One thing no one is talking about

[WarEagle123 28]

I support Gene Chizik and most of this staff. There is one thing everyone seems to have forgotten.

There was a shooting on campus before the season. Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips lost their lives. Most of the players on this team were close friends with these two. It does not surprise me that this season has been below expectations with this happening in the off season. Things like that can rock and 18-22 year olds world.

For evidence just look at Eric Mack. He still seems to be struggling. I bet everyone on the team are.

We still need to rally around these guys and the coaching staff. The coaches are feeling the pain two still of losing these guys. For this reason you have to give CGC and staff more time.

War Eagle

[auburnpride99 6]

Plus, the grad assistant passing away hours before the LSU game, Prosch's mom, Chiz mom, Quan's mom, Robinson's Dad, Updyke, Dyer, the sentencing of the 4 players from the robbery. A lot for a young team to go through, especially one that doesn't have many leaders. The only positive is down the road all these boys are going to be so much stronger mentally after this season.

[selias 2,398]

I will not "rally" around the hired help(the coaches). They are paid quite handsomely for results, and outside of what appears to be a 1-year aberration, those results are lacking.

[WarEagle123 28]

From someone who has experienced tragedy at a very young age I will give this team and this coaching staff a pass. When I was going through things like this I wouldn't listen to what anyone had to say. This is something that has to be dealt with before you can move forward.

War Damn Eagle!!!!!

[autigeremt 7,240]

I will not "rally" around the hired help(the coaches). They are paid quite handsomely for results, and outside of what appears to be a 1-year aberration, those results are lacking.

Are you Shadow?

[selias 2,398]

From someone who has experienced tragedy at a very young age I will give this team and this coaching staff a pass. When I was going through things like this I wouldn't listen to what anyone had to say. This is something that has to be dealt with before you can move forward.

War Damn Eagle!!!!!

My best friend had his face blown off by an idiot with a shotgun as a sophomore in HS. Was I still thinking about it months later? Yes. Was it affecting my everyday life months later? No

Granted, high profile athletes are pretty sheltered so it may have a bigger impact on them but the coaches?

I will not "rally" around the hired help(the coaches). They are paid quite handsomely for results, and outside of what appears to be a 1-year aberration, those results are lacking.

Are you Shadow?

Who?

[autigeremt 7,240]

From someone who has experienced tragedy at a very young age I will give this team and this coaching staff a pass. When I was going through things like this I wouldn't listen to what anyone had to say. This is something that has to be dealt with before you can move forward.

War Damn Eagle!!!!!

My best friend had his face blown off by an idiot with a shotgun as a sophomore in HS. Was I still thinking about it months later? Yes. Was it affecting my everyday life months later? No

Granted, high profile athletes are pretty sheltered so it may have a bigger impact on them but the coaches?

I will not "rally" around the hired help(the coaches). They are paid quite handsomely for results, and outside of what appears to be a 1-year aberration, those results are lacking.

Are you Shadow?

Who?

We all deal with this stuff differently. Not "sheltering" anyone, but I've watched people die from age 16 months to 88, and I have a different take on it than others who wasn't able to handle it.

[DyeCampAlum 335]

That thought had crossed my mind. Lots of stuff going on this year.

Still, hard to explain 1-6. A total collapse, except for one thing. The players are still playing. They haven't gotten blown out yet. Tougher days are coming, though.

[texastiger09 0]

I would have thought the team would have become closer and rallied around each other. As an outsider, doesn't appear that this happened.

[redfish99999 0]

I don't want to be harsh but, you are giving excuses not reasons....

[AUgrad00 7]

I mean life happens but its almost like our team, program got cursed by the football Gods after the BCS.

The shootings, the arrests, Toomer's Oaks, a terrible season, both coordinators leave. Not making excuses but its been nothing but downhill since 1/11/11.

[keesler 5,961]

I mean life happens but its almost like our team, program got cursed by the football Gods after the BCS.

The shootings, the arrests, Toomer's Oaks, a terrible season, both coordinators leave. Not making excuses but its been nothing but downhill since 1/11/11.

Quick correction to your post above - those coordinators are gone but they didn't "leave".

This program is on a slippery slope, thank goodness I think it's hit the bottom of the barrel (loss to VANDY) now there's nowhere to go but ^^UP^^!!!! Somebody at AU get it done, set the wheels in motion and turn this train around.

[AUFAN34 0]

I think about this every week. We are a very young team, with a whole new stable of coaches. A new offense and defense, we are shell shocked. Auburn football will be back.

[alexava 6,976]

Football should be a way to refocus and put that behind you. Im not for using that as excuses. I doubt chizik would. if one or two people were involved with the shooter and started the whole fight that led to the killings, then those people might never get right. But if most of our guys were just there with no fault, it shouldn't be a henderance.

[Chicagofan 4]

No QB, not enough line backers, not enough experience on the o line. The new system on both sides of the ball. Brutal schedual. These are the reasons we stink.

[Chicagofan 4]

No QB, not enough line backers, not enough experience on the o line. The new system on both sides of the ball. Brutal schedual. These are the reasons we stink.

[cctiger 578]

I support Gene Chizik and most of this staff. There is one thing everyone seems to have forgotten.

There was a shooting on campus before the season. Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips lost their lives. Most of the players on this team were close friends with these two. It does not surprise me that this season has been below expectations with this happening in the off season. Things like that can rock and 18-22 year olds world.

For evidence just look at Eric Mack. He still seems to be struggling. I bet everyone on the team are.

We still need to rally around these guys and the coaching staff. The coaches are feeling the pain two still of losing these guys. For this reason you have to give CGC and staff more time.

War Eagle

I have as much faith in Gene Chizik and his staff as I had in Doug Barfield and his staff.Bring on a coach like coach Dye.Someone who has the ability to install mental toughness,physical toughness, and the desire to execute,and to fundimentally follow through with the play calling on the field. On off. and def. A coach who will make the players say, playing a game is like a break compared to the practices we go through each day.

[3rdgeneration 6,654]

I agree with the initial post...I think that there is a lot going on within the hearts and minds of both the players and the coaches. I have been saying this from day one and wondering how it would affect the team. It is up to the coaches to channel this into productive play on the field.

You also forgot our lucky Mr. Penny is not in the stands anymore, either...so much crap has been happening...God is probably saying "I'm just answering those prayers when you bargained away everything to win the NC!"

[au701948 1,067]

I obviously do not know of any one thing that has hindered this season's team and there are hundreds of thousands more AU fans just like me. However, I have watched more than my share of poor, great and mediumly successful high school and college teams over my many years. Something is bad wrong and it will not clear itself up during this current season..the damage is done. We can only be hopeful that the trauma, discontent, poor coaching..whatever is at it's root cause will run it's course by this sason's end and not cost Auburn it's current Head Coach, 2 new Coordinators and our supposedly "incoming" recruiting class.

I sincerely believe that if we can keep our main staff intact to complete the learning curve through next Spring and add the next "promising" class of kids, that we will be reasonably stable next year. Just my opinion.

The one thing that I have missed seeing (and I have only seen games on TV) so I may not be speaking complete fact here, but it seems almost like our complete coaching staff is totally detached from the team during the game. No sideline coaching, no "meeting" with lineman that may need a moment's encouragement. Nothing, not even from CGC. That, if my perception is true has got to change.

[Mike4AU 1,755]

..God is probably saying "I'm just answering those prayers when you bargained away everything to win the NC!"

I would be interested in your explaining what you mean by this.

Thanks

[fishhawkeagle 0]

I support Gene Chizik and most of this staff. There is one thing everyone seems to have forgotten.

There was a shooting on campus before the season. Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips lost their lives. Most of the players on this team were close friends with these two. It does not surprise me that this season has been below expectations with this happening in the off season. Things like that can rock and 18-22 year olds world.

For evidence just look at Eric Mack. He still seems to be struggling. I bet everyone on the team are.

We still need to rally around these guys and the coaching staff. The coaches are feeling the pain two still of losing these guys. For this reason you have to give CGC and staff more time.

War Eagle

That is one helluva stretch. I've heard of "win one for the gipper" never seen a team decide to eat s*** for fallen brothers.

[smackydoodle 200]

Man we're digging pretty deep for excuses these days. They aren't good this year. It happens in sports. It's all going to be ok, mmk?

[NOLATiger 0]

The OP brings up a fair point. But much like the folks who point to the lack of experience at key positions, QB, linebacker and O-line, it seems that would be more appropriate in a discussion about a team that was 3-4 or even 2-5 with a BUNCH of close losses. This team is bad, bad, bad. Very bad, as in not that close to being good.

Now, perhaps it's all a combo. Without the off-field stuff, maybe the other football-only factors would have yielded a disappointing but not disastrous season. But throw in the damaged psyche on top and, BAM, we have what we have.

Still, I'm not inclined to just blindly look away while the grown-ups in charge get paid this much money. Gene Chizik has nothing to do with those bullets flying in the summer. But he recruited Mike Dyer and those four idiots. He supervised the staff that apparently can't make the transition from being a recruit's "friend" to being an authority figure and coach for players once they are here. He hired Scott Loeffler. He HAD to hired Loeffler because Malzhan left, and whether Gus would have been gone anyway, the coaching world picked up on the fact that he wasn't allowed to run his offense his way because of micromanagement from the head coach. Gene Chizik hired Ted Roof and then presided over whatever happened to the defense, whether it was Roof's or some bastardization because of Chizik's meddling. Gene made the decision not to redshirt Frazier but then to use him only sparingly in an offense that we don't even run anymore. Then he made the decision to bless Frazier in a way that made it impossible to keep Trotter. (Though, to be fair, Barrett was likely on his way no matter what.) This year, Gene made the decision not to redshirt another talented freshman quarterback, but we are seeing Wallace used only in the uber-predictable wildcat. Gene has managed the offensive line redshirting and recruiting, along with the linebacker position, meaning we can't claim "youth and inexperience" as if coaching decisions within the program haven't contributed to that circumstance in YEAR FOUR of the regime.

Yeah, those things have nothing to do with shooting deaths, natural deaths or tree deaths. Those things are on Gene. (And, by upward extension, on Jay Jacobs.)