Ughhh...

 No other expression is needed. No other phrase to be uttered. Just the total disgust, and exhausted feeling that this nightmare may never end.

 This should just about sum up how I feel about the fantastic job Auburn has done on offense this season. Powered by the brain trust that is Scot Loeffler, Auburn has sunk to new lows in conference play. 

 Let's start with a look at scoring.
  Points scored per game 17.3 
  Points allowed per game 28.4

 Don't like those numbers? How about offensive production?
  First Downs total 156, Out of 584 plays that Auburn has had the   ball, only 156 first downs.
  Rushing per attempt 3.74
  Third down conversion Out of 122 third down plays that Auburn had thus far this season, they have  only made a first down 35 times. That is a 28.69% rate. 4th down is just as bad at 28.57%.
  Red Zone rates are really good, until you see how seldom AU actually gets into the red zone. Only 23 times this season. 23! Converting 18 of those trips into points.

 Let's look at these numbers from a SEC perspective, shall we?  Next to last in scoring offense, 12th in rushing offense, next to last in passing offense, dead last in first downs, dead last in tackle for loss allowed, and last but not least, dead last in 3rd down conversions.

 Any questions as to why we looked so bad against our cousins from UGA?

 Normally, I am as positive an outlook as you could hope to find when it comes to my Tigers. Right now, I just don't see anything to be positive about. That saddens me. Because after the way this team played in the second half against New Mexico State, I thought that they would prepare much better for Georgia, and really fight them tooth and nail. It doesn't look to be getting any better either.

WAR EAGLE!

AU Athletics Locker Room Report

This is one of the best of these episodes I have seen. 

Enjoy, and WAR EAGLE!

The Case For Jonathan Wallace

Cam Newton the last winning quarterback at Auburn

The popular ESPN College Game Day segment has inspired this old man to make a case for Jonathan Wallace to be the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers throughout the rest of the season. I am not a lawyer, and have only served on one jury, so my actual legal experience is basically squadoosh!

 Evidence exhibit A
 Wallace is the only Auburn quarterback not nursing any injuries. If the coaches are to be believed, Frazier has a bum shoulder, and Moseley has a tired shoulder. When Moseley was brought into his very first action of the season, he limped in from the sideline. He had yet to play a down in 2012, and he limped into the game! 

 Evidence exhibit B
 Jonathan has taken snaps at "key times", a Gene Chizik trademarked phrase, in games on the road, and at home.

 Evidence exhibit C 
 The only two drives that resulted in a touchdown in the same quarter of play for Auburn this entire season, came with Jonathan Wallace at quarterback. 

 Evidence exhibit D 
 Have you listened to this young man in an interview? He has maturity well beyond Freshman status.
Listen as Wallace runs through the questions. 
 


 Summary 
 It's no secret, every year somewhere there is a quarterback that the fans want to see play. Somehow when things aren't going really well, the answer always seems to be "play the backup QB" from the fans. The fans think that the backup will somehow be able to perform better than the guy that won the starting job.

 In this case, the fans are correct, and the coaching staff needs to listen to them. One reason to listen is this seems to be the only topic with the fans that doesn't involve someone packing suitcases. The other reason, is that it took most of these same coaches 5 games into the 2010 season to realize what a special talent Auburn had with Cam Newton. Chizik openly admits that he had to be persuaded by the offensive coaches to even grant Newton a scholarship.

 Finally, Jonathan Wallace performed head and shoulders above what either of the two QB's have. Sure, it was mostly against the backups of the Texas A&M  defense, and The Aggie defensive coordinator may have "called off the dogs", but nonetheless, Wallace did something with this offense, that the other two could not. He put together two scoring drives that resulted in touchdowns,and had ZERO interceptions on the day.

 I rest my case.

WAR EAGLE!

How Far Gone?

The real question we have to ask is, how far gone is the Auburn football program?

 The answer it seems is as varied as the opinions surrounding the most devastating slide of a football program not on probation, in modern college football history. We have heard calls for replacing the entire decision making group of the AU Athletic Department, and all of Auburn's football coaches, to fire Scot Loeffler  NOW!

 What many  fans don't realize is, that Jay Jacobs, and Gene Chizik won't fire offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler during the season. That is simply not how they operate. Has the AU offense really improved on a weekly basis? No, it hasn't made any radical improvement. We see signs each week that some of the players are getting the idea of how to play in this league, but I believe that is more to do with the talent that Chizik has recruited than simply coaching them up.

 What then? Does AU fire Gene Chizik too? Has that already been decided by the powers that be at AU? You nor I really know the answer to that. Let's look at things with a calm thought, and try to dissect exactly where we are at this point in time.

 The defense. 

As each week passes, there have been improvements. Not great strides, but steady improvement nonetheless. 

 Have they played well enough to keep Auburn in the game each week? I think so, yes. Auburn has lost most of it's games in the fourth quarter, and most of those games, led at some point in the second half of play. The offense is really where the problem starts, and ends. This is not to say that the defense gets a pass, because there are some problems, but we get real football answers from VanGorder as to why, and they make sense with what we are seeing on the field.


 During the entire time former coach Gus Malzahn was at Auburn, there were plenty of skeptics against the Hurry Up No Huddle (HUNH) style of offense. The biggest complaint they had was that the defense wasn't getting rested before they were asked to go back on the field.That's not the case anymore. If the defense isn't getting any rest, its because the offense isn't moving the ball.

 The Offense.

 We know that the Auburn offense isn't scoring enough points to help win games. One of the reasons appears to be that the plays take too long to be called in, and the offense does not have enough time to set, motion, and realign to get the play started. This single factor has led to more false starts than I have ever seen from a football team at this level. Put plain and simple that is coaching. If it ain't working, fix it!

 Which leads me to the next most obvious point. If it works, call it again! Not on the next play, but the basic rule of offense is to run plays that work, until you make the defense adjust to that play, then play  off of that adjustment. It keeps the defense guessing. 

 Which leads me to the point of this post. Auburn football is at an all time low. Especially from a fans perspective so close to the euphoria of winning the ultimate prize. It's not just the wins and losses, its how the games have been lost. In my opinion, which counts for nada- zilch- zero, everything could be much better with just an average offense output. That has to come first, from our coaching staff.

 Here is to hoping we can see that this week....

WAR EAGLE!