What We Learned, v 2.0
Hey everyone. I started a "What We Learned" thread yesterday, but it turned into something completely different. That's my fault. It's my mistake. I need to do a better job listing the posts correctly.Wait. I think Tony Franklin's Mea Culpa Project is affecting me.
It's interesting how different people interpret Franklin's MCP so differently. Some think it's admirable to acknowledge faults and work hard to fix them. Others consider it a show of weakness and a symptom of underlying incompetence. I can see both sides. I'm still in the "admirable" camp -- I have a difficult time admitting mistakes -- but shortcomings have to be rectified.
Anyway, here are some issues/ideas/developments that I find intriguing:
- Chris Todd's arm: It's interesting how everyone at Auburn now is in agreement that Todd's throwing power isn't what it once was. We all knew that in spring ball. He threw like my daughter. She's 6. A summer of proper rehabilitation allegedly corrected everything. He looked better in two-a-days without a doubt. Four games into the season, though, his arm strength is regressing. He's probably 25% better than he was during the spring right now. I told you guys then and I'll say it again: Grade 3 shoulder separations strain the "AC" ligament to a point where it often doesn't regain full tightness. The result is a shoulder that can't relay full power from his upper body to the arm. It's anatomical inefficiency.
- Auburn's defense isn't perfect: LSU showed the Tigers a weakness or two. Fatigue seemed like a problem during the third and fourth quarters the other night, which surprised me. I hadn't seen that before. I never thought I'd see an Auburn roll up yards in chunks of 20s and 30s. Anecdotal evidence suggests Paul Rhoads may need to be more frequent with his substitutions, though I'm not sure examining that on a player-by-player basis makes sense. Sen'Derrick Marks and Jerraud Powers can play more consecutive snaps than other guys. Then again, you know, Spencer Pybus was in there plenty for Craig Stevens. Surely that was a fatigue-related swap.
- Lots of misinformation on Burns: I heard more than one "expert" report last week that Kodi Burns would play a much bigger role against LSU. Unless he grabbed three water bottles instead of his usual two, Burns' role didn't expand. These "experts" spoke with such conviction, too. So persuasive. Breaking news: You can't believe everything spoken on radio. I know this is the first time you've heard that advice. Take a few minutes to breathe before you react.
- Tony Franklin's "Mea Culpa Project" is fun: He apologized again Sunday for not passing enough against LSU. Remember that he already has apologized for: Rotating quarterbacks, not rotating quarterbacks, not properly utilizing Tommy Trott and relying too much on scripts in the red zone. I don't think all of these apologies are heart-felt, but at least he's breaking orthodoxy (again) by coming clean with what he considers faulty production.
- Ryan Shoemaker has work to do: First, he lost his job to a freshman who never had played football before. When the neophyte (Clinton Durst) was sick last week, Shoemaker did little to strengthen his reputation. He averaged 35.4 per punt. His final kick traveled 25 yards and gave LSU possession near mid-field down one point. Not good.
- The last play: That was supposed to be a tricky play. It almost worked. The pass was supposed to go to Rod Smith, who then was going to pitch the ball to Mario Fannin on a hook-and-ladder deal. Smith caught the ball. Fannin was in position. The problem is that LSU had two defenders on Smith's back the moment he caught the pass. Smith had no chance to make a toss. Still, Fannin would have been gone (like GONE) had things unfolded according to plan.
This has nothing to do with Auburn, of course, but the HABOTN HOTTIE No. 1, Jenna Fischer, added a shot of herself on the ol' MySpace page. I feel an obligation as a warm-blooded American male to pass along this kind of visual goodness. I share because I care.The Office season premiere is Thursday, by the way. I'm sure we'll all be watching.
Also, iTunes now peddles NBC shows in HD. I downloaded a free episode of Tina Fey's 30 Rock and, well, it rocked my 15.4" screen in HD.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University (top) and Jenna Fischer's MySpace page (bottom).
Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
12:43 PM
74 Comments:
You better pull a good one from the Tony Franklin file when you get back to explain why you didn't finish what you started.
Your post moved well between the 30's, but you stalled out.
Offensively we have 7 TD's in 4 games. We are only 11/16 scoring in the redzone...7/16 for TD's in the redzone.
Those are scary numbers.
at the very least, you could've drugged up Durst to give you enough hang time........
damn that flu.
Fo real ... I'm sayin' a sick Durst is better than a healthy Shoemaker.
Durst could have came out there with his IV's attached and punt more than the 7 yarder and the 19 yarder that set LSU up on their last drive.
The CTF MCP is refreshing, but I'm hoping the he doesn't needmany moreof those. I also hope that folks don't start piling on. I do also wish that he would stop "thinking out loud" about what changes to make. Not b/c of what the other teamsmight know, but b/c it just causes too much unecessary discussion(like this post).
Wasn't Shoemaker a freshman all-SEC last season? Durst is a walkon.
preachin' to the choir rk, but it has to be said. i haven't read anything the past 2 days that have really talked about that last punt. he screwed up the worst when we needed him most. if the kid gets off a 50-yarder and the field is flopped, who knows? but to put them around their own 40 with needing only 25-30 yards for a FG shot to win it? (i haven't watched the replay, just trying to remember from my vantage point at the game.) the best thing that happened on that LSU drive was them scoring with a mintue to go. at least it gave us a shot.
i read that that last 23 yard catch on 4th & 25 was supposed to be a hook-and-ladder play but after the catch he wasn't able to pitch it before he got tackled. i guess there's your riverboat gambler there, eh?
what's up with ESPN changing the Vandy time from 6pm to 5pm CT? just saw it on SECSPORTS.COM. it took them 2 hrs to change their mind?
5pm CT? Is that even on ESPN, or did they switch it to ESPNU? Can we confirm that SECSPORTS is correct about that start time?
I guess that means ESPN probably has a 9:00 or 9:30 eastern game as well that night.
What the hell? 5 o'clock?
yup. check it:
http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=2&url_article_id=11554&change_well_id=2
Question concerning the health/status of Kodi Burns...
Several of the football boards devoted to AU have seen mention of Kodi Burns injury in the first game. Some are reporting that the injury to his shin was not as minor as first reported, that the cut took some 80 stitches to close and that the real reason that we have not seen Kodi for so much as a single play these last two games is because he is recovering and is physically unable to go.
This doesn't make much sense to me and does not ring true given that Burns is reported to have been practicing and given that he did in fact make a very brief appearance against USM.
Anyone here have the straight dope?
80 stitches? Did they have to reattach his leg? Did I miss it falling off?
I'd say there is zero truth to that one.
Word from The Peeps: ESPN moved it up so they can televise Nebraska-Missouri at 8 p.m. that night.
I asked Kodi himself about the stitches.
He said "around 20."
The internet, misinforming college football fans since 1997.
Nice to know we'll pull the trickery out AT THE END OF THE GAME and not waste it. Say, like, an onside kick in the 3rd quarter.
No, that would never work.
nope, never.
Of course, I'm being a smart alike.
In retrospect, we played about as good on offense as we have with this system and rotation of players as we have. Can we get better? Sure.
Defensively, a few let downs, but still a lot of intensity. It sounds like the guys are hacked about losing, which is good to hear. They'll be looking for retribution this week.
I wish the old Tommy T. who took chances and risks would resurface.
That Tommy Tuberville didn't make $2.8 million. He also did have these kinds of expectations on him.
He's a pretty unhindered guy and all, but even he had to adjust to the post-2004 Auburn world.
Is Shoemaker on scholarship? If so don't you think we should yank it to make room for recruits?
You have to give Miles credit.I have heard him laughed at, made fun of and he keeps coming out playing for keeps and holding nothing back. How long will everyone keep saying he is just winning with Saban's players? We know from watching CTT at Ole Miss and his early Au days that even though those teams were overmatched his playcalling and gameplan inspired confidence in his team. Now it seems to be more of Let's not mess up and hope the defense can pull it out AGAIN. AU showed something on the last drive for the TD, but LSU looked like the more confident team in the second half.
Shoemaker, whom some fans (shrewdly) now call Shankmaker, is on scholarship.
barkley for governor....nice sign at gameday. i was standing behind it. :)
speaking of gameday, did we have a HABOTN winner? i didn't go back and read all the early stuff from saturday b/c i was there. if not, the 'THIS IS AUBURN' sign that took King Leonidas' head on Antonio Coleman's body was the coolest sign i think i have ever seen. professionally done.
i must give give props to the LSU guy whose sign said 'LSU, THE ONLY TEAM WITH A PAIR'. it had the 2 BCS crystal footballs leaning against each other. very clever.
Love the Jenna Fischer pic.
I'm just waiting on someone to say the hook & ladder didn't work because of Todd's lack of arm strength and that Kodi would have gotten it in there.
I'll give credit to Les Miles offensive coordinator. There's just something I don't like about Les Miles though...I think he has good coordinators making him look good right now. He seems way out of the loop in some of his interviews.
Well let's get Shoemaker out and make room for Petey Smith. Kodi Burns can be our backup punter.
Was the hook and ladder call the only time they tried to get the ball to Mario? you know the last play of the game.
Kodi wouldn't have needed to get it to Smith quicker. He could have run the 25 yards and picked up the 1st. Then he would have thrown a TD pass and forced a fumble on ensuing kickoff to win the game.
chris couldn't get it there any quicker b/c he was running for his life. he did a great job to evern get that ball off.
But Kodi would have scrambled to freedom and got the ball down there, then Fannin would have taken the pitch to the house.
Then both of them would have played D and stopped LSU behind the line on every play.
Then Fannin would snap to Kodi and Kodi would punt the ball 85 yards in the air on the rare occasion they had to punt.
I think both Fannin and Kodi have a lot of upside, but the internet lately has given them legendary status before they have proven a thing.
ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ok RK. i understand now. i'm a little slow. ;)
The girl in that picture looks familiar.
Go ahead and propose, Jim.
The Office is such a great show. Working in an office for the past 9 years, there is so much that hits home.
The Office sucks just like Todd's arm
Thanks, random internet person who has no credibility with me.
Just out of curiousity, is Todd's left arm healthy? Maybe he could get more zip on the ball left-handed.
I read once in a message forum that he throws a mean shot put with his left hand, but not very good with the football.
However, a friend of a cousin of someone who has watched practice said Todd has monkey feet, and he'll play barefoot this week and will be throwing with his left foot this week.
Chris also sewed up Kodi's laceration ... all 80 stitches ... between snaps.
(I kid.)
In bass fishing, you usually are going to catch fish around structure. There are exceptions to this rule, but that is generally where the bass are going to be. There are drawbacks to this as you are going to hang up and sometimes lose your lure, maybe even break your line.
You can take the route of fishing away from the structure (with less chance of running into problems), but your chances of catching as many fish are reduced. Oh you will occasionally have good luck (when all the conditions are right are just by chance), but your chances are generally better around that structure.
Seems to me with Todd, AU is fishing towards the middle of the lake. They will catch some fish, maybe even a big one every now and then. But they will never win the tournament. Burns, Caudle or Trotter may not be the answer, but neither is Todd.
I believe that our skipper has always been more concerned with staying somewhere on the leader board. He does enough to come in the money and keep his sponsors rather than risking it all by actually trying to win the tournament. What do you think Jay?
Today's posts are some of the most interesting so far.
You know, we've got a guy coming next year who really can punt, catch, and play defense.
You make an interesting correlation, jrmax, but I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion.
I mean, Tuberville isn't really in charge of the offense. He doesn't tell Franklin whom to play. So I can't say Tuberville is playing conservatively with his personnel to aim for that place or show position rather than the win. I don't think he's the guy behind this decision. He signed off on it and all, but he lets Franklin handle that stuff.
Is Trotter or Burns or even Raymond Cotton a better long-term answer? Probably. But in Franklin's estimation, Todd is the lesser of the evils right now.
I wish I could make more substantive assertions about Burns' ability. It's just that I can't see him practice. I listen carefully to what the coaches tell me. I try to decipher what they're really thinking. I haven't been able to do that just yet.
If I was Tony Franklin (and I'm glad I'm not) I would be thinking ...
You know, we know that Todd can run the offense reasonably well. Not great, but good enough. How about Saturday, I let Kodi start and run a few series. If it's not working, I'll put Todd in and make sure I do what needs to be done to get the win. I think I should do that. What could it hurt?
Nice to see the blogging become more positive, albeit after a day of reflection. The bottom line is if we could have wheeled Durst out there with either depends undergarmments and or a puke bucket, we probably win that game. We took the defending champs to the brink with two new systems and picked up a couple of quality commits in the process (even with a loss). I am sure that some of those visiting were impressed with the atmosphere (hell I was impressed and I went to school at the place). We may struggle this year, but I for one am excited about the future. By the way, anyone have any ideas on a tactful way of getting out of a brother in law's wedding that kicks off at 2:00 Sat. in hell (tuscalooser)?
Hey JG...in theory...if Auburn is running a "spread offense", doesn't a "spread offense" need a mobile QB? So who is a "spread offense" QB..Todd or Burns? In relation to jrmax...if you are fishing for the monster bass with a cane pole, if you luck up and hook one, chances are the pole will break.
Do you think the offense spent the defense Saturday night? Maybe I'm still "mostly cloudy" about Saturday night....
Not to answer this for Jay, but...
It's a common mistake that seems to be made a lot, but it depends on what "spread offense" you are running.
Texas Tech hardly ever has the QB run, West Virginia does it all the time.
It's about spreading the D with multiple pass options and read runs.
So you don't need a mobile QB to run a "spread offense", it just depends on which type you are running.
Right now Auburn doesn't have the talent for the spread, since almost all of the players recruited were recruited for Borges offense.
I don't think a spread QB has to be fast. Texas Tech's Graham Harrell isn't fast, but he already has thrown for almost 1,600 yards.
He moves around the pocket well. I wouldn't call him fast. I'd just call him "aware."
Unrelated note: Oil prices AMAZINGLY jumped $16/barrel today. That's a one-day record.
Here's a snippet from Financial Times' coverage:
"But in a highly unusual statement, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the main regulator of US commodity markets, said it was “closely monitoring” the large surge in oil prices for signals of market manipulation.
“CFTC enforcement staff will scour today’s trading activity to determine whether anyone engaged in illegal manipulation activity,” said Stephen Obie, head of the regulator division of enforcement."
Noooooooo. Really? The oil trade is shady?
OK..point well taken wareaglerk...thanks for that analysis..I bet the price for a gallon of gas by Wednesday will be more at 120.92 per barrell than it was in June/July when it was a record 147.00 per barrell..and they think it is because of supply and demand?...Pathetic.
Former AU back Cadillac Williams...does anyone think he will every play competitively again?..good news on Lester.
Right now Auburn doesn't have the skill position players to run this offense as well as they could.
WR's don't get enough separation & Tate isn't the best type of back for this type of offense. However Lester is probably a decent fit for it.
I don't know if Carnell will ever escape the injury bug that seems to follow him everywhere. The one last year might have done him in for good.
Kris:
Maybe not a tactful way of getting out of the wedding, but you could ask if those aforementioned Depends and a puke bucket would be appropriate attire. Again, not tactful, but likely effective nonetheless.....
dnatl:
good idea. Unfortunately I have decided spousal retribution for being suspiciously alsent at baby bro in law's wedding is worse than having to listen to the game with a secret service earpiece. Hopefully I will get my reward by watching the long faces of her family as Georgia runs up and down the field on their beloved crimson cried.
I like Brad Lester. But I hate watching him hit the line with no blockers. It looks like a seal being tossed around by three or four great white sharks. I mean they just sling that dude.
does anyone think Barrett Trotter is gonna be a player?
i agree with you jay that it isn't necessary to have a qb with wheels if you are going to run the hal mumm - er, uh, texas tech version of this offense. this said, haven't we been told repeatedly since franklin's hiring that we aren't going to be like hal mumm - er, uh, texas tech? haven't we been told that "we are still going to run the ball at auburn."
to that end, i'm struggling with how what we've been tolds fits with franklin's sunday comments. apparently he thinks 32 pass attempts a game isn't enough and wants us up around 42 - 47. i'm no mathmetician, but that many passes doesn't leave a whole lot of carries for the rb's.
tubs has definitely taken a keynesian approach to this (stinking) offense, but jay, i would pay good money to hear you ask him if he agrees with the guru's theory that its a good idea to throw 47 passes against teams like lsu, georgia, bama, etc.
I think more passes vs LSU would have helped us more that it would have hurt is.
It was obvious very early on they weren't gonna give us anything in the running game.
Against UT, I'm not so sure, as their secondary is pretty strong.
All I can say, is despite the disappointment that this offense has been a times this year...it's still better than the offense we had this time last year.
I don't think Franklin was trying to say 45 passes should be the norm.
He's saying they should have thrown 45 in that game. LSU's run defense was ... rock solid and there was no breaking through.
my point is this: franklin's reaction to our ineffective running game is 'let's throw the ball 50 times' as opposed to simply trying to utilize a qb that can run the ball some. to me, that sounds like the o.c. at kentucky talking, not the o.c. at auburn. translation: that is a bush league approach and will NOT be successful going against the best defenses in college football week in and week out.
They just went against one of the five best defenses in college football and were two defensive collapses away from winning the game.
I mean, I like Kodi Burns, too.
I do not understand the affinity many of you all have for him. He's not Randall Cunningham in Madden 94. He's not Steve Young in Madden 97.
Jay, don't you see, everything is Franklin's fault. Offense, defense and special teams.
He doesn't play Burns or Fannin as much as the internet would like. He doesn't comb his hair. He looks awkward.
Obviously this guy is just out to promote his buddy Todd and bring Auburn down. It's a plot.
Seriously, you'd think the 2004 Auburn team had just lost LaMonore the way people are reacting to this game.
I, for one, am officially through talking about QBs. Like it or not, Todd did enough to win the game. He made some "gamer" plays. Had the trick play worked, he would be a hero right now.
I'm pretty sure though, that all the other people who screwed up are really glad he's around.
With all of the pressure being thrown his way right now, he's soon to become one tough bastage. That will pay off one day, for him and AU.
if you call wanting to see us try some things to help us score more than 3 points against mississippi state (which does NOT have one of the best 5 defenses in college football) an "affinity" then i am guilty as charged.
thanks for engaging jay. i need a place to test the waters. somewhere i can run some ideas up the flagpole to see if i am around the bend. you are always a great sport.
wareaglerk,
Maybe you should post one more snarky comment. We didnt get the point the other seven times.
And for the record, "the internet" isnt asking to get the ball to Fannin more. We have been told that by both the OC and CTT. My apologies for expecting the coaches to actually (here's an idea) CALL A PLAY FOR HIM.
Do you not see the problem when our HEAD COACH is saying we should be getting him the ball more, and he touches it exactly zero times? I'm no genius but I call that a problem.
Same with running the ball. It was apparent to everyone during the game (except for CTF apparently) that we werent going to run the ball. Glad CTF figured it out on Sunday.
Oh yeah, and I'm okay with him running the ball with no success and doing so on every single first down since he apologized for it.
jay g.
There may have been two defensive collapses, but that's the same defense who had to score to give us that lead.
How many times can you ask a defense to make a stop for fear of our offense possibly never scoring again? It's like every defensive series could be the one to finish us off. That's a lot of pressure.
and everybody said ... Amen
hip-hopanonymous,
Forgive me for having some fun.
I agree Fannin should get more touches. However I'm amazed at the number of people who think that if we just plug Burns and Fannin in the game, that all of the sudden we'll be putting up 450 yards and 40 points on LSU.
Both have tons of potential, but as of right now one is a guy with a very delicate shoulder who probalby can't carry the load right now and the other is a guy with less than 40% completion % for his career and a 3:1 Int to TD ratio.
Both should get chances to be on the field, I don't deny that. However, some have already made them out to be far better than they have shown in the times they have gotten to play.
Sorry for having a little fun there.
I think some of us just want Fannin and Burns to have the opportunity to be involved in the offense. I don't think Mario should "carry the load" just carry the ball 6+ times a game and Kodi get 20% of snaps in situations that maximize his talent and knowledge of the offense. Also, I think if you have a limited mobility QB in the spread he should be a great passer,e.g. G. Harrel or C. Daniel, not a better than average passer.
Who gets married in the South during football season? Poor taste, if you ask me.
I agree anon. I havent seen anyone saying that those two were the answer to everything, but Todd is clearly an average QB. Most would think Burns could do at least an average job. He may make some big mistakes, but he may make some big plays too.
Pete,
I couldnt agree more. Anyone who gets married in the south during the fall is asking for me not to show up.
Unfortunately I am in a wedding the week of the Auburn/Arkansas game.
I need that game to either be the Raycom game & we are up big early or a night game. Otherwise I'll miss it.
Yes, someone is getting married here in Tennessee the day of the UT/UGA game. I don't know anyone who is happy with him over that.
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