Wow...

[AUBSC76 0]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

Sorry, but "fans" that leave early are not true fans.

So if it was 35-0, should they still be there with three minutes left?

Absolutely.

[WarEagle10 77]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

Sorry, but "fans" that leave early are not true fans.

So if it was 35-0, should they still be there with three minutes left?

Yep

I go to the game to show my support to Auburn for the entire 60 minutes, win, lose or draw.

That's how you feel about it and that's fine. Not everybody feels that way. I know people that will leave in a blowout just to beat traffic. I don't blame a single person for being so aggravated they felt like leaving today. That doesn't make anybody any less of a fan than the people that stay there the whole game. You are welcome to stay an hour after a game if you like. That doesn't make you any more of an Auburn fan than somebody that leaves at the half if that is what they want to do IMO.

[Auctoritas 2,828]

I made it a point to watch the sidelines after drives and Trotter was always being vocal on the sidelines. I knew sooner or latter he was going to take over the game and he did it just took him till 2 min left.

The defense's main problem was alignment I mean there was multiple times we lined up a Corner and a Saftey to cover a trips and the OLB either blitzing or playing a zone in the middle of the feild.

When we played man-2-man Defense and our DE's woke up we dominated them both passing and running for that play, then we would switch back to a cover 2 defense  

Sitting in the stands I just got a major hunch that we were running nothing but base D and O untill the 4th Qtr when roof/malzahn opened the playbook up a little.

I swear we must have ran the SAME defense play 90% of the time.

I dont like to question coaches at all because I hate when people question my calls but I sat there and was calling the play USU's offense was going to run and was right 90% of the time and we seemed shocked they ran a bubble screen from a trips formation with only 2 guys to cover it every time, and that when we sprea our LB's out they ran the power play.

USU's gameplan was a perfect one, they figured our base D early and they attacked the weak spots (bubble screens, slants and the power play with a pulling gaurd.)

USU got alot of success out of the power play from a multitude of formations because it blocked the DT's at a angle and the pullling gaurd hits the MLB and with inexperiance at those postions it spelled disaster. Instead of holding their ground the DT's were trying to shot the gab and make a play which plays into this certain play's hand. The DT's job on those type plays is to stand there ground and try to draw 2 blockers freeing up the MLB for the hit but with them tryin to rush through the gap they took them selves out of the play. Sometimes the best thing to do is not try to blow up a play but to make a solid wall for the LB's to move around.

If we get the middle of the D shored up it'll allow for Roof to go man to man more often which is what this D's talent is geared to. With no middle "wall" the D is forced to play zone to have all 11 defenders looking in the backfeild to help the run. When that "wall" is found the DB's can focus on the WR's, improving our pass D.

In my opinion Roof is handcuffed to play conservative like we saw today until we find us a space-clogging, blocker-eating DT. When he finds 1 or 2 to step their game up then Roof can be aggressive which is when his D is at its best.

As for the tackling and pursuit angles, thats on all defensive coaches not just Roof but Roof does need to make the only point this week tackling and alignment. You cant pursue if your out of position.

Now THAT'S analysis!  +1

[krstn1020 0]

I made it a point to watch the sidelines after drives and Trotter was always being vocal on the sidelines. I knew sooner or latter he was going to take over the game and he did it just took him till 2 min left.

The defense's main problem was alignment I mean there was multiple times we lined up a Corner and a Saftey to cover a trips and the OLB either blitzing or playing a zone in the middle of the feild.

When we played man-2-man Defense and our DE's woke up we dominated them both passing and running for that play, then we would switch back to a cover 2 defense  

Sitting in the stands I just got a major hunch that we were running nothing but base D and O untill the 4th Qtr when roof/malzahn opened the playbook up a little.

I swear we must have ran the SAME defense play 90% of the time.

I dont like to question coaches at all because I hate when people question my calls but I sat there and was calling the play USU's offense was going to run and was right 90% of the time and we seemed shocked they ran a bubble screen from a trips formation with only 2 guys to cover it every time, and that when we sprea our LB's out they ran the power play.

USU's gameplan was a perfect one, they figured our base D early and they attacked the weak spots (bubble screens, slants and the power play with a pulling gaurd.)

USU got alot of success out of the power play from a multitude of formations because it blocked the DT's at a angle and the pullling gaurd hits the MLB and with inexperiance at those postions it spelled disaster. Instead of holding their ground the DT's were trying to shot the gab and make a play which plays into this certain play's hand. The DT's job on those type plays is to stand there ground and try to draw 2 blockers freeing up the MLB for the hit but with them tryin to rush through the gap they took them selves out of the play. Sometimes the best thing to do is not try to blow up a play but to make a solid wall for the LB's to move around.

If we get the middle of the D shored up it'll allow for Roof to go man to man more often which is what this D's talent is geared to. With no middle "wall" the D is forced to play zone to have all 11 defenders looking in the backfeild to help the run. When that "wall" is found the DB's can focus on the WR's, improving our pass D.

In my opinion Roof is handcuffed to play conservative like we saw today until we find us a space-clogging, blocker-eating DT. When he finds 1 or 2 to step their game up then Roof can be aggressive which is when his D is at its best.

As for the tackling and pursuit angles, thats on all defensive coaches not just Roof but Roof does need to make the only point this week tackling and alignment. You cant pursue if your out of position.

Now THAT'S analysis!  +1

Hey...I think I know you Auctoritas. 

[Rednilla 5,403]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

Sorry, but "fans" that leave early are not true fans.

So if it was 35-0, should they still be there with three minutes left?

Yep

I go to the game to show my support to Auburn for the entire 60 minutes, win, lose or draw.

That's how you feel about it and that's fine. Not everybody feels that way. I know people that will leave in a blowout just to beat traffic. I don't blame a single person for being so aggravated they felt like leaving today. That doesn't make anybody any less of a fan than the people that stay there the whole game. You are welcome to stay an hour after a game if you like. That doesn't make you any more of an Auburn fan than somebody that leaves at the half if that is what they want to do IMO.

Leaving early to beat traffic when Auburn is blowing out an inferior opponent is one thing. Abandoning them when they are losing is entirely another. Again, how must the players feel if they see people filing out when the scoreboard is not in our favor?

[realAUgood 0]

Daren Bates was terrible. He made a couple of stops, but he had too many arm tackles broken and more than enough whiffs at the ball carrier. That pissed me off.

[nesbittiger331345162852 0]

Leaving Early:  When I go to a Auburn Football game it is an event, an ALL-DAY event. Driving 4 hours plus.  getting there in plenty of time means at least 3 hours before game time, enough time to eat , tiger walk and onto the stadium well before kickoff.

Sometime during the late 70's after Coach Jordan had retired he got onto the Auburn fans for leaving early during a game that Auburn was losing saying that "Auburn fans do not do that".

I remember sitting thru 42-0 loss to Tennessee in 1980 and staying to the end. My feeling is, what else am I going to do, I paid for tickets, looked foward all week, all summer of going to Auburn.

The players have sweated and worked all summer while the fans went on vacation and did this and that.

WAR EAGLE!!

[sparkey 0]

2. What's with the cornerbacks playing between 5 and 10 yards off the receiver every single down, even when they kept throwing those wide receiver screens? I mean, I hope that was by design, like we were going to play a mellow defense no matter what because it's the first game, but we never adjusted, and for the life of me I can't understand why.

Our base defense, the one we ran most of the day, is a cover 2 zone coverage.  In that scheme, the corners play 5-7 yards off the ball.  We did run some man coverage, and looked good doing it.  However in our base d the corners alignment will always be 5-7 yards off the ball.  

Which, is exactly why I hate our base defense. At times, the cushion was over 10 yards even. The screen plays will be there every single time and they were. It hurt to watch that over and over again.

[WarEagle10 77]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

Sorry, but "fans" that leave early are not true fans.

So if it was 35-0, should they still be there with three minutes left?

Yep

I go to the game to show my support to Auburn for the entire 60 minutes, win, lose or draw.

That's how you feel about it and that's fine. Not everybody feels that way. I know people that will leave in a blowout just to beat traffic. I don't blame a single person for being so aggravated they felt like leaving today. That doesn't make anybody any less of a fan than the people that stay there the whole game. You are welcome to stay an hour after a game if you like. That doesn't make you any more of an Auburn fan than somebody that leaves at the half if that is what they want to do IMO.

Leaving early to beat traffic when Auburn is blowing out an inferior opponent is one thing. Abandoning them when they are losing is entirely another. Again, how must the players feel if they see people filing out when the scoreboard is not in our favor?

Well if you listened to the coaches and players after the game they summed up what every fan that left was saying. They said the same things that every fan that showed their frustration was saying. "this is not acceptable" was the theme after the game, from everybody concerned. My days go back to the Shug era. One thing has been true through every single era for every coach. The Auburn Family will not accept mediocrity. We don't have to win every game, but we expect our teams to play in a certain way. Coach Chiz understands this. The other coaches understand this. The players are taught to understand this. I grew up playing sports. I had some great coaches IMO. Every coach taught me the same thing. Some worded it differently. The thing that we were taught is "if you accept mediocrity, in any part of your life, you will be nothing but mediocre". I don't understand anybody criticizing another Auburn fan for being frustrated today. We got the W which was great and the ultimate goal. But the way our guys played today is far from what is expected at Auburn University. The players and coaches understand that. I just don't get how some fans don't understand that also, and those fans criticize others for voicing their frustrations however they want to do that. I do understand people being upset for people wanting coaches fired after the first game of the year. That is a bit over the top IMO, but if that is how they feel then that is how they feel. I don't agree with them, but.........

[Mickeywc24 5]

The offense I think has to take some heat for the defensive performance today. We weren't very productive in the first half and had many three and outs, that is rough on a defense in the heat of the day. I was really impressed with Angelo Blackson he may be a starter before the year is out.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

Daren Bates was terrible. He made a couple of stops, but he had too many arm tackles broken and more than enough whiffs at the ball carrier. That pissed me off.

He was a little rusty....but why would that piss you off? If you think you can do better.....go ahead and try to walk on the team. If it was easy to play at his level, we'd all do it. He's working hard to improve at LB and understand his role.

Good Grief.

[milehighfan 1,240]

I agree with real AU about Bates.  It gets frustrating to see him go for these kill shots, and then see ball carrier rip off ten or 15 more yards when all he has to do is wrap up. Hopefully, the bull will be back next week, if nothing else then to provide depth.

[gravejd 3,280]

Good post there Red. Can't decide how I feel about fans leaving. It was really disappointing to see, but I understand why people do it. Most of them love Auburn and it hurts a lot to see your team get manhandled by a team who shouldn't be able to play with them. So perhaps some people can handle the pain of seeing Auburn lose more than others but the whole your not as big a fan as me because you left early is really silly.

As for the game. Saw some positive things, no penalties on an inexperienced OL is really good. Passing game looked good from QB to WRs. Parky has one heck of a leg! RBs looked good when there were holes. Mason looks really fast. Very exited to see that.

The bad, defense at all levels was bad. No one got off blocks and we seemed lost alot of the time. When we played off they gashed us underneath. When we got in man that beat us with a slant inside. DTs were pretty well none existent the whole game. Actually Nosa and Ford were the only guys on the DL that made their presence known. Very disappointed Corey didn't make more plays. LBs....i see potential in Holland. All the rest looked weak or slow. I'm not sure how we can scheme to hide this weekness either. If we could play man up all game with the corners and drop a safety down that might help but I don't believe our corners can do that right now.

Coaches.....just hope they have a better plan on both sides of the ball.

[Rednilla 5,403]

Well if you listened to the coaches and players after the game they summed up what every fan that left was saying. They said the same things that every fan that showed their frustration was saying. "this is not acceptable" was the theme after the game, from everybody concerned. My days go back to the Shug era. One thing has been true through every single era for every coach. The Auburn Family will not accept mediocrity. We don't have to win every game, but we expect our teams to play in a certain way. Coach Chiz understands this. The other coaches understand this. The players are taught to understand this. I grew up playing sports. I had some great coaches IMO. Every coach taught me the same thing. Some worded it differently. The thing that we were taught is "if you accept mediocrity, in any part of your life, you will be nothing but mediocre". I don't understand anybody criticizing another Auburn fan for being frustrated today. We got the W which was great and the ultimate goal. But the way our guys played today is far from what is expected at Auburn University. The players and coaches understand that. I just don't get how some fans don't understand that also, and those fans criticize others for voicing their frustrations however they want to do that. I do understand people being upset for people wanting coaches fired after the first game of the year. That is a bit over the top IMO, but if that is how they feel then that is how they feel. I don't agree with them, but.........

I can understand the calls for a coach to be fired too, even if I don't agree with it. But either you're All In or you're not. Which does abandoning the team because you perceive their effort as mediocre fall under?

[WarEagle10 77]

Well if you listened to the coaches and players after the game they summed up what every fan that left was saying. They said the same things that every fan that showed their frustration was saying. "this is not acceptable" was the theme after the game, from everybody concerned. My days go back to the Shug era. One thing has been true through every single era for every coach. The Auburn Family will not accept mediocrity. We don't have to win every game, but we expect our teams to play in a certain way. Coach Chiz understands this. The other coaches understand this. The players are taught to understand this. I grew up playing sports. I had some great coaches IMO. Every coach taught me the same thing. Some worded it differently. The thing that we were taught is "if you accept mediocrity, in any part of your life, you will be nothing but mediocre". I don't understand anybody criticizing another Auburn fan for being frustrated today. We got the W which was great and the ultimate goal. But the way our guys played today is far from what is expected at Auburn University. The players and coaches understand that. I just don't get how some fans don't understand that also, and those fans criticize others for voicing their frustrations however they want to do that. I do understand people being upset for people wanting coaches fired after the first game of the year. That is a bit over the top IMO, but if that is how they feel then that is how they feel. I don't agree with them, but.........

I can understand the calls for a coach to be fired too, even if I don't agree with it. But either you're All In or you're not. Which does abandoning the team because you perceive their effort as mediocre fall under?

being a passionate fan.

P.S. I don't believe they were "abandoning" our team. I think they were tired of seeing a middle of the pack WAC team, with a freshman QB, treat our D like it wasn't out there. I was as frustrated as those people that walked out. That doesn't mean I would ever "abandon" our guys. I knew in 2007 that every game we would quit. I watched every play of every game just the same.

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

I agree with real AU about Bates.  It gets frustrating to see him go for these kill shots, and then see ball carrier rip off ten or 15 more yards when all he has to do is wrap up. Hopefully, the bull will be back next week, if nothing else then to provide depth.

There's absolutely no reason to be pissed off at an Auburn player who was down on the field in 100 degree heat giving his all for his team and for the fans. If the result of those efforts were less than spectacular, that's certainly not what DB wanted either. Disappointed is one thing....anger at a college athlete for making mistakes in a game is misplaced IMHO.

[beagle34 72]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

  I agree.( at least they didn't boo)

[Rednilla 5,403]

Well if you listened to the coaches and players after the game they summed up what every fan that left was saying. They said the same things that every fan that showed their frustration was saying. "this is not acceptable" was the theme after the game, from everybody concerned. My days go back to the Shug era. One thing has been true through every single era for every coach. The Auburn Family will not accept mediocrity. We don't have to win every game, but we expect our teams to play in a certain way. Coach Chiz understands this. The other coaches understand this. The players are taught to understand this. I grew up playing sports. I had some great coaches IMO. Every coach taught me the same thing. Some worded it differently. The thing that we were taught is "if you accept mediocrity, in any part of your life, you will be nothing but mediocre". I don't understand anybody criticizing another Auburn fan for being frustrated today. We got the W which was great and the ultimate goal. But the way our guys played today is far from what is expected at Auburn University. The players and coaches understand that. I just don't get how some fans don't understand that also, and those fans criticize others for voicing their frustrations however they want to do that. I do understand people being upset for people wanting coaches fired after the first game of the year. That is a bit over the top IMO, but if that is how they feel then that is how they feel. I don't agree with them, but.........

I can understand the calls for a coach to be fired too, even if I don't agree with it. But either you're All In or you're not. Which does abandoning the team because you perceive their effort as mediocre fall under?

being a passionate fan.

P.S. I don't believe they were "abandoning" our team. I think they were tired of seeing a middle of the pack WAC team, with a freshman QB, treat our D like it wasn't out there. I was as frystrated as those people that walked out. That doesn't mean I would ever "abandon" our guys. I knew in 2007 that every game we would quit. I watched every play of every game just the same.

How is "walking out on" different from "abandoning", again? And is it any more indicative of being "All In", or would you prefer to offer another excuse for them?

[WarEagle10 77]

Well if you listened to the coaches and players after the game they summed up what every fan that left was saying. They said the same things that every fan that showed their frustration was saying. "this is not acceptable" was the theme after the game, from everybody concerned. My days go back to the Shug era. One thing has been true through every single era for every coach. The Auburn Family will not accept mediocrity. We don't have to win every game, but we expect our teams to play in a certain way. Coach Chiz understands this. The other coaches understand this. The players are taught to understand this. I grew up playing sports. I had some great coaches IMO. Every coach taught me the same thing. Some worded it differently. The thing that we were taught is "if you accept mediocrity, in any part of your life, you will be nothing but mediocre". I don't understand anybody criticizing another Auburn fan for being frustrated today. We got the W which was great and the ultimate goal. But the way our guys played today is far from what is expected at Auburn University. The players and coaches understand that. I just don't get how some fans don't understand that also, and those fans criticize others for voicing their frustrations however they want to do that. I do understand people being upset for people wanting coaches fired after the first game of the year. That is a bit over the top IMO, but if that is how they feel then that is how they feel. I don't agree with them, but.........

I can understand the calls for a coach to be fired too, even if I don't agree with it. But either you're All In or you're not. Which does abandoning the team because you perceive their effort as mediocre fall under?

being a passionate fan.

P.S. I don't believe they were "abandoning" our team. I think they were tired of seeing a middle of the pack WAC team, with a freshman QB, treat our D like it wasn't out there. I was as frystrated as those people that walked out. That doesn't mean I would ever "abandon" our guys. I knew in 2007 that every game we would quit. I watched every play of every game just the same.

How is "walking out on" different from "abandoning", again? And is it any more indicative of being "All In", or would you prefer to offer another excuse for them?

So being "All in" means fans have to sit and watch every second of the game? Seriously? So those people that left early today are not worthy of being Auburn fans or Auburn Family? I think the world of you red, but you are off your rocker on this one. Don't know how long you have been following Auburn football but this is not the first, nor the last time, this will happen.

P.S. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one red.

[thewhiz7 273]

  I'll say that to be an Auburn fan you don't HAVE to stay to the end of every game. I think fans leaving early deflates the team. To me it can have a mental effect that can carry over to the next game. Players and recruits notice when fans do things that other fans normally would not do. Example, our students stayed through that horrible rain at the WV game a couple of years ago. I remember reading about several recruits talking about how that impressed them. That isn't something you will find to happen at other colleges very often.

  If we are down 50-0 and the stadium is still full of AU faithful cheering them on midway through the 4th quarter how do you think that impacts the team? I bet it really makes the feel supported. I think that is the point Red is making. The die hards don't HAVE to stay to the end, even when we know the outcome of the game, they WANT to stay to the end in support of AU. That is what "All In" is.

[Rednilla 5,403]

So being "All in" means fans have to sit and watch every second of the game? Seriously? So those people that left early today are not worthy of being Auburn fans or Auburn Family? I think the world of you red, but you are off your rocker on this one. Don't know how long you have been following Auburn football but this is not the first, nor the last time, this will happen.

P.S. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one red.

Yes, I think being "All In" means fans have to stay for the entire game. Sit? No, not really. They are welcome to stand and shout (although I do like to sit a fair amount, due to a bad back, ankles, and knees...which is part of why I like to be in the upper deck). That doesn't mean they aren't fans or Family, but it is shameful.

But yes, we will agree to disagree.

[jtm0003 1]

People are entitled to leave...and if they leave and miss an AWESOME end like they did today, their bad. They paid the money for the tickets, they are responsible(ish) adults, oh well.

We do too much "bend and not break" defense...we didn't give up the super-long plays, but we just let them march down the field time and again.

Also, where was Dyer until the end? I'm sorry, McCalebb cannot run between the tackles well. He is as pure of an outside runner as it gets.

And yes, there was a Frazier sighting. Remember the play with Moseley throwing? Kiehl took the snap. I still think he gets more playing time as the season wears on.

[AgentOrange 36]

Uhh....leaving early because AU is down does make you less of an Auburn fan. It's pretty pathetic to look around you and see people leaving. Other fans notice and don't think that the team doesn't notice either. So yeah, if you're only able to cheer and show support for the team during the good times then you are a bandwagon fan.

[catch8185 4]

Yeah.  Wow!  The tackling was atrocious.  And I didn't go to the game but I watched every second of it because I always hold out hope ... but they sure do make me WANT to walk out if I was there sometimes.  Why?? I saw some good things here and there, but I help coach middle school sports and it was like watching one of our games, because I kept seeing the SAME MISTAKES OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.  Seriously, how many slants do they have to complete before you start jamming the receiver on his slant route?????  I don't remember one out route completed all day.  Then how many completions to the tight end do you have to see before you start to recognize that???  And sorry belle but Bates deserves his criticism.  He missed a ton of tackles today and it is just the same pattern as last year.  I honestly don't know why he starts.  (He seemed like a great safety, but his play as a linebacker has been quite disappointing to this Tiger fan).  I know we have a young team and maybe we have just come to expect a high level of play based on some of our recent success and some of these recruiting classes, but on the field, if there is one thing I can't stand as a coach and a fan, is watching the same play unfold over and over again in front of you and not making some adjustment.  Eventhough I'm not overly impressed by Roof, at least they seemed to make some adjustments at the half of each game last year and improved.  I didn't see that in this game, and that was extremely disappointing.

[audrumer5 0]

We were pretty much embarrassed on the field for most of the game and had shown nothing that would indicate what happened in the final two minutes was going to happen, and you're upset with the fans for heading for the exits??  I don't personally leave games early, mainly because I'm cheap and feel like if I paid for a ticket I should get my money's worth.  But I certainly am not going to jump on the fans who did start heading for the exits after the last USU TD.

Sorry, but "fans" that leave early are not true fans.

So if it was 35-0, should they still be there with three minutes left?

Question: We are all part of the Auburn family, right? So let's say you had a son playing in a little league game and is getting destroyed. Do you leave the game and come back afterwards to pick up your son? Both situations involve family and, in my opinion, you should stick by family no matter what. Win or lose, freezing or sweltering.