Brown,davidson could be best shot against LSU

[aubiefifty 18,222]

Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson could be Auburn’s biggest advantage against LSU

Today 7:00 AM

7-9 minutes

Auburn Football

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson Music City Bowl Purdue vs Auburn on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018 in Nashville, TN. Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Derrick Brown is perpetually in Marlon Davidson’s ear, always chirping, always talking some trash.

It’s friendly banter, of course — Davidson and Brown have gone back and forth in the media over the last two weeks calling each other fat — but the two senior defensive linemen have an ongoing rivalry that has fueled their success on the field this season. The two have combined for five of the eight SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors handed out this season, with Davidson claiming his third on Monday — and Auburn had a bye during one of those weeks — and they’ve been the catalysts of a defense that has been one of the most effective in the country this season at getting to the quarterback.

“We just bounce off each other,” Brown said. “On the defensive line we want to see each other make plays. Marlon makes a play, I make a play, (Tyrone) Truesdell makes a play, Coynis (Miller), whoever. It’s just fun to get back to the sidelines and be able to talk junk to each other about it.”

That constant one-upmanship will need to be taken up a notch this weekend, when No. 9 Auburn heads to Death Valley to take on No. 2 LSU, as Brown and Davidson’s ability to create havoc in the backfield presents Auburn with its best chance at pulling an upset on Saturday in a venue that has been a personal house of horrors for the program over the last two decades.

When Auburn heads into Baton Rouge, La., it will be going up against a high-powered offense that no one has really been able to slow this season, as Ed Orgeron’s team has finally adapted to its personnel and implemented a spread-out attack centered around RPOs and a highly efficient quarterback in Joe Burrow.

LSU ranks second nationally in both scoring offense (50.1 points per game) and passing offense (385.7 yards per game), while ranking fourth nationally in yards per pass attempt (10.9) thanks to an offense predicated on intermediate and downfield passes. How well Auburn’s defensive front can get into the backfield and disrupt Burrow, who leads the nation in on-target pass percentage when he’s pressured (82.5 percent) and is even more surgical when unpressured (91.9 percent) according to Sports Info Solutions, is one of the biggest questions entering the matchup.

According to SEC StatCat, Burrow has only been pressured on 18.35 percent of his throws this season — 40 of his 218 attempts, completing 26 of them (65 percent) for 429 yards and five touchdowns — while LSU has allowed just 12 sacks on the year. For the season, he has completed 173-of-218 (79.4 percent) of his passes for 2,484 yards, 29 touchdowns and just three interceptions while averaging 11.4 yards per attempt.

“Joe Burrow, man — the guy plays with a tremendous poise,” Davidson said. “He's just a great team player, a great teammate and a great player, regardless. It's going to be hard to stop a guy like him. You can try to contain him a little bit, but that guy right there, he's the real deal.

“I feel like we're going to try to get after him. But I mean, at the end of the day, it's kind of hard to do that against a guy like that. It's kind of hard.”

How much Davidson and Brown — and the rest of Auburn’s defensive line — can affect Burrow will go a long way toward deciding the outcome Saturday at Tiger Stadium. Brown and Davidson in particular have been on a collective tear this season and have taken up residency in opposing backfields. They have combined for 8.5 sacks, with Davidson accounting for 5.5 of them; 13.5 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles — three of which have come over the last two games against Florida and Arkansas.

“Just to play with him and just having him barking in my ear like, 'I got you. I'm going to get something better than you this game.' You know, it's just a competition thing, man,” Davidson said. “Just to play with a guy like him, there are only certain guys like him who come around in an era. He's one of a kind.”

That’s a point that Orgeron won’t dispute. The third-year LSU coach knows both Brown and Davidson well; he tried to recruit each of them to LSU when he was then just the defensive line coach in Baton Rouge.

Orgeron recalled Monday the time he paid Brown a visit in Buford, Ga. Brown, a former five-star prospect, stood up in the doorway and nearly filled it shoulder-to-shoulder.

“That’s the type of player that he is — a mountain of a man,” Orgeron said. “I’m glad he stayed (for his senior year); really, it’s good for college football. He’s probably going to be a top-five pick. I recruited him and I wish that man the best of luck — obviously not this Saturday, but it’s good to see him playing very well.”

On Saturday Orgeron may not be as glad that Brown opted to return for his senior season instead of entering the NFL Draft early, as the 6-foot-5, 318-pounder leads the way for a defensive line that the LSU coach described as the best his team will have faced this season and one that has been so effective at creating pressure that Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele hasn’t had to dial up as many blitzes.

It’s a luxury Auburn has enjoyed this season, and one that has LSU’s attention heading into Saturday’s top-10 showdown. Orgeron acknowledged that you can’t exactly leave Brown one-on-one against a lineman, but LSU is still going to try to avoid double-teaming the future first-round pick if it can and rely on basic five-man protections for Burrow.

“If we’re going to run our offense, we’re going to have to five-man protect,” Orgeron said. “That’s our offense. We’re going to go empty and five-man protect. That means someone’s one-on-one with Derrick Brown and is going to have to win. If we can do that, we’re happy, but if we can’t, we’re going to have to make adjustments—keep a tight end in, keep a back in, chip, or whatever it may take. But we want to get five receivers out all the time, and that gives Joe a better option, gives us a better option…. It all starts with protection. If we can beat those guys one-on-one, we’ll be fine.”

Auburn is banking on that not being the case and that Brown, Davidson and the rest of the line can create enough pressure to take LSU’s high-flying offense out of rhythm. Even if LSU needs to adjust and try to double-team Brown in some manner, Davidson likes the chances of Auburn’s line. As the senior defensive end pointed out, it’s a pick-your-poison situation with the way he and Brown have been playing this season.

“Nobody just can’t pick who they’re going to block,” Davidson said. “You slide protection to Derrick, and I'm liable to make a play. You slide to me, Derrick will make a play. It just keeps teams at a disadvantage. They can't just figure out what we're going to do.”

It’s why Davidson and Brown may be Auburn’s biggest advantage against LSU, which is a double-digit favorite in what will amount to the most high-stakes game yet for Gus Malzahn’s team this season.

“I feel like they got some more in them,” safety Daniel Thomas said. “… Those guys, they’ve been consistent since they’ve been here. We’re glad we got those guys on our side.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[BJCrawford 1,568]

I’m watching an interview with Derrick Brown and he is being asked about LSUs offense. It’s obvious they are trying to get him to say something he should not. He is not even close to taking the bait! He was asked specifically about Joe Burrow and he gave him big props! Love me some Derrick Brown!!! No bulletin board material from him!! 

[Maverick.AU 13,291]

I’ve said it before, half joking, but one of these guys needs to be a lead blocker if we’re having a hard time getting a push on short yardage Saturday. These guys want IT and want it badly, it’s time to pull out all the stops.

[AUsince72 11,084]

1 hour ago, Maverick.AU said:

I’ve said it before, half joking, but one of these guys needs to be a lead blocker if we’re having a hard time getting a push on short yardage Saturday. These guys want IT and want it badly, it’s time to pull out all the stops.

Very interesting concept.

Teams can't even successfully double-team Brown so image HIM being the one dishing out the blocks!

JG over the top with DB as lead blocker?  Automatic!

[WarTim 3,524]

5 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

Very interesting concept.

Teams can't even successfully double-team Brown so image HIM being the one dishing out the blocks!

JG over the top with DB as lead blocker?  Automatic!

That is a thought.....hmmm. Would be interesting to say the least. 

[tbone1430 1,353]

31 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

Very interesting concept.

Teams can't even successfully double-team Brown so image HIM being the one dishing out the blocks!

JG over the top with DB as lead blocker?  Automatic!

Im not a coach but if I was I'd definitely have a jumbo package with JG in the shotgun with DB and Spencer Nigh as H backs. That's a lot of manpower coming downhill to only need 1-2 yards. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

3 minutes ago, tbone1430 said:

Im not a coach but if I was I'd definitely have a jumbo package with JG in the shotgun with DB and Spencer Nigh as H backs. That's a lot of manpower coming downhill to only need 1-2 yards. 

...and who says we wouldn't make FANTASTIC coaches? 🤔

[jAUSon 2,836]

26 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

...and who says we wouldn't make FANTASTIC coaches? 🤔

I would be the worst coach ever. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

7 minutes ago, jAUSon said:

I would be the worst coach ever. 

Truth be told....me too.  I have no delusions otherwise, LOL!

[Maverick.AU 13,291]

1 hour ago, AUsince72 said:

Very interesting concept.

Teams can't even successfully double-team Brown so image HIM being the one dishing out the blocks!

JG over the top with DB as lead blocker?  Automatic!

My first thought was back to the fridge, but I’m worried DB might trip if we give him the ball, if he trips while blocking, he takes out 2 people at minimum

[Maverick.AU 13,291]

52 minutes ago, AUsince72 said:

...and who says we wouldn't make FANTASTIC coaches? 🤔

Add me to the list, I said unbalanced under center with DB at FB and Marlon at RB lol

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

2 hours ago, AUsince72 said:

Very interesting concept.

Teams can't even successfully double-team Brown so image HIM being the one dishing out the blocks!

JG over the top with DB as lead blocker?  Automatic!

I vote D. Brown running the Whirly -bird Special and going over the top himself. Most athletic guy on the team...pound for pound.

[AUsince72 11,084]

8 hours ago, Tigerpro2a said:

I vote D. Brown running the Whirly -bird Special and going over the top himself. Most athletic guy on the team...pound for pound.