A Moment of Clarity
by UglyJoe on Sep 20, 2011 7:05 PM CDT
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PrintMy daughter will turn sixteen next month. For the last eleven months, with her learner's permit firmly in hand, she has driven just about everywhere we have gone. For the year preceeding that, I spent Saturday afternoons at the high school parking lot teaching her to drive. She is a very good driver. I've done very well teaching her. As a matter of fact, she probably knows the rules of the road better than I do. However, my confidence in her abilities does not keep me from sometimes becoming white-knuckled as she changes lanes, pulls into traffic, or navigates a busy parking lot. The reason for my reaction is very simple; she does not possess experience when it comes to driving. She has to learn. Perhaps the reason I'm sure her mother and I will have many long evenings this fall and winter waiting for her to get home - inexperience can allow stupid things to happen at any time.
Auburn has a very inexperienced football team. The evidence of this was never more apparent this weekend at Clemson. The inexperience also showed itself at the first two games of the season, but we found a way to win. Experience takes time. I have great confidence in Coach Chizik, not only because he is a good football coach, but because he is a good man. He has assembled a good staff - one only has to look one season removed to know this is true.
I am not as versed in football as many of the other folks on this site. I love coming here, because I learn something from all of the back and forth, such as we have had the past several days. But when it all comes down to it, I think you can only analyze this so far....we have an inexperience football team. They are going to do stupid things, no matter how well they are coached.
I am quite sure we will beat our opponent this weekend. Next weekend, we could get destroyed by South Carolina, but I believe we could just as easily destroy them....sometimes inexperience works the other way. I, for one, will still pick Auburn to win 42-14, like I do every week. I believe it is possible, and I also hope it will continue to irk William Tell or whatever the hell his name is....
We need to get behind this team and these coaches. And sure, if things do not improve, then maybe at the end of the season, Coach Chizik will need to make some hard decisions, but I trust him to know when to make those decisions. At the end of this weekend, we will be 3-1, halfway to bowl eligibility, and probably back in the AP Top 25. It could be a heck of lot worse, and if you listened to every pre-season analyst, it already would be. War Damn Eagle.
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Bravo.....
great post and sentiment! War Damn Eagle! Ugly Joe’s “all in” and so am I!
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Here, Here...
Well done Joe.
Great tie in with your daughters driving lessons, really good idea.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
Amen Joe
Great job. Your analogy about your daughter’s driving experience is right on.
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
Top 25?
Hate to be the downer, but don’t hold your breath on a win over FAU to get us back into the top 25. There is an outside chance that a win over south carolina wouldn’t do it either if they lose this weekend. The critics have their mind made up for now. It’ll take a win over arky or florida to get us back in there IMO. In the end all we need to do is win and forget about the rankings.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum."
You might be right...
but right now we sit at 27th behind Michigan State – didn’t look at who is playing who this weekend, but memories are often short. You are certainly right that winning is important and the rankings will take care of themselves.
I need a cold shower and a copy of the Auburn Creed
Fantastic analagy.....
That is what I have been saying, our lack of experiece is creating that hesitation that is deadly in football……AS WELL AS DRIVING!! Sometimes thinking is the worst thing you can do when you are in a situation where you have to react…..and react correctly….in order to avoid making a big mistake. The guys need to ingest what they are being taught and put it into action. I’m sure they have been doing that for months…but doing it in a game is different. I expect them to improve as all of us do…and as the coaches will insist they do.
Top 25? We’ll need to beat USC and allow a lot fewer points and show that the we’re a top half Div. 1 defensive team, not one scraping the bottom.
Place, I say, place your bets! Money plays, loser stays! Everyone's a winn - well, not everyone.
Okay, I'll shut up. I'm not one that has to keep talkin'. Some fellas just have to keep their mouths flappin', but not me! I was brought up right, my pa used to tell me "shut up" and I'd shut up! I wouldn't say nothin'! One time, darn-near starved to death -
Sorry "AnalOgy"
Don’t want Dr. Peabody to come in an slap my hand with his ruler.
Place, I say, place your bets! Money plays, loser stays! Everyone's a winn - well, not everyone.
Okay, I'll shut up. I'm not one that has to keep talkin'. Some fellas just have to keep their mouths flappin', but not me! I was brought up right, my pa used to tell me "shut up" and I'd shut up! I wouldn't say nothin'! One time, darn-near starved to death -
by Col.Angus on Sep 21, 2011 7:56 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good comparison, Joe
And it works on a lot of levels.
Not only will there be mistakes (that hopefully result in a minimum of property damage and increase in insurance premiums), but there will be the expectation of mistakes…and that’s probably the tougher part to deal with.
As the fan / parent in the passenger seat — not the driver’s seat, mind you — we’ve been there watching / driving for years, and in many cases, for more years than some of these kids have been alive. And I think the first impulse is impatience, whether we’re consciously aware of it or not:
“Geez…why did she come to a complete stop on the on-ramp…doesn’t she know she’s supposed to merge? She’s seen this hundreds of times…”
equals
“God, why can they not tackle? Were they never taught? I’m gonna’ go find their Pop Warner coach and go burn his house down…”
(okay, so maybe that latter bit is a bit extreme…but you get the idea)
Thanks for the insight. It’s nice to hear from a voice that’s not always trying to run the show (guilty as charged, over here)…
Let me play devils advocate for a moment
Using your analogy on have some time to become an experienced driver, lets say it is 3 years from now and she has had several fender benders and a couple of moving violations. There have been no injuries and no serious damage, just minor stuff. Given that wouldn’t it be prudent to question her skills after 3 years of experience? I think so.
This is the same analogy to Roofs defense at Auburn. He has been there 3 years and our defense has not been top notch. We have not had any serious injuries but there have been several games where the offense bailed out the defense, even last year ie. Ark, UAT. So is it time to begin questioning his coaching skills after 3 years. I think so.
Just saying.
I just hope they erect the Saban statue/altar/shrine before he leaves
If he came in with adequate talent and depth.....
that was maintainable for those 3 years I would have an easier time agreeing with you…but we all know AU is still low on numbers and very low on experienced upperclassmen. Show me another team in the nation that has that many underclassmen on the two deep of their roster.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
I understand about the number of underclassmen on our roster but,
We did not have that problem last year and our defense was definitely not up to snuff, much less to AU or SEC standards. We won the natty because of our offense in spite of our defense.
Just saying
I just hope they erect the Saban statue/altar/shrine before he leaves
We won the natty
with Ted Roof’s defense against the #1 offense in the country. Just sayin.
I hear you,
but I have to change my analogy to work with your example…I would have to expand my analogy to include my thirteen year old daughter who we will start teaching to drive next year. I am putting the emphasis on the player, not the coach. I guess, for the sake of argument, I am making the hypothesis that the coaching is sound and the inexperience is the problem.
I need a cold shower and a copy of the Auburn Creed
Good change but again but,
If the talent of the player is there, and we had the talent last year, and while our players are young this year, we certainly have talent (3 great recruiting classes) then you have to lay the blame at the feet of the teacher. Like Capt V said in another post, did you not cringe last year every time an opposing QB dropped to pass.
I just hope they erect the Saban statue/altar/shrine before he leaves
Put it another way...
The whole basis of this post is that coaching is not the problem, inexperience is the problem. We have played three games, and although the performance of the defense looks like a trend, I say there isn’t enough data yet to make that call (under the theory that time heals inexperience). Now, if we continue to allow the five and six hundred yard games all season without improvement, against similar SEC defenses, then I would say that there are other issues at play.
Of course, I could be wrong.
I need a cold shower and a copy of the Auburn Creed
That post I can get behind
I am just afraid of what is going to happen when we get to SC, Arky, and Fla. Right now I am toying with the Arky score prediction thread. Do I give Arky 60 or 70 points?
I just hope they erect the Saban statue/altar/shrine before he leaves
Very well done Joe. I agree 100%.
/dreadsthedayIhavetoteachmykidstodrive
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Sep 21, 2011 11:38 AM CDT reply actions
That's totally why my husband is doing it-when the time comes.
I actually don’t like to drive and ride a bike or walk where ever possible-so it pretty much gets me off the hook of having to teach anyone else how to drive (drive responsibly).
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 21, 2011 12:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Mine are 8 and 5, so I’ve go a while to think up strategy. But until that day comes, the rest of you should buy stock in the pharmaceutical companies because there is going to be a big surge in anxiolytic/antianxiety medications about 7-8 years from now.
/don’tflagmeforinsidertrading
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Sep 21, 2011 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
So,
mine will be 22 months on Saturday….what can I say? We plan early; we plan often….
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 21, 2011 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions
I made front page news?
What an honor! But picking Auburn blowouts doesn’t irk me. Quite the opposite, actually. High quality entertainment!
I miss elfcrash
I need a cold shower and a copy of the Auburn Creed
I miss elfcrash too.
Why are we stuck with this guy?
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 21, 2011 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions
that's like saying "the clap sucks I miss syphalis"
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
*syphilis.
Beat him to it. Please don’t punch me, Todd.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Sep 21, 2011 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions
On second thought, there is no way in hell he knew how to spell that.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Sep 21, 2011 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions
Guess I should start spell checking......
Nah I don’t care if I can spell syphilis or not.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Hey now.
I’m not the among the spelling deficient around here.
by TeII William on Sep 21, 2011 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Excellent analogy,
since syphilis is the ‘Great Imposter’. Incidentally, ‘the clap’ is also ‘the drip’, equally applicable.
Excellent. excellent. This conversation has deconvolved in record time.
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 21, 2011 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions
None of the above, really.
But you don’t bother me as much as you chap other peeps. So maybe you’re more like an antibiotic resistant bacteria: annoying, but there are still options available for treatment. On the other hand, if you fraternize with the wrong bugs, you start acquiring all sorts of resistance markers, which would require antibiotic-napalm to take your ass out….maybe you’re more like gonorrhea than I though. Hmm.
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 22, 2011 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Hey, there was at least one compliment in there.
This was fun though, I’ll remember this.
I may have been a little hasty....
you wouldn’t be either……you’re more like a genital wart.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Believe me if all it took was a shot of penicillun to get rid of you....
I would have injected TET along time ago……
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Not to be too picky
But genital warts aren’t a bacterial infection, as far as I know. So you wouldn’t be able to get rid of me with penicillin.
Yeah, dude, he gets that....
Hence the meaning of the penicillin statement….
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 22, 2011 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions
It's kewl.
But, you and I both know that you are smarter than that.
by Tiger on the mountain on Sep 22, 2011 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions
As happens to me all time....
I tend to scan through things as fast as I can….it’s a habit and a bad one and I usually pay for it by having some peckerhead troll picking at it like a scab…..hmmmmm.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Happens to the best of us
I won’t judge you for it.
We are experiencing technical difficulties.
Please stand by …………
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
OOO. Should we get our popcorn ready? He will soon run out of combinations of using l (L) and I (i) in his screen name and will have to come up with something else.
Or better yet, you guys can just do an IP address ban.
by Jumpn_JackFlash on Sep 21, 2011 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Good read....
I have seen it said many ways… hunting dog who is learning how to use it’s God given gifts, kids, and the list goes on and on.
WDE
I want to make it known...
This is a great read and a fantastic job of writing. I could mention my opinion on the matter but I’m not going to honestly. Great work and excellent use of the written word. Nice!
It's Auburn against the world. Good luck world.
We all knew this was going to be a down year.
Losing your entire starting off line spells trouble… The guz malzahn off scheme works best with a running qb… as it stands now I (maybe other people here agree with me) think that we should go ahead and start kiehl frazier… This way he gets valuable experience playing in the sec in hostile situations… Our road schedule this year is horrendous… One of the reasons we won the natty is because of a favorable schedule.. If we go ahead and let frazier get use to the system (he already knows the guz system out of high school) I believe we have a good chance of making some major noise next year… Especially since the schedule is more favorable… Then again I believe we will win every game we play in… WDE!!!!
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