aubiefifty 18,398 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Jordan-Hare dance party: Malzahn fine with Auburn’s in-game dancing Matthew Stevens, Montgomery Advertiser Published 5:03 p.m. CT Nov. 14, 2017 | Updated 6:12 p.m. CT Nov. 14, 2017 Auburn coach Gus Malzahn takes questions from the media going into Saturday's non-conference game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers are coming off a 40-17 win over rival Georgia. Duane Rankin/Montgomery Advertiser CONNECTTWEETLINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE AUBURN — Marlon Davidson described the second half of Auburn’s blowout win over Georgia perfectly. “It was a party,” the sophomore defensive said with a smile. And what does one do at a party? You dance. Several Auburn players certainly showed off dance moves as the game against the team previously No. 1 in the playoff rankings. In the second half while Auburn had Saturday’s game clearly under control, CBS television cameras showed Davidson, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, defensive back Tray Matthews and even defensive line coach Rodney Garner dancing on the field and on the sidelines. Jeff Holland, who leads the Southeastern Conference with nine sacks, was seen in the student section following the game dancing with a sombrero on. “Our guys have worked extremely hard and I want our guys to have fun playing the game,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. Montgomery Advertiser columnist Duane Rankin and Auburn beat writer Matthew Stevens discuss Gus Malzahn's job security after Saturday's 40-17 win over Georgia, the top team in the College Football Playoff poll. Duane Rankin/Montgomery Advertiser Auburn’s defensive line had reason to dance a bit after forcing Georgia’s powerful offense into five tackles for loss and four sacks that showed the dance skills of Holland, Davidson and linebacker Deshaun Davis. “Everybody kind of counted us out when we took that loss to LSU, but one thing about our unit is that we always stick together,” Davis said after the win. “We never let an outside group of people come in and break up what we got. We know we have a good team on the offensive side of the ball and defensive side of the ball.” That “fun” mentality has been a noticeable change to the attitude of Malzahn, an admittedly paranoid worrier, and his staff. But one of the changes Malzahn has admitted to following the second-half collapse at LSU was finding a newfound enjoyment of the game to replace a sense of nervousness. With the talk surrounding what a fourth straight loss to Georgia would do for the Auburn program, its head coach and potentially the rest of their college careers, it was admittedly hard for the Auburn players to express much joy in what they were doing week by week. “Whenever you have a team that’s enjoying themselves, it’ll show in the way that we play,” redshirt freshman defensive lineman Nick Coe said. “We’ve been playing good all year because we’re enjoying ourselves. It’s not really a task, we’re just having fun and enjoying ourselves.” More: Auburn DC Kevin Steele on win vs. Georgia: ‘I’ll remember Saturday night’ Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who has been a coach in college or the NFL for 38 years, said Sunday he was even taken a little aback by the outward emotion his unit showed throughout the Georgia win. “You talk about the dancing, now, in 38 years, that's changed,” Steele said. “That's a little bit different. Now, you can't get so involved in that that you lose your edge. Because you're not at the club, you've got to go back out there and play. I think they were having fun, they enjoyed it. You know when you're doing your job, and you know when you're affecting things in a positive way. That gives you confidence, and that breeds confidence.” Auburn (8-2, 6-1 SEC) is arguably one of the most confident squads in the Southeastern Conference as it approaches a winner-take-all Iron Bowl matchup against No. 1 Alabama (10-0, 7-0) for the Western Division title. Malzahn, who would still be considered an old-school coach, has tried to promote a more enjoyable and pleasurable attitude in practices and games. And if that means dancing, so be it. “That was kind of one of those things I wanted them to do is have more fun,” Malzahn said. “Obviously, when you win it’s (more fun), OK. But I wanted our guys to be a little looser and really, I wanted to be a little looser and have fun myself. That was one of our messages.” Auburn defense hadn't given up a touchdown on an opening drive all season before Georgia did so The Tigers didn't allow much more after that in their 40-17 win over the rival Bulldogs. Duane Rankin/Montgomery Advertiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOne 1,288 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Just don't let it turn into taunting or stupid penalties. Keep it on the sideline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eibua12 81 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Watching the replay since I didn't get a chance to watch it live you see things you would not normally see. Forget the song but something with a good tag in it came on and the D-Line started dancing. My immediate thought: "Wow they look relaxed, focused, and ready to play" That was not sarcasm I felt they were dialed in an enjoyed it, no taunting, no in your face, just a couple moves with the music, good to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldaufeller 367 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 To me it is all about confidence. A game as a whole can get in your head. But as soon as the ball snaps it's all business. Between snaps our guys are not fretting over how can they beat their guy next time. They know they can do their job and the others around them are going to do their jobs. Many years ago I competed in sports not named football and I know a play like the whiff on the punt catch can mess you up. Smart is not saying "It's ok" because it obviously is not ok - but he's trying to reground the receiver mentally. You've have got to reset mentally or you're going to overshoot/undershoot your job. Consider the oline. If you think it's just push the defender off his spot you're wrong. You go too high or low, or even push too hard he'll use your own strength against you. The dancing around and being relaxed is not the reset and it is not the confidence. It''s the evidence of it. When it's not forced and comes around organically like this - it's refreshing to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUld fAUx@ 2,584 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 4 hours ago, TigerOne said: Just don't let it turn into taunting or stupid penalties. Keep it on the sideline. and Heaven Forfend that Coach break out his own moves on the sideline. “That was kind of one of those things I wanted them to do is have more fun,” Malzahn said. “Obviously, when you win it’s (more fun), OK. But I wanted our guys to be a little looser and really, I wanted to be a little looser and have fun myself. That was one of our messages.” We, here in this forum can no longer unsee that, but the national audience is probably not ready https://www.aufamily.com/forums/topic/159806-iron-bowl-is-gonna-be-so-lit/?do=findComment&comment=2763773 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan-0 479 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I haven't seen our fans and players having that much fun in Jordan-Hare in many years. That's the way it's supposed to be. I wish I could've been there. I want to see the whole stadium rocking after we beat Bama! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyeCampAlum 335 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I thought the same as some of you. The dancing actually helps them focus. Football is a grind, and you need to have fun. They weren't taunting or anything like that, just having fun and showing confidence. I loved it. Most of all, good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homersapien 12,275 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I'm fine with it on the sideline, but I cringe a little when it happens on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskanFAN 1,667 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 When you are dancing around and producing results like they did, you are in a zone, like no other. The game actually slows down and it is like you can see everything happening in slow motion but you are at full speed. I remember Brett Farve talking about it one time and wondering what he was talking about until it happened to me. It is an amazing exsperience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,454 Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 It was spontaneous and real. im typically old-school but the entire Georgia game was a great example of coaches empowering the kids to play and enjoy the game. the results (and the dancing) came from it. I thought it was very indicative of the game. I hope the fun continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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