Malzahn's Weekly Presser - Arkansas State Game

[aucanucktiger 1,884]

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

[api1957 1,783]

2 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said:

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

Yeah BUT beating yourself is far more infuriating than being beat by a better team.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

3 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said:

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

I was frankly dismayed as I saw the plan displayed.

I was equally shocked at how well it turned out.

But then, I'm notoriously clueless.

[AUTIGERinSC 69]

19 minutes ago, WarEagle1983 said:

Agree 100%. I don't care who it came from...just as long as it came from someone. 

I think it came from a lot of people. Alumni, former players, and hopefully from the AD. I dont have a 247 membership, but apparently Rob Pate wrote a tough piece that had about 100 upvotes. 

However, I think he got the message loud and clear and quit playing best buds with the QBs. He now has an excuse to bench Jeremy. The issue, I think he is panicked and may out coach himself. I think he thinks "More is Better" when it comes to cuteness when he should probably just focus on execution on the O-line, etc.  Tuberville used to always preach "we didnt execute" which drove us all crazy, but it was partly true and some of it was a talent disparity. Gus doesnt have that issue at the moment. Everyone on that Offense has the given ability to execute if given the practice and reps. With all the gimmicks, that just isn't happening. 

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

1 minute ago, AUTIGERinSC said:

I think it came from a lot of people. Alumni, former players, and hopefully from the AD. I dont have a 247 membership, but apparently Rob Pate wrote a tough piece that had about 100 upvotes. 

However, I think he got the message loud and clear and quit playing best buds with the QBs. He now has an excuse to bench Jeremy. The issue, I think he is panicked and may out coach himself. I think he thinks "More is Better" when it comes to cuteness when he should probably just focus on execution on the O-line, etc.  Tuberville used to always preach "we didnt execute" which drove us all crazy, but it was partly true and some of it was a talent disparity. Gus doesnt have that issue at the moment. Everyone on that Offense has the given ability to execute if given the practice and reps. With all the gimmicks, that just isn't happening. 

Good! I'm glad. I was thinking during the game how i don't see how there's no way that very connected Alumni, boosters or anyone with some power associated with our football program doesn't say something to him. At the rate he was going he could've been opening himself up to being fired before the season ended. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

19 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said:

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

The offense did get their butts whipped. And it's because of our coach's decisions. 

People aren't mad that the defense played well. In fact, they've been quite vocal in their praise of the defense. Just as vocal as you were with your predictable, yawn-inducing posts criticizing Ellis Johnson while we were busy winning games like the one that Gus's game plan lost for us this past Saturday. Folks have been less vocal in praising the special teams, but they certainly haven't been critical of them that I've seen.

You're smarter than to not be able to separate the offensive game plan when assessing the team's performance against Clemson. I'm curious why you choose to pretend otherwise. 

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

32 minutes ago, AUTIGERinSC said:

The issue, I think he is panicked and may out coach himself.

Plain as day in my admittedly muddled brain. 

He paid more attention to rankings and hype and "the moment" and all that than he did to his own football team. And that's what pisses me off and makes me a little emotional this time. He didn't believe in his guys. His game plan was intended more to compromise the opponent than to play to his own personnel's strengths. It sucks and he cost them what could have been one hell of a night to remember on their home field.

It is my hope that he is still choking that pill down and it is bitter all the way, that he'll learn, and that he won't ever make the mistake again. Hopefully he saw he's got a group of guys who almost beat one of the best teams in the country *despite* having their hands tied behind their backs for most of the game. He might need a Newton or a Watson or a Francois to rewrite the history books, but he has to understand that all we want is for him to win games and that he can do that with who he's got on deck. 

[autan 808]

Seems all the "Fire Gus" talk is about the QB roulette but not really about the outcome. Very few people thought Auburn would get so close to pulling out a win.  We just needed someone with Duke's leaping ability and physicality for the last two plays.  If we had gotten lucky on one of those two "Hail Marys"  the "Fire Gus" talk wouldn't be out there but frustrations with his "offensive" plan would definitely still be there.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

11 minutes ago, autan said:

Seems all the "Fire Gus" talk is about the QB roulette but not really about the outcome. Very few people thought Auburn would get so close to pulling out a win.  We just needed someone with Duke's leaping ability and physicality for the last two plays.  If we had gotten lucky on one of those two "Hail Marys"  the "Fire Gus" talk wouldn't be out there but frustrations with his "offensive" plan would definitely still be there.

The QB roulette directly led to the outcome being a loss.  No doubt in my mind that if we play SW & sub-in JF3 like Gus says he will this week, we beat Clemson by at least 10.

However, losing may be the best thing long-term this season.  Had we pulled off the Hail Mary, I'm not sure that Gus wouldn't have called it a success and kept the carousel going for the foreseeable future.

[Strychnine 1,808]

23 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said:

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

 

With 9 months to prepare a competent offense, it resulted in a grand total of 13 points.  For a team headed by a man often touted as an offensive genius, 13 points is embarrassing enough on its own.  It is made less embarrassing by the fact that Auburn finally fielded a defense capable of holding a good offense to 19 points.  Defense is the sole reason it did not result in a butt-whipping.  I must admit, it is nice to be able to say that about an Auburn defensive performance.

The anger is so scathing because Clemson did not really beat Auburn.  Clemson, and Auburn's defense, did everything they needed to do for Auburn to pull off the upset.  While I think a 3-man QB rotation is one of the most idiotic plans I have seen anyone attempt in football, I am not so angry about it being implemented in the first place.  What I am angry about is that it continued throughout the game, even after it had been clearly demonstrated to be ineffective.  After the game, the plan was doubled down on with stubborn mechanical resolve.  When your rubber mallet is not able to tear down the brick wall, you do not keep bashing the mallet against it while hoping for a different result.  You swap the mallet out for a sledgehammer.

I am certainly not yelling "Fire Gus!" like some are, but I am very concerned.  Given the offensive struggles of 2015, I expected the offensive genius to debut an improved offense against Clemson.  I did not expect to see an offense that struggled to put up even 13 points and failed every category in Stat's post-game analysis.  Everyone on the offensive coaching staff (and Gus himself) is paid entirely too much money to continually produce mediocre to bad results.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Ugh, gonna run out of "likes" early again today, I can tell...

[AUsince72 11,084]

2 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Ugh, gonna run out of "likes" early again today, I can tell...

That's a good point unto itself.  I've seen a handful of posters who are being hard on "our fellow posters" as being overly harsh, etc. but outside of a few posters who truly do seem to just have various axes to grind, I feel like the AU Family of posters by and large have shown a tremendous grasp of the current situation and have been quite "responsible" in their posts.

Good for you AU Family!!!  

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

I hope we do see a change in Gus this Sat. but the TX A&M is going to be the real measuring stick for me if he's actually learned his lesson. Saturday would be a good start to that though. Watching Arky St.'s first game...our defense alone should be able to get a convincing win. 

[WarEagle1983 2,190]

2 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

He's a little jitterbug! Hope to see more of Hastings as the season continues. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, aucanucktiger said:

If Gus' game plan for Clemson had resulted in a butt whipping that would be one thing, but the anger is disproportionate to the result.

Here are the two things you need to consider.  

First, though a few mistakes cost us a marginal win, if we had come in with a competent game plan that didn't continually shoot ourselves in the foot, we could have very well had a run away victory and been the talk of the college football world as round 2 of the comeback kids. Which brings me to point 2.  Instead we are the joke of the college football world as everyone and their brother has been pointing out just how much of a sandlot circus that game plan was. It's made all the worse when it was concocted by our offensive genius of a coach. Had we lost by 6 with a normal game plan, no one would say anything. Heck, I've seen more written about our game plan than I've seen about Mississippi State losing to South Alabama.

Nothing makes an Auburn fan more annoyed than having to spend the week listening to other SEC fans rip on Auburn.

[WinForAuburn 132]

 

Just now, WarEagle1983 said:

I hope we do see a change in Gus this Sat. but the TX A&M is going to be the real measuring stick for me if he's actually learned his lesson. Saturday would be a good start to that though. Watching Arky St.'s first game...our defense alone should be able to get a convincing win. 

One would think, but then again, when has what we ever expected from Auburn football ever really played out on the field?  My gut tells me the offense will struggle and we won't be able to pull away.  The offense has got to establish some kind of identity; I'm just not sure we have the process in place to do so.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

5 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

'bout all I can contribute is that

I didn't expect it either

WDE

[AUsince72 11,084]

5 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

I said it in another thread and I mean it - He looks like the 2nd coming of Trey Gainous! 

War Eagle Will Hastings!

[lionheartkc 6,150]

4 minutes ago, ClaytonAU said:

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

I think "most" is an overstatement.  I only saw one or two say that.  The rest of us saw his speed numbers, his position on the depth chart, and what Gus said about him and thought he was going to come out and shock the world.  I, for one, am looking forward to seeing more of him.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

5 hours ago, auskip07 said:

So he forced JB out just to make room for Herb Hand?     "good ole boys club"   Just another version

Yes. People can chose to believe me or not... I honesty could care less. However that doesn't change the facts. Grimes was told he could take an off the field position. It wasn't so he could coach with his son. I wish I could find where I saw it from. I'm actively searching. I'll find it eventually, and post the link.

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

Ok I found it. 

@ellitor reported on the Rant since I have no idea how to post screenshots, I will just copy his post. E if you are wondering, this came from the rant. The name of the thread is "Coach Grimes possibly joining Tubs in Cincinnati." And it is the last post of page 2.

http://www.secrant.com/rant/auburn-sports/coach-grimes-possibly-joining-tubs-in-cincy/61271645/page-2/

 

From JGT 
-JB appears headed to Cincy as FBallscoop reported 
-AU was hoping JB would accept a support position here but Tubs, from Arky like JB, is offering an on field spot 
-Herb Hand @ Penn St & formerly @ Tulsa w/ Gus is the clear favorite to replace JB. 
-Rhett is interviewing w/ a team @ Coaches Convention, Think it's Cincy but not 100% sure 
-Horton in the mix as OC @ UCF & has interviewed 
-CDC likely takes over as OC if Rhett leaves

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

Anyway, I'm glad they hopefully have an offensive gameplan moving forward...

[oracle79 3,569]

1 hour ago, ClaytonAU said:

Can we talk about how most people said we wouldn't even see Will Hastings on the field last week? 

I'd tap the brakes on that I told you so line.  I think he can be a good slot guy like Cole Beasley for the Cowboys or Amendola/Edelman for the Patriots or even Jordy Nelson for the Packers (although Jordy is a lot bigger and much more top end speed).  But, you're expecting Malzhan to incorporate those short timing routes in for a slot receiver or making him a check down in a progression read in this offense?  Good luck with that.  However, the kid is quick and can get separation on timing routes and has good hands.  He's not gonna break anything for a TD, but he will be consistent and give it his all.  I have no idea how he blocks, which ironically is a big deal to Malzahn in this offense despite the horrendous blocking we always see on WR screens.

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

I'd tap the brakes on that I told you so line.  I think he can be a good slot guy like Cole Beasley for the Cowboys or Amendola/Edelman for the Patriots or even Jordy Nelson for the Packers (although Jordy is a lot bigger and much more top end speed).  But, you're expecting Malzhan to incorporate those short timing routes in for a slot receiver or making him a check down in a progression read in this offense?  Good luck with that.  However, the kid is quick and can get separation on timing routes and has good hands.  He's not gonna break anything for a TD, but he will be consistent and give it his all.  I have no idea how he blocks, which ironically is a big deal to Malzahn in this offense despite the horrendous blocking we always see on WR screens.

I think Gus is only concerned with WRs blocking for his RBs. I know that's not true, but man, it looks like he doesn't rep those WR screens at *all* in practice. 

As for Hastings, it just seems like we haven't had a guy get open underneath like he was several times the other night in a long time. A dependable safety valve for medium down and distance? Yes please.