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7.23.2010

SNAPSHOTS: Ziemba has seen agent runners at Auburn

Hey everyone. In talking with Lee Ziemba today, he said something very interesting.

The senior said he's seen agent runners, the guys who do an agent's dirty work, around campus before. How does he know them?

"They usually introduce themselves," Ziemba said.

Isn't that weird?

``You know who you're dealing with," he said, ``and you also know those rules. Not a lot goes unnoticed around Auburn. We know what's going on, what the rules are. Auburn does a great job of telling us."

***********


Josh Bynes said the team has adopted an interesting theme this season.

Eight ain't it.

What does it mean? Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall developed the phrase to remind players to strive for more than eight wins this season.

``Eight ain't it because eight ain't going to get you nowhere," Bynes said. ``Eight wins might get us to an Outback Bowl or a Champs Sports Bowl. That's not our plan this year. The games we lost -- Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky -- that easily could have changed our season to 11-2. That could have put us in the one of the BCS bowls. Obviously, we didn't finish strong enough. That's why we have to do a better job finishing because eight definitely ain't it."

***********


Ziemba said he looked into the possibility of buying private insurance to protect himself (financially) in the event of injury. One glance at the informational handout ended that idea.

``The premiums are extremely high," he said. ``And it only covers you where you can't play the game again -- not an ACL injury or something like that. I'd have to get a second job (to pay the premiums). I looked at the NCAA policy, too, but once I saw the private premiums, I was like: No."


***********


Bynes was asked about newcomers who have impressed him.

His list included CB Jonathan Mincy, LB/DE LaDarius Owens, LB Jake Holland, DL Jeffrey Whitaker and DL Kenneth Carter.

``(Mincy) has come in and understands a lot of the stuff," Bynes said. ``He's been out there doing his thing. Defensive line, Whitaker and Carter. Carter, for his size, can run. When we do a lot of our sprints, he's up in the front because he can run for his size."

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

503 Comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 503 of 503
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

No matter how many times I read these, I laugh just as hard as the time before.

10:59 AM  
Blogger ehyou said...

(Dave) Winfield goes back to the wall, he hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to second base. This is a terrible thing for the Padres.

11:03 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Not too good for Winfield either.

11:06 AM  
Blogger CHB said...

Cincy, My daughter calls her grandmother Grammy. It's really cute when she says it.

11:14 AM  
Blogger CHB said...

Sorry to Arkansas ST. in advance but I say we score as early and often as we can. You have to make statements these days. If all people see is the score and we only put up 35 then they will say we struggled.

As far as 50+ in an SEC game, I think it is very possible.

11:15 AM  
Blogger Jet said...

Back to the real stuff ...

I'm with RK ... we've got to tighten up our play calling and our pass defense.

1. Watching Kodi in the Wildcat was frequently painful. The ceremonial opening series at Fayetteville rattled our team something fierce. The last thing we needed was a three and out ... putting the ball in Kodi's hands on 2nd and 12 and 3rd and 12 was horrible misguided.

2. It seems every time we ever got the ball to the opponent's 25, on second down, the ball was going to the corner of the end zone to Darvin. It quashed drives against Arkansas, Kentucky and Georgia. Perhaps it was just Todd zoning in, but it was far too frequent for my tastes. We looked way too predictable.

3. I know they love the Wildcat, but it's wholly unnecessary if Cam is anywhere what he's supposed to be.

4. Note Chizik's statements regarding the need for first downs from Media Days. If it slows the pace a tad, so be it.

11:17 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You never try not to score. I hope if we get up by three touchdowns on Arkansas State, you see a lot of subs in the game. It would be great to see us actually play more than one QB.

It would also be great to see Stevens and Bynes get to set down and watch the second half.

The QB competition may end up being interesting if the competition continues in the fall. Since Cam was named number 1 in the spring, I would expect them to only have one other QB get significant snaps to compete with him.

11:21 AM  
Blogger CHB said...

I really like the wild cat and don't want to see it go away just because we have a mobile QB. We don't want him running 20 times a game. If we put a capable runner as the wild cat QB it can be successful and entertaining. Look at what Arkansas and the Miami Dolphins have done with it.

11:21 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am sure we can run the wildcat with Cam. Caudle and Trotter are both suppose to be able to move too.

11:23 AM  
Blogger ehyou said...

Cool pic of stadium from A Day 1975.

11:30 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The Wildcat needs a threat to throw. Kodi was not a threat.

Who do we have that might be? Fannin?

11:31 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

The Wildcat also needs a threat to run. Kodi was not a threat.

11:34 AM  
Blogger CHB said...

McFadden and Jones couldn't really throw. Ronnie Brown can't throw, but the wild cat still works. It's about putting a smart play maker in that spot. I don't want to leave Newton in that position because we don't want him to run any more than needed. I think we have a lot of weapons that could be an option.

11:36 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

He may not have been a threatening runner but he was a predictable runner.

11:38 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

ehyou - thanks, I'd forgotten what it looked like back in my AU days.

11:39 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

The KodiCat was just run to one side, get off balance and fall forward for 2 yards.

McFadden and Brown are top notch runners who are threats to take it to the house every time the ball is snapped to them.

11:39 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I recall both Mcfadden and Jones making some significant completions. Wasn't McFadden a HS QB?

You've got to have something so the defense doesn't sell out to the run whenever the wildcat comes up.

11:41 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Lunch time is over, cat y'all later.

11:43 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

Kodi didn't run the wild cat. He ran the tamed tiger.

11:43 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Kodi can definitely run, maybe better than any other QB we have, but when the defense knows he is going to be running, he has very little chance. He was way to predictable. He didn't throw enough out of the wildcat, and didn't usually hand off. He just tended to run behind the two tackles. There wasn't a lot of creativity to it.

The best example was Kodi's first year. Cox had a couple of INTs against MSU. Kodi came in and scored a couple of touchdowns. Then MSU figured out that he was basically not passing and was just going to run. That was pretty much the end of the game. Cox came back in late, but a little bit too late.

11:45 AM  
Blogger CHB said...

SFC, didn't we have this argument with you last week? Kodi is not a solid runner. He is a good athlete but that is it.

You do need a threat of the pass but that doesn't mean you need a QB back there. We have some receivers on the team that would be perfect.

11:50 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

There really isn't anything to argue about. The proof is there.

11:52 AM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Steve,

Kodi's effectiveness (or lack there of) as a runner was more based on his skill set than it was on the D knowing the run was coming.

Kodi may be fast, but he isn't quick or elusive and he goes down quickly due to what it looks like to me as him not having the best balance while running.

11:55 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

By the way, his running is what made Kodi a five star QB. He is quick.

The thing is, you cannot be predictable, and Kodi was terribly predictable. The overloaded line in the wildcat does create mismatches, but if you always keep the ball and always run to the same area, that isn't going to work. The runningback still has to remain a threat.

11:56 AM  
Blogger mytommyd said...

NOt only was Kodi predictable the play calling was as well. The combination of the two did not work well together.

12:02 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Here is the scout report on Kodi. Notice they mention quickness and arm strength, but also have the red flag of technique. Most of the evaluation seems valid.

12:03 PM  
Blogger mytommyd said...

On a side note, my niece's boyfriend plays for a semi pro team here in Atlanta, so the family went out to watch him play. It was interesting how my wife and I are on the edge of our seats yelling snap the #$%^ ball already!!! And this is after seeing just a glimpse of the Malzahn tempo.

12:04 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I don't care what a scouting report says, Kodi is not quick. He may be a fast runner, but he isn't a runner who can make sudden moves laterally to qualify as being quick.

McCalebb seems to be a fast and quick runner. Carnell Williams was both as well.

12:09 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Kodi is about 20 pounds heavier now, which could slow him a bit. Speed wasn't his strong suit, although 4.5 isn't slow. Quickness was what was exceptional about him.

So far, what I have read on Newton reminds me very much of Kodi and Newton is getting the same kind of hype. Newton won't be as quick, but he should be as fast. Throw in being around 30 pounds heavier, and he should really help in short yardage.

The big thing for me is to see if Newton makes good decisions as a QB and makes smart throws. Those things are what really hurt Kodi, and technique was the issue. Athleticism will get you by in high school, but in the SEC the technique has to be there. There are very few QBs that can be consistently successful with poor technique.

12:10 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

some games this year

Minnesota at Middle Tennessee
Wisconsin at UNLV
Syracuse at Akron
Arizona at Toledo

what is thi$ world coming to?
I $ure wi$h we could get by on $even home game$ every year. $hirley, one of tho$e 4 vi$iting team$ would have preferred a home and home with AU.

12:19 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

THT is there a hidden me$$age in your post?

12:22 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

if there was, I'm guessing it would be that the AD's at the 4 visiting schools don't know how to make a lot of money playing football.

12:23 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

...and that AU knows how to make a ton of money by scheduling an extra home game (that no one wants to watch) against some dinky football program

12:25 PM  
Blogger dan dan the AU fan said...

If my memory is correct, Kodi threw two int's in the Outback Bowl right? One was deep in NW territory. Both of those passes were terrible, as soon as he let them go you just knew they were getting picked.

12:26 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Dan dan,

If not mistaken both of those passes were throwing across his body across the field as well.

12:27 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

THT,

I hate that as well. I also hate that we could be kicking this season off in the GA Dome vs UCLA instead of at home vs Ark State.

12:28 PM  
Blogger ehyou said...

All that scouting report proves is how bad they miss sometimes.

12:29 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I would have loved to see his play UCLA. Big games early always have worried me with Auburn because our offense usually takes a little while to gel. Last season was totally different. We were clicking from the start. I hope we see that again this season. The MSU, Clempson, USCe stretch worries me.

12:35 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

if we can win a bowl game this year, we will match our longest bowl win streak (4). We won each game in our current 3 game streak by 3 points.

12:36 PM  
Blogger CHB said...

I think we can all agree (SFC excluded) that Kodi was not the right fit for the wild cat.

12:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

No, I agree Kodi isn't a good fit for the wildcat. Poor decision making doesn't lend itself to the wildcat.

12:42 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

was our last non-conference road win the 1997 game at UVa?


Auburn's all time road record (through 2006 season, includes conference games)
194-198-21

No wonder we rarely play non-conf. road games.

12:50 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

wow, that has been a long time. i was a sophomore at AU & was at that game. good times. good times.

12:52 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That is pretty incredible, THT. And you may be right about 1997. It has been a while.

12:52 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

THT,

As hard is it is to believe, I think you are correct that 1997 vs UVA was our last road non-conference win.

If I'm not mistaken here is a list of our road non-conference games since 1997.

1998 none
1999 none
2000 none
2001 loss at Syracuse
2002 loss at USC
2003 loss at GaTech
2004 none
2005 none
2006 none
2007 none
2008 loss at WVU
2009 none
2010 none

12:53 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

let's see, in 98 UVA came to AU & we lost.

99 we cancelled trip to FSU.
01 we lost @ Syracuse.
02 we lost @ USC
03 we lost @ GT

12:54 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

No matter how you look at it 4 road non-conference games in 13 years is pretty sad.

12:54 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

and @ WVU in 08.

beat me to it RK. nice.

12:55 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

I just wasted my time searching. Y'all have all the facts stored in your cerebrums.

2007-09 seasons, we were 4-9 in road games with the only non-conf game being at WVU in '08

12:57 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

so, is it time to put my retirement savings on Clemson in '11?

1:00 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

or to be on the safe side, I'll put WERK's retirement savings on Clemson in '11 ;-)

1:00 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

It's hard to justify the 4 non conference road games in 13 years when you look at that time and see we've played the following non-conference home opponents.

La Tech several times
La Monroe several times
Furman
The Citadel
Western Carolina
Western Kentucky
UT-Martin
Tenn Tech
Arkansas State
App State
Idaho

I'm sure I'm missing a few greats as well.

1:02 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Geez THT, you are so confident you'll risk my future.

1:03 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

since you brought it up THT, if yall ever have a chance to visit the UVA campus in Charlottesville you need to. it's beautiful. Thomas Jefferson designed most of it. very cool place.

1:04 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I forgot to mention the 3 times we played Ball State.

1:04 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

been there and done that, ScottieB.

If I'd been born a Virginian, I'd've been ok with that.

1:06 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

It is pretty incredible how few road non-conference games we have. You would think we would have at least one every other year.

1:07 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Steve

...or at the very least a good quality neutral site game every now and then.

1:08 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

We're beginning a pattern where will play a BCS home and home every other year.

West Virginia, the last 2 years
Clemson, the next 2 years
@ K-State in 2014

But we'll have three sisters of the poor every year, too.

1:11 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

SteveFC - I think the current plan is to have one non-conf road game in years we play ua-T at home, e.g. @Clempson next year

1:12 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

too bad nobody from Atlanta invited us to play in the Georgia Dome. that would be such a perfect place.

wait....they did? oh.

1:12 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

As a Va Tech alum, the UVA campus is "nice" in the same way that the UA campus is "nice", the hate just isn't as intense.

I'm a big fan of Jeffereson and Monticello though.

1:12 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Jet,

I don't know why I feel this way, but I doubt we'll ever play that game at Kansas State. I see that one getting bought out or pushed aside.

1:12 PM  
Blogger Scott Chocolate said...

Is that KSU match-up the return trip from when we played them at home a few years ago?

1:15 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

ScottieB - maybe we'll get lucky and get an invite for '12.

Oops, UT already has accepted that invite (vs NCSU)

1:16 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Why would we get preference for a future invite after we already said no to the game this year?

That was my main concern when we turned it down a year ago for this year.

1:18 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Scott C,

Yes, it's the return game.

1:19 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

RK, that is my concern too. I wouldn't expect them to ask us again anytime soon.

1:19 PM  
Blogger Scott M. Brannan said...

didn't say i would go to UVA. just said it was worth visiting. i do NOT recommend visiting the Charlottesville KOA Campground, however. the crazy KOA Nazi lives there. 2 good men nearly lost their lives back in September 1997. i've never showered & ran so fast in my life.

1:20 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

RK ... I had heard the possibility of playing this game at Arrowhead Stadium in KC, which would be way cool. So I hope we keep it. I'd be upset unless we somehow upgrade, which I doubt we would do.

Count Chocula, yes.

1:20 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That Kansas State game will be interesting. I saw someone from KSU messaging Frazier that he should go to KSU, because Auburn would ruin his career. I will look forward to seeing that game.

1:21 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Jay Jacobs said "I told them we'd love to play UCLA, possibly in 2012 when we don't have 12 games."

I'm sure the Ark State game would have been tough to get out of.

1:23 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

I may have to start boycotting the beloved Chick-fil-a:

Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, told the Miami Herald [that they are] working on having two kickoff games at the Georgia Dome during the 2012 season. Look who the 2nd game includes.

August 30, 2008 Alabama 34 Clemson 10
September 5, 2009 Alabama 34 Virginia Tech 24
September 4, 2010 LSU vs North Carolina
September 3, 2011 ???
September 1, 2012 NC State vs Tennessee
TBD, 2012 Alabama vs Miami

1:23 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

Speaking of recrurting against opponents, my MSU friend says the video of Cam ringing a cowbell will be queued up for the jumbotron on Thursday, Sept. 9.

1:23 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Bama has played a couple of impressive opening game the last few seasons and I do think it helps to pull in the recruits. If I remember it correctly, they were Clempson and Va Tech.

1:24 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

No, Steve, cash and cars pull in recruits ... at least in Tuscaloosa.

1:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Jet, you should turn your info over to the NCAA. It would be a hoot.

1:27 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

chick a fil payout is $1.9 million per team. That's not a terribly bad substitute for a home game.

1:27 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

by the way, I HATE ua-T.

1:28 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

I may be a cuddly HABOTN bear, but I'm seething with hate toward UAT.

1:30 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I don't understand the numbers, either. We are paying out a lot of money to bring in cupcakes. It looks like getting paid to play in a big opening game would be more attractive than that. I guess it all boils down to selling season tickets for home games, but who is all excited about seeing us beat up on Arkansas State?

1:31 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

well, I'm more excited about Arky State than I am about La-Mo or UT-C.

1:40 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I hate playing 1-AA teams, but seeing that UTC is also an alma mater of mine, I'm glad to see them get the payday.

1:42 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

Well, there's a lot of pressure -- most of it unseen -- from the Auburn-Opelika business community.

Home games aren't just butts in the seats. They are hotel rooms, meals in restaurants, drinks in bars, retail sales.

A recent study regarding UAT said home games at Old Undead Drunk-Dead President Stadium had an impact of close to $14 million per home game. I can't imagine that we're terribly far behind that.

1:42 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

I know there is a ton of money, but when is the last time the building was packed for these cupcake games?

At least the Ark State game is a night game and the season opener so both should draw a little better than if it were an afternoon game 3 weeks later.

1:46 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

UT-C scares me. I remember having to block a punt to beat them more vividly than the cakewalk a few years ago.

Ok, I don't really remember either vividly. But the '72 game was scary close.

1:49 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The UTC game isn't attractive to me at all. LaMo is a little more interesting, but not much.

1:49 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Furman and UT Martin weren't as big as UTC or LaMo.

LaMo upsetting Bama was hilarious, but that was their once in a century game.

Arkansas State has had a bit of success, but they lost a lot of players. The game should be a laugher.

1:52 PM  
Blogger Norm said...

Let's just say AU's home game impact is $12M to the local economy, shall we? OK, that's not chump change. A million here a million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money. Good thing we're not in a recession.

Keep Hate Alive.

1:53 PM  
Blogger WarEagleRK said...

Nice lightning storm going on in the Noog right now.

1:53 PM  
Blogger Jay G. Tate said...

New thread UPZ.

1:57 PM  
Blogger Jet said...

Now's not the time to work on your long irons, RK.

Just sayin'.

1:59 PM  
Blogger michael said...

Let's see if THT can travel this far back in time.

1:25 PM  
Blogger michael said...

Still waiting on you, THT.

10:51 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

I figured I'd just wait until you leave... sort of like you do with the campfires.

ooooh. BURRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

12:04 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

besides, I typically travel much further back in time.

12:04 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

this is my era

12:11 PM  
Blogger michael said...

Took you long enough to find this one. I waited here for years.

Either way, good to see you here! pull up a chair.

9:47 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

I claim that La-Z Boy Recliner over there.

8:59 AM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

it hurts my feelings that JGT doesn't bother to read any of the comments I make on his 2006 and 2007 threads. I liked his "quirky wedding" post about the feathers.

12:16 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

do you think we'll be able to find Norm to flip the page on this thread in 2027?

12:17 PM  
Blogger michael said...

No. Likely not.

3:48 PM  
Blogger Tar Heel Tiger said...

slow day?

7:29 PM  
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