Your Daily Fix, 7/28

Hey everyone. Forty-three comments is a good start. We had ourselves a nice little would-be argument during the past few days with our new friend Cappie, who was nice enough to hang around and justify his (at least somewhat off-target) comments made at CapstoneReport.com

Thanks for everyone who provided opinions. We kept it pretty clean and, you know, I think we learned something. We learned that sometimes understanding how a person draws a conclusion is more significant than the conclusion itself.

This sounds like a South Park episode now.

Today's picture, provided capably by Auburn's ace photographer Todd Van Emst, gives the world a rare gander at the full East Alabama Auburn Beat Writers Association of America roster.

Click on the picture for a much larger representation.

I am in the blue/black tie. The only guy you can't see is Goldberg. He's hiding to my right. All you can see are his trousers. Typical. So if you ever wondered what some of the guys/gals look like, there's your chance to see em in their element.

Sorry about the delay there around 3 o'clock. I'm back on track.

There was a mound of stuff to go through during the Friday exposition -- literally an hour of Auburn-themed interviews to wade through -- and some significant stuff didn't make the cut. Now it will.

Here are some minor comments from Tuberville that I find interesting:

• THE COMMENT: "After about 10 or 12 days, we will pick a starter (at quarterback). We will have a true starter."
  
  MY REACTION: If Chris Todd is as healthy as advertised, I just don't see this being a reality. They're both going to play. Kodi Burns may get the title and all, but Todd's role will be bigger than Burns' was during the regular season. That's assuming Todd's shoulder is OK.
  
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• THE COMMENT: "Your quarterback now is also considered a running back."
  
  MY REACTION: Advantage Burns.
  
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• THE COMMENT: "If we wanted to consistently say, OK, we're going to stay with winning eight or nine games, sometimes 10, I think we could have stayed with the two-back offense. I think that this (new) offense gives you a lot of variables to improve on."
  
  MY REACTION: Good marketing idea. I am of the opinion that Tony Franklin's offensive is going to work. He has the players. He has a good idea. He's wise. Still, I don't see this being like the New England Patriots all of the sudden. Auburn's grind-it-out offense sure worked fine in 2004. Agreed?
  
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• THE COMMENT: "This is a little bit simpler in terms of giving our (offensive linemen) a chance to be more physical."
  
  MY REACTION: We'll get three or four different answers to this question if we ask around. I just don't see how this offense makes the linemen more physical. They're in a two-point stance a lot, which is a fundamentally less aggressive position, and there will be more pass pro (or pseudo pass pro) going on. I just don't see it.
  
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• THE COMMENT: "Bobby (Petrino) and I have talked many times since then. This is a business. I understand that. We get caught up in certain scenarios. That's just part of it."
  
  MY REACTION: Not a lie. They have talked because you have to talk with people at the Destin Meetings. Still, these guys are not homies in any sense. Tuberville is a guy who doesn't forget stuff like this. He doesn't talk smack. He's not going to needle Petrino publicly. I can assure you the Arkansas game, which was big to Tuberville anyway, will be even bigger now. If he's in an advantageous position and has a chance to stick in a few extra touchdowns ... you better believe that's going to happen.
  

Something else I want to mention here. The final comment above about Petrino got me thinking about Franklin. You know, he may be a great match for Tuberville. Here's why: Tuberville is a pretty cunning guy. He's pretty cut-throat on the field.

Noel Mazzone? Not that way.

Al Borges? Not that way.

Bob Petrino? That side of him emerged more after the move to Louisville. He was still a college newb in 2002.

So now Tuberville finally has an offensive coordinator that has a real edge to him. Franklin takes this stuff personally. He has the kind of intensity you typically see from defensive coordinators. It'll be interesting to see how that plays.

He is the opposite of the touchy-feely guys who have run Auburn's attack for eight of the past 10 years. (I'm not even going to attempt to make sense of 2003.)

That's just something to plant in the back of your mind.

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.