Let's not forget our offensive mastermind Freeze

[AURex 2,272]

Freeze said at the beginning of his post-game presser that he though we were further along than this.

Isn't it his JOB to KNOW?

Also, everyone is laying blame on the OL and Thorne, and yes they did not perform well, but let's be honest. It is the JOB of the coach calling the plays to put his players in a position to succeed by calling plays that the team can execute successfully.

Freeze kept asking Thorne to throw bombs, which always always limits potential success because (1) the OL must hold their blocks longer against (often blitzing) defenses, (2) the long throw must be really accurate, and (3) the receiver usually must fight for the reception.

Why did Freeze keep calling these bombs over and over and over? The old adage goes, it is insane to continue doing something that does not work again and again, thinking it will work next time. Yet that is what Freeze was doing!

So many people have put Freeze on some sort of pedestal as an offensive mastermind.  Frankly, I'm questioning that. Yes, he needs to get a QB out there who can execute plays. But he also needs to CALL plays that the team can successfully execute.

But last year he was obsessed with getting Robby on the field and inserting his magic plays into the offense. Now he has the offense playing bombs away.

I just don't get it.

Okay, rant over!

 

[NoALtiger 4,080]

Apparently an excellent recruiter yes

Offensive mastermind no

[AU120289 561]

His credentials are lacking in the offensive mastermind department.

However, he seems to be a mastermind at stacking really bad losses. 

[ToomersStreet 798]

1. The entire team performed life they spent last week reading the press clippings of their A&M win instead of practicing. 

2. Twice last season Freeze admitted to being absent from practice all week to recruit.  Did he do it this time around.

3. The team is likely further ahead.  Thorne isn't

[DAG 35,205]

I just think we the transfer portal and NIL culture , it is exposing a lot of coaches who relied on their algorithms instead of being dynamic coaches. A lot of these guys , I am start to see a complete blind spot in coaching up and setting up their talent in a rapid pace. 

[Hank2020 3,408]

21 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

1. The entire team performed life they spent last week reading the press clippings of their A&M win instead of practicing. 

2. Twice last season Freeze admitted to being absent from practice all week to recruit.  Did he do it this time around.

3. The team is likely further ahead.  Thorne isn't

QB position must lift the team up, not pull it down. Agree playcalling was an issue also IMO.

[GAAubie 520]

9 hours ago, AURex said:

Freeze said at the beginning of his post-game presser that he though we were further along than this.

Isn't it his JOB to KNOW?

Also, everyone is laying blame on the OL and Thorne, and yes they did not perform well, but let's be honest. It is the JOB of the coach calling the plays to put his players in a position to succeed by calling plays that the team can execute successfully.

Freeze kept asking Thorne to throw bombs, which always always limits potential success because (1) the OL must hold their blocks longer against (often blitzing) defenses, (2) the long throw must be really accurate, and (3) the receiver usually must fight for the reception.

Why did Freeze keep calling these bombs over and over and over? The old adage goes, it is insane to continue doing something that does not work again and again, thinking it will work next time. Yet that is what Freeze was doing!

So many people have put Freeze on some sort of pedestal as an offensive mastermind.  Frankly, I'm questioning that. Yes, he needs to get a QB out there who can execute plays. But he also needs to CALL plays that the team can successfully execute.

But last year he was obsessed with getting Robby on the field and inserting his magic plays into the offense. Now he has the offense playing bombs away.

I just don't get it.

Okay, rant over!

 

I agree with a lot of what you typed, but you don't know until you face a real team as to what you have. Last week wasn't much more than a walk thru and they aced that game. Cal is better than MOST Auburn fans perceived (we still should have won). I don't care who you are, but if you turn the ball over 5 times and the opposing QB goes 19-21 with a throw away in the first half, that's STRONG and you will probably get beat! WE STILL HAD OUR CHANCES AND BLEW IT!

[AUFAN78 4,162]

I'm not sure where this mastermind language comes from regarding the coach's offensive-mindedness, but here are a few stats that tell a good story. Just to let you know, they do not portray those of a mastermind as it relates to offense. 

 

Freeze went 34-15 during his four-season stint at Liberty. He brought the Flames into the AP Top 25 in two of those seasons, winning three bowl games along the way.

His offense averaged over 400 yards per game in each of those four seasons, and over 30 points in three. 

At Ole Miss in the SEC, Freeze’s offenses weren’t quite as consistently excellent, but they were above average in four out of five seasons. The highlight came in 2015, when Freeze and Chad Kelly led the Rebels to 10 wins and 517.8 yards total offense per game. 

The peak of Freeze’s Liberty career came in 2020, when his Malik Willis-led attack went 10-1, averaged 38.2 points more than 480 yards per game and 6.7 yards per play. 

[AuCivilEng1 12,505]

10 hours ago, AURex said:

Freeze said at the beginning of his post-game presser that he though we were further along than this.

Isn't it his JOB to KNOW?

Also, everyone is laying blame on the OL and Thorne, and yes they did not perform well, but let's be honest. It is the JOB of the coach calling the plays to put his players in a position to succeed by calling plays that the team can execute successfully.

Freeze kept asking Thorne to throw bombs, which always always limits potential success because (1) the OL must hold their blocks longer against (often blitzing) defenses, (2) the long throw must be really accurate, and (3) the receiver usually must fight for the reception.

Why did Freeze keep calling these bombs over and over and over? The old adage goes, it is insane to continue doing something that does not work again and again, thinking it will work next time. Yet that is what Freeze was doing!

So many people have put Freeze on some sort of pedestal as an offensive mastermind.  Frankly, I'm questioning that. Yes, he needs to get a QB out there who can execute plays. But he also needs to CALL plays that the team can successfully execute.

But last year he was obsessed with getting Robby on the field and inserting his magic plays into the offense. Now he has the offense playing bombs away.

I just don't get it.

Okay, rant over!

 

To be fair to the staff (and I’m not going to do this a lot) I’m not entirely sure they were “calling bombs”. I think there were plays called that allowed Thorne who is a 5th year senior to read the defense and throw the bomb if it’s there. There were intermediate routes schemed wide ass open all night. Payton just didn’t throw them. 
 

IMO the coaches are at fault for not knowing that Payton can’t read defenses, pick up blitzes, or stay calm in his pocket. They are also at fault for not running the ball more to open things up and make his reads a little easier. But I really don’t think the designed pass plays were bad. 

[Win4AU 4,205]

Freeze is trying to run an offense that he doesn’t have the players for yet.  He wants to show the Duece’s of the world what could be instead of using what he does have to win football games.  I think most these recruits would rather play for a winning team than a what if team.

[NWALA Tiger 3,743]

1 hour ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

To be fair to the staff (and I’m not going to do this a lot) I’m not entirely sure they were “calling bombs”. I think there were plays called that allowed Thorne who is a 5th year senior to read the defense and throw the bomb if it’s there. There were intermediate routes schemed wide ass open all night. Payton just didn’t throw them. 
 

IMO the coaches are at fault for not knowing that Payton can’t read defenses, pick up blitzes, or stay calm in his pocket. They are also at fault for not running the ball more to open things up and make his reads a little easier. But I really don’t think the designed pass plays were bad. 

💯 

[aubiefifty 18,407]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Freeze is trying to run an offense that he doesn’t have the players for yet.  He wants to show the Duece’s of the world what could be instead of using what he does have to win football games.  I think most these recruits would rather play for a winning team than a what if team.

a whole bunch of auburn fans on other sites say we are still two years away from really making some noise. it was mentioned we still have some harsin kids and most of them are not very good at all. also our freshmen...as good as they are still have some growing pains. and if it is true we have learned a new "O" and a new "D" system that might be a tad of an issue. shrugs.......i am just a fan so i could be dead wrong.

[weagl1 1,812]

O line is porous in pass blocking just like last year.  QB has not improved at all.  Hugh has recruited some great looking receivers with obvious talent but what good is it if the QB cannot get them the ball because he is either under too much pressure or can’t find wide open receivers and deliver the ball on target even when he has time?  It looks like those deficiencies should have become evident in practice.  What happened to short quick slants to get the ball in the playmakers hands and let them do their thing?  What happened to buttoning up the helmets and running the dang ball?  The whole offense and game plan just looked inept.  Defense clamped down in the second half but you can’t win a game when the QB is throwing it to the wrong color jerseys over and over and over and over again.  

[GAAubie 520]

After 2 games, I'm already having to buy a new "lucky cap". The last one only worked for the first game... 

[fasttimes61 47]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Freeze is trying to run an offense that he doesn’t have the players for yet.  He wants to show the Duece’s of the world what could be instead of using what he does have to win football games.  I think most these recruits would rather play for a winning team than a what if team.

IF this is the case, he is as bad as harsin. what coach worth his salt runs an offense that doesn't play to his players abilities/strengths?

of course judgement has been an issue for freeze in the past.

[e808 3,260]

41 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

a whole bunch of auburn fans on other sites say we are still two years away from really making some noise. it was mentioned we still have some harsin kids and most of them are not very good at all. also our freshmen...as good as they are still have some growing pains. and if it is true we have learned a new "O" and a new "D" system that might be a tad of an issue. shrugs.......i am just a fan so i could be dead wrong.

Not sure about the Harsin leftovers. If anything maybe 5% left. The roster has been completely flipped. He won’t get four years in the Nil and portal world. IMO if this season turns out to be 6-7 or 5-8, next year would have to be 9 wins. With the expansion of the playoffs u might see a three loss team in there depending on their SOS

[EastTNTiger 14]

13 hours ago, AURex said:

Freeze said at the beginning of his post-game presser that he though we were further along than this.

Isn't it his JOB to KNOW?

Also, everyone is laying blame on the OL and Thorne, and yes they did not perform well, but let's be honest. It is the JOB of the coach calling the plays to put his players in a position to succeed by calling plays that the team can execute successfully.

Freeze kept asking Thorne to throw bombs, which always always limits potential success because (1) the OL must hold their blocks longer against (often blitzing) defenses, (2) the long throw must be really accurate, and (3) the receiver usually must fight for the reception.

Why did Freeze keep calling these bombs over and over and over? The old adage goes, it is insane to continue doing something that does not work again and again, thinking it will work next time. Yet that is what Freeze was doing!

So many people have put Freeze on some sort of pedestal as an offensive mastermind.  Frankly, I'm questioning that. Yes, he needs to get a QB out there who can execute plays. But he also needs to CALL plays that the team can successfully execute.

But last year he was obsessed with getting Robby on the field and inserting his magic plays into the offense. Now he has the offense playing bombs away.

I just don't get it.

Okay, rant over!

 

You nailed it. Wish we would have gotten Jeff Lebby. Wish we had a Mississippi st connection that could fess up to his mistake, and hire Lebby.

[autiger88 3,892]

He is too busy recruiting to pay attention to game details, give him time year 5 will be the difference. 😏

[autigeremt 7,251]

Freeze is a bridge guy. I just have to make myself believe it. 🤪

[CCTAU 3,640]

7 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

To be fair to the staff (and I’m not going to do this a lot) I’m not entirely sure they were “calling bombs”. I think there were plays called that allowed Thorne who is a 5th year senior to read the defense and throw the bomb if it’s there. There were intermediate routes schemed wide ass open all night. Payton just didn’t throw them. 
 

IMO the coaches are at fault for not knowing that Payton can’t read defenses, pick up blitzes, or stay calm in his pocket. They are also at fault for not running the ball more to open things up and make his reads a little easier. But I really don’t think the designed pass plays were bad. 

I was about to say this. 
I think a lot of the problem is that they practice the bombs first. And in practice, the WRs catch everything against the scout team. The RPO should be about moving the ball down the field with conservative passes that allow the receiver to make yards after catch, and then catching the defense asleep for the bomb. We have a bomb mentality with ladyfinger results…

 

 

[shabby 2,092]

Saves a little soon for the Doom and Gloom mentality. I think what's most likely is freeze saw the offensive game plan from week one put up Stellar stats and thought he could just redo it with a better opponent. He could not and he did not adjust in the game. Thorn was absolutely awful as well. He has too many weapons to not be able to find an open receiver in a short time. I don't really know what to think about our offensive this point. Maybe we'll be significant better as the year goes on. Maybe we won't. I'll be along for the ride. Because Breeze isn't going anywhere for at least three or four years

[cbo 8,914]

We came out of the gate pass heavy in the first 2 games. Since we don't have a QB, let's establish the run first. I have concerns about run blocking, but I like our RBs much more than our QBs. 

And of course we need more short and intermediate passes. Get the ball in the hands of the talented WRs and see what they can do. That 4th and 2 bomb early in the game was moronic and stopped all momentum on offense. 

Finally, give Hank a shot. I'm not overly optimistic about the backup QBs but we have to try something different. Thorne is 23 years old. He doesn't have any surprises in store for us. 

 

[AURex 2,272]

Thing is, after the disaster last year, CHF said he was going to take a more active role in the offense, including play calling. I don't know if he was calling all the plays against Cal, but he said in his post-game presser that he "thought we were further along than this."

Well, to repeat myself, it's his JOB to know where the team is offensively. It's his JOB to make sure the offensive plays are designed to succeed.

He's. The. Man. He said he was going to take responsibility.

BUT! He's NOT taking responsibility. He's throwing the blame at others because "I thought we were further along than this."

We've heard this kind of crap before -- head coaches saying "it's not my fault." Well, CHF, it IS your fault. This is your job and you are not doing it.

 

[Tigger1985 916]

I don’t think we were supposed to be throwing bombs. Thorne didn’t look for the short receivers or intermediate ones. He only looks at one. When he should have hit the back, it was late and the defense had recovered. Passes were behind everyone allowing defense to make plays on the ball. Hank should have been put in 

[TeamZero77 1,967]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:21 PM, AURex said:

Freeze said at the beginning of his post-game presser that he though we were further along than this.

Isn't it his JOB to KNOW?

Also, everyone is laying blame on the OL and Thorne, and yes they did not perform well, but let's be honest. It is the JOB of the coach calling the plays to put his players in a position to succeed by calling plays that the team can execute successfully.

Freeze kept asking Thorne to throw bombs, which always always limits potential success because (1) the OL must hold their blocks longer against (often blitzing) defenses, (2) the long throw must be really accurate, and (3) the receiver usually must fight for the reception.

Why did Freeze keep calling these bombs over and over and over? The old adage goes, it is insane to continue doing something that does not work again and again, thinking it will work next time. Yet that is what Freeze was doing!

So many people have put Freeze on some sort of pedestal as an offensive mastermind.  Frankly, I'm questioning that. Yes, he needs to get a QB out there who can execute plays. But he also needs to CALL plays that the team can successfully execute.

But last year he was obsessed with getting Robby on the field and inserting his magic plays into the offense. Now he has the offense playing bombs away.

I just don't get it.

Okay, rant over!

 

I question Freeze's decision making. Things like continuing to swap Robby Ashford in for Thorne mid drive and screwing up any rhythm we had. According to Thorne's interview late last season, he and Robby both had told Hugh and Montgomery they weren't comfortable doing that and they had never seen it be successful. But Freeze continued to do it, or allowing Montgomery to do it, until game 9 or 10 last year. 

Then he doubled down on keeping Thorne and not getting a portal QB. He's damn near the ONLY person who thinks Thorne is the answer for us. 

One other thing that worries me is Hugh has said from his first day at Auburn that Kent Austin is the best QB developer in the country. He was still saying it at SEC Media Days. So if Payton Thorne is our best shot to win games, then that means Hank, Holden and Walker are really bad. Hank, Payton and Holden have been here all 15 games that Hugh and Kent Austin have been here. So why hasn't this "best QB developer in the country" got this QB room in better shape by now? Hugh says that Hank isn't as mobile as he would like to fully run this RPO offense, then why did he offer and sign Hank to a scholly? Hank wasn't mobile when Hugh signed him. That's a BIG gripe I have. Hugh Freeze was always said to be an offensive guru and great with QB's. But since he's been here, Thorne looks worse than he did at MSU, Robby got worse last year compared to the 2022 season, and he says Hank, Holden and Walker make bad reads all the time and their accuracy isn't up to snuff. 

Hugh still says Kent Austin is a great developer but in the time he's been here, Austin hasn't proven jack squat. I guarantee you that if Josh Heupel, Sarkisian, Kiffin or DeBoer had this QB room we have, they would be scheming something up to put our offense in the best position to be successful. They would definitely get more out of our QB's than Hugh and Austin have. 

I'm getting serious Gus Malzahn vibes with Freeze. Stubborn and what worked for him 10 years ago has long been figured out but he's still hellbent on it working. Other than recruiting, the current college football game has passed Hugh by the same way it passed Jimbo and Gus by. Hugh is too old-school and hasn't adapted his style to the current style of offenses. He doesn't adapt well. Dabo and Jimbo are the same way. Going back to the new clock rules last year, Hugh said he hated them. The 2 transfer portal windows and NIL, he hates them. The new 2 minute warning at end of halfs, he hates them. The new helmet communication, he hates it. 

He's stubborn and other than recruiting, he is living in the dark ages while Ole Miss, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and others keep getting farther and farther away from us.