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11.16.2008

LIVE -- Tuberville speaks, 11/16


Coach Tommy Tuberville held his Sunday meeting with reporters this afternoon. He answered questions about a variety of topics. Please read and enjoy.

  • "We didn't look like we had an answer to their pass game or their run game. I thought our coaches did a good job of adjusting. Our corners really played well. That's the first time we had them back healthy. That allows everybody else to play well."

  • "Offensively, we were hit or miss. We had a 90-yard drive. We just didn't do much in the red zone. That's where it all counts. Mario Fannin had a great day. It was his best day as an Auburn Tiger."

    NOTE: Auburn is 119th out of 119 in red-zone efficiency this season.

  • "Kodi Burns played 70 plays. He did an excellent job except for four plays. He competed. He went to the right side of the field in terms of throwing the ball. It was a tough game for him. I'm proud of how he grew up, hoe he helped the team."

  • Injuries: Wesley Byrum ("something is wrong with his knee") and Tommy Trott ("he'll be evaluated this week"). Tuberville said they're "doubtful" for the Alabama game.

  • On not playing Mario Fannin late: "We threw the ball 23 of the last 30 times. We didn't know as much with him as far as protections. He was in on some passing plays. With two weeks to prepare for this game, there shouldn't be any problem. At the end of the game, it becomes a mental as well as physical game. He's not there yet. He'll progress along as we go. We just played the odds with Ben Tate."

  • On offense: "We showed improvement. That's not what we're looking for; we're in it to win games. There were two good defenses on the field. There was a lot of cat-and-mouse going on. We don't play for moral victories. We needed to win for a lot of reasons. We needed to finish a game. We just didn't finish."

  • On Iron Bowl: "I wish we were playing this week. It should be played this week. I'm sure they'd love ot play this week knowing there's going into the (SEC) championship game. It was voted on by the SEC ADs. We weren't given that option."

  • Where was Lester?: "He played special teams. We just didn't play him. He's not 100% like the other ones."

  • Mario redux; run him more when he's in there?: "A lot of those were checks at the line. They were playing 8- on 9-man fronts. It was like running into a wall. We were looking to make plays out of something they weren't doing. You try to take advantage."

  • Why not kick on next-to-last possession: "I was going to until I was reminded that (Byrum's) knee wasn't right. We thought about how that was (Morgan Hull's) first time out there."

  • Is Morgan your kicker?: "More than likely, yes."

  • "We haven't cashed in on opportunities for points."

  • Red zone?: "That's inconsistency. It's a little mental, a little physical. We've gotten better between the 20s. It hasn't gotten better down there."

  • "You can't live off a kicker and defense forever. That's why I changed offenses. Obviously, that didn't work."

  • Ensminger's situation: "He's done well. He's been put into a tough situation to put an offense (together) in five weeks. I think he's done a good job with Kodi. Kodi is throwing the ball a lot better. (Burns) is still basically a freshman playing quarterback."

    END OF INTERVIEW

278 Comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 278 of 278
Blogger barkley for governor said...

Going after his record that gets poorer every year is too easy, sorry.

10:23 PM  
Blogger Mark said...

which means what?

10:24 PM  
Blogger barkley for governor said...

Jason Campbell, Carlos Rogers, Jay Ratliff, Marcus Washington. Maybe more.

10:26 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I think four is it.

What sucks is with Campbell being asked just not to lose the game, you don't know if he can win a game when it's on his shoulders.

That 4th and 4 pass was almost every Auburn 3rd and 4th down pass this year, in front of the marker.

Carlos Rogers took a horrible horrible angle on Barber on that last drive that could have got him a tackle for loss, but ended up being close to a 10 yard gain.

However Ratliff came up big tonight with two sacks.

10:31 PM  
Blogger michael said...

Ratliff made it on the side of the meat wagon or whatever the honor that is given to players of the game. Yee haw.

There may have been something to that 2004 team...

10:53 PM  
Blogger WDCWE said...

Ok, I have said this before, but because I do not post regularly, no probably noticed. A lot has been said about Tubberville's record and how many mediocre seasons he has had with 4 losses. I would like to point out that the "good run" from 2004-2006 ended up with the 2006 senior class having the MOST wins by an Auburn class EVER. More than Dye, more than Shug, mor than...EVER. These are Tubbervile recruits, players, and now NFL players. How anyone thinks we shouldn't loose more than two games a season on a regular basis somehow discounts our schedule, mostly our three rivals in LSU, Georgia, Alabama. Those three schools are more often than not going to attract more talent than Auburn will. It is a fact of life. Those three on your schedule every year with Florida and Tennessee rotating on and off our schedule(also teams with a wealth of talent that Auburn can't touch most of the time) and it puts into perspective(for me at least) how special those years were. I just don't see there being any coach on the market that anyone could argue that they would definately do a better job overall than Tubbs. I am not saying we should settle for these types of seasons on a regular basis, but what more do you expect?

12:40 AM  
Blogger JD said...

It's funny that in the interview that Tuberville was unsure of Fannin's blocking abilitites. However in the Review show w/Rod he specifically said that Fannin had done a good job blocking...This confuses me. Maybe this is simply another example of how Tommy says one thing to one person and the exact opposite to another.

5:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to point out that the "good run" from 2004-2006 ended up with the 2006 senior class having the MOST wins by an Auburn class EVER. More than Dye, more than Shug, more than...EVER.

Not a good comparison. In Shug's day, the season was 10 games long plus the opportunity for an 11th if they made a bowl. In the Dye era, the season was 11 games long with the opportunity for a 12th game if they made a bowl. Tubs has a 12 game season, plus an opportunity for a 13th and 14th game. They just flat played more games.

This sort of reminds me of the "1000 yard rusher in the NFL" thing. With more games in the regular season, a 1000 yard rusher in the NFL is not the same as it used to be.

6:06 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

"How anyone thinks we shouldn't loose more than two games a season on a regular basis somehow discounts our schedule"

If we were going 11-2 or 10-3 every year, then I'm fine with it.

6:35 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Caleb- The reason that was the winningest class is because the number of games played. The regular season was increased, so it was winnigest class by wins, not by winning percentage.

7:14 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

It's not about wins...it's about trophies.

All of those wins so far equal one SEC title and two trips to Atlanta.

A trip to Atlanta every 5 years isn't cutting it. Especially when schools like Georgia and LSU seem to be there every other year.

7:30 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Rk- Agreed with that point. It looks like everyone seems to be saying that Tubs will be back next year.

7:32 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I'd love for Tub to be the guy who gets us to Atlanta every 2 or 3 years. It hasn't happened in the 1st 10 years, so I think it probably won't happen in the next 10.

I'd love to see it happen, because despite my criticism of him, I like Tommy a lot.

8:08 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Well, in hearing from all my Georgia buddies, they are thanking us for not putting Fannin in the game for the last 2 drives and not running a QB draw on 3rd and 1 with 13 seconds. Got to love that.

8:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We don't want to admit it but the fact that Bama was on probation had a lot to do with the "success" of the 2004-2006 time frame. Mediocrity is what we have with CTT. From his preseason losses to being blown out in games that should be close it is what we can always expect.

He may be a good man that is teaching good values and graduating players, but his record speaks for itself.

Heck Arkansas has been to the SEC Championship game more times than CTT.

8:44 AM  
Blogger Mark said...

Tubs should leave. Voluntarily if possible.

9:13 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

You know the funny thing is that we played a close game with Georgia, and I think more fans want him gone now than before the Georgia game. I would not have predicted that, but maybe the people that have wanted him gone prior to the game are just more vocal. Not sure.

9:16 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Arkansas has been to the SEC title game the same number of times as Auburn in the past 10 years. They have both been twice.

9:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mark,

Tubs won't leave. I firmly believe he'll have to get the ax to let go of his position. I know Jay G. is adamant about staff changes, but I foresee only minor tweeks with people being reassigned within the department or "allowed to pursue other opportunities" outside of Auburn.

Bottom line, if the ax was going to fall, I think TPTB would have already done it.

10:12 AM  
Blogger Monica said...

Gonna be a loooooooong two weeks.

10:12 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

As I said a couple of days ago. No matter who the HC is, Hugh Nall will not be the OL coach and Greg Knox will not be the WR coach next year.

They may still be at Auburn, but not doing what they are currently doing.

10:15 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Sensi,

If we show up unprepared for Alabama with 2 weeks to work on a game plan and get blown out, the axe could still fall.

10:16 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

Mr-- if that is all that will be done then 2009 may very well be tubbs last year. That just isn't going to please many. I think that if tubbs makes it out of this year without any news then he will return next year. The meeting with gogue is just theater.

10:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

RK - you are right about that but I don't see the blow out coming.

KJ - I really don't think Tubs cares about pleasing outside forces and it's clear he wears the pants in the athletic dept. No offense to the AD, but he's not gonna move Tubs by himself.

10:20 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Pants aren't worn in the athletic department.

10:29 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Monica- Your right, its going to be a long two weeks, or a fast one if a move is made.

10:30 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

sorry I ment to say "out of this week"

10:30 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Eddie ...

The reason why the talk has increased after the loss is that we had a chance to win, and questionable coaching helped do us in:
1. Where's Mario?
2. FG team, timeout, throw into end zone.
3. Special teams errors
4. Excess Tate

10:31 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Monica:

Media report today wasn't kind to your town of current residence ... called it most obese town in America.

10:33 AM  
Blogger michael said...

So how long until Tubs starts saying, "Having three tailbacks is a great problem to have. I am just tickled pink about how good they are. They are all leaders and the offense will be successful no matter who is out there."

10:34 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Jet- I agree with your points. There was some bad moves in the last two drives. I don't understand it and I think that the reasoning Tubs gave for it is piss poor on his part.

10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Michael - I think that's already started.

10:35 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

I don't have as much problem with the last drive as I do the next to last one.

We essentially threw a Hail Mary with 4:23 left in the game, and were lucky enough to get the ball back.

10:36 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

mr-- I agree ctt is the captain of the ship but the ship has a hole in it and moving people around and not addressing the hole/leak will not please the folks. If he cannot see that he has had 5 ocs in ten years and the results, short of 2004, are all the same.

10:37 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Michael-

He had better not use the word "leader." If he does so, someone needs to refer him to a dictionary and inform him of the meaning of leader. I still see no leadership on the team. The team is about as organized as a Jessica Simpson outfit.

10:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eddie,

We are more like a Britney Spears outfit - missing some pieces that leave us very exposed.

10:39 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

KJ- The ship has hit an iceberg. I don't see any way that healing can take place right now. If he stays, some will be happy and some will be pissed. If he does stay, how will this affect recruiting? It is hard to sell somebody when they don't believe you will be there at the end, and trust me, it will be used against us and it is already being used against us.

10:40 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Mr S- Jannet Jackson wardrobe malfunction?

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eddie,

This whole season is a wardrobe malfunction.

Good call Saturday, by the way.

10:42 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Thanks Mr. S. I enjoy the show, keep up the good work.

10:45 AM  
Blogger WDCWE said...

That is true that Shug and Dye both had few games to win, but they also had fewer games to lose. Here is in interesting stat:
Shug's best senior class: 34-5-1 from 1957-1960
Dye's best senior class: 39-7-2 1986-1989
Tub's: 42-9 2004-2007

Shug won the title
Dye won three SEC's in a row
Tub's had a perfect season that should have won the title.
I am just saying that these numbers are pretty close to each other. I am measuring Tub's with the coaches we name Stadiums and fields after and it seems to me he matches up well.

10:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Dye won three SEC's in a row"

Weren't at least 2 of those "shared' titles back before the SECCG?

10:47 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Caleb- I see now. Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hareville Stadium.

10:52 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Jordan-Hare-Dye Stadium, which in it has the Tuberville Spin Center (interview room)

10:54 AM  
Blogger michael said...

"Please enjoy the hot dogs and pizza located in the Tommy Tuberville Concession Stands here at Jordan-Hare Stadium when not watching the action on Pat Dye Field."

10:57 AM  
Blogger WDCWE said...

I stand corrected,
1987 - Auburn
1988 - Auburn, LSU
1989 - Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee
I don't remember this(I was a baby) but Alabama must have been furious to "share" a title with Auburn and Tenn.

10:57 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Of course, the Tide was undefeated when it came to AU in 1989.

11:02 AM  
Blogger scott,will not,from tucson said...

i like jordan-hare stadium, pat dye field, and the tubeville int. airport.

11:04 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Scott wins.

11:04 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Scott- I agree with you also. But we could name the iron Gates at the entrance of the tiger walk plaza, Tubberville Gate.

11:08 AM  
Blogger WDCWE said...

While we are on the subject of naming things, I want echo something Josh Moon said in a column a year or two ago. He pointed out that our fearless leader Jay was one of the peeps that discovered the Jetgate story. Moon said that the least Auburn could do is name a bush or tree in Jays honor since Auburn is so happy to name every single piece of a building after someone...

11:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jay's probably gone to greener pastures after this year. I mean, I like reading this blog and the comments here, but I kinda get the feeling Jay hates this and would just as soon be covering intramural soccer in Wyoming. I bet we all drive him nuts.

Sorry to be a part of the madness.

11:22 AM  
Blogger Monica said...

Jet - I know. They've been talking about that report for a couple of weeks here. The problem is most of the things it reports aren't true. They are detailed here:Big Fat Lies

11:26 AM  
Blogger michael said...

I have a friend at ESPN who told me they are pursuing Jay pretty hard. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

11:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The AU ship doesn't have a hole in it. The "hole" is the coaching dilemma. The loud, chronically never satisfied, dysfunctional fans will be the greatest hindrence to AU coaching success. If CTT stays...the noise will just grow louder and hinder hiring of an OC. If CTT goes, then theo other side will make noise along with the national press.

11:28 AM  
Blogger scott,will not,from tucson said...

good one, eddie

11:30 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Michael- This Jay Gate is more interesting than the Auburn Football Coaching rumors. I mean, what will impact our lives more, Auburn's Head Coach or Jay leaving and going to ESPN? Just a thought.

11:33 AM  
Blogger Monica said...

Do y'all thing a coach would base a career move on fans?

11:39 AM  
Blogger Monica said...

think :-)

11:42 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

no, fans are fans short for fanatic. Ill say again AU did not corner the market on fans with expectations.

11:45 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Agreed KJ. If fans stop a coach from coming, then that Coach is admitting that he does believe he has what it takes. Fans don't stop coaches from coming. Becoming a revolving door for coaches makes it tough, but money usually answers all.

11:47 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I have a hard time believing that Tuberville leaving will help recruiting. We have a good class in hand at the moment and I don't expect it to fall to pieces. Yes, the spin will change a bit and the recruits will be reminded of the opportunity for playing time. The sooner that people realize that Tuberville will not be leaving, the better. The search for an OC needs to be completed as soon as possible, but as long as someone is named this year, I think we are okay.

11:51 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

As far as Head coaches go AU has not been a revolving door for HC. Short of tiny terry he had the shortest tenure since barfield and I think barfield got 5 yrs. Now OC/DC may be a different question. What we have to stop doing is downplay what type of job AU is. Au has every opportunity to be what ever it wants to be in sports and in acedemics.

11:51 AM  
Blogger KJtiger said...

Steve I agree the uncertainty is what will efect the recruiting class. Just like SACS and the last time we went through this soap opera.

11:53 AM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Steve- I'm not talking about this year, i'm talking about next year and on. Coaches will be selling Tubs not being the coach for the next couple of years hard if stays and loses 4 to 5 games again.

12:07 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The only reason I think that there hasn't been an announcement that Tuberville will be the head coach next season is that the Iron Bowl could affect things. Obviously if we win, he will stay. I also believe that it is reasonably close, he will stay. But should we be totally blown out, he might be gone. I find this very unlikely since we do have a solid defense and the offense is playing as good as it has all season, with the possible exception of the Southern Miss and LSU games.

I am more interested in seeing the changes that Tuberville makes at the end of the season. How much power he gives the new OC will be a telling factor. I don't think he needs to fire anyone on the offensive staff, but I do believe he needs to give the OC the freedom to do so if he finds it necessary.

12:07 PM  
Blogger AUfan said...

Question- why so much hope in this recruiting class? Not downing these verbal commitments, but weren't the last 2-3 classes supposed to be strong also? And the Jet-gate excuse has gotten old, at this point we should be able to have recovered from 1 poor class. Not trying to be smart, just wondering.

12:09 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

eddie, I think we will be much improved next season. I think the criteria for a successful coach at Auburn needs to be considered. Personally, I feel that if we can average 9 or 10 wins a season, that is reasonable to expect in the SEC. The SEC doesn't have as many high profile teams this season, but it is probably the toughest it has ever been from top to bottom.

12:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tubs sucks and so do all of us for believing in that sob!

12:10 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

depressedAUfan, the class before last was outstanding, possibly the best in the nation. Last years class appears to have been good, but it is too early to call. The thing is, we are young. Having an inexperienced quarterback, an offensive circle jerk, and a fired OC had their affects. This team isn't too far from being 9-2. It is also not that far from being 2-9. Stability has been a constant issue under Tuberville due to coordinator turnover. He needs to make a good choice with the next OC. I will be nervous if he chooses a young, up and coming OC that will be looking to become a head coach. We need a 50 something OC that is content to work out his career at Auburn.

12:14 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

fan with a bag on my head, you bring a different perspective to the discussion, but your comments seem better suited for the al.com forums. I am sure that you can find similar thought processes there.

12:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't feed the troll, SteveFC.

12:20 PM  
Blogger Eddie McCoy said...

Steve- I'm not sure we have as much talent on this team as everyone believes is there. We definitely don't have it on offense.

12:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Mr. Sensible, I see talent on this team. I see a lot of lost potential at the receivers spot. We have as much talent as quarterback as I think we have had in a while. Caudle was a high profile recruit, just like Kodi. With Cotton coming in, we are solid there.

At runningback, we have some potential, but I think it safe to say we will be looking for Fannin and McCaleb to step up. Lester and Davis will be gone. Neither of them realized their potential.

We are loaded at TE, which is the position Franklin was going to get rid of.

I have concerns with the offensive line depth, but I do find it very likely that some defensive line recruits will move to the offensive line. I think the chief problem with our offensive line hasn't been the players, but the way we changed our philosophy. Both tackles are trimmed down. At least in terms of Ziemba, I don't think becoming a primary pass blocker worked for him. He seems to be a candidate to move to a guard spot if his pass blocking doesn't improve. I don't think the size reduction helped him in terms of speed as much as the coaches had hoped.

12:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

eddie, would you have considered Alabama a talented team last season?

12:45 PM  
Blogger Denny Crum said...

Good question Steve from Columbia. College players are not static. You can't look at players and say we are not talented at a number of positions. I think chemistry and injuries caused what we have going on. Not bad player chemistry where the players dislike each other, but a bad chemistry on the offensive side of the ball that reached out and permeated things.

1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

AU has just been dysfunctional. We just can't seem to get out of our on way. Our QB has come a long way, but still throws the ball to where the receiver is and not where he is going. Reference the number of throws behind the receiver and he has to turn or wait for it to get to him. If Tubbs stays we will be running some version of a spread offense and KB probably will not be the QB. I would expect Trotter to give them a strong run and possily get the nod. KB might be a slot receiver and Caudle sits on the bench which I think is fine with him.

1:33 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I think Kodi has the potential to be a very good quarterback, but the reasons that Todd were the starter early are very apparent. Kodi has the physical skills and Todd has the decision making ability. Unless Todd's arm gets much better, I doubt we see him again. Caudle has potential too, but apparently his decision making ability isn't there. A lot will depend on who coaches the QBs next season and how well the QBs pick up on what we will do. We will have Cotton coming in next season too, but I think the best way to destroy a QBs confidence is to play him early. QBs are best redshirted and then gradually given playing time. We played Campbell early and it seriously damaged his confidence.

1:56 PM  
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