09/01/12 concerns:

Aug 17, 2012, 11:44 AM

There is so much riding on this first game, can't have the attitude that it's not conference play so no big deal if we lose, plus the built in no-Sammy excuse.

Can't help but to think the last 6 weeks of last season minus VaTech's less than complex offense was pretty much a disaster for the defense in particular and the team in whole.

My concerns (besides the obvious, that we need to score more points than the other guys):

1. Weird Tajh shows up. For those of you who need a reminder of weird Tajh, watch quarters 2 and 3 of Wake, or the NC State game, or the Coot game. Random passes to no one over the middle getting picked. The sack-fumble combo. This is where I wish we had a bona fide back up to use to pull Tajh for a series or even a play to get him re-focused. He's way too good a player to not be able to dissect a secondary at this point in his career.

2. Getting blown up on the O-Line. Smallish and unexperienced big red flags. Will Gore, Anthony, Norton, Gifford, Davis, Beasley get dominated by a seasoned DL? Are we gonna see false starts, phantom holds (is Cherry calling the game?), mass confusion with D line stunts (think Coot game where the DLine never set, they danced around with their hands off the ground, consistently confused the OL and got to Tajh/AE). 3rd down conversion percentage is gonna be huge. If we can't get 3rd and 3 and less, long long evening in ATL.

3. YAC. Need big time yards after catches. My guess is quick release from Boyd to offset the line, and we're gonna have to break tackles. Nuk, Peake, Bryant, Ford need to get separation from the DB's.

4. Did we figure out yet how to stop the WVU's Tavon Austin end around. That stupid end around pitch was the final nail in the "Steele" curtain. I have a feeling the D is gonna be very solid, but hope we play playmakers (i.e. Lateek, Anthony, Hall, Vic Beasley?) as oppose to just upperclassmen with seniority (Tig, Corico, Christian) whom may have been part of the problem.

5. Need to get KO's to be touchbacks. Benton had this down until his injury, Cat took over, and teams were consistently starting close to their 35-40.

6. Speed on the PR/KR. Love Nuk and Jaron Brown, but they aren't gonna break a punt for a long take back. Miss Sammy big time here. Kinda noticed as the year progressed that Hopkins ALWAYS fair catches punts. Peake/Bryant/GHop and AE would be my top 4 back there. Game changing speed.

7. Running QB nightmares. No surprise that Kiehl Frazier is gonna get the start for Auburn.

Overall, a self destructive OL or weird Tajh are the 2 main things that I think beat us. I don't think Auburn has enough talent to get it done all things equal. We have the entire country watching, our top 10 recruiting class watching....gotta take care of business!!!!!

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

With our offensive line, a defender is going to get through far too often. We need a quarterback who can make a defender miss and either buy time to find an open receiver or have the speed to pick up yards on his own. Hopefully Boyd has improved his footwork and speed over the summer. But, he is not a particularly nimble footed runner.

Kelly has great footwork and speed. That escapability gives him the confidence to make plays, hopefully. If he can pick up the offense quickly, and I think he can, we should install him as the number two qb ASAP. It would be a huge advantage for us to force defenses to prepare for a great passer and a great runner at quarterback with the limited amount of time they have each week and would take some of the strain off of our offensive line and its inevitable whiffs and misses. Plus, Morris's offense is really designed for someone like Kelly.

One other concern I have is Coach Morris's willingness to adjust his playcalling to an obviously skaky boyd at qb and to end of half and end of game situations where we need to use some clock.

09/01/12 concerns:

On number 7, I think that's their only option***

NOT having Sammy is going to cost us 7-10 pts..he is a deep

Re: NOT having Sammy is going to cost us 7-10 pts..he is a deep

Re: 09/01/12 concerns:

I bet ACC teams will watch us

I don't expect 3 4 5 7 to be a problem

Your 2 main concerns are why Chad Kelly will likely play now

TigerBoard POTD