Auburn Remains in Good Hands

He’s been the weak link on the coaching staff from word go.

I’ve been on all the message boards and heard that it is Roof’s defense and that it is really Chizik’s defense, and all kinds of stuff. Whoever’s defense it is, they need to step back and rethink what is going on or start packing. This defense has been as soft as an over-boiled noodle since 2009. We’ve seen no improvement overall, only flashes of brilliance in a handful of 2nd halves last year. That’s it.

The sooner Auburn fans realize that the best DC we have on payroll at Auburn is Malzahn’s duties as the OC, the sooner we’ll get someone in here running the defense the way it should be in the SEC.

I understand that we are young. I’ve heard that and said it myself out loud while watching our Tigers flounder all over the field, but are we BOTTOM OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL young? Hell no. Not even close. We’ve got decent talent on this defense. There is no excuse for this defense to be the WORST in all of the land. None. It is pathetic.

I don’t care if Roof is the problem, Chizik is the problem, or whoever. No one at Auburn is “above” the defensive problems right now. Not one single person.

War Eagle! Beat Florida Atlantic!

You say that Roof is not stupid. How do explain being gashed by the same sit down pass play time after time and corners that play off the receiver so far that a quick out gets 5+ yards every time without making a defensive alignment change. While I agree he is not stupid I do believe he is stubborn, too stubborn to realize there needs to be significant alighment and defensive philosophy changes and not after 600+ yards but during the slaughter. I don’t mean to be arguementative but we have not been a good defensive team since he got there.

Come on folks this is not as bad as its being made out to be. Yes the tackling is horrendous but those of you who think that is Ted Roofs fault, haven’t played much football. Tackling is fundamental and is about technique and position…..it doesn’t require much constant coaching. Its mostly about desire and discipline….are you making the necessary effort to put yourself in position to make the tackle and are you wrapping up on contact.
I won’t belabor the Roof scheme argument because if they weren’t in the right place to make the play the opposition wouldnt be getting to third down as much as they are. Our 3rd down conversion rate is horrible because we aren’t being tenacious when tackling. Whether its a personnel issue or not enough contact in practice….I can assure you that Chizik will not continue to accept the poor technique and arm tackling being demonstrated. Its one thing to be dragged by Chris Relf for four yards, its quite another to hit a Clemson receiver 5 yards short of the 1st down marker and have him run through the arm tackle for a 1st down. The guys doing that, and its most of the players right now, wont be playing much longer if they don’t improve dramatically.

We are not the worst defense in college football, if we improve the tackling we will get better in a hurry. The other problem….developing play recognition…. is where the inexperience comes in. That is only aided by devouring tape and playing full speed…its gonna be a problem for a while. Hopefully something clicks before Oct 1st.

I’m a believer that we’ll get it fixed but we need Malzahn, Trotter and Company to help out as well. We need to keep the opposition off the field…..and not gas our inexperienced and undermanned defense. Fatigue leads to poor tecnique and poor tackling.

ranks 30th at 23:51 seconds per play (compared to #1, UO who averages about 19 seconds per play). Among those top 30 fastest paced offenses, AU’s 117th ranked defense is only on par with Houston (102), MTSU (113), Tulsa (112), Troy (109), NIU (115) & Arizona (111).

The average defensive ranking of the top 30 fastest paced offenses is 76th, with a 25 percentile of 50th and the 75 percentile of 98th.

Translation: Even for a fast-paced offense, AU’s defense is on a whole different level of bad.

That being said, teams have bounced back from worse losses. Michigan’s App-State loss lead to a 9-4 season with a win against defending champs UF in the Cap. One Bowl, and last year VaTech lost to James Madison & went on to win their next 11 in a row! AU’s loss isn’t nearly as Pearl Harbor-esque.

Especially with college football being more influenced by emotion, and hype. Younger players respond to this more so than more mature players.
That being said, Clemson circled this game on their calender at the end of their season last year. They wanted to be the ones to end the streak, and they played inspired football.
It’s the biggest win for the Clemson program in over 25 years. These guys weren’t even born, the last time a Clemson win meant so much.

We now know that Auburn had no business being among the preseason top 25. They earned that honor based on program prestige and nothing else.

That sounds a lot like what somebody was trying to say…

http://www.trackemtigers.com/2011/8/4/2345219/usa-today-coaches-preseason-top-25-poll-released-today

What was once called a troll post is now a post by an intelligent Auburn fan…I guess I should be flattered.

Where’s WEA when you need him?

If any of you think that this coaching staff and these players, aren’t taking this personal look at these quotes…

“Nobody in that room feels good about the outcome,” Chizik said. "But the great thing I love about this team is their willingness to proceed and try to improve. I really believe that we’re going to be better.

“As I said, as bad as we played at times in the game, we still had our opportunities to come back and beat a very good football team on the road.”-Chizik

And

“The good news is it’s all fixable,” said defensive coordinator Ted Roof. “We want it fixed today. But there’s no magic dust. It’s a process.” -Roof

And

“Third down is the money down,” Bell said. “If you can’t get off the field on third down, it makes it hard to win the game…It just takes a toll on the whole defense.” – T’Sharvan Bell

The point is, everyone of these guys realize that they must get better, and fast. So, we need to quit pointing fingers right now, and wait until the end of the season to call for their heads.

Auburn ranks dead last in the NCAA in 3rd down conversions on defense, allowing an eye-popping 63.64% of third down conversions. I’m not sure where to find this, but it feels to me like a lot of our third downs allowed have been longer than six yards, as well. If you can’t get off the field, the yardage racks up.

Unsurprisingly, our defense has been on the field for the most plays of any team in college football. We have been in 273 defensive plays this year, for an astounding 91 plays per game! We have got to be able to get off the field better.

I for one agree with the bulk of your article. More often than not I felt scheme was not the issue, it was lack of execution. The link KB posted visually supports what I saw the last 2 weeks. Col. Angus also points out what was an obvious blitz that almost worked. There were numerous other attempted blitzes’ I saw that did not work mostly because the blitzer allowed himself to be blocked.

Tackling is poor and that is the one thing that should be corrected. It is also the only issue I have with CTR. He has stated that he does coach the first guy there to make a big hit rather than wrap up. Hopefully he is re-thinking this and implementing a change in tactics.
Now everyone calm down, get behind the team and be positive.

…is not necessarily the same as whining. It could indicate a lack of knowledge of the football coaching process (to which I freely admit). But to the extent there is a connection between poor tackling and the overall running of the defense (and the defensive coaching philosophy), it is valid critiism. And I don’t consider myself engaging in whining, and I sure as HECK don’t consider myself anywhere NEAR a crimson-and-white wearer.

Michael Val
(who agrees that actual whining shows poor fandom—and is also representative of most University of Far Eastern Mississippi fans)

I will never be happy being dead last with any category. I would like to see Auburn be better than dead last. By the way, our offense is pretty dang young too. They may have their problems, but without them playing so well we’re 0-3. Roof may be a great coach. You guys might be right. But, I do not accept being dead last on third downs either. Being in the 70s, I can deal with that. Okay then, let’s just keep Roof this season and see what happens.

When it is all said and done, it was good thing that Tubberville was fired. Auburn didn’t go about it the best way but it was overall a good thing. You never would have seen Auburn win the national championship under Tommy Tubberville and his Barbeque Gang. In the end, I think Auburn is much better off now without Tubberville.

The problem is that if we keep Roof now, our defense will improve next season. That’s just the problem. It will improve some and people will be screaming for us to keep him then. You see, that’s what scares me. The defense will improve, but it will not improve nearly like it could with a better defensive coordinator there. That is what bothers me the most. You see, I expect Auburn to struggle. I get it. But, I think we could have somebody so much better like Joe Whit Junior or maybe even Joe Whit Senior if he’d come back and do it again. I want one of the top defensive coordinators in the country to come to Auburn. It’s so much that I hate Roof as it is I think Auburn could get someone much better. I could give you a list of names that would take this defense beyond anything it’s been in the last three years.

….for the RBR meltdown thread tomorrow. Unfortunately.

…for my profanity-ridden post above in answer to the troll. Nonetheless, it was about time he got totally called out on his “I haven’t attacked anyone” baloney.

In addition, I will apologize for feeding said troll the most of anybody here up to this point—feeding him so well, that I figure I singlehandedly turned the unsuccessful troll into a successful troll.

You know, even banning his sorry azz (if the leadership is so inclined, and I am not making the suggestion) would just make this son-of-a-bulldog feel like he just won the MNC of trolling. Like I said in my response, it must be great to be an BLANK and not care.

Michael Val
(who sincerely asks anyone else besides Tell WIlliam if the goofiness of my style is annoying and/or impedes the exchange of information on the boards)