Chizik speaks: 9/21
Here we go:
- ``It's great to be in a situation where we're 3-0."
- We just kinda hung in there, some good things happened and we won it. We have to fix some issues, but it was a good win for our team."
- On Chris Todd: ``Gus has done a great job with him in terms of him having a great feel for the offense. It's a new year. The past is behind us. That doesn't mean we won't run into some stormy weather. It's all about how you want to approach it mentally. (Todd) has been really good with understanding that it's a long game."
- ``I'm just proud that he's got that sticktoitiveness to him."
- ``We've got a lot of work to do on defense. A lot of the yardage last night was just missed tackles, believe it or not. I'm not making excuses; I'm just stating what happened. We're still having a problem getting off the field on third down. We have to go back and revisit some of that."
- ``There are a lot of things to fix, but there were a lot of positives, too."
- ``They weren't your ordinary-type turnovers. Guys had to make plays to get them."
- On Tim Hawthorne: ``It was very meaningful for him. It was one of those situation where he's done everything he could do. He has such a hunger to get back out there. He's really worked hard to get in position to even be out there. I wasn't sure that he'd be able to come back after two games.
He loves football. He worked hard to get out there." - On Eric Smith: ``He's a football players. That's just what he is. He bocks as a fullback, he can run as a tailback, he plays on return teams. He contributes a lot to our team."
- On the need for passing last night: ``Every week, we're not going to be able to run the ball. We're going to do what the defense allows us to do. A high percentage of the time last night, they were putting and eighth guy in there. He's unblockable. We go in every week knowing that we have to run the football. It's all based on what they're going to allow you to do.
- On Ball State: ``We're going to do what we always do. You hope you have enough older guys, a focus-enough team. They'll come in here. They'll be fired up play in this type of venue."
- On the need for momentum coming out of the Ball State game: ``We need to see a great deal of improvement between Game 3 and Game 4. We've won three games, but I can't say there's any phase that any coach, including me, is happy about. I'm happy that they've played hard. I'm happy that we've won. We haven't put a full game together."
- On Zaccheus Etheridge's apparent injury: ``His injuries aren't a concern."
- On Tommy Trott: ``He practiced a very little bit, but he has so much experience. It was more important for us to give him some healing time rather than have him run a route for the 105th time."
- On tackling with leverage: ``That's part of our problem right now. We've got to understand where our help is coming from. That's tackling 101 … and I'm not sure we're there yet. We're going to address all that."
- On what he learned about his team Saturday: ``They just keep playing. They don't let circumstances dictate how they play."
- On what he heard from recruits: ``Loved our crowd. That was the first thing that came out of their mouths. Take our students for instance. I don't think they left their spots. People take notice of that. That was the first thing that was very impressive to our recruits. And just the fact that we fought through and beat a good football team."
152 Comments:
substance
substantial substance dl.
stick-to-it'ed-ness?
Did he really say that?
let's just win 'em all. then we don't have to worry about rankings.
oh wait, this is AU, so we do have to worry about rankings...
we better hope UF, OU, USC etc. lose two each if we go undefeated. then we may (grudgingly and against espn's wishes) get a BCS invite over them.
jgt, new threaded this comment on the last post...
"his injuries aren't a concern."
OK
Diggin' it.
Bro: Yep. Is that the correct spelling of that phrase? I've never heard it before.
I believe the word he was looking for was resilience. But stick-to-it'ed-ness works too.
Etheridge is apparently going to be okay. That is a relief. I thought for sure he would be day to day.
Jay, is there any truth that Chizik in writing a book, Coach Speak for Dummies?
ya gotta love the announcers talking about kodis passing.. then stating that is why he is not the QB
OUCH
That's the first time I've ever heard that phrase. We'll just file that under Chiz prose.
burgel flickle
He didn't say stick-to-it-ivness?
That I've heard before.
meaning tenacity.
Slang Dictionary
sticktoitiveness
n.
tenacity. : The kid has sticktoitiveness. I like that in a kid.
Dandgum Jay, if you're not going to vote for this team, who is? (g)
Auburn is 10th in SEC in total defense right now.
yaay.
Uh. wait.
AllenD is Dave Wandstadt....just sayin' Welcome Coach to the HABOTN
I posted this on previous page, but we were again more meerkat. Not nearly as ludicrous speed.
Sticktoitiveness is listed on Dictionary.com as a legit word. I have heard that all of my life, never heard sticktoitedness.
Aero - wheres uga and arky - after their track meet?
guess I could look it up
JGT, going back to the last thread. I wasn't meaning to "get on you" about any of your pics. Just looking for a little clarification on what you saw in them. I think Pitt deserves to be top 25 (ahead of Auburn) just top 10 seems a little far fetched. Just wondering what you saw.
UNC however, has not done anything to shown they are top 25 to me, but the rest of the world agrees with you.
I said after last night I didn't think we would get in. I would put them in my top 25 poll but I'm not upset you didn't.
Alright. I'll amend the awkward word to sticktoitiveness.
Jay,
You are still the man. I sure ain't in your league.
Back from the Plains and up from a 4 1/2 hour nap. Experiencing last night after a week of being sick was exhausting - but so worth it! I am placing this game as one of my definite top 10 games. I loved it, especially that you didn't see any quit with this team. They just kept plugging away. The student section did a phenomenal job, I think they really impressed our recruits with their "sticktoitiveness" through the rain and the delay. I'm anxious for someone to commit!
Cincy,
I have your crud now. I hope you don't get sick again after the wet weather last night.
IV,
Are you feeling better? We went to bed at 2:30 am, got up at 6 am for church at 8:30 and then drove back to b'ham. Doesn't help you get well very fast!
MrsTHT and I finally are no longer sticked to the highway.
AllenD
I've not seen that game (UGA Arky) listed on the site. There is the highlight reel:
highlights
Which should probably be the entire game. heh.
All full length games are supposed to be on http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/default.aspx
I have a question about the picks and beating the spreads and that stuff.
If the spread is 14 and the team just meets that spread, you don't get credit? Seems like it says the team would win by 14 and they did, so it should count! I was pumped to have 15 correct, but only got 14 :( Doesn't sound nearly as impressive.
THT,
Glad you are home safely. Sorry you didn't make it by the condo - we had a grand time!
THT,
Glad you and the Mrs. made it back safe and sound. 2.0 grabbed your Beasley spot on the last thread for you. I say again, 2.0 is a winner.
Cincy - It is a push. A break even, no one wins or loses.
In my opinion AU is showing the sticktoitniveness of a top 25 team.
Several teams ranked above them have exhibited greater quatities of slickity.
Cincy: If the line is 14 and your team wins by 14, it's deemed a "push."
That means you don't win or lose.
Lines should be interpreted as "x will win by at least 14 points."
For a big boy, ESmith is pretty nimble catching the ball in stride.
La Tech is not very good.
Mississippi State is a decent team, actually, and beating them means something.
West Virginia? I can't really tell yet. I think they're good, but wins against Liberty and East Carolina weren't notable.
I am impressed with Eric Smith's grabtoitiveness.
If WVU beats Colorardo that might be a bit better for them wouldn't you think?
Win by "at least 14 points" they did. In order to get the point I needed them to win by MORE than 14 points. I like just saying who is going to win or lose.
Jay G.,
I agree with you. I had tried to say the same thing in the previous thread. You said it better than I.
Jay - any word on the miracle recovery of Trott? Thought he was iffy for the next few weeks...maybe I was reading between the lines - or he was reading about Lutz getting mor playing time.
But UNC gets credit for beating EC?
Sorry, I'll move on.
By the way: Who last did the rain dance during the drought we were having? I'm buying stock in 'em.
I'm glad to see Hawthorne back in action.
WVU better beat Colorado. Their 24-0 win over an equally bad Wyoming team notwithstanding, the Buffs look terrible.
stick-to-it'ed-ness _ WOW - My dad use to say that....
Auburn is 66-19 in second half after 3 games.
That's an impressive stat Aeronaut.
I was disappointed with the AU DE's or OLB letting the QB or other get the play outside of them...gotta turn that stuff back inside to your help.
If you wanna be in the top 25, beat someone in the top 25.
AllenD, by any chance are you the head coach at Pitt?
Aero,
I love that stat. Seems like last year all of our scoring was in the first half and almost none in the second half. We seem to get stronger as the game continues.
Cincy - we appreciated the invite, but we didn't want to risk getting drenched going to/from the condo. Long walks were risky business yesterday.
IV - I got word of 2.0s BEASLEY!!! post while on I-85 this afternoon. Yes, I am quite proud of her alertiveness.
Why all the fuss over rankings, they mean absolutely nothing at this point. Winning solves everything and who knows, not being ranked could serve as motivation, but I think its a bid ado about nothing.
Ball State has not won a game, right?
Hard to believe we are giving up 350 yards and 23 points per game at this point and are 3-0.
I never would have expected that if I had seen those defensive stats.
I know Ball State has lost to North Texas and Army, but not sure if they have any other games.
Wow, what a hit by Ray Lewis on 4th and 2 to seal the deal.
Ball State is flat out terrible. They are 0-3 with losses to North Texas, New Hampshire and Army.
New Hampshire has a football team?
By the way, I will join the crowd in lynching Sensi if he picks Ball State this week.
So, even if we pound Ball State unmercifully, we will still not make an impression on the pollsters, unless a team in the top 25 gets a second loss. I hope that we come out of this game unscathed and ready to play UT on the road. A win at UT may not even be enough for some top 25 love.
No way Sensi picks Ball State. That won't happen. You can either book that or Sensi's stay in a mental institution, one or the other.
Beat Ball State and do something great and beat UT at Knoxville and that would but us 1 game away from being bowl eligible, and that would be awesome.
Ball State has scored 4 TDs this season.
So, I think what we have to do is take them one game at a time. Keep winning as others start to lose and we will be ranked at some point. In the meantime, we need to do what we do.
Some Auburn love for those that are interested:
CFN Who's Hot
"The good folks from West Virginia must have wondered what kind of crazy, fanatical, severe-weather-ignoring lunatics they have down on the plains. They found out. And soon enough, so will everyone else: The passion is back on the plains. And all it took was a little rain, a bit of CCR and a few thousand rain-soaked lunatics."
CFN has always been a website that I've enjoyed...they just need to get rid of that stupid pop up that even my blocker doesn't get.
I'm with you RK, I enjoy the content, but their website is troubling. They have a good instant analysis too with good commentary:
CFN Instant Analysis
Dallas supposedly has 111,0000 to the game tonight. I bet they don't come close to being as loud as we were last night with far fewer.
How many facelifts has Jerry Jones had?
No Doubt Jhag. That was the best game experience since Florida '06. For those who weren't at the game. Trust us when we say that the student section was ROCKING the entire hour delay.
FSJ- So many that he changed his home address to 90210.
Can Roof take the Ray Lewis tackle of Sproles and use that as a demo tape on how to tackle?
Nice shot of Jordan-Hare overhead on the UA commercial
i could hear the student section singing "who'll stop the rain" etc. as i was having to stand up to eat my free nachos while watching the UGA/arky game in the nelson club level. i think the rain turned the whole crowd up a notch and AU needed every screaming voice to pull that one out.
that is first time i've ever scammed tix in the club level and boy did i pick the right game. i would usually be standing outside getting soaked with everyone else. providence smiled upon chippy saturday night!
I was in the Section 103 singing Have you ever seen the rain. One blackberry and pair of leather shoes later, WVU "Kiss da Baby"
whattup hotties. long drive back from AU today. totally exhausted but it was worth every second. i may have to update my Top 10 gamedays list. fantastic time all around from tailgating to toomers. good times.
We need to build a replica of the Cowboys new stadium, we would never lose another game! come on Lowder!
As we sat in our seats and saw the thunder cloud rolling in like we were in the movie Twister , my buddy asked if I wanted to go under the cover, my response...child please
we were late getting into the stadium so by the time we were remotely close to our portal we got stuck in gridlock. we found our way to the southeast ramps where we had room to breathe. it was worth the wait.
Jay G, is the defination of stick-to-it'ed-ness available on web md?
Similar weather related thing happened when I was in school at UA...
We had an Ole Miss game interrupted in 1994 by lightening.....We were getting the crap kicked out of us before the storm. After the storm we came back and put it on them.
The crowd was turned up a notch too. It wasn't at night but still..
Lightening hit the flag pole in Bryant Denny and a TV camera operator was injured when he had a surge knock him loopy.
My granddaddy used to use the word sticktoitiveness all the time. He really encouraged us to stick with decisions we had made and not bail out at the first sign of difficulty. Someone else's granddad must have taught the same lessons.
cincy..
An old man I used to know always used to say keep on keepin on...
Sorta the same thing.
JG, i bought a MA when i was leaving AU this morning.
you're welcome.
I think we must have been the only ones who stayed totally dry the whole game. We usually get into JH an hour before kickoff, but since I had been sick all week we delayed it a bit. Just after we walked through the ticket gate, the bottom fell out. We stayed on the crowded concourse until the 15 minute countdown, put on ponchos and went to our seats. A few sprinkles, but we were nice and dry. Ponchos off after the first quarter and it was great weather! Would have loved to have been in the student section during the hour delay, but I think I would be in the hospital with pneumonia. What a game!!!
I walked in about the same time Scottie did and it was perfect timing. I was at the concession stand when all hell broke loose, so I stayed dry thru the whole ordeal but it was not a place for closterphobic (sp) people.
the pregame deluge reminded MrsTHT and myself of the wonderful 4th quarter of the 1983 Iron Bowl.
Eddie,
I made the same comment about the claustrophobia to my husband. I said I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic and then started thinking about if I could really get off of that concourse if I had to. I got a little panicky for a few seconds.
Eddie, you need to get out in Villa Rica and do some marketing. I met an old friend who lives there now and he had never heard of HABOTN ;-)
A funny thing happened while we were waiting on the concourse. We were right outside one of the women's restrooms. This guy came pushing his way through and went into the ladies room. He cam out a few minutes later and I commented to him that he was one brave man. He said I couldn't make it to the men's room!
A few minutes later a very intoxicated WV man came up to the restroom, fell flat on his face in the doorway, got up and went on in. I never saw him come out. He may still be there :)
THT- Yeah, I need some more marketing material, especially a shirt that fits now that my original one is huge on me now. Scottie did hook me up with a nice cap on Saturday, i'll try harder. AT one point there was another Villa Rica Habotn postere, I believe he went by VRTiger or something of that nature.
See everyone in the AM!!!
when things were looking bleakest Saturday, I took off my HABOTN cap and put it on my belt. I'm sure it was just a coincidence.
cincy -congrats on an excellent pick'em week.
HOTTIES - I'm beat like a rented mule. Going to bed REAL early. Sweet dreams!!!
"providence smiled upon chippy saturday night!"
Nicely done.
99 luftbaloons
Sensi,
I am glad you were wrong in your prediction, but there were times Sat night I was afraid you were going to be right.
What are the TV options for next weeks game?
Glad I was wrong as well.
I see where someone mentioned something about my pick for next week.
No need to tease - I aim to please. Here it is.
Auburn 37 Ball State 10
Moving on...
Sensi appeared quite pleased to be wrong when I saw him after the game.
How many inches did it rain in that 40 minutes or so. That was on of the heaviest thunderstorms I've seen.
Indeed, NoVa.
Our buddy Noah called and he was impressed with it as well. Though, I have a feeling he's seen one worse. ;-)
Goodnight, Hotties!
In section 103 it rained so much that the water was seat level high. I was standing in it and it was up to my knee.
Just checking in......what a game! We sat under ponchos for 45 min to stay dry. No way to get under and it was better to stay still...got in bed at 2am
Reminds me of that late Syracuse game.
Feel better after a nap!
I really admired the way this team just wouldn't quit. The play was far from perfect and the defense had to carry the offense some but it has to be huge for their confidence.
I commented that last year's team would have given up after the first quarter
My man, Super Mario finally came through in a big way!!!
I heard 3.5 inches Nova.
Yeah, I enjoyed Mario finally getting the huge play I knew was in him.
NoVa, the Columbus sports reported 3.75 inches of rain fell. I believe them.
I was looking at the tackle chart in Goldberg's column, ElToro is not even listed with an assist. Was he not in on any tackles? Not even an assist?
That sounds about right wake.
Whoever designed the drainage on the field deserves kudos as well. The field tore up a little during the game but many would have turned to mud.
WEG I said the same thing about it seeming like the Cuse game. I was so tired when I got home. My wife said when I got home I was asleep with in 2 mins of putting my head on the pillow.
It was so exciting, I didn't even realize it was 11:30! then it hit on the way home! Luckily, I didn't have to drive!
Didn't ya'll love Trooper?!
3.75. I posted that yesterday in response to a question Jet asked.
Video being created right now.
Should be up around 10 p.m. CDT.
Thanks Jay. This is the first I've been online since yesterday morning and I haven't gone back to read everything.
WEG Trooper was so into the game yesterday. He was really live. That has to be huge for recruits. He is everything I liked about Boomer and and I think more. The best thing about the game getting over so late is people were in a hurry to get home so from the time we left the stadium until I pulled into my driveway I was able to listen to the postgame show.
Well, I have to catch up on my sleep deprivation from last night. Night to everyone. I will catch yall tomorrow.
The no quit attitude was impressive, but I am continuously amazed by how few mistakes we are making. Think about it. The offense is constantly in hurry up mode, but we haven't seen much in terms of turnovers or busted plays.
I know many of you think I am a Todd fan. Well, I may be becoming one. I just saw him as our best option, not necessarily as a great option. I never thought we could beat WV on his arm, and I was wrong. He isn't great, but he has been amazing in terms of decision making.
Steve,
According to Gus, we still are making a ton of mistakes on offense, mainly in the tempo.
I'm starting to wonder if he just wants the ball snapped as soon as the ref puts it down.
There are certainly mistakes, but it would have been very easy for us to have made mistakes that would have cost us that game. What mistakes? See the West Virginia offense.
Also, someone mentioned my love for Eric Smith the other day. I wouldn't call it love, but I was very encouraged by comments I read from the previous staff about him. There is a huge advantage to recruiting players that play. It isn't just for injuries, but for providing different options and keeping players healthy.
One of my pet peaves is to see a player on the roster that is a junior or senior and I have never heard of him. That is a terrible waste.
RK, the offense only got off 74 snaps last night. I'm sure Gus is not pleased with that. Not pleased at all.
Then again, they seemed to be checking off to the sideline more than usual in the second half.
I thought the tempo looked slower than the La Tech game. There were a couple of plays that the offense looked confused. They're not there yet but doing good for a new scheme.
Who thought last month that Todd would have around 300 yds in the third game? I thought he would do well but not that well.
I was wondering about the number of checkoffs and if it was due to the 3-3-5 defense. They were looking to the sidelines a lot.
The best tempo of the game was in the last drive of the first half. They had WVU off balance and kept pushing.
That's what Gus would like to see the entire game.
Gonna have to watch the video in the morning....still need to catch up on sleep to be able to function at work this week!
Who'll stop the rain?!
Good night and War Eagle!
When you talk Todd, I think of Ben Leard. It is the closest comparison I can think of.
It could be a number of things, the 3-3-5 probably didn't help our cause. I don't remember watching Tulsa check off too many times...It could just be part of getting comfortable in the system.
I was hoping to see more of FAH on the last drive in the first half and during the last eight minutes of the game. Those are the times I expect amazing things from him.
Gus wants around 90 snaps per game and us to snap the ball before the play clock hits 30. He wants us to just punish the D and not let them get ready.
Right now he's said he's still not happy with the tempo.
Just pointing out what he was saying.
There was a lot of the Meercat against MSU as well. It does slow things down.
I noticed the meerkat a lot in the early part of the second quarter against MSU. It seems our offense has more issues when they have to do that.
I know they're trying to adjust to the formation of the defense, but at the same time, the meerkat is nothing new and defenses have ways of tripping that playcalling scheme up. I wish we'd cut that out.
The 3-3-5 was a bit of a lie.
They pretty much put all 6 of the people up front right in the box and sometimes one of the DB's too.
They would then line their DE's on the outside shoulders of our tackles to try to cut off anything going outside.
They dared us to throw the ball.
Agreed RK. I was disappointed a bit with how our RBs picked up the blitzes.
Tv for me next week means pluggin my hd cable from my laptop to the tv and watching on espn360.com
I think we answered the challenge quite well at times, woudn't you all agree?
It would have worked too if our defense hadn't created all those turnovers.
Turnovers, defensive stops it amounts to the same. Fewer points for them. Our defense allowed 9 points for 3 quarters after getting wrecked the first 3. I'll take that.
The refs slow the play down as well. I noticed several times where the ref was still standing over the ball with just 15 seconds left on the play clock.
They definitely rose to the challenge.
If they can win by 11 over a good (but probably not great) team while making numerous mistakes, it's scary how good the could be. It's going to be an interesting next several years.
And they were definitely forcing the pass. They would have 8 up forcing Todd to beat them. Some games are going to be like that. Glad Auburn could answer.
It's been a long time since Auburn was a "pick your poison" team on offense. I like that we're slowly getting back to that status.
proof that Ole Miss being ranked #4 in the country is a farce -- they are only a 3 point favorite at unranked South Carolina Thursday night.
Penn State, Cal, and LSU are all ranked behind Ole Miss and would all be much heavier favorites.
Ole Miss may only stay at No. 4 for a week!
Revised video ETA: 10:15.
Hey, Chris Todd is the main featured picture on Yahoo's college football page. It's an article about Auburn being a factor in the SEC West race. WAR EAGLE!
What are the chances of Ole Miss still being ranked when we play them?
Hmmm I bet they will be ranked, but it will be in the 20's and not in the Top Ten.
Dave,
I still think it's more likely we factor in as spoiler rather than a challenger. Look at one game at a time and maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
I do like our chances against Tennessee.
I cannot believe the Cowboys keep going away from the run. They have ran the ball all over the Giants, and everytime they try to throw they end up punting.
Of course I really hate it because I have Jones and Barber on my fantasy team, they have both had big nights for me anyway.
New thread up!
Morning Hotties - coming to you live from A18 at Atlanta's own Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. I love this place. Especially today. Though I'll be sad to leave the family behind for another week, I will be glad to get to the arid and very dry climate of SoCal. I'm SICK of the rain we've had.
Anyway, busy week ahead, you'll have me checking in on you when I can. You folks behave nicely.
Keep Hate Alive.
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