Quietmaninthecorner

yes. I believe he said 2 of the 3.

It has to be blind faith in tradition. I imagine way back in the day the first coach to try taking the penalty was successful and won a big game. Then, everyone jumped on the bandwagon. It eventually became something everyone did under the assumption it is the bast strategy. Maybe it is. I do not know. I just can not see the logic behind it.

I am not trying to die on this hill, I just want to understand why traditionally taking the penalty is assumed the better option. That extra step or two could be the difference in sidestepping a blocker and still getting to the ball. also, the hang time will be slightly longer gaining another step. Add to that, the higher angle you kick the ball the better chance the ball does not bounce forward into the endzone if not fielded. I am not a punter by any means, But I can go out in the back yard and punt, maybe 40 yards, but I can easily punt the ball with my max force and kick it higher so that it only goes 30 yards before hitting the ground. with slightly more hang time. The guys in NCAA are specialists. It just seems to me there are more positive things that can happen with the shorter field punt.

It can not be much harder than shooting a bow and arrow accurately without sights. After enough practice, you grow an instinctive feel how to shoot accurately at different distances. Are these guy specialists or just a powerful leg. I mean, punting is in their job title . But there must be some logical reason I am overlooking. Every team takes the penalty, and has for as long as I can remember.

I understand the time tested theory of giving a kicker more room to punt cause his leg is sooooo strong, but it also adds 5 yards to the distance the gunners have to run. 2 things... 1. Wouldn't it be more efficient to - not take the penalty- and have the punter kick the ball HIGHER, with less distance? The Gunners would have 5 yards less to get to where the ball is going to land, AND have more time to get there. In general having more time to make juke moves that take them a step or two out of the way, and still get tot he returner as he catches the ball. (May save 1/2 to 1 second for the coverage team. That is a long way at full speed.) If something goes wrong, like last Sat, it saves our defense 5 yards. 2. If we are determined to take the penalty, why do we not try to draw the D off sides EVERY TIME. If they jump 1st down, or we gain ANOTHER 5 yards added to #1 above, and can kick the ball even higher but less distance saving the gunners another 1/2 second. If they don't - nothing lost. Late in the season, it could even set up a last second fake punt in the right situation. it is a win, win, null situation. (note on #1 above ) it would be the kicker version of a short guy shooting over a tall guy when 10 feet from the rim in basketball. the ball goes a lot higher than it goes distance. I would assume this would be a second nature thing and punter would gain a feel for the angle per specific yards of distance at maximum kick height. After all, it was originally called FOOTball for a reason.

I am sooooo curious about Hank Brown. Didn't he set records in Tennessee with some impressive stats? Supposedly he has all the tools and can "make all the throws" Per CHF. When he committed He just needed to: 1. Gain some weight. I think I read a recent chart and he he gained like 13 pounds. 2. Learn the playbook/ read defenses. I have no idea how that is coming along. I am kind of a worry wart about playing a true freshmen at QB. It CAN be done successfully, but there is a large risk of creating a basket case if things go sideways. I still want to see him for my own curiosity. Does anyone have a mini report that has actually seen him in game like situations @ practice?

I can agree with a lot of that. but, I think you do not give enough credence to fans attitudes towards players and the team. 1/2 our recruits or more talk about choosing Auburn because of the family atmosphere. But that fades away quickly with mistakes and miscues.

If you think it holds NO sway, what do you think is the common denominator of our QB issues over the last 12 years? Talent? They seem to do fine elsewhere. Coaching? we picked 4 coaches in a row that cant teach QBs (probably 8 OC's and QB gurus) You may not want to admit it, but fan's attitudes do effect players. As I said before. It is not the only thing, but it does have an effect.

It has nothing to do with quality of fans. We are a passionate group. Being very passionate is not always a positive thing.

JMO Not solely because of the fans, but it has a large effect on transferring before they hit their stride. We are not more critical than other fans, but we are hyper-critical of EVERY QB. It doesn't matter if they deserve it or not. It doesn't matter if they have potential or not. Go back and look at the very early season game threads from the past 10 years. Notice how fast the opinions on our QB's change after 1 or 2 mistakes. See people trash a QB's talent only to have him transfer and excel. When we do have a great QB he still gets trashed. Newton caught the least amount of heat early and was the only QB we have had without much internal controversy. Partly because it was "us against the world" because of external controversy. Mostly because he was an exceptional and rare talent.

I would suggest the reason is that, historically, our fans trash our QBs before they even have a chance to settle in and learn. We are hyper-critical. We expect a QB to be great from play one of game one. If not we demand the QB gets benched for another QB. or just trashed on the internet. immediately. I was embarrassed by the way some Auburn fans treated Nix before he decided to transfer. Very few QBs have come through Auburn since Tuberville have been accepted long enough to gain a large % of fan support. The rest eventually transfer, get time and fan support and do very well at other schools. At this point there is no easy fix. CHF knew what we had at QB and brought in the best QB transfer he could get. I still think our QB situation is serviceable and not 100% the problem. unfortunately the QB issues are compounded with all the other issues we have. (techniques/ knowing the playbook/ fundamentals, etc) most of our issues are small. ALL of which can be overcome. there is just a shitload of them spread out across the whole team.

Maybe I should change my name to Nostradamusinthecorner LOL

so you are saying your head is too big for the avatar? j/k WDE

An improvement in the fundamentals and techniques of football. Line up correctly Run correct routes Hold the ball correctly high and tight. in the correct hand. finger placement. proper footwork/ hand work/ polished specific techniques and moves etc. Anything else will just be dressing. Can we really learn much from stats vs Samford?

Tank was an extremely good back. To me, Tank was exceptional before his injury, but since the injury, I have thought Jaquez was a better all around back.

I still like Hunter as #1. Cobb #2 DA #3 As a side note, do we have a package of Sean Jackson and Battie together in the backfield? One of the leagues largest RBs and one of the leagues quickest/squirmiest RBs. Someone will get a mismatch.

Sorry for the ear worm, But Asante needs his own Chant. ANY IDEAS? May be a real musician can come up with better lyrics. This will get stuck in opponents heads all game. It's difficult to hear this and not get this stuck in your head. When a turf hits your eye like a big pizza pie That's ASANTA When you see stars in your eyes like you've had too much wine That's ASANTA

Sorry for the ear worm, But Asante needs his own Chant. ANY IDEAS? May be a real musician can come up with better lyrics. This will get stuck in opponents heads all game. It's difficult to hear this and not get this stuck in your head. When a turf hits your eye like a big pizza pie That's ASANTA When you see stars in your eyes like you've had too much wine That's ASANTA Listen if you enjoy ear worms...

The game is one thing, I wasn't feeling so great during the game either, but to me CHF looked sincerely/legitamately ill all night including pregame.

So, he didn't want to play in your dad's embarrassing offense defense. Some players asked your incompetent dad if they could transfer out of Auburn completely specifically to not play in your dads crappy offense defense

Did anyone else think Freeze looked like he had the flu or something? The way the game played out, a lot of us felt a little queasy, but CHF looked like he legitimately had the flu all day.

Jet lag is a real thing and the change in daylight biological times have some effect, but these are 18-23 year old kids. Virtually all of them stay up really late playing video games and/or dicking around on the internet. They really do not have good sleeping habits to begin with. A game that goes until 1:00 am by their body clock is not that big of a deal. Telling a collage age kid they have to stay up late is an easy sell. Now going the other way... lets hope in 2024 we return the favor by having an 11:00am kick off when Cal comes to Auburn. That's , what? , an 9:00am kickoff by their body clock. Their guys will have to get up in the wee hours of the morning (body clock time) to play. Sell that to your collage age son. LOL

Make it a point to go. It is great fort all ages,. It is life changing for kids.

Hell I have some worries about U Mass. Not so much their team, but first game jitters for ours, communication confusion, a few not fully understanding the playbook yet. new pressure with new teammates at a new school, etc. U Mass now has a game under their belt as a" new team" to have those wrinkles ironed out. It is their only advantage, but I have seen some screwed up things happen in first games. Enough to make me worry about a first game against anyone. Add to that I have not seen one AU practice, just highlights and opinions on the net. I have read about but have never seen more than 50%+ of our players play. so I honestly have no Idea what to expect. I do not expect a loss. I do not expect a close game. I do expect it to be closer than makes me feel all comfy (AU by 20). I hope for, but do not expect a 60 point total blowout.