BLOGGIN FOR YOUR NOGGIN: Gene Chizik speaks

Welcome to Gene Chizik's weekly press conference, which we chronicle and discuss at length here.

• He has arrived.
  
  
• ``This going to be a very exciting and very challenging week for us."
  
  
• On Arkansas' offense being like Auburn's 2002 version: ``A lot of the same concepts. They're really, really good. It's reminiscent of the ones he had at Louisville and what he has here. A lot of similarities to the things he's always done."
  
  
• On Ryan Mallett: ``I was in Texas when he was in high school and we knew all about him. He has a cannon for an arm. He's what makes it go in the passing game. He makes a world of difference in that offense. Very efficient, very good."
  
  
• On Nosa Eguae: ``Day by day. I know know exactly where he is right now."
  
  
• On if he could play: ``You get into that area where, as the season goes on, you ask if it's worth it. We're still in that window where if he can play, we'd love for him to play."
  
  
• More on Petrino: ``He's been this way everywhere he's been. He's always had an explosive, high-power offense and he hasn't changed."
  
  
• On this being a shootout game: ``I don't think it changes your approach. You have to execute better than they execute. He's not going to re-invent the wheel. He's going to do what they do."
  
  
• On morning games: ``This is uncharted waters for us. That shouldn't have an effect one way or the other. They're playing at 11, too. Those things shouldn't matter."
  
  
• On Wes Byrum's effect on the offense: ``If he continues to kick like he's been kicking, it's a lot of pressure off. You feel like if you get anywhere near the 30 or 35 yard line, you have a chance to score point. It's big to have that in your back pocket and feel good about it. We have felt good about it."
  
  
• On kickers: ``They're kind of in their own world, but they're definitely part of this team."
  
  
• On why Malzahn's offense wears on defenses: ``When you get to the no-huddle world, it's not as physical. This is really the opposite. This is faster tempo, but we're still trying to run the ball downhill and be physical with it. We said, from Day One, that's what we needed to be. This is maybe a little bit different because we have that mindset when the tempo gets pretty quick. You can't sub. Defenses can't line up and they get tired."
  
  
• On Ben Tate: ``I think Ben has bought into the downhill, physical (stuff). He's showed that he's got some speed. He can hit the corner. When we've had to get tough yards, though, he has shown he can forge ahead and get those yards. He's got to be able to run for those tough yards and he's done that."
  
  
• How to get a better pass rush: ``That's tough. You do what you do each week. You can do some things schematically, trying to pass rush based on where the center's going, where the back is going. It does get challenging when you're going against the scout team a lot. We try to do as much good-on-good as we can. We've got to challenge our guys this week."
  
  
• On Arkansas' artificial turf: ``I don't see that as an issue."
  
  
• On the way Auburn's schedule has worked: ``I'm very happy for our football team and I'm very happy for our coaches. You can't be sitting any better than being 5-0. What is very clear is that we have a long road ahead of us. We're just getting started. There's a lot of great football left to play. There has been a lot of change in (the players') lives over the last 9 or 10 months and it's good that they've had some success. 5-0 is better than the alternative."
  
  
• On Mike McNeil: ``He has made a good bit of progress. At what point do you say enough's enough and move on and take it to the next season. It's too hard to say. Three weeks from now, the conversation may be different. I don't want him to go out at play at 85 percent. You'd be throwing him in with only a couple days of practice. I don't want to throw a kid in there if he's not at his best."
  
  
• On Bates' emergence in relation to McNeil: ``It's nice to see a young guy come in and help us out. That's a position where we don't have a lot of depth. I don't think that has made it any easier. We have to have all hands on deck. Daren's gotten better every week. We've seen a definitive difference."
  
  
• On Bates' hitting: ``He didn't have any of that until started coaching him. It's just built into Daren to be aggressive and a physical guy. As the season wears on, you'll see him become more physical. He's one of those guys who's got it."
  
  
• On Bates' recruitment: ``We did our homework on him. We wanted him play basketball. We had some in-depth conversation with his high-school coach. It was my belief that he was being under-recruited -- just by watching his body and watching him play basketball. It has paid off."
  
  
• That's a wrap.
  
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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