The Biggest Iron Bowl of All

…..You saw how I was two years ago. I want to see the glory of it, even if it means a 36-0 beatdown of us! Don’t thing that’s going to happen, this year! We’re on a roll. We’re cool. We’ve got each others’ back. And we’ve got a MONSTER QB!

……Bama, beat us if you can. Me, I’m thinking Cotton-pickin’ for you. We’ll be in Glendale, LSU will get the Sugar, Arkansas will get the Cap One, and Sakerlina will get the Outback. Bama will have to go West.

So that he can savor the taste of McElroy’s soul.

ESPN Classic had an Iron Bowl marathon yesterday and I wathced about 12 hours of Auburn-Alabama games. It was a blast seeing Bo Jackson and the incredible 2003-2004 Tigers. That was my favorite team for a long time. But The current line up is also very dear to my heart. I really like these guys as people. I like the team chemistry.

I have great expectations for this year’s game after seeing what Auburn did last year with a paper thin defense and the offensive weapons at our disposal. The guys stayed ahead of an Alabama team that was stronger on both sides of the ball last year than they are this year .

We have more guys to carry the defensive load this year, plus we have Fairly, Clayton and AC on the line. Josh Bynes is a terrific defensive leader. The secondary starts out funky but gets stronger as the game progresses. There is much for which to be hopeful right there.

Our guys stopped Ingram last year. This year they stopped Lattimore. There is no reason to think Alabama will be able to run between the tackles this year against our stout run defense. Saban (aka Spanky, thanks to Boris1) isn’t going to like that.

And then we come to a much improved offense over last year’s edition. Accolades fail to do justice to this squad. But they have broken all the records. The combination of Dyer and McCalebb has replaced last year’s running back with a powerful team that confuses defenses and makes defending against our dual threat that much more difficult. There has been absolutely no drop off in production there.

Cam Newton is a very good passer and and excellent runner. Todd was inconsistent over the course of the season last year. But when he was on, they guy made throws and also had a good ability to manage the offense, as seen by his record numbers. But this year, Cam Newton has so far not had a bad game. And he is smashing the records.

We have so many available receivers from which to choose that defenses cannot key on any one guy. Defensive coordinators have yet to find an effective solution to their problem. If they try to stop the run, we pass and make touchdowns.

Well, I am rambling now. So let’s just say, we will win this game and the nation will be surprised at how strong these guys are. In the minds of many, as Jay mentioned, they cling to old notions about last year’s champs and have never given this year’s Tigers the respect they deserve. It will take winning the Iron Bowl to convince them what we already know. This team is special and for real.

In my house. Friends, family, a good time is had by all.
This year we are the hunted, although we are not prey. Top of the line carnivore is what this team is.

WAR EAGLE!

due to family obligations (in-laws monumental wedding anniversary), I will have to find an establishment somewhere in the Detroit area from which I can watch the game.
WDE!

The more the naysayers yammer on, the more this team comes together to kick some ass. It was disappointing to see Herbie jump ship on Sat, but also not surprising. Sideline reporter Holly Rowe accused Cam, himself, of seeking money from MSU, when there has been NOTHING to even suggest that was the case. ESPN is prideful and will keep lashing out at Auburn and Cam because it smacks the appearance of being right and justified in their reports. As fans we worry about this crap. Happily, the Tiger players, the ones that matter the most, are only seeing Crimson and boy are they hungry!!!
War Eagle! Beat Bama!!

What?? Nobody on the Auburn bandwagon? To be quite honest….I’m shocked.
This has to be the first time this year that ESPN and the media in general has doubted our Tigers. Sure they weren’t totally sold going to Stakville, but remeber all the love we got going into the South Carolina game off the Clemson win Then there was the exuberant confindence when we went to Lexington. Then it was, how could we lose to Arkansas?? Then of course, it was the manic expectation of an LSU beatdown and a cakewalk against Ole Miss. Lastly, unbridled snickering at the prospect of a loss to UGA. So I guess I’m a little taken aback that the optimism isn’t really there for the Alabama tilt, especially since it was a forgone conclusion all year that we would win in Tuscaloosa.
I gotta say….I’m really disappointed. But hey, at least they are supportive of Cam Newton, right??

But thats why you can’t break your bookie from the results of the simulation you got after you plugged all the stats into your Commodore 64….FORTRAN STYLE!!

Yes, I’m old.

Yeah, if you pour over the stats, we don’t measure up. If you look at our play on the road, you shudder a little bit. But thats why they play the games. Stats DO NOT tell the tale of this football team. 1st off, they have gotten better every week and the defense, while extremely porous at times, actually has improved a lot and goes trhough stretches of games where they are VERY stingy….especially late in games. Most of that has to do with opposing offenses pressing while trying to keep up with us, but the defense still has to be in position and they still have to perform.

I laugh when the analysts look back at the MSU, Clemson and South Carolina games as evidence of how to stop our offense. Those games might as well have been last year for as much bearing as they have on how we play now. Mario Fannin was the primary back……shudder…..and we BARELY used Cam’s running attack in the MSU and Clemson games. South Carolina was the coming out party and even then it was obvious that Malzahn wasn’t really sure how to use Cam at that point. Like any weapon, if you don’t know how to use it, you can be ineffective and clumsy when using it at first but eventually it can become very dangerous when utilized appropriately.

We are now utilizing Cam appropriately……on a team level. Cam has an impact on both offensive and defensive play because he puts pressure on the other team to score. The closer it gets to the end of the game….the tighter the vice is on the opposing offense.

Do I think we will shut Alabama down? No, they will get their points, but I don’t think their offense is as good as Georgia’s so I don’t think they will get 30+ either. What I think is funny is that, after what we did to LSU’s defense, the clarion call is that Alabama’s defense will shut us down. If you saw what Jordan Jefferson did to them….do you REALLY think that Cam isn’t going to slice and dice them? Cam has ten times the pockeet presence that Jefferson does, and is a much more disciplined runner. Unless something unusual happens….I just don’t see how they will stop us. Cam can revert to passing if the take the run away and we have too many weapons on the outside for them to go single coverage against us.

We might lose but it will be beacause of turnovers or something fluky, it won’t be because they have a better team….because they don’t. We will win.

both teams are talked about in a way it should be… respect. im a bama faithful and would LOVE to win but i dont see it happening this year, especially after allowing LSU’s joke of an offense beat us ( and make no mistake their offense won them the game not the superior D.. still pissed by that game )… whatever, this is going to be a great game ..

RTR friends!