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Orange Blooded [3768]
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Thoughts on our game against Auburn (long)
Sep 4, 2016, 10:28 AM
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It's been a while since I've done one of these, but hey, it's the start of another football season. Time to shake off the rust. Here are my views re: last night's game.
PROS:
1. We won. That always deserves to be #1. And we won in a place where we've known only defeat for decades. There were a few historic storylines yesterday, and we were on the right end of ours. Oklahoma and LSU would love to be able to say that. It was great getting revenge for 2010. That game was a nail-biter, as well. And I don't want to say anything too early, but we all recall that things worked out pretty well for the winner of that one...
2. Mike Williams is picking up right where he left off (despite the fumble). Enjoy him while you can. He's the mold of WR that NFL teams love, and he'll be playing on Sundays this time next year.
3. THE DEFENSE. Yes, Auburn helped us with their ill-advised QB shuffle. Yes, the Auburn pass-catchers aren't exactly all-world. Regardless of those observations, it looks like Brent Venables has done it again. AU's offensive line is their strength--their starting guards are among the best in the league--and our defensive line dominated. Defense was our major question heading into the season, and at least after game one, we're getting the answer we wanted. Oh, and then there's...
4. Dexter Lawrence. The hype is real. In my lifetime as a Tiger fan, I've never seen a FRESHMAN interior lineman push blockers around like that. I was not alive during the reign of The Fridge, but it looks like the comparison is justified. Having him, Christian Wilkins, and Carlos Watkins together on the same line just doesn't seem fair.
5. Hunter Renfrow. Dude's our secret weapon, and he showed it with an acrobatic TD catch. Hard to believe he's a former walk-on.
6. On a night when the offensive line struggled to create running lanes, Wayne Gallman proved once again that he's one of the most reliable workhorse RBs in the nation. How reassuring is it to have a back that can carry the ball 30 times and still be well-conditioned enough to break off a big run in the 4th?
7. No injuries. My favorite stat, and it speaks for itself.
MIXED BAG:
THE OFFENSIVE LINE. They mostly did a good job of keeping Deshaun clean, especially given AU's talent at DE (shout-out to Fruh for holding his own against Carl Lawson), but we had too much difficulty establishing the run game. Our balance on offense played a great part in us getting to 15-1 last year, so being able to open up the ground game is imperative.
CONS:
1. Jordan Leggett. I love you, buddy. And we all know your talent. So please get your mind right for the remaining games.
2. Turnovers. We're talented enough that the only thing that can really sink us is losing the turnover battle. Mike's fumble and Deshaun's interception were costly, and the timing of them (as if turnovers ever occur at a GOOD time) made getting the W that much harder.
3. Consistency. This goes for both sides of the ball. Jadar Johnson had some highlight reel plays and some infuriatingly ill-advised ones. Ben Boulware made us cheer after his interception and then made us cringe later with his roughing-the-passer penalty and missed tackle on AU's lone TD run. Our WRs made some circus catches and dropped a few passes that were very catchable. Deshaun did what he had to do for us to win, but he had some off throws and was fortunate not to have been picked off twice.
4. The no-go on the field goal. We're all talking about it. I'm all for taking chances and playing without fear. It took us to the Natty last season. But if we kicked the field goal there, that would've ended the game. Given how unpredictable yesterday was, letting the game come down to a Hail Mary was NOT what I wanted to see...
Just my two cents. Overall, I saw more things I liked than disliked. There was one major question mark on this team, and it proved to be our great strength against a team that desperately wanted/needed a statement win. I'm not the first to point out the comparison between last night and our game against Louisville in 2015. We were fine after that night. We'll be just fine this season. Turns out it takes more than "SEC pride" to win a battle in the trenches...
Let's fix the little things and get to 2-0 when Troy comes to town. Go Tigers!
Message was edited by: dgwilli911®
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Starter [386]
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Re: Thoughts on our game against Auburn (long)
Sep 4, 2016, 10:42 AM
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Good stuff. I would add that I though the defense looked gassed in the second half. They didn't seem as physically prepared as previous years.
I do think the secondary has LOTS of work to do. They looked lost at times and could be a significant achilles heal.
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CU Guru [1512]
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Re: Thoughts on our game against Auburn (long)
Sep 4, 2016, 10:49 AM
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Good analysis. Our offense was horrible in then play calling department. Where were any passes over the middle to loosen their D up? We run the ball so predictably. Our special teams are once again very weak. Painting was atrocious. Another missed PAT. Kickoff out of bounds. One the positive they did not return a kickoff for a TD and ditto for a pint. unless we improve dramatically in these areas gorget about any talk about national titles. I' glad we won but candidly if we played GT, Louisville, and a couple of others we probably lose. The coaches did not have this team ready to play and anyone who couldn't see that --well time for new glasses.
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