Congrats to you, mascot who frightens children.
To say I am disappointed with the outcome Saturday would be an understatement. Auburn's revamped defense looked like the same old unvamped defense we've grown accustomed to. When I say same old I mean too soft on pass coverage, shredded against the run, can't get off the field on third down same old.
Auburn let slip a golden opportunity against Clemson. Red zone failures led to 3's not 7's and that was the difference in the game. To win even a majority of the games left on our schedule Auburn has to put the ball in the end zone when the offense gets down there, and doing stupid thing like catching a ball two steps out of the back of the end zone when no on is within ten freaking yards of you might just help.
Trevon Reed needs to be better. Heck, anyone that is on scholarship to catch the football other than Emory Blake or Lutzy needs to be better.
Keihl Frazier looked kind of "meh" Saturday. I think we was well schooled on what to do, but missed on some key passes when he had guys open. The reads all appeared to be correct, but the execution for whatever reason just was not there. I have the tiniest bit of problem with the play calling. I really felt like Keihl was under utilized as a runner and overused as a passer. I thought last year we didn't throw enough on first down. After the Clemson game I wonder if we didn't throw too much, especially given the success running the ball.
Speaking of, Tre Mason had a a very good game other than his first half fumble despite having a limited number of touches. Ontario was Ontario. He'll bust at least a couple before the season is through.
What we shouldn't discount is how good Clemson has the potential to be. Tajh Boyd is one of the better dual threat QB's in the country, and we'll all have Andre Ellington nightmares for years to come, but poor tackling and Charmin soft coverage helped both of those guys look good.
I gotta say I have an uneasy feeling about the rest of the season. Saturday morning looks like a bear now, and given that Dan Mullin has been flapping his gums about this game all summer, State will be ready. Hopefully, Auburn will improve immensely between week 1 and 2, or else we're looking at a long year.
I'm a little disappointed how a lot of folks were ready to abandon ship after the Clemson game. I admit that like you noted there are things that we most definitely could have done better. Defensively, I am somewhat uneasy that we appeared to be the same team as the last couple of years but hopefully BVG will get this straightened out.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that Kiehl showed he's got the tools if he improves I think he can really become quite a threat, just needs to get that experience.
Now if we lose this Saturday, then we can really start worrying about how the rest of the season plays out. I've said all along that if we get good QB play we should be an 8 win team at least, and we still can....will be tough but it's doable.
Win or lose Auburn fans need to get behind the players and support them. It's never a cake walk in this league. If our fans want a team that competes for championships every year we gotta pay some dues just like our players.
ReplyDeleteReading all the griping and 2nd guessing about the first game is embarrassing.
I'm pretty sure most if any of you guys have given up the past 7 years of your life to play football. I doubt any of you moved away from most of your family and friends so you could go to class all summer, memorize a new playbook, watch game film and in the moments you weren't doing that, live in the gym with your good friend Yox, just so you can survive fall camp 2 a days, and then jump head first into a 12-14 game season.
Auburn has more talent on the field now than they have ever had in the past, now they all just have to get on the same page. Are there some guys that need to step up and play to their potential? Absolutely.
If you wanna see these guys bleed orange and blue, which most already do, we have to give them a reason to do it and that starts with us being the best fans out there. That doesn't mean we have to pump a bunch of sunshine, but it also means we hold off on pointing our fingers. Support this team and they'll repay you with victories.
War Eagle
Great posts guys! I agree with you both.
ReplyDeleteGreat posts guys! I agree with you both.
ReplyDelete