Freeze QB Rotation Changes

[TexasTiger 13,370]

9 minutes ago, AU-24 said:

He did say that, he was also calling the plays on the last drive. Thank God he was!

Said he called 3.

[TeamZero77 1,798]

4 hours ago, DAG said:

The moment this team and fans realize RA is not a QB will be the moment we can finally move forward as an offense.

It's dividing a small part of our fanbase. Nobody on this forum seems that way but on social media and especially the AU podcasts on YouTube, fans are turning on one another. Locked on Auburn videos have straight up arguements over Thorne vs Robby in the comment sections.

A small portion of our fans were 100% certain Robby was gonna be QB1. He didn't win the job so it's just constant slamming of everything Thorne does. That one handed catch Hooks made in scrimmage, Robby's fans only saw it as Thorne overthrowing a 6'4" Hooks and he had to one hand it. It truly seems like those fans want Auburn to lose every game if Thorne remains QB1. That's a Robby fan, not an Auburn fan. I've never seen such a cult like following of a QB that's done as bad as Robby has. I could see being a ride or die with Cam, Nick Marshall but Robby?? 

Robby has had 3 head coaches at AU. Harsin, Caddy and Freeze and none of them let him throw the ball. That's VERY telling. He has a 31% completion pct. this year. Thorne is almost 62%. Thorne took us downfield that last drive. And if I remember right, Robby never came in that last drive. That shows me Thorne should get more long drives like that. Now they claim Robby is still inaccurate because his shoulder is still hurt and his oblique strain. Those 2 things are even more reasons he shouldn't be our starter. 

I hope this doesn't divide our locker room like it's done a small part of our fanbase.

Edited September 12, 2023 by TeamZero77

[NWALA Tiger 3,536]

7 hours ago, HabitualChiller said:

Sooooo, we're really going to act like "not having a rhythm" is a valid excuse for why Thorne looks like garbage out there? I would think that, that would be pretty low on the totem pole of reasons why he played poorly on Saturday. 

 

Frankly, I just don't think he's that good, and the offense isn't talented enough to mask that. 

 

It could also be a possibility that Cal just has a top notch defense.... maybe it's a combination of the above. Who knows? Let's give him until after the A&M. 

PT ain't setting the woods on fire. But, where would we be this year without him? 

[1716AU 733]

9 hours ago, LPTiger said:

100%.  I hope we see PT get all the snaps in the 1st half against Stanford, sorry Samford....

Jesus Tech isn't in the same universe as Sanford, under any metric.

But I bet they really appreciate the thought...:)

[Eagle-1 3,821]

I really think at this point that Freeze is a little mesmerized by Ashford's athleticism. I suspect Ashford can look somewhat serviceable in a controlled practice scenario, but if we're being honest we all know what happens when the lights come on in a real game situation. A shining example was Sat. night when he scrambles to his right, and throws a ball late up for grabs that should have been an easy interception. Ashford has athletic talent, but I would argue that he's actually not even dynamic with the ball in his hands. I think he would benefit himself greatly with a position change. I've seen suggestions of RB, or slot receiver, but I'm not convinced that he is even playing on the right side of the football. At his size, and speed I am wondering if maybe he should move to safety. Just a thought. 

[Mikey 16,781]

6 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

Robby has had 3 head coaches at AU. Harsin, Caddy and Freeze and none of them let him throw the ball. That's VERY telling. He has a 31% completion pct. this year.

Good post. Remember, he was also at Oregon two years and never even saw the field. Slot receiver or safety are the positions at which we can get our money's worth out of his scholarship.

[ScotsAU 1,344]

13 hours ago, KansasTiger said:

I'm not sold this offense needs 'Robby getting his touches'. It needs Thorne to gain confidence and rhythm. If we have a legitimate and consistent passing threat, we have a good enough run game to succeed. Forcing Robby into the game is hurting more than its helping.

Both can be true at the same time. The rotation needs to be managed better to allow Thorne to get in rhythm.

[ScotsAU 1,344]

7 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

It's dividing a small part of our fanbase. Nobody on this forum seems that way but on social media and especially the AU podcasts on YouTube, fans are turning on one another. Locked on Auburn videos have straight up arguements over Thorne vs Robby in the comment sections.

A small portion of our fans were 100% certain Robby was gonna be QB1. He didn't win the job so it's just constant slamming of everything Thorne does. That one handed catch Hooks made in scrimmage, Robby's fans only saw it as Thorne overthrowing a 6'4" Hooks and he had to one hand it. It truly seems like those fans want Auburn to lose every game if Thorne remains QB1. That's a Robby fan, not an Auburn fan. I've never seen such a cult like following of a QB that's done as bad as Robby has. I could see being a ride or die with Cam, Nick Marshall but Robby?? 

Robby has had 3 head coaches at AU. Harsin, Caddy and Freeze and none of them let him throw the ball. That's VERY telling. He has a 31% completion pct. this year. Thorne is almost 62%. Thorne took us downfield that last drive. And if I remember right, Robby never came in that last drive. That shows me Thorne should get more long drives like that. Now they claim Robby is still inaccurate because his shoulder is still hurt and his oblique strain. Those 2 things are even more reasons he shouldn't be our starter. 

I hope this doesn't divide our locker room like it's done a small part of our fanbase.

Who cares? As long as it isn’t dividing the locker room, the coaches are going to do what they think will win games. Winning will shut everyone up. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,536]

1 hour ago, ScotsAU said:

Who cares? As long as it isn’t dividing the locker room, the coaches are going to do what they think will win games. Winning will shut everyone up. 

Problem is , they won't win if he keeps doing what he did Sat.

[ScotsAU 1,344]

35 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said:

Problem is , they won't win if he keeps doing what he did Sat.

Yeah. But he even said in both the post-game presser and the beginning of week presser that they were going to reevaluate how they are going. To rotate them. If they use them both correctly, the rotation can work. What they did Saturday was not rotating them correctly.

[KansasTiger 3,261]

9 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

Yeah. But he even said in both the post-game presser and the beginning of week presser that they were going to reevaluate how they are going. To rotate them. If they use them both correctly, the rotation can work. What they did Saturday was not rotating them correctly.

I think the concern is the commitment to a rotation when historically, no one's been able to consistently do that with any success, outside of some super rare cases. Freeze's commitment to this idea of a 2 qb system is concerning. 

[NWALA Tiger 3,536]

22 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

Yeah. But he even said in both the post-game presser and the beginning of week presser that they were going to reevaluate how they are going. To rotate them. If they use them both correctly, the rotation can work. What they did Saturday was not rotating them correctly.

He is definitely hell bent on playing Robbie 4 some reason

[ScotsAU 1,344]

44 minutes ago, KansasTiger said:

I think the concern is the commitment to a rotation when historically, no one's been able to consistently do that with any success, outside of some super rare cases. Freeze's commitment to this idea of a 2 qb system is concerning. 

It can’t be a rotation per se. But there’s plenty of examples of having players with packages working. That’s what we had in the first game. We went to more of a rotation in the second game.

[autan 767]

If something were to happen to PT and he was held out of Sat. game, Robby playing 3 quarters could possibly roll up 200  yards rushing and 200 yards passing. But what would that prove. Another thing I watched the game again and I believe we all may have been guilty of over rating this OL. Remember one starter has been a backup for several years at AU and the others were very good with their lower level teams and felt they could move up to Power 5. Way to many mistakes, but hopefully they can get it together before TAMU etc down the road.  Most of the blame has been directed to QB (PT) as usual and play calling.  CHF seemed to call out PT openly, but penalties, fumbles, missed blocks etc were called out as team issues not individual. I support Coach Freeze but he does things a little different  and that could be a good thing. Maybe a bit of a maverick. WDE

[AUloggerhead 2,302]

10 minutes ago, autan said:

If something were to happen to PT and he was held out of Sat. game, Robby playing 3 quarters could possibly roll up 200  yards rushing and 200 yards passing. But what would that prove. Another thing I watched the game again and I believe we all may have been guilty of over rating this OL. Remember one starter has been a backup for several years at AU and the others were very good with their lower level teams and felt they could move up to Power 5. Way to many mistakes, but hopefully they can get it together before TAMU etc down the road.  Most of the blame has been directed to QB (PT) as usual and play calling.  CHF seemed to call out PT openly, but penalties, fumbles, missed blocks etc were called out as team issues not individual. I support Coach Freeze but he does things a little different  and that could be a good thing. Maybe a bit of a maverick. WDE

I hate to call out a single player but #72 Miller was having a lot of difficulty with pass blocking the DE.  That definitely needs to be addressed before they start SEC play.  

[HAPvsOA 341]

13 hours ago, HabitualChiller said:

Sooooo, we're really going to act like "not having a rhythm" is a valid excuse for why Thorne looks like garbage out there? I would think that, that would be pretty low on the totem pole of reasons why he played poorly on Saturday. 

 

Frankly, I just don't think he's that good, and the offense isn't talented enough to mask that. 

 

It could also be a possibility that Cal just has a top notch defense.... maybe it's a combination of the above. Who knows? Let's give him until after the A&M. 

Yes, I buy the rhythm part because 1) he's does not seem to be on the same page as his receivers and 2) he looked much better than this at MSU.

Let's take some chances at Samford before it's too risky against tougher opponents. Obviously, we won't be able to run the ball effectively if every opponent from here forward just stack the box and dare AU to take more chances downfiled.

[HAPvsOA 341]

5 hours ago, Eagle-1 said:

I really think at this point that Freeze is a little mesmerized by Ashford's athleticism. I suspect Ashford can look somewhat serviceable in a controlled practice scenario, but if we're being honest we all know what happens when the lights come on in a real game situation. A shining example was Sat. night when he scrambles to his right, and throws a ball late up for grabs that should have been an easy interception. Ashford has athletic talent, but I would argue that he's actually not even dynamic with the ball in his hands. I think he would benefit himself greatly with a position change. I've seen suggestions of RB, or slot receiver, but I'm not convinced that he is even playing on the right side of the football. At his size, and speed I am wondering if maybe he should move to safety. Just a thought. 

Agreed. Look what he did with Malik Willis. I think he was hoping that Ashford would have a similar trajectory. 

[HAPvsOA 341]

6 minutes ago, AUloggerhead said:

I hate to call out a single player but #72 Miller was having a lot of difficulty with pass blocking the DE.  That definitely needs to be addressed before they start SEC play.  

Agreed, but on one play when  Miller got embarrassed by their DE, he came back the next play and embarrassed that same DE, which I was glad to see. But you're right, that can't keep happening if he wants to remain the starting tackle. 

[Mikey 16,781]

10 hours ago, autan said:

I watched the game again and I believe we all may have been guilty of over rating this OL. Remember one starter has been a backup for several years at AU and the others were very good with their lower level teams and felt they could move up to Power 5.

About three weeks ago, if you wanted to get really blasted here, all one had to do was imply that maybe, just maybe, those lower level O-line players weren't going to be SEC world-beaters.

[TeamZero77 1,798]

16 hours ago, Eagle-1 said:

I really think at this point that Freeze is a little mesmerized by Ashford's athleticism. I suspect Ashford can look somewhat serviceable in a controlled practice scenario, but if we're being honest we all know what happens when the lights come on in a real game situation. A shining example was Sat. night when he scrambles to his right, and throws a ball late up for grabs that should have been an easy interception. Ashford has athletic talent, but I would argue that he's actually not even dynamic with the ball in his hands. I think he would benefit himself greatly with a position change. I've seen suggestions of RB, or slot receiver, but I'm not convinced that he is even playing on the right side of the football. At his size, and speed I am wondering if maybe he should move to safety. Just a thought. 

I too have thought about Robby at safety. Let's be honest, when he pulls it and runs as a QB, he has always loved to blow up a defender. For a guy that played baseball, he would rather truck a defender than slide. I think coaches force him to slide and it's not by his choosing. Going back to Hoover he has had shoulder issues from trucking over defenders. He would absolutely blow up some folks if he could play as a safety. He would love that and I think it could keep him in a good headspace. Just my opinion.

[TeamZero77 1,798]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

About three weeks ago, if you wanted to get really blasted here, all one had to do was imply that maybe, just maybe, those lower level O-line players weren't going to be SEC world-beaters.

I made a post back months ago here about our O-Line transfers being G5 players and not facing SEC D-Linemen every week at their other schools and also since they were all from different schools, it would probably take some time to gel. I got blasted about that.

I also said in the same post that we would possibly lose to Cal and my hope was to go 6-6 and get to a bowl game. I got absolutely hammered about all of those predictions. You can just tell Freeze is pretty happy about our defense but knows that our offense may be in trouble, especially starting week 4. He isn't comfortable with any of our QB's right now. It is what it is and he has always said 2024 and 2025 will be the years to really see if our program is on the right path and I truly feel it is.

Year 1 is usually tough when rebuilding. There's a reason coaches call the first year "Year 0" and the 2nd year "year 1." 

[tbone4jc 2,247]

Maybe, just maybe the paid coach who has everything to loose/prove can observe through practice what most armchair coaches on a chat forum cannot?

Maybe there’s a reason Thorn has only had 31 attempts so far?

Maybe Ashford gets a certain amount of touches every game? Why the third strung QB is the third string QB?
I don’t know for sure but someone who’s a proven offensive minded, QB developing, and was hired to resurrect a program, basically from the ground up, might know what he is doing better so than fans of said team? 🤔

CHF gets a pass for this season, as long as we see improvement and guys playing hard. All things considered. 

[Mikey 16,781]

45 minutes ago, tbone4jc said:

Maybe, just maybe the paid coach who has everything to loose/prove can observe through practice what most armchair coaches on a chat forum cannot?

Maybe there’s a reason Thorn has only had 31 attempts so far?

Maybe Ashford gets a certain amount of touches every game? Why the third strung QB is the third string QB?
I don’t know for sure but someone who’s a proven offensive minded, QB developing, and was hired to resurrect a program, basically from the ground up, might know what he is doing better so than fans of said team? 🤔

CHF gets a pass for this season, as long as we see improvement and guys playing hard. All things considered. 

But that kind of thinking takes all the fun out of it!

[LPTiger 5,255]

On 9/12/2023 at 1:25 AM, TeamZero77 said:

 And if I remember right, Robby never came in that last drive.

Wasn't it on the second TD drive that we sent Robby out when the ball was on the 5, but then we took a timeout and sent Thorne back in?

[Hay Field 101 639]

21 hours ago, NWALA Tiger said:

He is definitely hell bent on playing Robbie 4 some reason

this. never know who the locker room is behind either, he could just be keeping peace right now. If that's the case, I hate it because I can't stand a crybaby that controls anything.