Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

[aubiefifty 18,222]

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Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

ByJason Caldwell

5-6 minutes

one more deep breath

Granted it was against Arkansas, but Auburn’s best performance of the season came off a bye week and now the Tigers will have an opportunity to repeat that with a week off to prepare for a physical Georgia team. Georgia had a big win against Florida in Jacksonville on Saturday and could have some issues on Saturday if Missouri can find its offense again heading into Athens.

This is an important week for an Auburn team that was emotionally and physically taxed following a full month away from home and physical games against Florida and LSU. Those games took a toll on the team and the Tigers will need to be at full strength for the final two big tests of the year against Georgia and Alabama. 

That’s particularly the case on defense where Marlon Davidson and Jeremiah Dinson missed the Ole Miss game and several other players like Nick Coe and Javaris Davis suffered minor injuries in the win. Getting the defense full speed and ready to go is huge against a Georgia team that will try to come downhill and be physical. 

On offense Auburn needs to finish its opportunities. While the score didn’t indicate it, Saturday’s game was a much better showing for the Tigers from my point of view. Getting into a rhythm throwing the football opened up the offense and it’s something the Tigers will have to continue to do with this team to be successful in my opinion. Using the first down throws as long handoffs will help this team get in more manageable second down and third down situations, something that is a must to have success against top defensive teams.

Shoring up the kicking game in the off week is important as well following a three missed field goal night from Anders Carlson and another long punt return that cost Auburn a touchdown against Ole Miss. Those kinds of mistakes can't happen if the Tigers want to finish this season on a high note.

We have been talking up the potential of DJ Williams since he became a top priority for Auburn in his senior year of high school and now he’s showing why he was such a fast riser for many teams. With a knack for finding the hole and finishing runs, Williams is going to give the Tigers a very good one-two punch at the position to finish the season and looks like he’s got the makings of a future lead back in Auburn’s offense.

We saw the ability of Jay Jay Wilson and Harold Joiner to be playmakers in Auburn’s offense against Ole Miss with Wilson going over the middle out of the tight end slot for a big gainer in traffic. Joiner’s play showed his athleticism on the perimeter and his speed makes him a tough matchup for linebackers while his size gives him an advantage over most defensive backs.

With Auburn wanting to be physical and run the football, both players could become a real key down the stretch as teams continue to try to take away Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams as much as possible. The Tigers have used the middle of the field more in the last two games than they have the last few years. That needs to cont nue to be an emphasis with this offense. 

 

                                          Basketball........................

 

Obviously, Eckerd College isn’t Kentucky, but the first chance to see the full squad work against another opponent was an impressive one for Coach Bruce Pearl’s Tigers last Friday night. I continue to be amazed at the progression of point guard J’Von McCormick from the guy I saw last summer when he arrived on the Auburn campus from junior college. One coach said he’s “fearless” and that shows up every time he takes the court. He’s not afraid of the big moment and that confidence is something really important for a basketball player, especially for a point guard. This Auburn team won’t shoot the ball as well in every game as it did the other night, but the Tigers going to compete and if they continue to get good shots they will once again have a chance to play with anyone.

8COMMENTS

The Tigers will open the season with a couple of good tests this week with a Tuesday night home contest vs. Georgia Southern, one of the top teams in the Sun Belt, and a trip to the Naval Academy for a neutral site game on Friday vs. what is expected to be a strong Davidson team.

[Win4AU 4,181]

#1 gotta get everyone healthy on defense.  Auburn has shown that they can hold any offense in check and so far Georgia hasn’t been setting the world on fire on that side of the ball.

#2 Auburn will have to come out with a game plan to sustain drives.  I think that starts with a 1-2-3 punch of DJ, Boobee, Kmart/Shivers.  If the offense stalls and Georgia is allowed to keep their offense on the field Swift will eat Auburn alive.  

#3. The new holder and Carlson need to get it together.  Not sure what happened to the old holder but Auburn can’t leave points on the field.

[BJCrawford 1,568]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

#1 gotta get everyone healthy on defense.  Auburn has shown that they can hold any offense in check and so far Georgia hasn’t been setting the world on fire on that side of the ball.

#2 Auburn will have to come out with a game plan to sustain drives.  I think that starts with a 1-2-3 punch of DJ, Boobee, Kmart/Shivers.  If the offense stalls and Georgia is allowed to keep their offense on the field Swift will eat Auburn alive.  

#3. The new holder and Carlson need to get it together.  Not sure what happened to the old holder but Auburn can’t leave points on the field.

Good question ....what did happen to the old holder?

[augolf1716 21,962]

1 minute ago, BJCrawford said:

Good question ....what did happen to the old holder?

He got old......................sorry couldn't resist....................

[BJCrawford 1,568]

5 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

He got old......................sorry couldn't resist....................

Ok ....previous holder....I’m impressed you caught my grammar error considering how old everyone says you are (see I wanted to show you I could use old correctly😬)

[Sizzle 3,948]

I’m ready to see a healthy DJ/Boobee tandem. Fans starting to underrate how good Boobee is, I get it DJ is looking really good but Boobee is really good too. He knows how to find the endzone. 

Having those 2 bruising back will finally open up Shivers for a long run

[AUsince72 11,084]

7 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

I’m ready to see a healthy DJ/Boobee tandem. Fans starting to underrate how good Boobee is, I get it DJ is looking really good but Boobee is really good too. He knows how to find the endzone. 

Having those 2 bruising back will finally open up Shivers for a long run

Personally, outside of him needing to better his ball security, Boobee is WAY underrated. 

He's not the speediest guy but his drive & determination when running are second to none. 

[alexava 6,974]

It’s time for the run game and ground game to come together. At home after a bye. Can’t wait. 

[wde21 344]

3 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

He got old......................sorry couldn't resist....................

Gus said on his after game show that he was hurt.

[Sully to Beasley 643]

I also like Harold Joiner. Yes, he needs to secure the ball better but with him, Whitlow and Williams roaring in the backfield, we could have one of the more potent running games in all of College Football. That would take a lot of pressure off our true freshman QB.