Wins vs Loses -- What would satisfy you?

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

2 hours ago, Tiger said:

With how brutal our schedule is, we could be a much better team this season but our record could be worse. I think we are closer to average than what you're saying, IMO. I think we were average last year actually, with spurts of less than average. 

I don't know... I mean sure last season we could of been under .500 with a few things not going our way. With that said, we were also a few bounces (that we got in 13) that we didn't get last season from being a 10+ win team. The only game we weren't in was really LSU. All of our other losses were a few plays from being wins. MSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama... If we had the bounces of the ball we got 13 every one of those games could of been wins. 

I just don't see that being an average or below average team. Sure we had average play from some positions (QB, WR, DL) but I certainly don't think that equates to being an average team. Especially in the SEC West... I feel if we were an average team we lose all those close games, but with much more of a point differential. Plus I feel we lose to Louisville, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.

Had we had those bounces go our way,  this is a top 5 game starting the season and no one is questioning our ability. Nevertheless those things didn't go our way, and everyone IS questioning our teams ability. 

Its a whole new season! Everyone is undefeated week 1!

WDE!

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

26 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I hope you're right about Ole Miss. And I won't hope that Chubb gets run into the ground- I hated seeing that happen to Lattimore at USC (even before the injury), and I'm definitely not suggesting that you're hoping for it (ESPECIALLY not the injury)- but I do hope that their run game is something we can contain in November. 

I think if Carl Lawson stays healthy, this defense CAN and will stop anyone. Even when he goes out, the defense just plays at a different intensity with him playing. 

I think Carl Lawson's health and OL play is going to make or break this season.

[ellitor 33,668]

5 hours ago, bigbird said:

I think that, with our early schedule, 8-9 wins are what I expect.

Clemson- Toss Up

Arkansas St- W

TAMU- Toss up

LSU-Toss up

LA MON-W

MISS ST-W

Arkansas-W

Ole Miss-Toss up

Vandy-W

UGA-W

AL AM-W

UA- Toss up

Wow! @ Bird saying UGA on the road is not a toss up. Hope you are right.

[CameronCrazy 1,111]

I would be satisfied with 10 wins, including a win over either UGA, LSU, or UAT. 

[Mike4AU 1,755]

To me, this season is not just about wins and losses.  I think it is more about being headed in the right direction. Pat Dye's first team had a losing record, but it was crystal clear that Auburn was headed in the right direction. 

This is going to be an interesting year, one way or the other. 

[AUIH1 1,515]

8 minutes ago, Mike4AU said:

To me, this season is not just about wins and losses.  I think it is more about being headed in the right direction. Pat Dye's first team had a losing record, but it was crystal clear that Auburn was headed in the right direction. 

This is going to be an interesting year, one way or the other. 

If this was going into Gus' 1st season, I would agree with everything you just posted, but this is year 4 so no, we need to win games.

wde

[AUsince72 11,084]

22 minutes ago, Mike4AU said:

To me, this season is not just about wins and losses.  I think it is more about being headed in the right direction. Pat Dye's first team had a losing record, but it was crystal clear that Auburn was headed in the right direction. 

This is going to be an interesting year, one way or the other. 

I like this.

I think many (maybe most) AU fans are very discriminating fans when it comes to what we see on the field AND also what we read/hear about "behind the scenes".  Take 2011 & 2014 for example.  8-5 both years...  Hey, MANY teams would kill for 8-5 records but we fans didn't feel necessarily "good" about the seasons because we could feel things weren't looking/feeling right...and then 2012 & 2015 happened!

Records are certainly the "end result" but when you really dig deep into the performances and direction of the teams, real fans aren't stupid.  Sure Terry Bowden never had a losing record (until the year he quit) but I suspect most fans felt the team was trending toward the dumpster his last "good" season.  Same for Tuberville and obviously went for Chizik.

On the flip side, when Tuberville took over and as Mike4AU already mentioned, when Pat Dye took over, it was tough sledding early, but the fans could sense the program heading in the right direction and both coaches took their teams to (relatively) dynasty status.

I love sunshine pumpers.  Heck, usually I AM one but I don't feel like the Auburn fans on this forum are of the "weee're gonna win 'cuz weeee're Auburn!!!" types, right?  

Wins are never a bad thing and losses are never a good thing....but the WAY the team acts and performs during each can be very foretelling.

We won't know until the first game's in the books how this team is going to "feel" to us, but my gut tells me it'll be a good year and a good start to an even better future.

War Eagle!

EDIT: ....and yes, I realize that this is Gus' 4th year as the HC but I'm choosing to believe that his "on the job training" is paying off and he's learning from his mistakes.  From what little we're actually hearing, it seems the he has made some decisions or said some things to be evidence of an ability to learn and grow.  We shall see.

 

[Tiger 8,853]

I totally understand your point, @AUIH1 but at this point we are just not there IMO. Our QB issue from last year unfortunately was much deeper than just poor play on the surface. It set us back even more due to top QB targets going elsewhere because AU was "set" at the QB position and weren't going to give much opportunity until the top prospects were older. So, with that in mind, we are/were in a position where we had to essentially throw a Hail Mary up in QB recruiting to try to have JF3 be the man. That didn't work (up to this point), so we are now in a position to have to grow and continue to take steps with what we have in place and we are not very experienced -- on offense. It sucks. We were thiiiis close to being an automatic pre-season top 10 team every season just based on our offense alone but now we are several steps back. Look at what has transpired over the past 1.5 seasons and it is my opinion that we are not in a position to expect to win games based on our roster and experience and schedule. We have only won 15 in the last 2 years combined. We just need to climb up the ladder at this point.

 

As an overall philosophy though, I'm with you. We are 4 years in with 5 top 10 recruiting classes filling out our roster. We are a national championship caliber program. We are one of three (out of 14!) programs to have won the SEC in the last 5 years. Gus should have his guys in place and this program should be 100% a reflection of him at this point, but our QB problems on the field and in recruiting really wrecked what had been building and we missed out on expanding our QB talent because we thought we had something that we didn't.

 

Some will say these are excuses, I feel they are reasons.

[AUIH1 1,515]

1 minute ago, Tiger said:

I totally understand your point, @AUIH1 but at this point we are just not there IMO. Our QB issue from last year unfortunately was much deeper than just poor play on the surface. It set us back even more due to top QB targets going elsewhere because AU was "set" at the QB position and weren't going to give much opportunity until the top prospects were older. So, with that in mind, we are/were in a position where we had to essentially throw a Hail Mary up in QB recruiting to try to have JF3 be the man. That didn't work (up to this point), so we are now in a position to have to grow and continue to take steps with what we have in place and we are not very experienced -- on offense. It sucks. We were thiiiis close to being an automatic pre-season top 10 team every season just based on our offense alone but now we are several steps back. Look at what has transpired over the past 1.5 seasons and it is my opinion that we are not in a position to expect to win games based on our roster and experience and schedule. We have only won 15 in the last 2 years combined. We just need to climb up the ladder at this point.

 

As an overall philosophy though, I'm with you. We are 4 years in with 5 top 10 recruiting classes filling out our roster. We are a national championship caliber program. We are one of three (out of 14!) programs to have won the SEC in the last 5 years. Gus should have his guys in place and this program should be 100% a reflection of him at this point, but our QB problems on the field and in recruiting really wrecked what had been building and we missed out on expanding our QB talent because we thought we had something that we didn't.

 

Some will say these are excuses, I feel they are reasons.

I agree with you, but what I highlighted above is the problem.  Where we are today is all on Gus which includes those poor coaching decisions, poor player evaluations, poor play calling, poor QB recruiting (in terms of finding the guy to run Gus' O), discipline issues, etc.  I understand we are stuck with Gus as a HC in training and it is what it is.  But that does not mean it should be OK with any of us because the product put on the field since Texas A&M 2014 should not be acceptable to any AU fan.  Then only thing that will keep me from wanting to clean house should 2016 end up like 2015 will be that I do not want Jay Jacobs to hire another head football coach at AU so I really hope Gus can turn it around. 

wde

 

 

 

 

[Tiger 8,853]

8 minutes ago, AUIH1 said:

I agree with you, but what I highlighted above is the problem.  Where we are today is all on Gus which includes those poor coaching decisions, poor player evaluations, poor play calling, poor QB recruiting (in terms of finding the guy to run Gus' O), discipline issues, etc.  I understand we are stuck with Gus as a HC in training and it is what it is.  But that does not mean it should be OK with any of us because the product put on the field since Texas A&M 2014 should not be acceptable to any AU fan.  Then only thing that will keep me from wanting to clean house should 2016 end up like 2015 will be that I do not want Jay Jacobs to hire another head football coach at AU so I really hope Gus can turn it around. 

wde

 

 

 

 

Yup I definitely agree with you. Not giving Gus a pass -- he's the man responsible. I just wish we were in a better position today than what it seems like we are. I guess where I'm at is I've accepted where we (seemingly) are and just hope for improvement to set us up for 2017 rather than hammering at where we SHOULD be. You are so right though, post '14 TAMU has been awful and is unacceptable and we must turn this thing around. The HC in training thing is very real though. Gus struggles with and is trying to improve his clock management, which is perplexing in itself, so it's unfortunately not surprising that there are other corners of Head Coaching that he needs to sharpen.

[AUsince72 11,084]

22 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I totally understand your point, @AUIH1 but at this point we are just not there IMO. Our QB issue from last year unfortunately was much deeper than just poor play on the surface. It set us back even more due to top QB targets going elsewhere because AU was "set" at the QB position and weren't going to give much opportunity until the top prospects were older. So, with that in mind, we are/were in a position where we had to essentially throw a Hail Mary up in QB recruiting to try to have JF3 be the man. That didn't work (up to this point), so we are now in a position to have to grow and continue to take steps with what we have in place and we are not very experienced -- on offense. It sucks. We were thiiiis close to being an automatic pre-season top 10 team every season just based on our offense alone but now we are several steps back. Look at what has transpired over the past 1.5 seasons and it is my opinion that we are not in a position to expect to win games based on our roster and experience and schedule. We have only won 15 in the last 2 years combined. We just need to climb up the ladder at this point.

 

As an overall philosophy though, I'm with you. We are 4 years in with 5 top 10 recruiting classes filling out our roster. We are a national championship caliber program. We are one of three (out of 14!) programs to have won the SEC in the last 5 years. Gus should have his guys in place and this program should be 100% a reflection of him at this point, but our QB problems on the field and in recruiting really wrecked what had been building and we missed out on expanding our QB talent because we thought we had something that we didn't.

 

Some will say these are excuses, I feel they are reasons.

 

7 minutes ago, AUIH1 said:

I agree with you, but what I highlighted above is the problem.  Where we are today is all on Gus which includes those poor coaching decisions, poor player evaluations, poor play calling, poor QB recruiting (in terms of finding the guy to run Gus' O), discipline issues, etc.  I understand we are stuck with Gus as a HC in training and it is what it is.  But that does not mean it should be OK with any of us because the product put on the field since Texas A&M 2014 should not be acceptable to any AU fan.  Then only thing that will keep me from wanting to clean house should 2016 end up like 2015 will be that I do not want Jay Jacobs to hire another head football coach at AU so I really hope Gus can turn it around. 

wde

 

 

 

 

Sorry to butt in but I just wanted to say that both of y'all are making good sense, in my opinion.

I, for one, am willing to give Gus a bit of a "pass" because of the OTJT and in the grand scheme of things, he's STILL relatively new to the world of college coaching.  It's still pretty remarkable if you think about it.  Therefore, as I stated earlier, I CHOOSE (Sunshine Pumper Alert) to believe that Gus is ready to take the hard lessons he's learned the last couple years and apply them.  I believe that he's ready but it may take another year to get the QB's (he wants) ready to perform.  Once he's there, and if the D is truly trending upwards as it FEELS it is, then we will be in for a great ride.

But, with that said, I do agree that Gus should now have a short leash.  He's had his "learning curve".  It's time to perform.  No, I don't think this is the year to dominate and win championships but we must FEEL as if the team is heading in the right direction.  This year they MUST beat Georgia and/or Alabama!  ....and NEXT YEAR I expect SECC or bust!  ...but that's just me.

War Eagle!

[keesler 5,943]

47 minutes ago, Mike4AU said:

To me, this season is not just about wins and losses.  I think it is more about being headed in the right direction. Pat Dye's first team had a losing record, but it was crystal clear that Auburn was headed in the right direction. 

This is going to be an interesting year, one way or the other. 

This is year 4 in Gus' regime, it's crystal clear what direction this team is headed.  It's time Gus show us he's not in over his head as an SEC head coach.  He needs to win 6+ SEC games and 3 OOC games for me to be satisfied.  

In this conference if your team isn't making strides to get better then they are getting left further and further behind.  AU finishing last in the SECWest is totally unacceptable.

The team slogan this year is "Earn It", the same can be said about this high paid coaching staff.  

 

[AUIH1 1,515]

1 minute ago, AUsince72 said:

 

Sorry to butt in but I just wanted to say that both of y'all are making good sense, in my opinion.

I, for one, am willing to give Gus a bit of a "pass" because of the OTJT and in the grand scheme of things, he's STILL relatively new to the world of college coaching.  It's still pretty remarkable if you think about it.  Therefore, as I stated earlier, I CHOOSE (Sunshine Pumper Alert) to believe that Gus is ready to take the hard lessons he's learned the last couple years and apply them.  I believe that he's ready but it may take another year to get the QB's (he wants) ready to perform.  Once he's there, and if the D is truly trending upwards as it FEELS it is, then we will be in for a great ride.

But, with that said, I do agree that Gus should now have a short leash.  He's had his "learning curve".  It's time to perform.  No, I don't think this is the year to dominate and win championships but we must FEEL as if the team is heading in the right direction.  This year they MUST beat Georgia and/or Alabama!  ....and NEXT YEAR I expect SECC or bust!  ...but that's just me.

War Eagle!

No worries and thanks for the response.  I understand your position and I hope you are right.

wde

[AUsince72 11,084]

Just now, AUIH1 said:

No worries and thanks for the response.  I understand your position and I hope you are right.

wde

BTW.... I see you're from GCG..  That's where I grew up myself.  CGHS c/o 90.

[Tiger 8,853]

5 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

 

Sorry to butt in but I just wanted to say that both of y'all are making good sense, in my opinion.

I, for one, am willing to give Gus a bit of a "pass" because of the OTJT and in the grand scheme of things, he's STILL relatively new to the world of college coaching.  It's still pretty remarkable if you think about it.  Therefore, as I stated earlier, I CHOOSE (Sunshine Pumper Alert) to believe that Gus is ready to take the hard lessons he's learned the last couple years and apply them.  I believe that he's ready but it may take another year to get the QB's (he wants) ready to perform.  Once he's there, and if the D is truly trending upwards as it FEELS it is, then we will be in for a great ride.

But, with that said, I do agree that Gus should now have a short leash.  He's had his "learning curve".  It's time to perform.  No, I don't think this is the year to dominate and win championships but we must FEEL as if the team is heading in the right direction.  This year they MUST beat Georgia and/or Alabama!  ....and NEXT YEAR I expect SECC or bust!  ...but that's just me.

War Eagle!

No need to apologize, the perspective is welcomed. Very good points too. It's about "feel" for me as well.

[AUIH1 1,515]

Just now, AUsince72 said:

BTW.... I see you're from GCG..  That's where I grew up myself.  CGHS c/o 90.

Moved to Gwinnett Co in 2000 after living in Alpharetta, Ga after graduating from AU (1986). I live in Lawrenceville close to I85.  Two daughters have graduated from Peachtree Ridge HS and my youngest is in the 10 grade there.  I grew up in Notasulga, AL

 

wde

[CR 2,454]

AU should be able to win 8-9 games. As of today, I think LSU, Clemson, UGA and Bama are losses. To achieve 8 wins AU would have to run the table against everyone else on schedule. Hard to see that happening. I think 6-6 or 7-5 are most likely records. A game to watch for me is Arky St. Depending on how things go against Clemson, this game could tell us a lot about the 2016 team. 

[AuCivilEng1 11,811]

25 minutes ago, CR said:

AU should be able to win 8-9 games. As of today, I think LSU, Clemson, UGA and Bama are losses. To achieve 8 wins AU would have to run the table against everyone else on schedule. Hard to see that happening. I think 6-6 or 7-5 are most likely records. A game to watch for me is Arky St. Depending on how things go against Clemson, this game could tell us a lot about the 2016 team. 

If we get beat by Arky St, the fans are going to run Gus out of Auburn. Lol. 

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

36 minutes ago, keesler said:

This is year 4 in Gus' regime, it's crystal clear what direction this team is headed.  It's time Gus show us he's not in over his head as an SEC head coach.  He needs to win 6+ SEC games and 3 OOC games for me to be satisfied.  

In this conference if your team isn't making strides to get better then they are getting left further and further behind.  AU finishing last in the SECWest is totally unacceptable.

The team slogan this year is "Earn It", the same can be said about this high paid coaching staff.  

 

Normally I would 100% completely agree with you on this. I have never been one to make excuses for Gus. I just don't think its a possibility given our schedule this season. I could be wrong. I certainly hope that I am. I just don't think its feasible given our schedule. Starting with the #2 team in the nation is a real killer. It creates an extremely difficult start... But at least we have them game 1. 

[augolf1716 21,939]

23 hours ago, ClaytonAU said:

8 wins would work for me.

Same for me as long as at least one of those wins is against lsu,uga or turds

[augolf1716 21,939]

18 hours ago, AUIH1 said:

Moved to Gwinnett Co in 2000 after living in Alpharetta, Ga after graduating from AU (1986). I live in Lawrenceville close to I85.  Two daughters have graduated from Peachtree Ridge HS and my youngest is in the 10 grade there.  I grew up in Notasulga, AL

 

wde

Not to derail the thread but I lived in Buford until we moved to Winter Park, Fl. 6 years ago. Great area with some great HS football

[AUIH1 1,515]

3 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

Yes there is good football all around me.  I have friends that have kids at Peachtree Ridge, North Gwinnett, Buford, Collins Hill and Grayson.

[AUsince72 11,084]

18 hours ago, AUIH1 said:

Moved to Gwinnett Co in 2000 after living in Alpharetta, Ga after graduating from AU (1986). I live in Lawrenceville close to I85.  Two daughters have graduated from Peachtree Ridge HS and my youngest is in the 10 grade there.  I grew up in Notasulga, AL

 

wde

 

11 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

Not to derail the thread but I live in Buford until we moved to Winter Park, Fl. 6 years ago. Great area with some great HS football

I guess train cars are crashing off the tracks as we speak....  Yeah, Lawrenceville is where I grew up but back then (maybe not THAT long ago) there was pretty much 5-6 high schools in the county...and Buford was a pretty small school then.  We moved down here, to the Sarasota area almost 10 years ago from Lilburn and I'm sure that I wouldn't even recognize where I grew up now.  I understand Gwinnett now has about 150 high schools and Buford is a major football power now.  ...times do change.

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

I guess train cars are crashing off the tracks as we speak....  Yeah, Lawrenceville is where I grew up but back then (maybe not THAT long ago) there was pretty much 5-6 high schools in the county...and Buford was a pretty small school then.  We moved down here, to the Sarasota area almost 10 years ago from Lilburn and I'm sure that I wouldn't even recognize where I grew up now.  I understand Gwinnett now has about 150 high schools and Buford is a major football power now.  ...times do change.

Where does one go in Sarasota- other than one's couch or easy chair- to watch an Auburn football game? 

PS- Got married on Longboat Key

[AUsince72 11,084]

14 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Where does one go in Sarasota- other than one's couch or easy chair- to watch an Auburn football game? 

PS- Got married on Longboat Key

Just PM'd you!