BLOGGIN FOR YOUR NOGGIN: Gene Chizik speaks

Hello. I hope you're having a nice day.

• He has arrived.
  
  
• He's looking forward to going to Baton Rouge.
  
  
• "We're still a very good football team. We have a chance to win every game we play."
  
  
• On the passing game: "You can't pinpoint it on one thing. I don't believe in doing that. It's 11 guys. There are a lot of issues in there. We feel very strongly that we're going to get that rectified."
  
  
• On Ashton Richardson, a walk-on, who is the son of a great LSU defender: ``He doesn't ask for anything. He does this because he loves football and loves Auburn. I'm proud for guys like that. He's provided a lot of help on special teams."
  
  
• On LSU: "They're very talented. Big targets. A lot of guys with big bodies, fast guys. And three senior tailbacks. They've done some really good things."
  
  
• On LSU TB Charles Scott: ``It's going to be a challenge for us. We've done some nice things against the run in most games. We've struggled at times. He is a very physical tailback. That's a mentality they live and die with."
  
  
• Chizik has a lot of nice things to say about LSU's defense, too. Same 'ol.
  
  
• On Auburn's run defense: ``It's going to be a challenge every week in this league with running games. Everybody can run the football. At times Saturday night, I was really proud of our defense. There were times when we let it get away from us a little bit. We've got to be able to hold up. It can't be three quarters; it has to be four quarters."
  
  
• On if Chris Todd IS 100 PERCENT: ``Chris Todd is fine."
  
  
• On how things change during the middle of the season: ``There are so surprises now. There is no newness anything. Everything at this point is about who executes better. It's that window of the year where you see a lot of crazy things happen."
  
  
• On Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens: "It affects you with the way you practice. It affects you all the way through the week. It affects you on special teams. There are more who fall under that same umbrella. Two guys like that have been playing a lotta, a lotta football. (Games) 7, 8 and 9 is where you see it. They're tough guys. They can't come out. They don't have that luxury. They don't come out. That's not easy to do."
  
  
• On if Eltoro Freeman will play at linebacker: "He has to earn it."
  
  
• On if his team has lost a step because of the staffing situation: "In some cases. It doesn't matter. That can't be a reason. We have to go out and win football games. The reality is: Yes. It's a really fine line for us right now. We have to be very smart about how we approach every practice this time of year."
  
  
• On if he relishes being the underdog: ``We don't talk about that. It doesn't matter if we're the overdog or the underdog. We don't pay attention."
  
  
• On staying positive: "We're 5-2, not 2-5. Our guys know we have a good football team. Not one of our kids right now is ... we're not going there. Our coaches are very positive. Our kids are very positive. They know the things that help us win and they know the things that don't allow us to win. We're all on the same page. We're all marching in the same direction. We're moving on."
  
  
• That's a wrap.
  
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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