SB Nation User Blog: WarDamnZach

BCS In Front of Congress Again?

WarDamnZach — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:25:06 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

2 months ago: The BCS Championship trophy during Media Day for the BSC Championship NCAA game in Miami Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.(AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

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Good Lord... I am so tired of Congress getting involved with sports. Did anything come out of the first meeting with Congress when the BCS was brought up? Let me answer that for you... NOPE. Is anything going to come out of it this time.... NOPE. As a matter of fact... did anything really come out of the steroid hearings? I don't think so, other than maybe it contributed to Berry Bonds not being able to find a team to take him.

I have made my thoughts known about the BCS before, and I will not regurgitate them now... but Tony Barnhart blogged about it. So if you have not seen it, enjoy.

War Damn Eagle

It’s time to be honest about the BCS by Tony Barnhart

Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing entitled: "The Bowl Championship Series: Is it Fair and in Compliance with Antitrust Law?"

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), you’ll be shocked to hear, believes that the 12-0 (which later became 13-0) team from Utah was denied the opportunity to play for the national championship by the BCS system, which picks two teams to play for the title after the regular season. In a Sports Illustrated story last week, Hatch called the BCS "biased" and claimed that it "probably" violates antitrust laws.

This is the second time this year representatives of college athletics have been hauled before Congress for a dog and pony show to score cheap political points with the folks back home. Earlier it was Rep. Joe Barton of Texas (sense a trend here?), who called the BCS "communist."

Here is the problem I have with this entire exercise. If you want to have four-team, eight-team or 16-team playoff to decide college football’s national championship, then let’s have that argument. I, for one, would like to see a four-team playoff where the teams are seeded 1-4. And if the Rose Bowl is willing to play ball (and that’s a big IF), there is a possibility that gets done when the new BCS contract begins in the 2014 season.

What I don’t like is that in criticizing the BCS, and there is a lot to legitimately criticize, those who want change show that they have not done their homework. In the interest of creating a memorable sound bite or quote, the critics show an incredible amount of intellectual dishonesty, or total lack of knowledge, about what the BCS is and is not and what it has done and hasn’t done for post-season college football.

Again, I’m not a blind supporter of the BCS. There is change that I want. But here are a few facts:

Fact: Utah was not DENIED a chance to play for the BCS national championship. Utah had as much a chance to play for the BCS title as any other school. But 175 people voted in the Harris Interactive and coaches polls, two of the three components in the BCS formula. The 114 people in the Harris poll voted Utah seventh. The 61 coaches in the USA Today poll also voted Utah seventh and no coach—NONE—voted Utah higher than No. 5. Of the 114 people who voted in the Harris Poll only five voted Utah No. 5 or better.

Fact: Even the coaches in Utah’s league, the Mountain West, did not step up for the Utes when it counted. Joe Glenn of Wyoming had Utah at No. 5. Rocky Long of New Mexico and Gary Patterson of TCU had them at No. 7. Kyle Whittingham, Utah’s own coach, had his team at No. 5.

So where was all the love for Utah BEFORE they played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl? The fact is that while Utah deserved to win because the Utes flat outplayed the Crimson Tide (who didn’t want to be there), it wasn’t until AFTER the Sugar Bowl that Utah became this incredible juggernaut which should have been given the chance to play for it all.

Fact: For all of the flaws of the BCS, the fact is that it has provided bowl opportunities that the supposedly aggrieved schools had never had in the past. How many times had Utah played in the Sugar Bowl before the BCS? How many times had Hawaii played in the Sugar Bowl before the BCS? How many times had Boise State played in a New Year’s Day bowl before the BCS? If you answered zero to all three questions you’d be right. "The fact of the matter is that the BCS has given access to those conference that they never had before," said former SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer, considered to be the godfather of the BCS. "Look at the history of the major bowls. They had almost never invited one of those teams before the BCS."

Fact: The original BCS agreement that was put together back in 1998 never would have happened unless the champions of those six "equity" conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10) had been promised automatic slots.

"Those conferences already had automatic bowl bids. We (in the SEC) had a long standing agreement with the Sugar Bowl," said Kramer. "There is no way that those conferences were going to give that up without a guaranteed slot. And remember that we were working with four bowls and those were the conferences they were used to dealing with."

The fact is that the free marketplace determined that those six conferences would get automatic bids and there were at-large spots made available to teams that could play their way in. Maybe you believe that market forces have no place in college athletics, but that is how it happened. It wasn’t a conspiracy to keep the other teams out. It was the only way to get the deal done.

Fact: While the six equity conferences do get an automatic bid and the $18 million payday that comes with it, the five Coalition Conferences (Conference USA, MAC, WAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt) have placed a team in the BCS in four of the past five seasons. Those five conferences get an automatic $9.5 million for participating and another $9.5 million when they place a team in a BCS game. So over the past five seasons the BCS has pumped about $80 million into those five Coalition conferences.

That’s a lot of money that did not even exist before the advent of the BCS. Should the Coalition Conferences get more? Yes, and I believe they will. I also believe that in the future the conferences will be able to get more than one team in the BCS if they have two teams in the Top 10.

All of this leads us to a final fact about the BCS:

Fact: The BCS does not violate antitrust law and this Senate committee knows it. I’ve spoken to a number of top antitrust lawyers, including Tom Rhodes of Smith, Gambrell & Russell here in Atlanta. They all agreed that the BCS may not be popular with some college football fans but it does not violate the law—at least as the law is currently written and interpreted by the courts.

"The original agreement was put together by a group of antitrust lawyers and has been reviewed several times since," said Kramer. "Now there are some political problems that the BCS must deal with but when it comes to the law, unless it gets interpreted in a totally different way, the BCS should be on solid ground."

The fact of the matter is that whether or not you like the BCS, and a lot of folks don’t, it created something that didn’t exist before: A mechanism to match the No. 1 and the No. 2 team for the national championship. It also increased bowl revenues exponentially because it created something of value to the television networks. It also has access points for the teams in the Coalition Conferences. All they have to do is finish in the Top 12 of the final BCS standings.

Again, if you want a playoff, then let’s have that discussion. But bashing the BCS is like bashing the IRS. It’s easy. The fact is that with all of its flaws, it’s better than what we used to have. I remember Georgia Tech having to play in the Citrus Bowl in 1990 to win its national championship. I remember No. 2 Penn State not getting a shot at No. 1 Nebraska in 1994. I remember No. 2 Texas not getting a shot at No. 1 Nebraska in 1983.

The system is going to change because the marketplace is going to eventually demand it, not because Congress is going to push to make its constituents happy. And that’s a fact.

Where There is Smoke There is Fire

WarDamnZach — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:56:52 -0000

You guys may or may not have heard the rumors making their rounds on the internet... well it is confirmed... An Auburn athletics official confirmed to AuburnSports.com Thursday afternoon that DE Jomarcus Savage, S Christian Thompson and LB Marcus Jemison are no longer on Auburn's team and will not return.

This is from Auburn Undercover earlier today:

At least four players who might have played significant roles in Auburn’s plans for next season are no longer parts of the football team.

Gone are sophomore safety Christian Thompson, redshirt freshman defensive end Cameron Henderson, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jomarcus Savage and redshirt freshman wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis, AuburnUndercover.com has learned.

The circumstances of their departures, sources said, vary. Whether there could be opportunities for some to return is not clear.

On Wednesday, the lockers of tne four players at the football complex had been cleaned out and nametags removed, sources said.

In a Facebook message, Henderson told AuburnUndercover.com he expects to rejoin his teammates for workouts next Monday. That could not be independently confirmed.

First-year head coach Gene Chizik is on vacation and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Thompson, from St. Thomas-Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, played in 10 games last season and was in on one tackle.

Former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin had big plans for Pierre-Louis, also from St. Thomas-Aquinas, last season. But Pierre-Louis suffered a knee injury on the season’s opening kickoff, underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season. He did not participate in contact work during spring practice.

Savage, from Johnson High School in Huntsville, played early in the season at defensive end but couldn’t overcome shoulder problems. He underwent surgery and was granted a medical redshirt. He was moved to defensive tackle in the spring.

Henderson, from Shades Valley High School, did not play last season.

Thompson’s departure is the second blow to Auburn’s secondary, one of the team’s strengths. Cornerback/safety Aairon Savage suffered an apparent Achilles injury working out. His status for the season is uncertain.

If Henderson does not return, there could be an opportunity for a newcomer. Only senior Antonio Coleman and juniors Antoine Carter and Michael Goggans have previous game experience among defensive ends.

Finally, Recruits at Auburn

WarDamnZach — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:24:47 -0000

Well, well, well… there just might be a Quarterback race on the Plains. It is about time the NCAA has cleared Tyrik Rollison. Rumor has it he is already at Auburn. That would mean he could enroll for the summer mini-mester and start working out with the team. What good news for Auburn, but not so good news for Kodi, Chris, and Neil. Personally I still think that he will redshirt and Kodi be the starter. Time will tell.

In other news, the recruiting is still paying dividends. Jonathon Mincy a CB out of Georgia has committed to the Tigers. Currently, he ranks in the Top 50 CBs in the nation. Hopefully he moves up the charts his senior year.

Did anyone else see that Seastrunk missed his summer camp trip to Austin? I think that is quite funny. Texas has thought that Seastrunk is a sleeper for them. I have a buddy who keeps telling me over and over that Lache is a Longhorn, and not to believe all the Auburn hype. Well, I beg to differ… and he is in summer school in attempt to graduate in December so he can enroll early. Come on boy, just commit for heavens sake.

Speaking of committing… what is this garbage with Dyer looking at the Irish? The only reason to play up there is to get some NBC playing time. That program is and will remain in shambles. Auburn at least appears to have an upside.

That’s all today…

War Damn Eagle

Ups and Downs

WarDamnZach — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:19:24 -0000

More photos » by Todd Van Emst - AP

2 months ago: New Auburn football coach Gene Chizik talks to his team after their NCAA college football spring A-day game on Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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Hopefully WEA will not mind, I am posting a bit early to bring you some breaking news...

The ups and downs of College Football at Auburn is upon us. Aarion Savage is out for the season, and maybe his career with a torn Achilles Tendon. There is nothing like having a good leader off the playing field two years in a row. This will not help our defensive backs situation at all. In fact, this is a killer blow. Another young buck is going to have to step up.

On the flip side of that, Auburn picked up another good recruit today in Jessel Curry. I am sure that you have heard of this kid… he is the one that was committed to West Virginia and de-committed after attending the "Big Cat." He is a FB in High School, but will be a line backer here on the Plains. He is listed as a 3 star on Rivals, but again that is not as a LB. I don’t take much stock in the star rankings anyhow.

Michael Dyer should be in the AU Camp by the end of the month. He is preaching Auburn to anyone who will listen. Apparently Dakota Mosley is listening. He is a teammate of Dyer and will be an Offensive Lineman. Lord knows we need all the help we can get up front. There is nothing waiting in the wings should the starters go down.

War Damn Eagle

SB Nation and Its Fans

WarDamnZach — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:49:57 -0000

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I am a football guy… I love it, and I really like the fact that 95% of Track em Tigers post are about football. But, I am going to use my "editorial powers" to do something that I never thought I would do. I am sure it is because of the "off season" and it may get me removed from my "editorial duties" all together, but I hope not.

I do not know how many SB Nation sites you folks visit. I only look at a few (Team Speed Kills, Dawg Sports, and the Valley Shook, and lastly RollBamaRoll). I will be the first to admit, that while I look at the sites, I do not frequent any of them, I go just to check out the latest. I tend to only check out the Auburn sites around the web and there are enough of them to keep me busy. Some of the SB Nation sites are better than others, and I am sure that TET rates someplace in the middle of pack. Although Jay, WEA, Acid, and I want TET to be the best, we are not quite there yet. We are not the biggest by any stretch, but we have a faithful following and we greatly appreciate your reading and commenting on the site.

Now to the heart of the matter, RollBamaRoll (RBR) has gotten to me. It pains me to say that I let anything Alabama get to me, but they did this time. I really do try to be the bigger person and not worry about what other fan bases do. We as Auburn fans can only take care of Auburn, right? Most Alabama fans will tell you that Auburn people worry about Alabama way to much anyways. I am not one of those people; I do not worry about Alabama at all. Don’t misunderstand me, I want to beat the Tide at every thing all the time, but I do not worry about them. I typically do not call Alabama fans "Bammers," nor do I call myself a "Barner." I think that both of those names are stupid, and are classless. Under full disclosure I will let it be known that I have used that word (Bammer) on rare occasions and as a matter of fact, I used it this morning in a RBR post. You can bet if Bammer comes out of my mouth (or typed) something has irritated me.

In a fan post on RBR about "Operation Red Dog," I lost my cool. I hopefully did not show it too badly. I want to apologize to my readers here on TET if they might have read it, and I am definitely not trying in increase traffic on RBR. It was nothing big, but it shows that I have a differing opinion on rumors, and how the press (including us bloggers) handles them.

A bit of back-story, I went over to the site to see the compilation that was put up regarding the rumors of Auburn fans drumming up crap and trying to pin NCAA Violations on Alabama for things that were not done. Despicable work, if true… but I called it BS. Here is the post

"I have heard bits and pieces of this, but you guys have covered it well. I am calling BS, but I am sure that most Auburn People would. If it were you guys I am sure you would feel the same. If it comes out that this is real, I am sure most Auburn People will be ashamed, and want to kick the people behind these actions in the a$$.

Thanks for wrapping this up in a nutshell, but like most things NCAA infractions related, I doubt this is real."

During that small exchange (I only posted 4 or 5 times) it always came back to a couple of members and authors ripping away on Jay or WEA. I will not go so far as to post all of that crap, but it is obvious that some of the folks at on that site think that TET drums up any dirt, no matter the source and posts it here. The exchange also got me thinking about "fans" and cross SB Nation posting. I like the fact that anyone can join any fan site. I also like the fact that rivals can talk a little smack should they want to, but bashing someone for reading a story, posting about how they liked the coverage of the event, and then giving their opinion? I don’t get it.

I do not expect all Auburn fans to act alike, or Alabama fan to for that matter. But what happened to the decent fans. Maybe I am blowing this out of proportion but maybe we at TET can at the very least take an active role in being better fans. We all have fans that we wish we did not have. You the ones I am talking about. But in my case, I was trying to read and comment as a fan, but I guess some folks cannot take a "Barner" being a good "fan" and posting on "their" site without a beat down or bashing of our editors. I say enough… they can say or do whatever they want. They can hate me because I am an Auburn Fan if they want to, I am over it… but all the WEA and Jay bashing is just sad.

Could it be that Bama Fans have developed a complex? Could it be because they seem to get into trouble more than any other school? Is it because they were so good for so long and had to endure the falling of the program? Or is it because they were "back" for the third time in the last five or so years and they have some penned up frustrations. I guess my Auburn educated mind just does not understand it… I guess it is an "Alabama thang and I would not understand."

For the folks who frequent the site in question, have fun over there… I am not interested. If I want to see to all the Bama propaganda, I will open up the Birmingham News. Who knows, maybe I will pop in Iron Bowl time. I always like the banter back and forth that week. Even if we are supposed to and do get blown out.

War Damn Eagle

Jeremy Richardson

WarDamnZach — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:50:23 -0000

More photos » by Todd Van Emst - AP

2 months ago: Auburn players sign autographs for fans after thier NCAA college footbal spring A-day game on Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Auburn, Ala., from far left, Neiko Thorpe, Zach Clayton, Josh Bynes, Andrew McCain and Terrell Zachery. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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A 4 Star WR out of Birmingham commited to Auburn just about 30 minutes ago. Maybe Big Cat might just work.

Link

Recruiting Thoughts

WarDamnZach — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:45:46 -0000

More photos » by Todd Van Emst - AP

2 months ago: New Auburn football coach Gene Chizik leads his team to the field for their NCAA college football spring A-day game on Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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If you are reading anything about Auburn right now in the news it is someone’s point of view on the video that is circulating around of our "violations." Rolling Toomer’s Corner might be a violation, but the players do not actually participate in that. Where is the violation? There is a rule that Auburn University and its staff cannot "hype" a potential player by letting the public know they are visiting, but did the staff do that… or did the bloggers and sports writers do it? Something tells me that Auburn had something to do with it when the time was posted on when Toomer’s would be rolled.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that it is great that Coach Chizik and his staff are willing to push the envelope so that we can actually get some recruits to visit. Auburn sells itself we know that, the issue in my mind is getting the recruits here in the first place. I just do not want to get into a "gray area" and have the NCAA constantly looking at Auburn like they are seemingly to be watching Alabama.

I know that we are talking about minor issues… but they are issues nevertheless. We have not had the NCAA looking at our Football program in a while. What are your thoughts on it?

War Damn Eagle

2009 Auburn Preview

WarDamnZach — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:46:20 -0000

More photos » by Todd Van Emst - AP

Auburn's Mario Fannin will be the best offensive player for the Tigers(AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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The holiday sure messed up my schedule, so I am posting the Auburn Preview from Pete Fiutak at collegefootballnews.com. While I do not agree with everything he said, Pete does tell us it how it is. Sorry folks, I will try my best not miss a post again.

Did you hear the one about Auburn hiring a guy who went 5-19 at Iowa State?

Tommy Tuberville was four seasons removed from a 13-0 campaign, had won nine games or more in five of the previous seven seasons, and had an experienced team returning for this year. None of it was enough to save his job thanks to the problems last year on offense, with the soap opera with offensive coordinator Tony Franklin the tipping point. But firing Tuberville wasn't about a 5-7 season; it was about a 12-0 season. Alabama's 12-0 season.

Michigan vs. Ohio State is the biggest rivalry in college football (yes, it is), but Auburn vs. Alabama goes deeper and is a whole lot nastier. Losing once in the series isn't the end of the world, actually it is in Alabama, but this year there was more attached to one single defeat.

After owning the series for six years, Auburn got walloped by the Tide 36-0 to officially signal the changing of the guard while sending up panic flares that something drastic had to be done. Alabama had Nick Saban and a host of superstar young players brought in from top-five recruiting classes, and Auburn had an offense that averaged just over 11 points per game in SEC play. Alabama was 12-0 and going off to the SEC title game, while Auburn had lost six of its final seven games with the one win coming against UT Martin. Alabama was the hot program that only appeared to be going up, while Auburn appeared to be treading water and looking for an identity.

Fine, it might not seem fair, but a case could be made that firing Tuberville, with all his success, was more than justified after just one down year. A shakeup had to happen to try to counteract the burgeoning juggernaut that Saban had put together, and even if Tuberville had stayed, some rebuilding and retooling had to be done. So did Auburn go after a hot head man with big-time upside? No, it went after Gene Chizik.

Auburn has taken enough of a beating over the hire, but here's more.

While Chizik has ties to the Auburn program, serving as the defensive coordinator from 2002 to 2004, he showed nothing, nothing at Iowa State to suggest he's ready to take on Alabama. If he couldn't succeed in the Big 12 North, how is he going to do much of anything in the SEC West? The five wins under Chizik's tenure in Ames came against a mediocre Iowa team in 2007, Kansas State, Colorado, South Dakota State, and Kent State. That's it. Iowa State lost to eight losing teams over the last two years, and that doesn't include the loss to Northern Iowa from the FCS. There wasn't a win over an FBS team that finished with a winning record, and remember, as bad as last year's 5-7 season was at Auburn, Chizik won five games in two seasons.

So now Auburn is in a strange and tough situation that it put itself in. The team isn't good enough to challenge for the SEC title this year, and it might need at least two years to be ready to battle LSU, Bama, and Ole Miss for the West. So if the Tigers stink it up this year, is it because the program has to rebuild, which it does, or is it because Chizik can't coach, or is it both? On the flip side, if Auburn is solid and can pull off a few big wins, the pressure is off. No one's expecting Chizik to do much right away, so any success will be considered a major stepping-stone. And if Auburn pulls off a win over Alabama, then it's game on for the Chizik era and everyone would come to the same conclusion at the same time: maybe Auburn knows something that everyone else doesn't.

What to watch for on offense: The quarterback battle ... again. This was the concern going into last year for the Tony Franklin attack, which best suited the running option, Kodi Burns. However, he didn't get the starting nod until midway through the year and he struggled throwing the ball. Now, under offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn, Burns is listed on top of the depth chart, but it's Neil Caudle who likely has the inside track. That could all quickly change with the addition of star recruit Tyrik Rollison and with the job wide open going into the fall. Malzahn isn't going to rotate quarterbacks, preferring to find his guy and then work through the rough patches.

What to watch for on defense: More takeaways. Minnesota's defense turned out to stink, but it hit like a ton of bricks and forced big play after big play, at least over the first half of last year. New Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who led the Gopher D, will bring that same intensity to this year's athletic Tiger defense that forced just 19 turnovers last year. Now there will be a greater emphasis on going for the big shot and to gamble a wee bit to get the ball.

The team will be far better if … it gets healthy. Key safety Mike McNeil broke his leg. corner Aairon Savage is coming off a knee injury, rising quarterback prospect Barrett Trotter tore his ACL, last year's starting quarterback Chris Todd has a bad shoulder, top offensive tackle Lee Ziemba has a bum knee, and it goes on and on and on. Chizik ran a very physical, very rough offseason, and while all the injuries can't be blamed on players being too physical in the spring sessions, they didn't help. If and when it's healthy, this is a good enough Tiger team to hang around with anyone in the SEC. If it takes a while to heal up, primarily in the secondary, pack it in and look forward to 2010.

The Schedule: Watch out. The last thing the Gene Chizik era needs is to start out with a clunker of a home loss, but that could be a problem with a tough game against a strong Louisiana Tech team to start out. After a date with Mississippi State to open up the SEC season on September 12th, the conference slate gets tough with three road games in four weeks going to Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU. While there's a week off before playing Alabama, the second half of the schedule could be a nightmare playing at LSU, Ole Miss, at Georgia and Alabama, with a week off and a layup against Furman thrown in the mix.

Best Offensive Player: Junior WR Mario Fannin. He'll be a running back, a receiver, the top kick and punt returner, and an H-Back. Fannin is a do-it-all playmaker with home run hitting potential, even though he has only done enough to be slightly above average in all phases so far. For a team that desperately needs to find stars to work around, and players to make defensive coordinators worry, Fannin has to become the weapon who makes things happen.

Best Defensive Player: Senior DE Antonio Coleman. He has the size, the quickness, and the ability to be in the NFL right now, but he'll spend this year in a salary drive as the star of the front four. He'll need help from Michael Goggans on the other side and from tackles Jake Ricks and Mike Blanc on the inside, or else everyone will be able to double and triple team him. That's fine. As long as he's the lightning rod for everyone's blocking scheme, he'll be doing his job. When he gets his chances, he'll be in the backfield getting to the quarterback.

Key player to a successful season: Junior QB Neil Caudle. Kodi Burns and Caudle are neck-and-neck for the starting job, but Caudle is the better of the two options for Malzahn's offense. At least for now. For an offense that was 106th in the nation in passing efficiency and 99th in passing, the Tigers need a steady quarterback to keep the chains moving and to put points on the board. Caudle has the accurate arm to do it.

The season will be a success if ... the Tigers win seven games. That might seem like a modest goal for Auburn, Auburn, the program that went into last year with hopes of winning the SEC title, but the schedule is a bear and there's a ton of work to be done to get the offense up to speed. It'll take a few upsets to get to seven wins and a bowl game, but considering that this year's team is better than the 2008 version, another losing season won't do.

Key game: Nov. 27 vs. Alabama. For the most part, Tiger fans will understand if it takes one year for the program to rebuild. After all, the new coaching staff's strength is supposed to be in living rooms on the recruiting front. A bad record would be acceptable as long as the cliché becomes true and the one big win comes against Alabama. A win over the Tide in the regular season finale

Recession? It Does Not Appear So

WarDamnZach — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:29:34 -0000

More photos » by Todd Van Emst - AP

Chizik at least makes enough to change shirts at Halftime, if he chooses to. (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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Well the news came out to the base salary of our head coach. Coach Gene Chizik will make at least 1.9 million dollars this season. He has quite a few ways to get bonuses, including on and off field achievements. I do like the bonus for academic achievements. I think that most schools should try that strategy to get coaches to want the kids to do well, not just stay eligible.

$1.9 Million... that got me thinking. How does that compare to other coaches in the SEC. Well, here you go.

Nick Saban $3,900,000

Les Miles $3,750,000

Urban Myer $3,490,000

Bobby Petrino $2,850,000

Mark Richt $2,800,000

Houston Nutt $2,500,000

Lane Kiffin $2,000,000

Gene Chizik $1,900,000

Steve Spurrier $1,800,000

Dan Mullen $1,200,000

Rich Brooks $1,075,000

Bobby Johnson $1,000,000 (reportedly)

Looking at the list I think that Auburn has done just fine. The Tigers are middle of the road in salary, and giving Chizik room to grow with the program. Was Nick Saban worth $3.9M year one? In a word, Nope. Worth it year two? Closer, but still Nope. How about "The Hat" at $3.75M? Maybe... he has won National Championships. Urban? Maybe as well for the same reason. But I have a hard time paying anyone that kind of money to coach kids. What about Kiffin? That dude is making $2M, and making the Vols look like crap on the national media. Oh well, to each their own.

I think that it says something that Chizik came to Auburn and started the recruiting process and even made headlines doing so, without a contract in place. I know that it is more commonplace now, but I at least like the fact the Chizik wanted the Auburn job. He could negotiate the terms later. I think that he truly wanted to return to the Plains.

For what it is worth, Anthony Grant the new basketball coach at Bama makes ($1.83 Million) almost the same as Coach Chizik. Wow, that is a great gig... if you can get it.

War Damn High Salaries

2009 Scholarship Players

WarDamnZach — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:30:33 -0000

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Auburn running receiver Mario Fannin runs after a catch in the second half of A-day game (AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst)

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I started this list about a week or so back but I got beat posting it. So I stole this list from Jay Tate… Thanks Jay. Here is a snapshot of our scholarship players by position and classification. Assumption is made that everyone qualifies (we know that will not happen).

QUARTERBACK (6)
QB Chris Todd, Sr.
QB Kodi Burns, Jr.
QB Neil Caudle, Jr.
QB Barrett Trotter, RFr.
QB Tyrik Rollison, Fr.
QB Clint Moseley, Fr.

RUNNING BACK (7)
RB Ben Tate, Sr.
RB Mario Fannin, Jr.
RB Eric Smith, Soph.
RB John Douglas, Soph.
RB Onterio McCalebb, Fr.
TB Brandon Jacobs, Fr.
TB Dontae Aycock, Fr.

RECEIVERS (17, possibly 19)
WR Montez Billings, Sr.
WR Tim Hawthorne, Sr.
TE Tommy Trott, Sr.
WR Terrell Zachery, Jr.
WR/DB Demond Washington, Jr.
TE Bailey Woods, Jr.
WR Derek Winter, Soph.
WR Darvin Adams, Soph.
WR Quindarius Carr, Soph.
WR Harry Adams, Soph.
WR Philip Pierre-Louis, RFr.
WR DeAngelo Benton, Fr.
WR Phillip Lutzenkirchen, Fr.
WR Emory Blake, Fr.
WR Travante Stallworth, Fr.
WR LaVoyd James, Fr. (probably headed to JUCO)
WR Anthony Gulley, Fr.
TE Brent Slusher
TE Gabe McKenzie

OFFENSIVE LINE (12)
OL Andrew McCain, Sr.
OL Lee Ziemba, Jr.
OL Ryan Pugh, Jr.
OL Bart Eddins, Jr.
OL Darrell Roseman, Jr.
OL Mike Berry, Jr.
OL Byron (Lee) Isom, Jr.
OL Jared Cooper, Soph.
OL A.J. Greene, Soph.
OL Vance Smith, Soph.
OL Andre Harris, Fr.
OL John Sullen, Fr.

DEFENSIVE LINE (14 to 16)
DL Antonio Coleman, Sr.
DL Jake Ricks, Sr.
DL Antoine Carter, Jr.
DL Michael Goggans, Jr.
DL Mike Blanc, Jr.
DL Zach Clayton, Jr.
DL Nick Fairley, Jr.
DL Jomarcus Savage, RFr.
DL Derrick Lykes, RFr.
DL Cam Henderson, RFr.
DL Terrance Coleman, Fr.
DL Nosa Eguae, Fr.
DL Jamar Travis, Fr.
DL Dee Ford, Fr.
DL Josh Jackson, Fr.
DL Andre Wadley

LINEBACKER (9)
LB Craig Stevens, Jr.
LB Josh Bynes, Jr.
LB Eltoro Freeman, Soph.
LB Spencer Pybus, Soph.
LB Adam Herring, Soph.
LB Marcus Jemison, RFr. (switched from safety during spring)
LB Da'Shaun Barnes, RFr.
LB Jonathan Evans, Fr.
LB Harris Gaston, Fr.

DEFENSIVE BACK (14)
DB Walt McFadden, Sr.
DB Aairon Savage, Sr.
DB Zac Etheridge, Jr.
DB Mike McNeil, Jr.
DB Taikwon Paige, Jr.
DB Neiko Thorpe, Soph.
DB Mike Slade, Soph.
DB D'Antoine Hood, Soph.
DB Drew Cole, Soph.
DB Christian Thompson, Soph.
DB T'Sharvan Bell, RFr.
DB Reggie Taylor, Fr. (probably headed to JUCO)
DB Izauea Lanier, Fr.
DB Daren Bates, Fr.

SPECIALTY (4)
P Clinton Durst, Sr.
K Wes Byrum, Jr.
P Ryan Shoemaker, Jr.
DS Dax Dellenbach, RFr.

Looking at this list I see some glaring issues. First and most noted is the Offensive Line. We only have 12 guys and some of them are no where near ready to line up against SEC guys.

Also when you have six Quarterbacks on scholly… that means you have two too many. Does anyone but me think that it is sad that with six, none are able to take the reigns and lead us? Maybe we will get lucky and Kodi or Neil will emerge. Todd and Trotter being hurt kind of take them out of the race at this point.

The Running Back pool will get smaller; I see at least one of these guys heading over to the defensive side of the ball. Same thing at Wide Receiver… we have a ton… maybe Billings, Hawthorne, and Zachery can show us all that Knox was not the best coach on the planet.

Our Defensive Line and Linebackers look fine to me. I know that they were suspect during the A-Day game, but I think with the summer to prepare we will be fine. Spencer Pybus should be much improved at the LB position.

I still question the scholarship to a deep snapper, but what the hell!

Let us know your thoughts

War Damn Eagle