an average player even on his best day. After Evans, it's nothing but the walk-ons.

The train wreck doesn't look to fix itself by Saturday, either. Again, Freeman is seemingly unlikely to play against the Tide, and with him out Bynes will likely have to move over to middle linebacker. With him there, Stevens and Evans will get the start opposite him, and either they will literally play every snap or Auburn will be forced to give walk-ons some meaningful playing time.

The situation in the defensive backfield really isn't a lot better. Cornerback Aairon Savage suffered a season-ending injury prior to the opener and Harry Adams was kicked off the team in late October. The attrition has left Auburn only three cornerbacks on scholarship. With that in mind, Walt McFadden and Neiko Thorpe will get the start for Auburn, and D'Antoine Hood will see a good bit of time too. McFadden is a pretty good player in his own right, and while Thorpe has shown some good things, he's still a young guy who has made a lot of mistakes as well.

At safety, things really aren't much better. Mike McNeil looked to be a star this year but he hasn't played a snap in 2009 thanks to a broken leg suffered this Spring, and starting opposite McNeil was Zac Ethridge. Unfortunately, though, Ethridge suffered a season-ending neck injury against Ole Miss, and that has forced Auburn to search the bench looking for starters. Demond Washington and Darren Bates, both first-year players, will start at safety thanks to the attrition, and while both have shown some good things at times, they have also had their rough spots as well.

All in all, this is just a bad unit. They rush the passer relatively well, but they cannot stop the run and they have no depth whatsoever. The depth situation is so bad that the likes of Ball State and Furman put up 30+ points when the second and third team defenses went into the game, so that should tell you all you need to know. Those guys have given their all, but just being brutally honest it's probably the worst Auburn defense I've seen in my lifetime.

Offensively for Alabama, this is really where you have to win the game. We've got a Heisman Trophy candidate at tailback and a strong rotation behind him, so there is no reason why we shouldn't gut these guys and move the ball up and down the field. Likewise, they don't match up with us particularly well at the skill positions either. What more can you say? Even LSU and Georgia put up 30+ against these guys, and frankly if we don't do the same we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Alabama Defense v. Auburn Offense

The real show for the 2009 Auburn Tigers has been on the offensive side of the ball, and it is there that Auburn has gotten the job done. And if you look at this group from the outset, what makes it so difficult is that they don't fit conventionally into any one category. The only thing I can compare it to was the Houston offense we faced in 2007 with Art Briles... the Cougars pretty much did whatever Briles felt like doing at the time, and that is effectively what we have with Auburn and Malzahn. There is not really a rhyme or reason to the flow of the structure of the offense. And the hell of it is that, despite the success, if you look at Auburn in terms of pure talent on the offensive side of the ball, and it's not an overly impressive group.

The offensive line is a solid group, but not a spectacular one by any stretch. Left tackle Lee Ziemba has a great frame and very good athletic ability, but he has been plagued by false starts all year long. Ryan Pugh at center is easily the dirtiest player in all of college football -- don't be surprised to him at least try to take one of our guys out again this year (he went after Luther Davis last year) -- but when he's not trying to end careers he's a fine center. The guards, though, are somewhat cogs. Neither Mike Berry or Byron Isom are bad players, but neither are really difference-makers either. Likewise, Andrew McCain at right tackle is below average. A legitimate run of injuries would kill this group simply because there is no depth whatsoever, but they've been relatively fortunate on the injury front.

Quarterback Chris Todd has surprised everyone by his solid play this year, but even so I don't think anyone would really dub Todd a high-end player. He doesn't have very good mobility, and that limits the dual-threat options that Malzahn would surely like to employ, and he has one of the weakest arms in the SEC even after having shoulder surgery this past offseason. His strengths are his decision-making ability and his accuracy, but even those have gone incognito at times this year. As a whole he has put up a strong season statistically, but credit for that likely goes more to Malzahn for putting him in good situations than it does any inherent ability on Todd's part.

The backfield does have its fair share of talent. Ben Tate is no Mark Ingram -- despite what he might like to tell you -- but he's a fine player in his own right. He's a senior with a lot of raw talent, and he'll play on Sunday. Likewise, Onterrio McCalebb is a highly-talented player, and honestly the only reason we didn't pursue him out of high school was because he had poor academics (he had to do a tour of duty at Hargrave before qualifying). When healthy, those two form quite the potent 1-2 punch.

On the outside at receiver has really been the issue. Darvin Adams has stepped up and became a legitimate playmaker -- and he may in fact be the breakout player of the SEC -- but aside from Adams it just hasn't developed. Terrell Zachery and Mario Fannin have shown flashes of brilliance, but they've also had stretches where they have gone almost completely incognito as well. Likewise, tight end Tommy Trott has really never been able to live up to the recruiting hype that he had coming out of Montgomery in 2005, and he doesn't give them the threat that they would like.

Again, if you look at this offense on paper, it's nothing particularly impressive. They've got a fairly decent line and a good rotation at tailback, but they've got issues at quarterback and at wide receiver, and there is no depth. Based on that, you would probably think that Auburn would normally be an average-at-best offense, but that hasn't been the case. All the credit in the world goes to Malzahn, and he has done nothing short of a fabulous job down on the Plains. There is no question whatsoever that he is the SEC Assistant Coach of the Year. He has taken an average-at-best group with no depth and made them one of the most prolific offenses in the country.

Defensively, Alabama has its work cut out this week. Auburn is confusing as hell on offense, and the end result for much of the year has been that they have generated a ton of big plays via defensive confusion and busted assignments. I'm sure we've devoted a much larger chunk of time than normal to assignment work this week just because of that. Our defensive players will have to be fully aware of their assignments at all times, otherwise Auburn will generate some easy big plays at our expense. More so than just about anyone else, Auburn pushes you to the edge of in terms of forcing you to play disciplined football, and they have largely struggled when opposing defenses have played sound, assignment-based football.

At the very least, this is a unit that gives you a lot of legitimate challenges, and it's a dangerous group. The Auburn offense of a year ago was worst than anything Mike Shula ever put on the field, but Malzahn has legitimately transformed them into one of the best offenses in the country, and they will give us some problems this Saturday. They are probably the best offense we've seen since Arkansas left town, and unlike last year this group will definitely score some points on us.

Putting It All Together

All in all, Alabama is clearly the better team in this game. Regardless of how you look at it -- high-end talent, quality depth, position match-ups, etc. -- Alabama is the better of the two teams. There are a lot of reasons as to why we are a 10-point favorite going on the road.

On the other hand, though, this game is far from a breeze. Last year in his column I wrote that because of Auburn's complete and total lack of an offense, Alabama would have to create a path to victory for them to win. This year, though, that's far from the case. Auburn has an explosive offense that can legitimately score a lot of points, and that can clearly put this game in jeopardy. We're favorites for a reason, but this game isn't the open and shut case that it was a year ago.

And for Auburn, that is really how they win they likely look to win this game. Offensively, they are clearly going against a very good unit, but we've struggled with spread teams in the past and they have to hope to score some points offensively. Defensively, they look to have a hard time stopping us, but we've been our own worst enemy at times and we may very well do that come Friday. And that's Auburn's hope. Hope that they have some success offensively, and that their defense plays well enough / our offense shoots itself in the foot enough to squeak out a narrow victory.

At the least, a blowout like we saw last year should not be expected. Any Alabama fan legitimately expecting a repeat of 36-0 is likely fooling themselves. As I mentioned yesterday, blowouts in this rivalry are quite rare, and it would be a major surprise to see something like that happen again this year. On the other hand, though, it's not like Alabama necessarily needs it. We control our own destiny at this point, and we don't need style points. We just need to win and stay healthy doing so, and as long as you do that the exact margin of victory is irrelevant.

For Alabama, a hot start would be nice. We have been slow starters all season, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, and you have to hope that changes this weekend. Whenever you face a team with no depth, a hot start practically breaks their back from the outset because they don't have the depth needed to mount a comeback down the stretch. If Alabama can do that, victory is almost assured from the very beginning. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do that all year, and I really don't see any reason that would definitively lead me to believe this week would be any different.

All in all, we're the better team here, and we should get the win. We should be able to score enough points on their weak defense to keep them at bay, and our defense should give them some hard times offensively. But Auburn is like the other SEC teams we've faced this year. They have their own set of strengths and they present their own unique set of problems for you, and you must respond accordingly. If we move the football like we should on offense, don't shoot ourselves in the foot, and play sound, disciplined, assignment-based football on defense, we should win this game. If not...

Hope for the best.

Iron Bowl Thoughts... Right Now

WarDamnZach — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

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With a couple of days to go, I have some serious waffling going on in my mind. On the one hand, it appears that Bama is a well oiled machine, and will roll over the Tigers. On the flip side of that, Auburn is coming into this Iron Bowl with "no chance" to win. The last time I can remember that it was 1989. Nothing will compare to that game and the atmosphere in Jordan-Hare will not be that electric again, especially in this 2009 matchup.

Here are my thoughts as of this moment… ask me ten minutes from now and I am sure they will have changed, at least slightly. First and foremost is that Chris Todd will have to have a career day. I mean a Tre Smith type of career day, one he will be remembered for. He will have to make the perfect passes over the middle, and be able to complete the deep ball. The Alabama secondary is not all that, but neither is Todd’s deep ball. Terrell Zachery and Darvin Adams will have to make the plays.

Auburn will not be able to pound the ball up the middle. Onterio McCallebb is still nursing the high ankle sprain and Ben Tate could not get free on Georgia’s defense and for sure will not be able to do it on the Tide. The play action will be just for show, as the Tide will be to stout up front. I also have a feeling that the Alabama blitz will be on every play. That is assuming that they will have to blitz to get pressure on Todd. That brings me to my next point.

The offensive line is going to have to give Chris the time to go through his reads. The line is also going to need to keep its composure and discipline. No penalties. None. When they get one it always seems to be at a drive killing moment. So in my mind they cannot have any. No false starts, no holds, no nothing. Personally, I think the screen pass could be the Tigers best weapon on Friday. Again that is assuming that the Tide blitzes on every play.

Offensively Auburn should be able to move the ball. I think that Gus will have some tricks up his sleeve and Auburn will score on some sort of BIG play. Alabama seems to give up plenty of yards, but locks down when they have to. If Auburn can make it through the game with no turnovers, the game can stay relatively close.

Defensively Auburn is just plain weak. No Eltoro at the Linebacker spot will hurt us, but with the previous bye week, Josh Bynes, Craig Stevens and Adam Herring should be well rested. The defensive line will have to get pressure on Greg McElroy. He is the weak link to the machine that is the Alabama offense. If Auburn can rattle him he has been known to make the bad decision, and kill a drive. Auburn will have to cause a least two turnovers to win, maybe one will have to be a score as well. Mark Ingram does not fumble, so the turnovers will have to be off of McElroy.

Speaking of Ingram, I am thinking he is going to make is Heisman push against the Tigers. Saban is not only going to want to blow Auburn out at home, but get Alabama their first Heisman winner in the process. Auburn’s line is going to have to "get big" and plug up the holes. Ted Roof is not going to be able to keep a LB or Safety spying on Ingram. While in the past, I have thought that the secondary of Auburn was okay, watching Neiko Thorpe get beat deep on damn near every play against UGA is a major problem. Walt McFadden is going to have to line up with Julio Jones, because Thorpe will get beat like a dog… again. So Marquis Maze will be the go to guy for Alabama, especially lined up against Neiko. Lastly, Bynes or Stevens will have to be out in coverage against Colin Peek, the Tight End of the Tide. Neither of these guys is very good in coverage, so they will have to step up huge. Peek is one of McElroy’s favorite targets.

Special teams will have to be just that… Special. No turnovers! On the cover teams, they are going to have to play better then they have all year. Javier Arenas is amazing; I would not punt it to him under any circumstances. Clinton Durst is going to have to earn his scholarship this week. I hope he has been practicing his directional punts. Wes Byrum has had a good year, if he can make some big kicks against Bama it could be a great year. If Auburn can have a clean special teams game, it will go a long way to allowing the Tigers to pull the upset.

So as you can see, Auburn will have to have a near perfect game to hang with the Tide. They are for real, but in my view they are still the "luckiest team in America." Sometimes luck has to be on your side to remain undefeated. It is well documented that the Alabama offense struggles in the red zone. If Auburn can just hold on and keep them out of the endzone, Chris Todd and the offense could just pull out the upset. Auburn is playing for pride and bowl position… All the pressure is on Alabama, if they win "they were supposed to." If they lose, "they are finished when it comes to the National Championship."

Auburn could really mess up the SEC in the BCS with a huge win in Jordan-Hare. With a win over Bama and then Bama winning against Florida neither will be in the National Championship game, and it would be quite a remarkable feat for the Tigers to keep the Tide out of the big one.

Can Auburn do it? Damn right. Should we as Auburn fans expect it? No way. Should we scream our collective heads off in attempt up pump up the players? Count on it.

War Damn Eagle

How to Win The Iron Bowl.

Acid Reign — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:12 -0000

Bama's last visit to the Plains didn't go so well!

War Eagle, everybody! Like the Auburn football team, I've taken a few days off from college football. For the team, it was all about the fatigue. Auburn has played 11 straight weeks in a row. Only Vanderbilt has it worse. The Commodores will have played 12 in a row, when this season ends. They'll be rewarded by a 2-10 season, most likely. For me, the time off has helped me purge the taint of a bad weekend all around. Auburn's loss was painful, but I salute the effort of a fatigued, undermanned squad. I can't say the same for my Dallas Cowboys. When the first frost hits, the Cowboys' collection of superstars and veteran free agents pack it in. Who would you rather have pulling the strings: Bobby Lowder, or Jerry Jones? Things could be worse, Tiger fans!

After some well deserved rest, it's time to gear up for a visit by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many Auburn folks I've talked to this week are already conceding a Tide win. I say that it doesn't have to be that way! Auburn can play with anyone, when they are executing well. The Tigers can beat Bama, if they run the ball, stop the run, and don't turn the ball over. The Iron Bowl last year was a tight game, till Auburn handed Alabama the ball 3 straight possessions in the 3^rd quarter. We can't do that, this year at home!

Keys to Auburn victory, after the jump!

Auburn needs to effectively rotate defensive linemen. There was a Zach Clayton sighting in the Georgia game, and here's hoping he's healthy for the Iron Bowl. We need to rotate both the tackles and ends, and keep them fresh for Bama's 4^th quarter push. If we have Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter playing every snap of the first three quarters, we won't be able to stop Bama in the 4^th with the game on the line.

At linebacker, Auburn SORELY needs Eltoro Freeman back. It's no coincidence that Georgia outscored Auburn 31-10 after Freeman left due to injury. With Freeman, Auburn stopped the run. Without him, Georgia moved the chains. Craig Stevens, and Josh Bynes need to have career games. Auburn's linebackers must attack, and shut down Bama's running game.

Rotation in the secondary will be important, too. Safeties WILL have to come up and make tackles, in this one. Bama gets a lot of successful blocks out of their receivers, tight ends, and fullbacks. While I applaud the efforts of young Darren Bates and Demond Washington, we need meaningful snaps out of Mike Slade and T'Sharvan Bell, too. Neiko Thorpe MUST keep his man in front, this game. Alabama WILL try a few play-action bombs at Thorpe, and he's GOT to be ready! If Bama tight end Colin Peek returns for this game, I wouldn't be surprised to see Alabama throw some passes in the flat to him. Auburn safeties will have their hands full trying to cover Peek. Walter McFadden must continue his excellent play. Last season in the Iron Bowl, McFadden limited Julio Jones to 3 catches for 36 yards. If Jones is held to 36 or fewer yards this year, Auburn has a great chance.

Clinton Durst needs to have a great game in this one. His numbers may not be helped, but he should avoid punting the football where Javier Arenas can get it. Arenas is averaging over 13 yards per return. A 35-yard kick out of bounds is an improvement over letting Arenas possibly break the game open. Likewise, this might be the one game where I'll approve of the squib kickoff strategy. On returns, we've got to find some way to keep Demond Washington fresh for these. Did you know that Bama is dead last in the SEC, in kickoff coverage? Bama averages 38.6 net yards per kickoff, which is even worse than Auburn's 39.7.

Auburn's offensive line will have a tough task in this Iron Bowl. Bama has three HUGE defensive linemen, and big backups as well. All three linemen nearly DEMAND a double team block, then Bama usually sends an outside linebacker (Eryk Anders, Cory Reamer) as a rush-end. You don't know till the snap which side that end is coming from. The double team on Terrence Cody is probably inevitable, with the other guard pulling, for Auburn. I'd expect Alabama to attack Andrew McCain, who's been very vulnerable to the speed rush this season. On passing downs, McCain MUST get that first step back with the correct foot, and get his shoulders turned. On run downs, he's got to get his head across. Auburn must get the front four blocked, to get the running game going. Bama is number one in the league in run defense, giving up only 2.4 yards per carry. Please! No false starts or illegal shifts! Lastly, if we've got 3^rd and 1 or 4^th and 1, we've GOT to STOP trying to pull linemen!

Guess which Bama player leads the team in tackles for loss? Would you believe that it's Javier Arenas? Nick Saban LOVES him some corner blitz! Arenas is tied for 3^rd in the SEC, with 10.5 tackles for loss. How do they DO that? Well, safety Mark Barron slides over when Arenas blitzes. Barron has 7 pass breakups and 4 picks, which ties him for the lead in the SEC in passes defended. Justin Woodall, the other safety isn't bad either. Auburn needs some sort of "automatic" check when Arenas slides down the line just before the snap, both the receivers AND Todd. Bama always tips it, a second or two before the snap, AFTER you've meercatted to the sideline and changed the play. Auburn needs a two man route and quick throw underneath, to defeat that Arenas corner blitz. No one blends coverages like Alabama. Auburn's going to HAVE to be patient, and rely on crisp throws under the coverage. The Tide defends from the inside-out. To attack that, you've got to throw successfully to the outside. Auburn's greatest offensive failure in last year's Iron Bowl was only TRYING two passes to the sideline. Bama will bait quarterbacks into trying deep balls. Chris Todd must choose his times carefully.

For Auburn backs, it's really simple, this game. Eric Smith and Mario Fannin have to block like they've never blocked before, and Ben Tate and Onterrio McCalebb have to run like there's no tomorrow. Extra hard fought yards move the chains, and are the difference against really good defenses like Alabama. There won't be big holes and lanes. The backs are going to have to create. Above all else, Auburn must hold onto the ball no matter what! A deep interception is kind of like a punt. But even a single fumble in Auburn's own end of the field could lose the game.

Chris Todd, this is it. This is your big chance! Todd has had an amazing story this season, coming back from the brink to lead this team. It's been an up and down year, but now Todd can cement his legacy. If Auburn beats the Tide, Todd will go down as a legend. Todd needs crisp, accurate throws, and must avoid throwing into coverage. We'll certainly need that 5^th year senior maturity and leadership, in this tough ball game.

In other strategy notes, I'm not sure we need to run the Wildcat at all. Alabama has a series of defensive packages for it, including a two deep zone that still manages to overload the sweep side of the formation. A counter might work against that, but a Kodi Burns lob ball against that zone could be disaster. One thing I'd like to see occasionally is a flipped offensive line, and a Todd half roll to the right. With Ziemba out front, and McCain somewhat protected by the motion, Todd can do some damage throwing to the right, especially on the wide side of the field. I'm not sure about the hurry-up offense, in this one. I think it backfired, last week. We got tired on the line faster than Georgia got tired on defense, it looked like. Bama's not really a team you can wear down, defensively. We need to run some reverses to Fannin, Zachary, and McCalebb. Bama will not likely be vulnerable like some teams, but we need those plays to keep the Tide defense honest. Defensively, we've got to use more run blitzes. We're not going to be able to sit back in cover-two all day with Josh Bynes dropping in the middle. Bama will run it till we stop 'em.

It's soon to be Iron Bowl week, folks! I'm fired up already! I'm looking forward to a great week of analysis and fever pitch!

Dogs Bite Tigers in Athens.

Acid Reign — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:48:18 -0000

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Another one slips away from the Tigers.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time for an abbreviated Acid Reign report on Auburn's 31-24 loss to Georgia. For one quarter, Auburn dominated the Bulldogs. For the remainder of the game, it was an uphill battle. One thing is evident. No matter how overmatched, this team never quits! Prior to the start of this season, I worried about the strength of Georgia's lines. That worry proved to be on the money. When Georgia settled down, they dominated up front on both sides of the ball. Auburn continued to find a way to stay in the game till the end, but the game was tough to watch, for this Tiger.

Auburn continues to run the ball well, but a lack of an explosive downfield passing game hurt. Darvin Adams is a good one, and with continued development, both he and Terrell Zachary might be great. Still, it took a horrible defensive bust to get a touchdown pass to Zachary. The running game continues to confuse, but never really picked up consistent yardage. On Auburn's three scores, the first was a sandlot play that happened when Georgia rushed themselves out of contain. Todd found Burns on that one. Then there was the awful bust. Auburn's third score was on a kickoff return. We've known all along that Chris Todd does not have a gun for an arm. The most disappointing aspect in this one was the offensive line getting whipped. Not even LSU was able to massacre us with a four man rush like Georgia did. All I can figure is that 11 straight weeks have taken a toll.

Past a few first quarter stops, the defensive line looked tired. There were a couple of hold the ball sacks of Joe Cox, but Auburn had to blitz to get pressure, and linemen were left chasing Georgia backs downfield, especially in the second half. Walter McFadden continues to play well, but receivers on other Dbacks get open at will. When the other team loads up jumbo, and runs over you for 169 yards per game, there's not much you can say. We were not man enough up front to handle the veteran Bulldog line. Georgia's 4.4 yard per carry average is exactly what Auburn has been giving up on the year.

In the midst of this disappointing loss, Auburn posted the best special teams effort of the season. Yes, Demond Washington fumbled a punt. We do that every game, I suppose. Nothing new. Auburn did get it back. At least Washington went forward when he got the chance! All four of Auburn's punts were downed inside the Georgia 20, including another Chris Todd pooch job that was killed on the 3. Clinton Durst was consistent, hitting for 44 yards per punt. Kickoffs were again weak, but Georgia was contained pretty well on the return. Auburn's kick returns were the best of the season, including a desperately needed 99 yard touchdown by Demond Washington. The biggest negative was on the 20 yard Mario Fannin return. Georgia had totally blown their coverage, lost their lanes, and there was nothing but green grass on the left side of the field, with a couple of loose Auburn blockers. Fannin seemed headed that way, but for some bizarre reason, he cut back into traffic to the right, and ran right into the first man and fell down. When the offense couldn't block, we NEEDED another touchdown, there!

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: C+. At times, this unit was blown off the ball, but they slid and still made tackles. It was probably the best game of the year for a tackling standpoint, highlighted by Mike Blanc's nine solo tackles. We were trigger happy too much, taking repeated offsides flags. Coleman, Carter, and Zach Clayton were all flagged.

Linebackers: D. When a team runs right at you 38 times, and your outside linebackers only tally 10 total tackles, you're going to give up yards and points. Auburn's problems here are not new. Georgia tight ends and fullbacks got to the second level , and drove us back repeatedly.

Secondary: D. Outside of Walter McFadden, we were pretty anemic. That's to be expected with three very young players in the starting four, and even less experience among the backups. Neiko Thorpe still has a ways to go, and the two safeties had difficulty following the ball. Georgia didn't throw much, but when they did, they were quite effective, averaging over ten yards per pass.

Punting: A+. It's hard to find fault, here. Auburn gave up one three yard return, and nailed all four punts inside the Georgia 20. Clinton Durst had a marvelous 54 yarder die at the three yard line.

Punt Returns: C. With yet another fumble, the outlook remains grim, here. Demond Washington had a decent fair catch, and an excellent 19 yard return. Then there were two punts Washington let go, and one was downed at the Auburn 12.

Kick Returns: A. We're starting to make blocks on these, and it's paying dividends. Georgia looked undisciplined, and Demond Washington made them look bad. His shortest return was 23 yards, and his 99 yarder for a TD came at a critical time. Points off on Mario Fannin going the wrong way on his one return. And on that last Georgia kickoff, where was Washington? He had 202 kick return yards, at that point. His last one went 99 yards, and you sit him down on the bench with the game on the line? Who was responsible for that?

Kickoffs: C. When you have to squib kickoffs, that's bad. A 56 yard kickoff average is poor. I suppose it was good strategy, though. Georgia managed only 17 yards per return, and Auburn tackled pretty well. A 39.8 yard net kickoff average is one of the better scores of the season for Auburn, unfortunately.

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum hit all of his kicks again, as did Georgia's Blair Walsh.

Offensive Line: D. Lee Ziemba got caught jumping at a critical time at the end, but he played better than the rest of the line. We got torn apart on the other side, on the pass rush. We got several holding calls, and were totally unable to move the Georgia line past the first quarter. Bulldog tackles slid with impunity down the line, and filled lanes. Auburn backs had nowhere to go but to the corner. While I'm picking on the line, it's time to criticize the scheme a little bit, too. On short yardage, we need to STOP pulling linemen! I don't know why we do this, and then run Ben Tate right into an unblocked tackle! WHY? On third and short against the 10^th rushing defense in the SEC, you drive block! DRIVE BLOCK! Get the first down! OK?

Receivers: B. Auburn men did get open, and mostly made catches. Points off on a crucial holding flag on Tommy Trott. You can always count on a Trott hold, and a Ziemba false start, every game. Again, Trott's probably a victim of offensive design. He's split out, and is a lot more visible than the average tight end. No grabbing, or they'll surely see it! Auburn's biggest problem in the receiving corps is that no one but Adams is consistently getting separation. While we blame Todd for locking in on Adams, he's got to go to the open man. I'd be looking Adams' way, too!

Running Backs: C. Blitz pickup was absolutely horrible. We routinely used a blocking back, and they were not up to the task of handling a loose Bulldog defensive end. Lead blocking wasn't much better, and our power running game went nowhere. Ben Tate got most of his yards on his own. Onterrio McCalebb brought a spark, but he's clearly still not 100 percent. We've got to do better, against Bama. Saban will be sending blitzers all afternoon.

Quarterback: B. Todd didn't have much time in this game. Sometimes, he just had to chunk one up and see what might happen. Got a couple of picks, but we had to take those shots. Todd was off target on his deep balls, with a tendency to overthrow. On the last Auburn play, Darvin Adams made a heck of a move to split two defenders. We might have had overtime, with a better throw.

I missed most of the live game broadcast, but got to watch the last drive. Other fans in the room with me were SCREAMING when Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo went down on that post to Fannin throw at the goal line. They thought he was faking, to buy a tired Georgia defense time. After watching the replay, I'm of the opinion that Rambo took a serious shot. I know I'd not relish a collision with Mario Fannin! Still, if I were coaching defense against the Malzhan offense, I'd have some "fall-down guys" lined up to send in. It's something to think about. Georgia ran right around Ziemba and McCain on the next play, for an easy sack.

In the end, the Bulldogs were too strong for the Auburn lines. Auburn fought valiantly on the road, but took a fourth consecutive loss to the Bulldogs. You definitely can't say that the Tigers quit, though. Here's to a well-deserved week off, for the Tigers. And we hope they come back with a spring in their step Thanksgiving week, and give the Tide all they can handle!

Talking Bowls and Reminiscing About The Good Ole Days

Jay Coulter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:06:11 -0000

Georgia's Pat Dye (60) chases Auburn's Ed Dyas (38).

It's funny how your perspective can change. After all the success of the past 10 years, you wouldn't think Auburn fans would get excited about the bowl opportunities of a 7-3 team. I guess the old saying is true, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." After a one year absence from the bowl scene, all of them look more inviting this year.

We are in the heart of bowl projection season and that means every national web site has a different projected path for bowl eligible teams. Today I looked at three projections for Auburn and came away with three different bowls.

The most interesting is over at al.com where one writer insists that an Auburn win over Georgia almost guarantees them a spot in the Cotton Bowl. In case you forgot, this is no longer your granddaddy's Cotton Bowl. For the first time, this year's contest will be played in the new billion dollar Cowboy Stadium in Dallas. Maybe there is more than bragging rights on the line this weekend.

Other projected paths show Auburn heading to the Outback, Liberty or Chick-Fil-A Bowls. While Dallas would be a cool stop, my vote is the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. It's close to home, it's played inside and you always get a great ACC opponent. My guess is all these projections are not worth the paper they are written on. Two blowout losses could land all of us in Legion Field hell eating bad pizza. But let's choose to remain optimistic.

It's hard to not think of Georgia's Vince Dooley and Auburn's Pat Dye when reminiscing about the Auburn-Georgia rivalry. For those of us middle age, this was the golden era of the rivalry. From 1980 through the end of the decade, there wasn't a better annual game than this one. The list of characters was a who's who of college greats with names like: Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Buck Belue, Brent Fullwood, Terry Hoague, Lionel James, Lindsey Scott and Tracy Rocker. The list could go on forever.

It's hard to believe that Dooley has been gone from the sidelines for more than 20 seasons and Dye is not far behind. Even after all these years, I still miss that cough of Pat Dye during his Thursday evening radio call-in show. It was must listen radio in the days before the internet.

Speaking of radio, I still haven't gotten over the loss of Jim Fyffe and Larry Munson doing Saturday afternoon games. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I doubt we'll ever see two greats like Munson and Fyffe again. How blessed we were to be able to listen. Auburn vs. Georgia will never be the same.

While the Iron Bowl may be the most important game of the season for Auburn fans, for 20 Auburn players Saturday is as big as it gets. Those players call the Peach state home and there's nothing they'd like more than to snap Georgia's three game winning streak. When Auburn takes the field, look for Georgia natives Mario Fannin (Hampton) and Darvin Adams (Kennesaw) to have a little extra bounce in their step. Speaking of Adams, he needs just two touchdown catches to pass Auburn great Terry Beasley for the single season touchdown reception record.

We've talked all week about the unique relationship Auburn and Georgia share. It would not be a stretch to say that both programs owe much, if not most of their success to those who graduated from the other school. Here's a list of this season's inbreeding courtesy of Auburn Sports Information:

Georgia assistant head coach/defensive line/recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner and UGA offensive line coach Stacy Searels were teammates with Auburn defensive line coach Tracy Rocker at Auburn. Garner and Rocker both played on the defensive line during the 1985-88 seasons, while Searels was an offensive lineman from 1984-87.

Garner starred at nose guard at Auburn alongside Rocker, earning All-SEC honors as a senior while Rocker won the Lombardi and Outland Trophies. Garner also served in various capacities at Auburn (recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach/ assistant strength and conditioning coach) from 1990-95.

Searels was a first-team All-American in 1987 and a two-time first-team All-SEC selection, before working as a G.A. coach at Auburn from 1992-93. He later coached with Rocker at Cincinnati in 2002, instructing the offensive line while Rocker coached the defensive line...

Georgia defensive co-coordinator/linebackers coach John Jancek coached the defensive line at Central Florida during Auburn head coach Gene Chizik's first season as UCF's defensive coordinator in 1998...

Auburn Football Operation Coordinator Scott Fountain started his college coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Florida State from 1994-96, while Georgia head coach Mark Richt was the offensive coordinator for the Seminoles. UGA tight ends coach John Lilly was also a G.A. coach at FSU in 1996 after serving as a videographer in 1995...

Georgia associate head strength and conditioning coach Keith Gray was a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Auburn from 1997-99.

Auburn takes on Georgia Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT from Samford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The Bulldogs enter the game as four-point favorites. The game will be carried live by ESPN 2. Announcers for the Deuce are Mark Jones and Bob Davie - God help us. War Eagle and have a great weekend!

Confrontation Between the Hedges!

Acid Reign — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:45:11 -0000

Ben Tate is DETERMINED to have a better trip to Athens, this time!

War Eagle, everybody! It's Georgia week as Auburn travels to Athens, for a 7:00 PM EST kickoff against the Bulldogs. The game will be televised on ESPN-2. As has been well-documented, Auburn has a winning record in Athens, and has a great chance this week to win. There has been a theme in those Auburn wins in Athens, that has been common: an improving Tiger unit taking it to a slumping Bulldog team. That appears to be the case again this year, although a statistical analysis shows plenty of cause for alarm for the Tigers.

Since Pat Sullivan won the Heisman in 1971 in Athens, Auburn has gone 12-6 between the hedges. The first win came in 1977, a 33-14 win over the only Vince Dooley team to finish with a losing record. Auburn linebacker "Fast" Freddie Smith smothered the Bulldog attack. Dooley's 1979 squad lost their first three games, and against Auburn, lost quarterback Buck Belue early. The Tigers cruised, 33-13. In 1983, it was the clash of two top ten ranked teams, and Auburn handed Georgia their only loss of the year, 13-7. In 1985, the injury bug derailed a promising Bulldog season down the stretch, and Auburn won 24-10. The 1987 Bulldog squad was a good one, but they could not get a consistent pass rush on Jeff Burger, (nor could their line deal with Tracy Rocker!) and fell 27-11. In 1989, Auburn started off anemic on offense, and shaky on defense. It was coming together late in the season, though, and Auburn squashed a slumping Ray Goff team 20-3. In 1993, Georgia had an electric offense with QB Eric Zeier, but could not stop folks. It was no different against Auburn, as the Tigers stormed to a 42-28 win. In 1995, the Bulldogs faced a disappointed Auburn team that had redoubled their efforts to finish strong and get to a New Year's Day bowl. Georgia was hurting in Goff's last season, and was down to wide receiver Hines Ward playing quarterback with a broken hand, and taking mostly shotgun snaps. Auburn survived in Athens, 37-31. In 1997, a rested Auburn squad exploded on Jim Donnan's team for a 45-34 win. In 1999, Auburn caught Donnan's team reeling after a loss to Florida. Auburn charged to a 31-0 halftime lead, and cruised to a 38-21 victory. In 2001, Gator burnout had struck again, as first year coach Mark Richt tried to run it with only seconds remaining and no timeouts. Auburn held, and the clock ran out on Georgia, 24-17. The 2005 Auburn – Georgia game was a wild affair, with Auburn converting a late 4^th down pass for huge yardage, and kicking the game wining field goal with only seconds remaining. It was the last Auburn win over Georgia, 31-30.

Georgia scouting report, after the jump!

Georgia limps into this year's contest with a 5-4 record. While that mark would tend to indicate that the Bulldogs are a middle-of-the pack team, statistics point out some real problems with this Bulldog squad. Auburn has turned in a Jekyll and Hyde type season. When the Tigers are good, they are very very good. But when they are bad... Georgia and Auburn both rank near the bottom of the league in scoring defense, as both squads are giving up over 26 points per game. Georgia ranks 7^th in total defense, while Auburn is 11^th. Bulldog opponents have feasted on Georgia turnovers and mistakes. When Auburn has the ball, the situation on paper looks grim for the Bulldogs. Auburn is 2^nd in the league in scoring offense, while Georgia is 7^th. In total offense, Auburn is tops, while Georgia is 10^th. Looking at pass efficiency on offense and defense, more problems are revealed for the Bulldogs. Auburn's 3^rd ranked pass efficiency offense matches up well with Georgia's 11^th ranked defense. When Georgia has the ball, it's the 7^th rated attack against the 7^th ranked defense. Georgia is next to last in rushing in the league, while Auburn is 2^nd. The Bulldogs cannot afford for this game to turn into a track meet!

In my preseason preview, I had concerns about many of the matchups in the Auburn/Georgia game. To date, several Georgia units have under-achieved, while Auburn has had over-achieving units, and the outlook now looks different. Georgia's defensive line has improved from last season on pass rushing, but has had less success in stopping the run. They face an Auburn line that has become one of the best in the SEC. The Auburn rushing attack has been better than anyone could have guessed, but Georgia's linebackers are the strength of the team. Auburn's passing attack has been less consistent, and was downright awful during a three game losing streak, but appears to have bounced back. The Tigers will attack a Georgia secondary that has only picked off 5 passes on the season, and has only 12 pass breakups. Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez will be under the gun, this week. If there's a silver lining for Georgia, it's that teams that play read and react have done better against the Malzhan attack, than teams that are blitz-happy.

Special teams have been a mixed bag for both teams, although Georgia doesn't have a glaring weakness like Auburn does at punt returner. Kickers Wes Byrum and Blair Walsh have had nearly identical seasons. Neither has missed an extra point, and both are 13-14 on field goals. Georgia is about 4 yards better on kickoff distance, but has shockingly given up slightly more yards per return than Auburn. In net kickoffs, Auburn is averaging 39.7, and Georgia is averaging 41.2. Punting is a huge advantage for Georgia. While Auburn's Clinton Durst has a pedestrian 40.3 yard average, Georgia's Drew Butler is booming the ball for 49.2. Auburn has done a better job of keeping it away from punt return men, though. In net punting, it's Auburn 35.4 yards, Georgia 41.2. On punt returns, Auburn's left the ball on the ground at least a half dozen times, and has run backward even more. Auburn is dead last in punt returns, at 3.8 yards per return. Georgia counters with Prince Miller, who averages 12.7 yards per return.

Early on, my worst fear about this game would be that the Georgia offensive line might dominate a suspect Auburn front. For much of the season, that fear looked accurate. The addition of defensive end Antoine Carter to the mix in the LSU game has really shored the Auburn line up, in recent weeks. The Tigers are giving up 4.4 yards per rush for tenth place in the league, but can Georgia take advantage? The Bulldogs are 11^th in the league in rushing offense. The culprit in Georgia's struggles is offensive line injuries. The Bulldogs have lost a couple of starters, and are playing with a lot of nicks and bruises. It's been a mix and match line for the Bulldogs, all season. It will still be a formidable challenge for the Tiger D, but I like our chances far better now, than I did in August!

Auburn's linebacker concerns in the preseason have been realized on the field, but incredibly, all three starters seem to be healthy, and playing their best football of the season, going into this game. Georgia runners have largely disappointed, this season. True freshman Washaun Ealey has emerged as the starter at tailback, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Georgia's A. J. Green has emerged as the best receiver in the league, but he's seeing a LOT of blanket coverage. Expect Auburn to hound Green with two defenders, and force Georgia to throw elsewhere. Georgia leads the SEC in throwing interceptions, with 14. Auburn's secondary is a concern. While corners Walter McFadden and Neiko Thorpe are solid, Auburn starts true freshman free safety Darren Bates, and sophomore Demond Washington at strong safety. It will be only second game Washington has ever played at safety. The starting Auburn secondary has 6 interceptions, and 19 pass breakups on the season.

While Georgia has had injury and turnover problems, nothing has hurt the Bulldogs worse than penalties. Georgia is the most penalized team in the league, taking 77 yards per game. Auburn isn't much better, getting flagged for 58 yards per game, good for 9^th in the SEC. I think the SEC officials are making fewer and fewer calls, in recent weeks. With all of the furor generated about bad calls this season, those guys might not throw a flag all day.

For Auburn to emerge victorious in Athens, they must force Georgia into mistakes in the backfield, take care of the football, and attack the Georgia secondary. If Auburn is successful in all three areas, they will win. As always, we'll have an open thread up here at TrackEmTigers.com, and will welcome everyone's opinions! War Eagle, and beat those Bulldogs!

Tigers Hold On Against the Rebels!

Acid Reign — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:33:37 -0000

(Head Coach Gene Chizik never shows emotion!)

War Eagle, everybody! It's the first happy football weekend for the Tigers, out of the last four! It's time now for the Acid Reign Report, on Auburn's miraculous 33-20 win over the University of Mississippi Rebels. Auburn faced a mismatch on paper in nearly every phase of this game coming in, but managed to emerge victorious by double digits! Both teams made plenty of mistakes, but Ole Miss made more. Auburn got a few fortuitous bounces, and took good advantage. Both teams had penalties, and for the first time in weeks, it was fairly even on both teams.

The Auburn defense was facing a tall order against the talented Rebel offense, and were gashed to the tune of 394 total yards. Dexter McCluster, who Auburn absolutely HAD to stop, finished with 207 total yards. McCluster paid for it in blood, though. Auburn defenders lowered the boom when they could, pounding the diminutive Rebel speedster. McCluster had to leave briefly in the second half, but came back valiantly late. Auburn made a serious effort with stunts and a few blitzes, and delivered enough hits to shake Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead off his game. Some of it was schemed but mostly, the Auburn defensive line and linebackers rose up, and beat on a young Ole Miss offensive line. Snead was limited to 16 completions on 35 attempts, with two picks by Walter McFadden, 175 yards, and one touchdown. That's a 2.1 net yards per pass average. Coverage by the secondary improved enormously, but the guys dropped nearly a half dozen possible interceptions. On the most difficult interception attempt, Walter McFadden made the play. On a ball that nearly hit the turf, and bounced off the straining hands of the Rebel receiver, McFadden snagged the carom one-handed, heels just over the boundary, and sprinted to a pick-six-touchdown! (How's that for a comma-splice?) Auburn gave up yards in chunks, including a 79 yard McCluster run. In the end, Auburn was able to turn the Rebels back every time in the 4^th quarter, holding Ole Miss scoreless to preserve the victory.

Special teams continued to run hot and cold. Clinton Durst hit great punt after great punt, till a shaky 33 yarder late. Chris Todd nailed the pooch punt of the year, coffin-cornering it out of bounds at the Rebel 1 yard line. Phillip Pierre-Louis didn't fumble a punt, but he let one go that was downed at the one, and danced like a man possessed on two others, netting only one yard with plenty of room. I fully expect that he will treat us to a Michael Jackson moonwalk, against Furman. Seriously, PPL, break it forward, please? Kick returns were decent, but kickoff net CONTINUES to be horrible. With the first return given up for a touchdown on the season, the kickoff team managed only a 33.8 yard net, even with Morgan Hull averaging kicking it to the 8 yard line. Wes Byrum continued his excellent ways, hitting on 4 extra points and a field goal. Byrum outkicked Ole Miss kicker Joshua Shene, who came into the game perfect on the year. Shene pushed a 44 yard field goal wide, and kicked an extra point into the line, which Auburn's Demond Washington scooped up and raced in for two points.

Auburn needed to stretch the field on offense. Everyone in the stadium held their breath on repeated tosses downfield, often into double coverage. Todd let it go downfield a bunch, and ended up with a great net yards per pass average, 9.6. Darvin Adams got open and made 4 clutch catches, and Terrell Zachary made a couple of GREAT ones! Tommy Trott had a terrible drop, and a magnificent TD on a ball slung up for the corner by Kodi Burns, off his back foot, being pressured. The Rebels were looking for Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachary on the reverse, but were hurt twice by freshman Travante Stallworth on that play. Ben Tate continued his outstanding play running the ball, powering for 148 rushing yards and a 53-yard back-breaking touchdown. The Tiger offense out-gained Ole Miss, 400 yards to 394. The Ole Miss defense's previous high given up for the season was 354, against Alabama.

Unit Grades, after the jump!

Defensive Line: B+. It was hardly a perfect game up front, especially given that the team gave up 394 yards. Still, there was some good pressure at times on Ole Miss, and eight tackles for loss. Auburn has been able to rotate six or seven up front all year, and it's going to help us going into Amen Corner.

Linebackers: B-. It was feast or famine in the linebacker corps. Sometimes we filled holes and blasted the runner, and sometimes we got pinned inside and burned. The swing pass to backs was KILLING the linebackers early, but adjustments were made well. A number of McCluster runs bounced off linebackers and gained a ton more yardage. Eltoro Freeman was again a force up front. He's very young , and when he gets out of position, it's ugly. It's the second week in a row that the young star has given up a 60+ yard TD run. Still, Freeman led the team in tackles, and was an inspiration. When he actually knows the defense well, he'll be really scary! The stat guys totally missed it, but Adam Herring got a few snaps, and made a huge tip on a pass when Ole Miss was in the red zone.

Secondary: B. This was a night and day improvement by this unit. Coverage was too soft early on, but as Snead started feeling pressure, the corners were able to crash the outs and hitches aggressively. When Zach Etheridge went out early, I was REALLY worried about the safeties. We lost a bit in tackling ability without Zach, but I think Mike Slade brought more speed to the equation. Ole Miss wasn't able to get it done downfield, even with that situation. T'Sharvan Bell and Demond Washington acquitted themselves well, and Neiko Thorpe made some plays. If this group continues to improve, they'll do well against Georgia and Bama.

Punting: B+. Durst hit some monster shots, but might have out-kicked his coverage some. The last kick, when we need to play for field position, was pretty poor. Durst averaged 42 yards on his six punts, but Marshay Green returned 3 of them, for 43 yards. The 29 yard Green return in the third quarter (the longest given up on the season) could have been costly, but Ole Miss fumbled it back on the Auburn 24. A net of 34.7 is a bit down, for us. I can't say enough about Chris Todd's pooch punt that went out of bounds at the one. That was a thing of beauty!

Punt Returns: D. No turnovers is an improvement. The dance moves, with room and blocking, were not. Phillip Pierre-Louis is a rookie at this gig, and I'm not suggesting we replace him. He just needs more coaching. When he learns to step fearlessly into the catch, and heads a few straight up field at a 45 degree angle or less, it will scare coverage teams to death. He's got some great (dreaded buzzword!) potential!

Kick Returns: B. This was a surprisingly solid effort. Ole Miss popped 'em up to about the 12 yard line, and Auburn returners Demond Washington and Phillip Pierre-Louis made 'em pay on field position, averaging 27 yards per return. That set us up on 3 returns outside the 35 yard line. That's pretty sweet, if we can keep that up!

Kickoffs: D-. Well, we tried kicking them deep this week, but Morgan Hull was not consistent. He managed two into the end zone, but 4 others were short. Auburn had a TREMENDOUS hit on the first return, causing a fumble that Auburn could not corral. Despite the negative on that play, Ole Miss averaged 30 yards per return, with one broken for a touchdown to pull Ole Miss within 11. Auburn did improve from a 26.0 yard net a week ago, to 33.8. I'll give a pass, this week.

Placekicking A+. Maybe I should count off on the 36-yard Byrum field goal that SHAVED juuuuusst inside the upright, but it counts 3 points, just the same. Byrum was perfect again. Foot Lauderdale has hit all 34 of his extra points, and is 13 of 14 on field goals. The only miss was from outside 40 yards. Magnificent, Sir Byrum, absolutely magnificent!

Offensive Line: B- This was a so-so performance, at best,but a winner nonetheless! Ole Miss has a great line, and depth. Auburn helped out on the scheme, giving the line help with several max-protect packages on the deep balls. Our tackles had maybe the worst day of the year trying to handle Greg Hardy and Kentrell Lockett off the edge. In this game, on 3^rd and +7, it was probably better to just run a draw. It would have saved Chris Todd some hits! Still, the Ole Miss ends had only 8 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. We lost the guard/center gap a couple of times, letting Jerrell Powe roar inside for tackles in the backfield. On a D-line that had Jerrell Powe, Lawson Scott, Kentrell Lockett, and Greg Hardy, Ole Miss only produced 9 tackles. No holding penalties for the line, and only one false start on Mike Berry. And of course, one delay of game on an early snap, courtesy of indecision by Roger's Redding's Buffoons.

Receivers: B. After the catch drought the past three weeks, one HAS to love 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns from the starters. Travante Stallworth ran two key reverses for first downs, and Kodi Burns was actually used as a receiver on a nice motion in, reverse out catch for 8 tough yards. There were some bruising blocks downfield, too. Some of the best plays downfield weren't catches, but rather swat-downs by Terrell Zachary on deep balls he wasn't going to be able to catch. Todd chunked it deep for Zachary multiple times, and Zachary did a good job of protecting his QB on those. Tommy Trott had a BAD drop on one pass, but made up for it with a NICE over the shoulder catch on a Burns loft in the end zone.

Running Backs: B. There was some hit and miss on blitz pickup, but enough success to allow Todd to set up to go deep multiple times. There was some good screen offense early, from Mario Fannin and Eric Smith. Ben Tate does some awesome running in traffic. His 148 yards on the day gave him 1067 yards in nine games. He's on pace to finish the regular season with 1422 yards, which would be the third best rushing season in Auburn history, behind only Bo Jackson and Rudi Johnson. Ben's rapidly approaching some rarefied air, around these parts!

Quarterback: C+. Super improvement from the past couple of weeks, but there was some shaky play as well. First off, the Wildcat was pretty much totally useless, except for Kodi's beautiful heave for a TD. Neither Burns throw was proper form AT ALL, but the one we needed got there for six. Rushing out of the Wildcat was snuffed, as nine or ten Ole Miss defenders attacked the line when they recognized Burns in the shotgun. Todd made some big throws, but it was scary. There were two deep throws where Terrell Zachary really made him look good, and a coverage bust that allowed Darvin Adams free for a TD. Todd made an absolutely awful decision late, giving up a 20 yard sack-fumble when we were trying to run the clock down. Luckily, two negative plays, a hold and a sack forced Ole Miss to punt for a touchback. Is Todd's arm OK? At times, he overthrows, at times he bounces it. Against a scary front and linebacking corps, Todd did OK, except for the fumble.

Auburn came up with a great win today! I didn't hold out much hope after the LSU effort, but these Tigers don't quit! We needed to go downfield on offense, play hard against Dexter McCluster, and rattle Jevan Snead. Auburn accomplished all three things, and came up with a win a little bigger than I predicted back in July. No, Ole Miss fans, we didn't score 34 like I thought we would, but we'll take 33!

The win over Ole Miss makes Auburn bowl-eligible at 6-3, and gives the team a great lift going into Homecoming against Furman. If Auburn can continue the improving play in Athens, an 8 win season is still within reach, and if we win that one, we'll host Alabama with a rising swell of confidence! Black Friday might be the end of the Tide's unbeaten run, if we continue to play well and the breaks fall like they did today!

War Eagle, everybody! WAR EAGLE! Ain't it grand? Nothing like winning!

Auburn Takes a Beating in Baton Rouge.

Acid Reign — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:49:08 -0000

(LSU cruises past Auburn, 31-10.)

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now for the much belated Acid Reign report, on Auburn's 31-10 loss to LSU, in Death Valley. The game was a chance to take advantage of a struggling LSU offense, and get back into the SEC Western Division race. Instead, Auburn regressed for the third week in a row. All was not gloom and doom, in this one, though. Auburn fared decently on both lines of scrimmage. Where Auburn and LSU diverged was in the play of skill folks, on both sides of the ball. There is no quick fix for this Auburn football team, either. Auburn will lose a number of key players over the next two graduating classes, and will have to look for replacements among incoming freshmen to fill many of those spots. Such is the fate of an SEC school with only 74 scholarship players. We'll continue to cheer on our beleaguered Tigers, regardless.

When you take a 31-10 beating in the SEC, there is usually plenty of team-wide blame to go around. This week, the most glaring culprit would be the lack of offensive production. When Auburn rolled up 469 yards against the Monte Kiffin/Tennessee defense, I opined that one could get a lot done on offense, if the two outside receivers could occupy four defenders downfield. Auburn's wideouts have not occupied even two defenders downfield, in the past three weeks. Arkansas, Kentucky, and LSU have felt free to blitz corners and cover with safeties, or to cover man to man, and blitz safeties. As a result, Auburn is now attempting to run the ball against more defenders than blockers on most plays. Production has plunged. The question becomes: whom to blame? Have the receivers stopped getting open? Has the quarterback lost the ability to throw to them? Or are the wrong plays being called? Gene Chizik and Co. aren't saying.

Through three quarters against the LSU defense, the tape showed the LSU defense often giving the Auburn outside receivers a LARGE cushion, sometimes as much as ten yards. We did not attempt a simple hitch, or wide receiver screen, THE WHOLE GAME. Maybe it was called, but we never saw it run. We ran lots of screens to backs, and suffered a HORRIBLE day blocking on the perimeter, but that's a different issue. Auburn didn't ATTEMPT a pass towards a wide receiver till a one-yard check-down dump off to Zachary, with 3:30 left in the first quarter. Auburn MIGHT have called a downfield pass play on the next drive, on 3^rd and 7. Against a 7 man rush, with 6 blockers, Chris Todd held the ball, fumbled, and LSU had it at the Auburn 16. What was called, we have no clue. The short pass was there, as both corners bailed backwards. You have to fast forward to the early second quarter for the next involvement of the wide receivers. On first down, Todd had ALL DAY to throw on a play fake, then tried to force one into to double coverage to Jay Wisner, on the short side, AFTER Wisner had run out of real estate. Interception. Todd's next two wide receiver attempts came on 3^rd and 17 (out of bounds towards Emory Blake), and 3^rd and 20 (again to Blake, basically thrown away.) Todd had another sack-fumble during this stretch.

In the third quarter, we didn't pass towards a wide receiver till third and goal at the 7. It was to Darvin Adams, of course, on an out run short of the goal line, into double coverage. Incomplete. Next drive, trailing 24-3, we faced a crucial 3^rd and 4. Corners bailed at the snap. Todd tried the out and up to Zachary, couldn't get by the defender. Out and UP?!? We haven't completed a hitch pass in three weeks, and we expected LSU to bite on an out and up? Before we get it back again, it's 31-3. Next possession, 2^nd and 17 we tried to pass. Seven man rush, Todd got sacked again. PLENTY of cushion on Zachary to the wide side, but we don't even ATTEMPT to zip it out there and get some of the yardage back. Next drive, Todd's last, we don't attempt to go downfield again till 3^rd and 8. A sack off the corner blitz, leaving Zachary and a TON of room over on the wide side with a safety 15 yards back. I have to wonder, at this point. Is it the play calls? Is it Todd not pulling the trigger? We've GOT to get the wideouts involved again, or we'll get blown out on Halloween, against Ole Miss. Cornerback is the weakest point of the Ole Miss defense, and we MUST exploit that! Whether it's Todd, or Caudle, we MUST gun that ball in there, and make plays on the perimeter! Of all of the things to be angry about in the 2009 Auburn/LSU game, the lack of passing to the wide receivers stands out the most, to me.

Auburn's defense was hardly stellar, in this game, either. Except for one play against LSU running backs, Auburn played well. Containing the Quarterback on the scramble was a different story. It's been a sore point all year, and Auburn's woes in that department are not even new to this year. What is alarming from this game is the 7.5 yards per pass given up. Neiko Thorpe and Walter McFadden got worked over, in this one. McFadden managed one great pass breakup in the 3^rd quarter, but he was beaten by Brandon LaFell, spun around, for a second quarter score. LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson was able to loft the ball up to covered receivers, confident that his man would come down with the ball. Auburn is running with receivers, but is not making the play when the ball gets there. That's something to work on. Tackling and pass rush continue to be problematic, but the defense enjoyed a healthy infusion of Eltoro Freeman and Antoine Carter. Those guys have missed most of the year, and appeared to be much fresher and aggressive than the rest of the defense. Next week, it's incumbent upon Ted Roof to utilize these guys to get into the Ole Miss backfield, and work on Jevan Snead. Secondary tackling remains poor. There was one LSU touchdown where Antonio Coleman and Zach Etheridge had Jefferson bracketed. Coleman left his feet, leaping at the pump fake, and Etheridge took a short angle. Jefferson sprinted into the end zone, on what should have been a sack. The icing 69 yard run in the third quarter was on Neiko Thorpe and Darren Bates. Neither guy was blocked. They got split up the back side on that run, and were left standing slack-jawed. The defensive mistakes in this game are correctable. The real enemy is fatigue. Most of these guys have played nearly every defensive snap of the season. Relief isn't in sight till mid-November, unfortunately.

Special teams continue to earn the "special" label, and not in a good way. We had another fumbled punt. We can't manage 40 yards per punt, anymore. Return blocking remains non-existent. Net kickoffs continue to get worse. We averaged only 26.0 net yards, in this game. LSU averaged starting at their own 44 yard line. We'd have done better kicking every kick out of bounds.

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: B. We had decent gap control, and a good spark on the pass rush from Antoine Carter. Auburn didn't get enough heat on first-down play action, but that's understandable facing a deadly backfield like LSU has. Where Auburn loses points is on the scheme: We continue to drop defensive ends into pass coverage, and it's pretty much been useless against SEC opponents. Asking an end, even a guy like Antonio Coleman, to cover Trindan Holiday or Keiland Williams, is ridiculous. We'd be better served rushing the passer.

Linebackers: B-. We continue to miss tackles, but with the addition of Eltoro Freeman to the mix, we were pretty solid against the run, for the first time all year. The linebackers forced LSU to throw it to move the ball consistently. Unfortunately, LSU did quite well through the air. Points off on repeated loss of contain on quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

Secondary: F. Take away one rip-out on a long pass by Walter McFadden, and this unit was pretty helpless in coverage. We couldn't chase down Jordan Jefferson on scrambles, couldn't contain Sheppard beyond the tackle box, and couldn't knock the ball away from LSU receivers. The secondary did make 23 tackles, but well over half were assists. Considering that LSU completed 22 passes, that stat isn't very good.

Punting: C. Clinton Durst killed 3 of his seven punts inside the LSU 20, and did manage one spectacular 58 yard rain-maker. ON the other hand, we were treated to a shank and a slice, at critical times during the ball game. LSU did not manage a single return. We'll grudgingly take a 39.7 yard net, against LSU.

Punt Returns: F. Poor decisions all around in this one, and again, no blocking. We let one easily returnable punt hit and roll, fair caught another with room, then fumbled one in traffic. The fumble was particularly ugly, because Phillip Pierre-Louis did not use proper form. He tried to short-arm the ball with a defender right there. Had he stepped up and caught it into his body, he'd likely have drawn an interference flag.

Kick Returns: C. We actually blocked a wee bit better, this week. Mario Fannin had one of his trademark "run into the first guy down, and fall" returns, but Ben Tate, Phillip Pierre-Louis, and Demond Washington all had decent distance returns, getting yards after contact.

Kickoffs: F. Again, I suppose I should be thankful that we didn't give one up for a score. Still, a 26.0 yard net HAS to be one of the worst figures of the year, in the NCAA! I am NOT a fan of our current sky-kick and prayer style!

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum was perfect on two kicks. We're not giving him NEARLY enough opportunities. He's performing at an All-SEC level, but won't get noticed with only a couple of kicks a game.

Offensive Line: B+. Points off on an Andrew McCain false start. He's officially taken the false-start poster-boy status away from Lee Ziemba, in 2009. The play was a bad call, due to a defender being in the neutral zone, but still. You can't move before the snap! Period! Auburn's line actually held their own quite well against a good LSU front, in this game. LSU had to outnumber our blockers, to stop the running game, and didn't get much pressure on Todd unless they blitzed.

Receivers: D. This is an awfully harsh grade for a unit without even a single drop. A lot of it likely had to do with the scheme, but these guys never got involved. Tommy Trott made one good 15 yard catch, but otherwise seemed to whiff on every screen block he attempted. We ran one end around to Zachary, into the boundary, for a big loss. Nice plays at the end of the game by Blake and Lutzencirchen to get us a TD, but that's trash-time stuff. We've GOT to get more out of these guys, whether it's blocking on screens, or simply executing a 5-yard hitch route. We've got NOTHING going on the outside right now, and defenses know it.

Running Backs: B. There is only so much a back can do, outnumbered in traffic. Eric Smith continues to function well as a lead blocker, and as a screen receiver. Kudos to Tate, Fannin, and Smith for hanging onto the ball and not fumbling. Points off on a couple of pass protection gaffes. Hideous job on 3^rd and 1 on the first drive, on Tate and Smith. It was a wingback, under center formation, with a quick snap. Both guys were leaning to the right, telegraphing the play. And Smith fell down on his block. Tate was stacked up with no chance, on that one. We didn't pick up the corner blitz terribly well, in protection, either. Note to Gus: sit Onterrio McCalebb down, till his ankle heals. A slow, 160-pound back won't do, in the SEC.

Quarterback: D-. Again, I have to wonder if it's the scheme. Chris Todd doesn't seem willing to try anything towards a wide receiver, till it's third and long. Holding the ball on all-out blitzes is a big no-no. A senior should at LEAST toss it up, down the sideline, and give his receiver a chance. Heck, the way we're punting, we might be better off with an interception! Kodi Burns had the chance to make opponents respect his arm in the Wildcat, and missed a wide-open Fannin. Neil Caudle looked good, late. He's got an arm. Made some tough throws in traffic. Maybe not the wisest throws, but he was at least trying to get something done downfield. Caudle did make a wrong read on the read-option, when he was in there. Ended up being a blocker. Should Gus and Gene yank Todd? Debate will rage, all week. I'm not sold. It sure seemed to me that the play caller was afraid to test LSU's corners, this week. If we're going to keep Todd back there, we need to let him chuck it. He's not a runner. If we want to just take sacks, heck, let Ben Tate run the wildcat. If we want to take Chris Todd's starting job, we need to at least give him a chance to fail. As much as I hate to say it, we're calling plays scared, right now.

Auburn's divisional championship chances are officially gone, as of this week. I think the most important thing, from this point forward, is to develop our schemes, and our young players. I'm not in favor of burning redshirts at this point, but I think snaps for guys that are going to lose a year anyway, such as Neil Caudle, should be a priority. We've already burned a year on DeAngelo Benton, Emory Blake, and Travante Stallworth. Put 'em out there, and throw the ball to them. Run Jonathan Evans in at linebacker every other series. Let Eltoro Freeman run wild. Get T'Sharvan Bell, D'Antoine Hood, and Mike Slade some snaps. We may well lose to Ole Miss, Georgia, and Alabama. We're going to have to get some young guys ready, for the future. Most importantly, it's up to us supporters to NOT jump off the bandwagon, in these difficult times. None of our coaches deserve to be fired, at this time. They are doing the best they can, with a limited stock of players.

Honestly, I'm looking forward to Halloween hosting Ole Miss. I've watched a decade of Houston Nutt. I KNOW what he'll do. He's going to load the box, and GET AFTER the QB. We have a GREAT chance to open it up, and make some plays. We can use our newfound players Eltoro Freeman and Antoine Carter, and heat Jevan Snead up. I think Auburn has a great chance at pulling the upset, next week in Jordan Hare! War Eagle, everybody! Don't get down on your Tigers! Beat Ole Miss!

Tigers Trip and Fall, in the Ozarks.

Acid Reign — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:48:30 -0000

Auburn crashes in Fayetteville, losing to Arkansas, 44-23.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now to do the post I've been dreading, the grades from the Auburn/Arkansas game. I've put it off for as long as possible, but at some point, one has to face reality and move on. I earlier made an analogy of Auburn's performance this season, judging it akin to a kid running full speed down a steep hill. You wondered when the kid would fall, and wondered how bad it would be. Well, now we know. This game was a lot like the time when I was a kid, and rode a skateboard down the steepest hill in the neighborhood. It was a great ride, I guess. I don't remember. Hit a dumpster at the bottom head-first, caromed off, and landed face-first in the creek. At least, that's what people told me... Auburn landed head-first in the ditch this trip, but it made my Tiger heart glad, at least for one thing: the Tigers were still swinging! Still fighting to the end! That bodes better things for the future.

Auburn's offense faltered for the first time this season, in Fayetteville. And of course, with any units' assessment, you start on the line of scrimmage. We were badly whipped, up front. Yes, Arkansas did apply more blitzes than anyone before. But even when they didn't, we couldn't handle 3 or 4 man rushes from arguably one of the worst defenses in the league. Missed blocks were rampant, from the line, to the receivers, and the backs. No one was able to line up and neutralize a defender, except for a small stretch of the third quarter in which Auburn exploded for 3 touchdowns. Had the Auburn offense played like that for more of the game, we might well have equaled or surpassed most folks' predictions. Much commentary has been posted on the play of quarterback Chris Todd, but aside of the fumbled snap on a crucial 4^th down play, I can't find too much fault. Todd held the ball, but that's what you're SUPPOSED to do when your receivers are having trouble getting off the line. For all the negativity, Todd got sacked 3 times, and had no interceptions. He performed better than many, on the offensive unit.

Special teams were mostly solid, but kick coverage remains just AWFUL. I've been one of the top gripers the past couple of years, due to Auburn opponents averaging in the low 20s per return. Well, that average has ballooned, this year. Auburn gave up a whopping 48.3 yards per return, this game! That's average field position at midfield, for the opponent! We actually would have been about 10 yards better off, kicking every kick out of bounds! Clinton Durst largely has been unable to hit the towering, long punt. He did get great height in the game, forcing fair catches, but a 39 yard average won't win any post season awards. We didn't have our usual punt receiving miscues, largely because we didn't force many punts.

Obviously, we're in a whole lot of trouble, on defense. Aside from holding a bad La. Tech team to 13 points, we've basically been abused every week. 24 points against Mississippi State (an SEC cellar-dweller), 21 in the FIRST QUARTER against West Virginia, 30 against an 0-5 MAC team, and we failed to either sack or intercept Jonathan Crompton in Knoxville. I suppose I should have seen this sort of game coming. Frankly, we're lucky Arkansas only scored 44 points. Most of their failures came on bad passes. Many of Ryan Mallett's throws were to wide open guys, and were either uncatchable, or forced the wide open guy to dive for it. Had those sorts of throws been accurate, Auburn could have easily given up 60 or 70 points. Yes folks, it WAS that bad! We had an absolutely anemic day rushing the passer, and didn't get any real heat till late in the 4^th quarter, when Antoine Carter turned the corner for the first sack of the game. One thing you could always count on in the past decade, was that Auburn's defensive line was going to GET after it! Not so, lately. Reggie Torbor, Bret Eddins, Stanley McClover, Marquise Gunn, Quentin Groves, where have you gone? We've got no threat, rushing the passer, anymore. The seven step drop is available, for any SEC team that wants to try a bomb. Even our normally solid coverage failed in Fayetteville. Neiko Thorpe stayed on his man like glue for the most part, but was utterly incapable of keeping his man from making the catch anyway. Walter McFadden, playing banged-up, made one spectacular interception, and was done for the day. Slot guys and secondary receivers were WIDE open, all day. We don't have NEARLY enough pass defenders. In addition, we seem to be coaching WAY too much hand use, in coverage. It burned us repeatedly, as the officials were looking for it. We don't have a weakside linebacker. I think we've gotten 2 tackles TOTAL, from that position, in the past three weeks. Folks, we're well on pace to be the worst Auburn defense in history, as far as points given up. Earl Brown's 0-10 1950 team only gave up 25.5 per game. Right now, Auburn is giving up 27.1. With Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Furman, Georgia and Alabama left on the schedule, will that number go down?

Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: F. If there has been a worse performance in Auburn history, I don't remember it. Arkansas ran 82 offensive plans, and defensive linemen were in on 13 tackles. Auburn had only 1 sack, and 2 quarterback hurries, on 38 passing plays. Preseason All-SEC end Antonio Coleman did not record a single stat. We applied no pressure, filled no gaps, and were routinely blown off the ball. Awful performance.

Linebackers: C+. Oh, yes, I saw the repeated grabs on guys cutting over the middle. I saw the lost gaps. Still, the only real defensive production we got was from Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens. Those guys are playing hard, and trying to keep us in games. Those two combined for 20 tackles, the rest of the linebacking corps had just 5 stops. The linebackers need some help, from the rest of the defense!

Secondary: F. Some would say, with Walter McFadden's perfectly played interception, it should be a passing grade. Those guys made 36 tackles! They also let Arkansas pass the ball with impunity. No pass breakups, and one interception. Arkansas had guys wide open, all morning/afternoon. When your secondary makes over half the tackles, you're playing some really bad defense.

Punting: C+. Overall, we had a 39.0 yard net, which is pretty good. We've done a pretty fair job of kicking it where the other team can't return it, giving up only one 6 yard return in this one. However, aside from one 52-yard rainmaker, Clinton Durst's kicks weren't terribly impressive, in this one. Take away the 52 yarder, and he averaged only 36.8 yards on the remaining 6 punts.

Punt Returns: C. Phillip Pierre-Louis had a nifty, shifty 15-yard return when we needed a spark. Unfortunately, he only managed to field one punt out of four. Still, turnovers were avoided, and that's a heck of an improvement!

Kickoffs: F. As hard as it is to believe, we continue to regress, here. Distance was better on the kickoffs, but coverage added failed arm tackles to the repertoire. Arkansas' Dennis Johnson's SHORTEST return was 25 yards. We gave up a WHOPPING 48.3 yards per return! Factoring in Auburn's 68.6 yard kickoff average, Arkansas averaged starting on the 49 yard line, after an Auburn kickoff.

Placekicking: A+. Not many opportunities in this one, but they all were converted for points. Wes Byrum IS money!

Offensive line: D. This grade may be a bit harsh, but our protection was as lousy as I can remember since the Barfield era. The line did bow up and do some great run-blocking in the 3^rd quarter, but otherwise, got absolutely manhandled. Arkansas managed 3 sacks and 3 quarterback hurries, and the Tiger offense was continually disrupted, up front.

Receivers: D. There were ups and downs, with this unit. The timing of the bad plays, though, was awful. When a screen pass would go incomplete, you can bet that a receiver was downfield flattening an Arkansas defender. When the pass was there, you could also bet that the Auburn man would absolutely whiff his block. Auburn receivers had 3 drops, which doesn't sound like much. It's not, with most squads. We've been spoiled to this point, this season, with near perfect hands. Against Arkansas, our receivers were mortal.

Running Backs: B-. If we have a tougher bunch in history, I'm not sure who they are! Ben Tate continues to have an all-Star season, and nearly single-handedly put us withing striking distance in the 3^rd quarter. Onterrio McCalebb had a heroic performance, playing hurt. Eric Smith, as usual, contributed. Smith, and especially Mario Fannin, combined for a half dozen drops. Someone must step up at H-back, down the stretch for Auburn...

Quarterback: C. One turnover, no touchdowns from this position. Honestly, Todd never really had a chance, in this one. He did try to force some things, and once again was lucky not to have an interception or two. There were missed opportunities, such as a wide-open bomb to Terrell Zachary that would have gone for 6, and an early lead. There were times that Todd held the ball when receivers were open. Todd could have done better, but with pressure in his face all day, he could have done a WHOLE lot worse.

In sum, this was a disappointing Auburn performance. With a young team, these things are bound to happen. Even when Auburn has been loaded, veteran, and talented across the board, they usually manage at least one bad game per year. There were the Amazin's of 1972, who got blown out by LSU. The 1983 champions, lost to Texas. Auburn took a 34-6 beating from FSU, for the only loss of 1987. Did you know, that despite dominating the SEC since Steve Spurrier's arrival 20 years ago, that the Gators have never gone undefeated? As others have opined, Auburn was due for a let down. It happened, and all we can do now is to regroup, work hard, and try to destroy our remaining opponents!

For Auburn to succeed down the stretch, and finish better than 6-6, several things need to happen. First, both lines of scrimmage need to play better, particularly the defensive line. If anyone can get it done, I think Tracy Rocker can. We actually have more depth at D-line, than in any other place on the team. Maybe some shakeups are in order? Auburn must tackle better. Missed tackles have just KILLED us, to this point. And finally, we mustn't give up! This team will be in every game they play, if they don't get down on themselves, and KEEP FIGHTING!

Auburn's remaining schedule has opportunities. Kentucky will be visiting next week, without their starting quarterback. Mike Hartline is out with a knee injury, and Wildcat options include a wide receiver, and a backup with no experience. LSU will be tough in Baton Rouge, but fields the league's worst offense. Ole Miss is pretty awful on offense, as well. Furman is having a REALLY rough season. Georgia has a very soft defense, and issues with both the running game, and at quarterback. Then, there's Alabama. We host 'em. I'd like to think that we won't let 'em walk out of Jordan Hare without a fight! War Eagle, everybody! And let's roll the Wildcats!