Obviously, my AU team is not where I thought we could be after 3 games. There's an epidemic on offense that has mangled our efficiency to the tune of 10 turnovers the past 2 games. And no, it's not all Cox's fault. Though I resisted the temptation to 'boo' after his pick-six to start the game, that has no place in Auburn football. True AU fans understand that these kids are part of the family and don't 'owe' us anything. But, I digress. The real reason, as many have conjectured of late, is the fact that we've started this season with more than 2/3 of our backfield missing. Whatever the reason for Cox's woes, he's not the same QB that we were expecting. Add to that Lester and Tristan have yet to play a snap and our part-time F-back is the only effective player from a backfield that has been depleted for 1 reason or another. Hence all the turnovers and poor execution, resulting from a need to play freshmen, i.e. Burns, Fannin.
Where to go from here? Only one way and that's up. While these younger players develop, we will need more leadership in other areas, namely Dline and receiving. If you thought MSU gained too many yards on the ground, wait until we pay a visit to NW Arkansas! The guys on the Dline need to man up. They need to give our offense a shot at winning the ball game. All 3 teams we've faced have scored on their opening drives. So from the get-go, we're playing catchup. And this offense can't succeed like that. Additionally, our receiving has been very inconsistent. I can't count how many dropped balls we've had, both WR and TE. If we can get better production out of these 2 areas + our backfield and eliminate our turnovers, we'll see better results on the field, obviously.
So, there's not one solution at this point. Our coaches will have to earn their money this year. BTW, I wonder how LSU, Alabama, or Florida would perform if they suddenly loss 2/3 of their backfield? Not making excuses, just an explanation.
As far as my picks go, I'm 23-4 (85%) thus far. Auburn's bit me twice. :-(
Alabama 41, Arkansas 38
Florida 59, Tennessee 20
Georgia 45, Western Carolina 16
Kentucky 40, Louisville 34
LSU 44, Middle Tennessee 0
Vanderbilt 31, Ole Miss 17
South Carolina 38, South Carolina State 3
*Mississippi State 19, Auburn 14
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4 comments:
Yeah, it's pretty unbelivable how things went downhill. I wonder if we're paying the piper for all the close wins last year. Out of 11 wins last year, I can't remember us truly dominating anybody (at least in the SEC; but even Buffalo was not the butt-kicking it should have been). So it feels like, to me, that our performance has been trending downward for some time.
I think we have to concede that this will now be a rebuilding year and we can't expect much from this point on. I still think we have a chance at a winning season and a bowl if we just quit turning the ball over. 13 in 3 games is just awful. The game against State was there for the taking if we just don't cough it up so much. Still, you have to give some credit to State for a well played game and a gutty performance without their QB for most of the game. I'm not sure I've seen so much parity in the SEC as this year with MSU, Kentucky, and S.Carolina notching big wins already and Vandy very capable of an upset.
But back to Auburn, you're right Brandon. Our backfield has taken a big hit and I don't know if things will get better. Our coaches definitely have their work cut out to try to balance the offense now between Cox and Burns. Ideally, it would be nice just to see Brandon get his crap together and play like he's capable of and we could avoid a QB controversy. But that's not likely. Burns is definitely going to be exciting to watch though. No matter what happens, though, I hope the fans don't keep booing Brandon; he deserves better than that and it won't impress any recruits.
New Mexico St. looked like just a blip on the schedule before the season started, but now it may be the biggest game of the year because it will shape the direction we take from that game forward. If we play UF,VU,Ark, and LSU without a reasonably clear idea of the offense we want to run we're in for some long Saturdays.
War Eagle anyway. I've seen much worse and we've got too much talent to flounder around for too long. I predict it will come together at some point this season.
Good points auwin07. I remember Phil Steele bringing up our fortune from last year and how it would probably bite us this year. He was obviously right. But, no one could've seen what's happened to our backfield. Until we get some more stability there, I'm afraid the turnovers will continue.
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Yep - This past weekend we got bit pretty hard byt he bulldogs. They're a lot better team than a lot of folks expected and their defense caused a lot of confusion. I agree in that its not all Cox's fault, but his first two passes were both interceptions and he's thrown more interceptions than he has touchdowns. While its not all Cox's fault, I think even Cox expects more from himself, he's just not sure how to change things around to make them happen!
Still, lots of improvement needed in a lot of areas. A lot of good, young talent out there. If we work hard and get our focus, we can still have one heck of a season!
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