SB Nation User Blog: Col.Angus

For Gods sake please stop the self flagellation Auburn fans!!

Col.Angus — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:41:51 -0000

People, for Gods sake stop the self flagellation. I understnd the hurt, the grief, the anger and the disappointment, but I have heard more Auburn fans say they are embarrassed to be associated with the University than I can ever remember... and I'm old enough to have lived through the probation/ Barfield days. All I hear is our University sucks and we have no leadership and the President and the AD are buffoons and no one in their right mind would want to coach here. All of which is being parroted by the media making the Univeristy that I love look horrible. Do all of you want to tarnish the reputation of our University across the country just because you disagree with the decision to replace the Head Coach? Because that is what you are doing. DEFEND YOUR ALMA MATER!!! I know a lot of you are unhappy but you are doing far worse damage to the university by openly railing against it and pointing out how inept the President and AD are. We are being portrayed in the media as spoiled ignorant rednecks with no concept of how lucky we were to have Tommy Tuberville roam the sidelines....and the rest of the SEC loves how we are cutting our own throats. They are laughing and loving it while we implode. Are you worried about losing recruits? Well we aren't helping ourselves by telling the world what a terrible place Auburn is to be and how we have no hope of fielding a competetive team with Tuberville gone and Jacobs/Gogue and Lowder in charge of the University.

I don't understand where this misplaced sense of piety and loyalty to a coach comes from. We aren't Duke or Staford where a 7-5 season is reason to celebrate and you can't expect much more. So many fans act like we are "better" than that to fire a coach after one awful season. Are you kidding me? Auburn is a football school, one of the top 10 revenue producing programs in the country, and we should expect excellence from our program. Tuberville gave us one SEC championship over ten seasons and a slew of good but unremarkable seasons as well. Outside of 2004, his record is decidedly average and in line with a top 20 team but not one that contends for championships. And isn't that what you play for? Listen I didn't agree with Tuberville being replaced either, I thought he should be given at least another year, but he did go an ugly, and awful to watch 5-7 where he could have easily gone 3-9 (Miss St, UT). On the flip side he could have easily gone 9-3 or 10-2. The difference in those games? Coaching, making adjustments and getting your team into position to win. All Tuberville's fault? Of course not, but he was the head coach, and it was his team. This year was bound to happen with the QB situation unsettled and to make matters worse Tubs decided to implement an offense that REQUIRES the QB to excell for it to work. Tuberville had earned to right to make such a disasterous decision, but I also can't blame the administration for wanting to stop the slide. The question you need to ask yourself is where does your allegience to Tuberville end and your allegience to your University begin? Tuberville has flirted with every big name school to come down the pike looking for a new coach, either to get a raise or a contract extension, so how would you feel about him if he had left for Texas A&M, Arkansas, Clemson or any of the other rumored suitors over the years? Something tells me we wouldn't be so fond of him. Would you still rather have Tuberville here if we were to land a Spurrier or a Brian Billick to replace him? Again, I bet not.

Well none of those things have happened or are going to happen, but that doesn't mean the right decision wasn't made or that things might be better without Tuberville because what we are looking at is where is our program going forward, not where it was in 2004. We all want to get back to that level of success of 2004 and it is was going to be extremely difficult for Tuberville to do that given his performance on the field the last 2 years. We need someone fresh, enthusiastic and capable of closing the recruiting gap between us and the rest of the SEC big dogs. Is the next guy going to come in and replicate 2004? Probably not, but the last 2 guys we brought in --- when nobody would want to coach here ---- did pretty damn good for a while.

Here's the deal, coaches will come and go but your Alma Mater will always be there. We need to support Auburn, stop trashing her and the administration. If they make a mistake with the next hire they will be held accountable, but lets not do the dirty work of our enemies for them and trash our university. Lets be proud to be Auburn Tigers, defend the university and support whoever the new coach s but most importantly stop giving the media ammo to bludgeon us with. We face a hard enough road as it is, we can not do it as a house divided. Like it or not, the Tuberville era is over, long live the new coach.

Coach Franklin had to go.

Col.Angus — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:24:25 -0000

I am somewhat surprised by the number of people questioning Coach Tubervilles decision to fire Tony Frankln and that are now defending him and his system. I read the Smart Football article about Franklin and his offense and all I can say is that made me MORE certain that he was not the man to be our OC. Listen, Aug. 30th was not the 1st day that Auburn hit the gridiron trying to run Franklins offense. As impressed as I was looking at the Airraid system when he came aboard and as impressive as we played against Clemson three weeks into the change, I am absolutely DISMAYED at how totally ineffective the offense is after having 9 months to work on it. He had NINE MONTHS to coach his co-ordinators and his players on how to run the offense and failed MISERABLY. Nine months is a long time folks when all you have to do is talk football. Franklin obviously could not make his system work in practice, so he did not win the respect of the coaches to get them to buy into his system. I say this is obvious because Auburn's preseason practices were kept under wraps and they obviously worked on other formations than the spread. When the 1st game came around we were expecting lightning and fireworks and what we got was chaos and mistakes and confusion and a scoreless half against ULM. I'm sorry but I don't see how that is an acceptable outcome after nine months of preparation. The fact that things only seem to have gotten worse only backs up my position. The offense was not working and we were not going to be successful running the spread the way Franklin had it installed. If Franklin was not being allowed to run his system to his liking, again that is HIS FAULT!!! He had nine months to get buy in from Tubs and gain his confidence and obviously never got it. If he didn't have the guts to stand up to Tubs and tell him either he runs the system his way or he quits, then how do you think he looks to his players? Impotent is how he looks. I don't blame Tubs if he reigned in Franklin if what he was seeing in practice was what we were seeing in games, which is total ineptitude.

The bottom line is things were only going to get worse if Franklin stayed. Coach Tuberville had no confidence in him, his players think the offense stinks and is inept, the fans of course are frothing at the mouth, and we were likely going to lose the rest of games running the spread, aside from UTM. Now as much as firing Frankin may hurt our recruiting I don't think it could be hurt nearly as bad as going 5-7 or 6-6, with a totally moribund offense incapable of scoring in its featured offensive formation and getting anihlated by Georgia and Alabama. Tuberville can not afford for it to look like he has lost control of his program, not with Saban enjoying a breakout season with the Tide. Trust me we were going to lose plenty of recruits anyway. The good news is we will still get plenty of recruits who want to play for Auburn and Coach Tuberville, because if things don't change and the players don't tighten it up, there will be plenty of positions open for incoming freshmen to compete for.

I am convinced we have enough talent on this team to score 20+ points on anybody and if we utilize that talent properly enough to keep oposing defenses on the field as opposed to ours, we can beat anybody. Line up our guys on the line, let them fire out at the defense from a 3 pt stance and we will see some big improvements. That change alone may be worth an extra touchdown per game. When we get the running game going well, it will be much easier for Todd or Burns to pass. The key to our succes going forward will be executing and not making mistakes, getting rid of the chaos surrounding Franklin and his system I think will help acheive that.

Black Eye Bludgeoning for the blackout crowd

Col.Angus — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:13:43 -0000

Well I really wish the shoe were on the other foot and the Sabanites were the ones being tharshed but I can't say I don't take some satisfaction from watcing the pompous Georgia fans get their black shirts shoved up their black holes.

Last year I was at the Auburn blackout and those egotistical UGA fans ACTUALLY thought the reason they won because their stupid black shirts intimidated the Auburn players. How stupid can you be? Well at least the "mystique" of the black jersey will be buried for all time after this game.

Whats funny is how much the comentators are slathering the Sabanites with platitudes and praise. Yes, Alabama is playing very inspired and efficient fottball, but they aren't doing anything special. They are taking advantage of a Georgia's mistakes (and boy aren't they making a bunch!!!) and making those stupid thugs that make up Georgias team look like just that.

Now Coach Franklin, take a seat and review the film of the 1st half of the UGA/AL game and see how you play offense in the SEC. You line up against your opponent with two running backs and two wide outs, you fire off the line and punch you opponent in the mouth, while your running back plows into the secondary for 6- 8 yards. THEN when your opponent comes up to play the run, you fake the run on play action and then you throw the ball down field. Its not hard but you have to be creative and keep your opponent off balance and of course YOU MUST EXECUTE. This is exactly what Alabama is doing tonight and they are decimating UGA. UGA probably thought they could throw their jerseys on the field and still win but now they are being shown the folly of their arrogance and they're poor preparation. Its almost like I'm watching a video game I'm playing, Alabama is making the play calls I would have, like the RB draw from the shotgun on 3rd and Goal from the 7 that put them up 24-0. Georgia played a nickel package and left the middle of the defense wide open for the handoff and Coffey walked into the end zone. YOU HAVE TO CALL PLAYS THAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR OPPONENTS DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENT!!!! I am sick of seeing us play INTO our opponents defensive alignment. Our play calling is so predictable and even more so when we line up at the line of scrimmage. It is a tribute to our players that they have been able to move the ball at all running that farce of an offense the Franklin has sold Tuberville. Coach Franklin I don't like the spread offense because its a cheap gimmick like the run and shoot, its great for high schools and flag football but if you want to beat the MEN who play in the SEC you have to play a MAN'S OFFENSIVE SCHEME AND BEAT YOUR OPPONENT!! Is it that hard to admit you are wrong? Surely it can't be any harder than watching your prolific offense be ground into hamburger week in and week out. If you can turn this around I will be the first to congratulate you and say I should have been patient, nothing would make me happier. But I have seen a lot of football in my life and I know what wins at every level, strong defense, a strong running attack and a passing attack that is just good enough to take advantage of a defense playing the run. Its tried and true and every winning team does it. Can anybody name me a team that won a National Title or a Super Bowl with a gimmick offense? Florida? Chris Leak was NOT running the spread offense my friends. Maybe the St Louis Rams? But they had a great ground game in Marshall Faulk. I just don't believe it can be done. There is no shame in trying but when the day is done, football is about who wins in the trenches. Even a slow running back looks good when the defensive line is blown five yards off the ball.

Of course now Alabama is showing they aren''t world beaters either. Here comes UGA!

Maybe Rhodes should take over?

Col.Angus — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:33:31 -0000

What do you say we just punt when we get the ball and let the defense try and win the game.....oh wait... that is what we're doing.

Tate is down now....one less bullet in the Derringer

Really, wouldn't you be embarrassed to call yourself an offensive co-ordinator or a head coach if you were running this game plan? I mean we are playing in the SEC, correct? I am sick of playing NOT TO LOSE, if CTT doesn't want to win the game then let somebody else take the reigns. I understand playing it conservatively but WE HAVE TO GET A FIRST DOWN!!

Please don't lose this game out of spite!!!

Col.Angus — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:08:59 -0000

Uh, was it my imagination that we scored our only touchdown when we ran a traditional offense with a spread wrinkle? I believe it was. And what have we done in the spread? Nothing. Please for the sake of the fans and the players who want to win, please go under center and run the ball and ....gasp...run a play action pass!!!Please!!! In the name of all that is holy....USE YOUR BRAINS!!!

I am so disgusted, there is absolutely NO IMAGINATION emanating from the sideline. 3 and out, 3 and out, 3 and out, ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!

The Underdog Performs to Expectations Again....Seen enough?

Col.Angus — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:07:00 -0000

It was August 30th 2003 and Auburn had just been humiliated at home by the USC Trojans after coming into the game as the pre-season #1 team in the country. It was one of the worst defeats I had witnessed as an Auburn fan because we came into the season with such high expectations and were looking forward to decimating another PAC -10 pretender, but instead were humiliated on the national stage and set up USC for their great season.

On the way home my wife tried to assuage my anger by telling me it was only one loss and we could come back.....and besides Auburn always plays better as an underdog. That struck me like a sledgehammer.. Auburn always plays better as an underdog....because its true. Even in 2004 when we ran the table, we were the underdog the entire season trying to catch USC and Oklahoma. Alas it was not to be because we didn't show dominance, and an ability to destroy an opponent when we had the chance. Always playing conservatively when the game was in hand so that we wouldn't chance letting an inferior opponent get back in the game, letting the defense hold on to secure the victory.

It led to ugly wins against Bama, UT in the SEC game and VT in the sugar bowl. We played the underdog the whole way and watched USC trounce an undeserving OK in the National Title game we should have been in. You know why? Despite Tuberville's politicking to be in the title game, it was too little too late. We showed we didn't want it during the season by playing it safe and we were rewarded for a perfect season with an Also-Ran game and the bragging rights of being named Golf Illustrated's National Champion.

What does that have to do with another devastating loss to LSU? Its 2008 and Auburn again has a championship caliber defense, a stable of exceptional running backs and an impressive offensive line but where do we sit after 4 games? We're still worrying about offensive production, out of the national title hunt, and virtually out of the SEC championship hunt.

We have the talent to win every game and should have beaten LSU Saturday night behind a great home field advantage (BTW, thank you Auburn faithful for showing why SEC games and in particular those at Jordan Hare are like nowhere else....and without COWBELLS!!).

We had LSU beaten last night but just like every underdog who has ever drawn a breath, we didn't have the killer instinct to deliver the knockout blow when given the opportunity. Auburn led 14-3 and was driving on LSU to open the third quarter, with a 1st and ten at the LSU 19 when the underdog in Auburn took over. A telegraphed sweep to Tate, lost 6 yards. A bad Chris Todd pass fell incomplete, And on 3rd and 16? Todd was left alone in the backfield on the ensuing pass play (thank you spread offense) and was sacked for a nine yard loss at the 34 yard line. Instead of try a 51 yard field goal, Tommy Tuberville opted to punt, which resulted in 10 yard shank. LSU took over at their 24 and by the end of the quarter it was LSU who had the lead and the momentum.

Fast forward to 5:48 left in the game, Auburn has a tenuous 1 point lead and the ball at their 25 yard line. If they drive the ball on LSU they win the game, end of story. LSU knows that they have to force Auburn into a three and out to have a chance to win the game. Auburn runs Tate into the teeth of the LSU line, no gain. Todd passes on 2nd down, incomplete. Lester runs for a short gain on third down. Auburn punts with over 4:40 left in the game and the hope of the Tiger nation resting on a tired Auburn defense (thank you spread offense).

We needed to score but more importantly we needed to control the clock and make sure that if LSU did get the ball back it wouldn't have time to do anything. Well we all know what happened next. LSU did what we couldn't and delivered the knock out blow with a clubbing right cross from Jared Lee to Brandon Lafell.

Look, I'm not a fair weather fan, I've lived and died Auburn football since I was three when Pat Sullivan roamed the plains. Back then Auburn truly was an underdog, the Crimson Tide and Bear Bryant ruled college football by stockpiling all the talent in the South. We found a way to compete then by getting the most out of players with average SEC grade talent.

Nowadays though everybody gets their fair share of talent due to scholarship restrictions. It's how you recruit, develop and implement that talent that makes you an SEC title contender. If you win the SEC you always will be in the hunt for the National Title. We are miles away from being a contender for anything because we aren't utilizing our talent properly.

For as bad as our offense was the last couple of years, Al Borges knew what to do with talent. With our embarrassment of riches in 2004, we routinely ran up big leads early behind the running of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams and the downfield passing of Campbell to Aromashadu, Taylor, Mix and Obamanu. The only thing that held them back was Tuberville's conservative play calling in the second half.

When the Brandon Cox era began it became apparent that Borges knew how to direct talent, not develop it. Cox only got worse as his career wound down and Auburn's offense was restricted to Kenny Irons- left, Kenny Irons- Right, Cox -incomplete pass, Punt. We won game after game with dominating defense. Tuberville felt Borges didn't have what it took to produce a productive offense, so he fired Borges and hired Tony Franklin and his spread offense.

This is a curious choice since at the end of the 2001 UGA/AU game which was won by Caddillac Williams' 41 carry, 178yard perfomance, CTT told a pass happy 1st year Coach Mark Richt that you better learn to run the ball effectively if you want to win in the SEC. Auburn can run the ball against anybody with Tate,Lester and Davis (what happened to Mario Fanin?), but in the spread offense they can't run it when it matters because there aren't enough blockers available against a defense keying on the run.

Football is a simple game, normally won by the team that prepares for its opponent the best and has the heart and desire to defeat their opponent when given the opportunity. If you have a good defense and a good running game you normally only need a QB and WR set that can take advantage of one on one matchups to hit the long ball after being set up by the run.

Tuberville is dismissing these fundamentals by chasing the fantasy of the spread offense. Can anyone name me a national title contender running a successful version of the spread offense? Florida? Really? Have you seen them play this year, or last year against Auburn or any other good defensive team? Not very impressive. Not crisp. Not an offense that can be counted on to move the ball when needed. And thats with the Six Million Dollar Man at QB. Urban Meyer knows this and that is why he is running up the score where he can, when he can, to do what he can to boost Florida's standing in the polls.

Tuberville has Auburn running the spread without Tim Teebow and without Florida's receivers, and forgetting the advice he gave Mark Richt. Run the ball effectively and everything else will come. He is doing the exact opposite, and therefore here we sit behind LSU and Alabama in the quest for the SEC West title, not playing smart and not playing to defeat the opponent.

But I have faith in Tuberville. He is a good football man and he has produced great teams on the plains, but he must go back to the roots of successful Auburn football, utilizing the run to set up the pass and then not be afraid to throw that knockout punch. We have the team, we have the players, we have the fan base to dominate. The only thing left to do is implement a standard but aggressive offensive scheme that utilizes the talent we have....and then go for the throat. We have no margin of error left in the season and will need help to get past LSU.

Tuberville and the players want to win, they want to dominate. the fans want to root them on. Do what we need to do and have no mercy...for while we may not always win we should never be an underdog because underdogs are expected to lose. Underdogs are losers and I don't ever want to have Auburn be considered an underdog again.

This Is Not An Offense That Can Win In The SEC

Col.Angus — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:22:32 -0000

Folks, we have all seen a lot of Auburn football and we have also seen a lot of bad offense from Auburn over the years because we just didn't get the top tier skill position players aside from the tailback position. We REALLY haven't had a game changing quarterback since Pat Sullivan, and I don't think we've ever had a game changing wide receiver. Good receivers yes, but game changers? I don't think so.

Having said that, I think we have a typical Auburn offense. Riches at tailback, a solid offensive line and mediocity everywhere else. If Tony Franklin wants to run the spread offense, great, just wait until we have the tools to run it. Right now we have a QB with a weak arm that consistently underthrows his very average receivers. Chris Todd may be a nice guy and may be a great JUCO QB but he does not have the stuff to win in the SEC. Its painful to watch him go through his progressions while the O-line struggles to hold back the rush, only to watch him throw a puff ball into double coverage.

So we know....as does everyone else....that we are going to run the ball to advance down the field. Therefore we saw what we saw tonight, a minimum of 8 players within 6 yards of the line on 1st and 2nd down. Our pathetic attempts to run outside are squashed quickly because we need blocking from the WR's to get past the line of scrimmage. There is absolutely NO FEAR of the passing attack because Todd cannot make a quick read and hit an open receiver without letting the defense get back into the play, his arm just isn't strong enough to make the defense pay for coverage lapses.

Kodi Burns DOES have that arm but he does NOT look at all comfortable in the offense and has been ineffective when he has played. The long and short is that we have played three games and we have not scored an offensive touchdown in 4 of the 6 halves we have played. I think the jury is in, and the verdict is Auburn is not ready to run the spread offense, our wide recievers can't block and can't get open on their pass routes. Chris Todd is not a legitimate passing threat and aside from Tistan Davis, our running backs do not have the speed to run outside the tackles consistently.

Here's the good news though, even though we only managed a lone field goal in offense tonight, we didn't lose. That being said, we stand to lose the rest of the games on the schedule that aren't homecoming opponents and that includes Vandy. I shudder to think what will happen next week against LSU and their speedy defense.

We are not prepared to take on such an opponent and unless we revert to a more standard offense featuring our running backs and utilizing the tight end as a blocker. We may still not score much but I can't believe it would look any nore inept than Franklins, Spread offese. Please Coach Tuberville, you still have a chance to to take advantage of our great defense and have a great season, but you must come to your senses and change our vapid offensive to a more traditional Auburn offense. Tell Tony, we tried it but it doesn't work and we aren't going to throw away our season to prove a point that already has been proven.