Thoughts on Iron Bowl win and what it means going forward. (ATL and potentially CFP)

[ALA2262]

Defense provided the ball for the offense to make a 34-3 run. Which might have been a 37-0 or 41-0 run had the Sylve interception been ruled correctly.

 

[tattooguy21]

Really... So Reed, Duvall, Tim Williams, Evans, Pettway, just to name few.... isnt enough?

Nope

 

[Matt0424]

It seems to me our problem isn't the spread offense, it's this:

You need a spread offense, who runs up-tempo, who has a QB who is decently mobile, who has a receiver who is big. Who have we struggled against?

WVU - Kevin White 9 rec for 143 yards 6'3" 210 lbs
Mississippi - Derunya Wilson 8 rec for 91 yards 6'5" 220 lbs
Auburn - Coates (6'3" 201) Williams ( 6'2" 216)

We struggled more against the Barn because they had two guys that are big like that. Missouri has one (Sasser) who has decent size, Oregon's third leading receiver is big (Stanford is 6'5"), none of Baylor's top three receivers go over 6'0", and FSU seems to be a one man show at WR (and he isn't big like guys who have strived against us).

Even looking back before this year, we struggled with big guys mainly. Mike Evans, Alshon Jeffries, just to name a couple. I think it's a perfect combination of things that cause us problems, not just a particular style.

 

[RTR91]

I believe the pass rush Saturday night was not what Bama has done throughout the season due to an attempt to contain Marshall while also expecting quick passes. Unfortunately for Bama, Auburn went deep for chunk plays rather than really sustaining drives by throwing the quick passes.

Mauk is mobile, but I don't believe the coaches expect him to run like they expected Marshall to run. We'll probably pressure him more like we did Kenny Hill and Dak Prescott.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

and explain why....

Nope

 

[CrimsonForce]

I believe the pass rush Saturday night was not what Bama has done throughout the season due to an attempt to contain Marshall while also expecting quick passes. Unfortunately for Bama, Auburn went deep for chunk plays rather than really sustaining drives by throwing the quick passes.

Mauk is mobile, but I don't believe the coaches expect him to run like they expected Marshall to run. We'll probably pressure him more like we did Kenny Hill and Dak Prescott.

I noticed the same thing and I guess I don't agree with that philosophy. I would rather turn our pass rushers (Evans, Hand, Williams etc) loose and tell them to sack the QB rather than play a gap contain scheme. Sure NM may have made a few plays with his legs on scrambles but I think we would have had more sacks, TFL, and QB pressures. NM certainly wouldn't have been able to stand back there for 4 or 5 seconds in one spot and then launch the ball down field..

 

[Russell31210]

First of all Dre and Mark come along every 10 years if you are lucky. This Auburn team ranked top 5 by all the oddsmakers still....take a deep breath...

Grateful for the win and in the end I guess that's what matters most. But echoing some of what's already been said, the Saban/Smart braintrust has yet to either figure out how to defend the hurry up spread O and/or we simply are at a disadvantage because we have not been able to recruit elite lockdown corners like Dre Kirkpatrick or Mark Barron in recent yrs. I think Oregon and TCU are both much better than the barn and that could spell trouble in a potential playoff game for us IMO. I'm old school and still think that defense is ultimately what wins championships. Yes we won a scoring contest saturday night which is an exception for us but I would not want that to be the rule when we play spread O teams.

 

[RTR91]

I noticed the same thing and I guess I don't agree with that philosophy. I would rather turn our pass rushers (Evans, Hand, Williams etc) loose and tell them to sack the QB rather than play a gap contain scheme. Sure NM may have made a few plays with his legs on scrambles but I think we would have had more sacks, TFL, and QB pressures. NM certainly wouldn't have been able to stand back there for 4 or 5 seconds in one spot and then launch the ball down field..

Completely agree. Things changed when Evans and Williams became main contributors in the second half. Curious as to why we didn't see more of Hand, though.

 

[tattooguy21]

I feel like the lack of sacks this year speaks for itself. There have been many hurries, collapsed/rushes from the pocket, but even then the qb has frequently been able to reach/break the LOS

 

[bamamc1]

We will not play another team with the size and speed at split end of auburn. Also, if you'll remember, Oregon was going to run up and down the field on au in the bcs game in 2010. au had a below average defense and we all know what happened there.

 

[Catfish]

iirc, jackson bit hard on a fake/move on at least one of those and lost a step

I think that was the second TD he gave up. He definitely had his eyes in the backfield on that one and I think on a couple of other plays. IMO, his struggles were due to not focusing on his assignment at least as much as any matchup problems like speed or size.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Sacks under CNS:
2014: 28 ( Missouri and then playoff games... we could reach 35 for the season)
2013: 22
2012: 35
2011: 30
2010: 27
2009: 32
2008: 25
2007: 24
14 players accounted for the 28 sacks for 2014.
11 players accounted for 22 sacks for 2013.
14 players accounted for 35 sacks for 2012. \
WE have 9 forced fumbles for the year.
Ten ints for the year. We had 11 last year.

I feel like the lack of sacks this year speaks for itself. There have been many hurries, collapsed/rushes from the pocket, but even then the qb has frequently been able to reach/break the LOS

 

[tattooguy21]

Sacks under CNS:
2014: 28 ( Missouri and then playoff games... we could reach 35 for the season)
2013: 22
2012: 35
2011: 30
2010: 27
2009: 32
2008: 25
2007: 24
14 players accounted for the 28 sacks for 2014.
11 players accounted for 22 sacks for 2013.
14 players accounted for 35 sacks for 2012. \
WE have 9 forced fumbles for the year.
Ten ints for the year. We had 11 last year.

My.....GOD. This is what happens when you don't check stats and go completely off memory. I apologize for what is, at this point, obviously talking out of my rear

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Naw it's okay.

My.....GOD. This is what happens when you don't check stats and go completely off memory. I apologize for what is, at this point, obviously talking out of my rear

 

[crimsonaudio]

My.....GOD. This is what happens when you don't check stats and go completely off memory. I apologize for what is, at this point, obviously talking out of my rear

No one here ever does that, you should be ashamed of yourself.

:biggrin2:

 

[RTR91]

I believe the pass rush Saturday night was not what Bama has done throughout the season due to an attempt to contain Marshall while also expecting quick passes. Unfortunately for Bama, Auburn went deep for chunk plays rather than really sustaining drives by throwing the quick passes.

Mauk is mobile, but I don't believe the coaches expect him to run like they expected Marshall to run. We'll probably pressure him more like we did Kenny Hill and Dak Prescott.

Went back and looked on the season. Alabama has defended the pass well. Auburn entered the game with only 13 passes of 30 yards or more, and three of those were by backup Jeremy Johnson.

 

[Bruce014]

We won the game.

 

[92tide]

First of all Dre and Mark come along every 10 years if you are lucky. This Auburn team ranked top 5 by all the oddsmakers still....take a deep breath...

and dre had some rough stretches in 2010 iirc. it was 2011 when he really dominated

 

[92tide]

I think that was the second TD he gave up. He definitely had his eyes in the backfield on that one and I think on a couple of other plays. IMO, his struggles were due to not focusing on his assignment at least as much as any matchup problems like speed or size.

that was my thought too. i kept yelling at him to just worry about the !@#$%^^ receiver

 

[JustNeedMe81]

Bingo! We just had bad 1st half ... if we made adjustment.. we probably would cut the numbers in half.

Went back and looked on the season. Alabama has defended the pass well. Auburn entered the game with only 13 passes of 30 yards or more, and three of those were by backup Jeremy Johnson.