I really do hope we see more of Caudle in the coming weeks. Maybe Todd is healthy, maybe not..doesn’t matter. He is not allowing us to move the ball and Tate, although he is a bright spot on the offense can not do it by himself. Caudle didn’t shut down in the red zone and he looked poised and ready to go. Hell, Trott thanked him for the TD. If Chiz really believes that 2009 is not 2008, then he will not shy away from making the tough choices and at least give Auburn a fighting chance. I have seen some posts about firing the coaches and that is ridiculous. If Chiz and co, had their own recruits and were still playing like they did last night, then maybe the naysayers would have a point. The naysayers are being reactionary idiots.

J.D.—agree that it is so important to keep supporting this team..thanks for bringing up that crucial point!!!

He deserves the chance to earn some experience. Chris Todd is not the future of this program and Caudle still has a chance to be the future. He should start playing a lot.

As for the rest of the team and coaching staff, I’m gonna do my best to limit any more judgement until next season. ’09 has just gotten way out of control. We knew Chizik was going to inherit some problems from the Tubbs administration and now we are seeing how substantial those problems were.

There still fight left in these kids, they will be in a bowl game. They are average football team, but we are young.

THIS IS A BIG QUESTION OF COACHING FOR ME. talk about letting a melt down at home against Kentucky turn into a complete lack of focus against LSU the next week…this team showed really no focus and ability to compete. we looked like a team that belonged in a different conference to me.

going into this LSU game, i was thinking that the AU staff MUST have discussed prior to the game the scenario that Todd would come out flat again…and in my opinion, if that was the case (for the 3rd straight game), then a decision would have to have been made right there. … lets say, (depending on the circumstances of the game) by halfway through the second quarter. the coaching staff should have been prepared for this. CAUDLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE GAME… i don’t care if it is LSU away, it is about the big picture of regaining some momentum with your offense for the rest of the season.

there are so many things that i personally see wrong with this offense… but the numero uno is confidence at the QB position right now. i also think that mario fannin has been completely underutilized. this is a guy who should be getting at min. 1/4-1/3 of the offensive touches, in my opinion…and it hasn’t happened all season long.

also wanted to applaud someone else noticing that our coach chizik has really lacked the FIRE these past few games. wonder if there is something going on in the background that we’re unaware of. either way, when AU really needed to get encouraged in the past couple games i just didn’t see it happening. the excitement of the first 5 games seems to have turned to a sort of fatigue for him…

I agree that Fannin has not been used enough, especially now that McCalebb is dinged up. Also Eric Smith is big enough to contribute more, and actually has very good hands.

The knock against Fannin is that he has been fumble-prone. (is that a word?)

ole miss is starting to realize that their primary weapon isn’t snead’s arm, but setting up snead with dexter mccluster. that guy is in the run and pass game… all over the place.

i think so much of finding offensive rhythm is getting confidence spread throughout the O unit from the start of a game…and it has to involve your playmakers. if a defense keys in on one, then it is the staff’s job to focus on creative ways to get someone else involved. you take what the D gives you. fannin has great all-around skills… and he, along with big ben are the veteran playmakers. coaches have got to be aware of getting the right guys the touches…hell we’re running 80 plays a game!

one other point about the decision making as it relates to the use of players on the field. i do not subscribe to the idea that you ever just ride out a season..as a sort of experiment. i don’t care if the staff is brand new or not. the game deserves your best preparation and gameplan every week, through the entire season. the players need the coach for leadership throughout. there is something to be said for consistency, BUT, if the whole of the season is viewed as a game, then i expect the staff to make whatever “halftime” adjustments needed to WIN, or at least become more competitive in the next 5 weeks. it isn’t personal, or about dues paid or what not, it is about winning. in the LSU game, i didn’t see a staff prepared for another poor Todd performance (in my opinion it was another poor performance)…and when Auburn was down, i didn’t see a sense of urgency in the play calling to FIGHT BACK. sat. night was completely embarassing.

   He looked generally uninterested when he was greated by the media as AU’s new head coach. I was very dissapointed when I heard we had actually offered the job as our new head coach to this guy, but I was gonna be fair and give him a chance, but I am having my doubts now. We did start out to a 5-0 record, but I always seen this in the back of my mind. I’m not calling for his head, but I would have liked to seen someone with a little more enthusiasum take the position. And I have to think is Gene Chizick really the best we could have done? He did not work any great wonders at Iowa State, how can we really imagine he could at Auburn? Who knows maybe given time he can, I have heard he has done some great recruiting, but also read alot of those guys are second guessing that now.

I love Auburn and Auburn football, I’m not gonna lie, I’m still a Tommy Tubberville fan, I do know we have a lot of problems caused by his staff now, but I’m not sure how much of the Tony Franklin, spread offense was shoved down his throught by the powers that be at AU. In a quest to put lots of points on the board, we lost our identity as a power defense, run the ball kinda team that turns out greats like Ronnie Brown, just to mention one.

I want to see us go back to power football. Strong defenses win games!! I hope we get back on track at AU, but I have doubts about anyone with a lack of fire in their gut for Auburn, After all the Auburn Family has the passion flowing through our veins, we need a coach with the same!!!!!