Great performance on the road! That's the way you go on the road and force your will upon your opposition. Kudos to the coaching staff and upperclassmen for getting this team prepared and mentally ready.
What stood out:
1. Auburn has a plethora of playmakers! Every person that touches the ball does so with the intent of scoring. Loved the way we got the ball to so many different people.
2. Ben Tate ran the football like a man.
3. Downhill running attack. Other than an occasional reverse or misdirection play, I don't remember one instance where the running back lined up beside the Chris Todd and took a handoff running sideways. North-south running out the pistol formation with a lead back was brutal all night.
4. Kickoff return yards paid enormous dividends. Loved seeing McCaleb and Tate as the return guys. The kickoff returns in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference.
5. Tackling much improved. Auburn swarmed the football and for the most part tackled very well. We're gonna miss a few against quality running backs like Hardesty, but all in all, the defense looked like an Auburn defense.
6. Chris Todd was impressive with pressure in his face. He did a fantastic job of eluding pressure without giving up sacks even when we left blitzers totally unaccounted for. Better than just not getting sacked, he made some great throws on the run to keep the chains moving.
7. Tennessee's defense was gassed by our pace offensively, particularly right before half, calling two timeouts on one drive.
8. McCaleb is fast, explosive, and fearless.
9. Need to convert touchdowns in the red zone as opposed to field goals. Will be much more important this week against a team capable of scoring lots of points.
10. Jonathan Crompton was not helped by his receivers. I've never seen so many dropped passes in a single game. Our young secondary will face their greatest challenge yet against Arkansas.
Game Ball--Ben Tate and Wes Byrum
great game. AU fans really showed up. was fun sitting on the top row(under the replay screen) watching their fans empty out of the stadium. could not believe how many were leaving as they were putting drives together int the 4th quarter.
ReplyDeleteRob, love to get a players perspective on a couple of things.
1) While I don't think we went to a true prevent, we certainly softened our zone in the 4th quarter. What are your thoughts on Prevent D and how does it affect the defenses mindset when you're on the field.
2) Maybe you can work this into your preview for Arky, but thoughts on the switch from night games to an 11am kick.
1. Prevent D automatically changes your thinking from being aggressive to being cautious. It's a necessary evil to "bend but don't break" in an effort to prevent a one person break down and give up an easy score. The thought is you can have 5 yards but it's gonna cost you time. The problem is the mindset leads to missed tackles and assignments which allow for the offense to do what you were trying to 'prevent' in the first place.
ReplyDelete2. AM games suck. Hated them. It's hot, the ball gets up in the sun on deep throws, and the stadiums are several octaves quieter. Really, do you cheer louder and are more enthusiastic on 7pm or 11am...