Coach John Ray on AU vs. LSU

quote:

---

Things I Think I Saw: Auburn vs LSU….

These are a few of the things I *think* I saw when watching the game. I haven’t gone back and watched it again, or even watched certain plays a second time. That means I may very well have seen some things wrong, and likely did, so if you saw it differently, that’s fine.

I was expecting a very physical game, and that’s pretty much what we got. Neither team is finely tuned and polished, especially the offenses. But the players and coaches for both teams wanted the game badly, and the effort that was shown on both sides is proof of that. Both defenses are pretty salty, especially this early in the season, when almost all players are available at or near full strength.

The most obvious problem Auburn had in this game (other than dealing with Leonard Fournette, of course) was red zone offense. I don’t have access to an Auburn playbook, but I thought some blocking assignments were missed, both in the red zone and outside it. To get physically whipped by an opponent is understandable, and in this league, it is going to happen. But the first key to successful execution of a play is every player knowing his assignment beyond question.

There were times when a back was assigned to help the offensive guard and tackle on pass protection, especially when there were three defenders vs those two blockers. Sometimes the back blocked one of the three, and other times he flared around the outside rusher and set up as a receiver. I saw that scheme twice against Arden Key. Both times the back flared outside Key; once Sean White was sacked, and once he got the throw off to the back for a good gain. The reason I mention this is that Austin Golson would typically be blamed for the sack by Key, but in this instance, he was occupied with a different defender.

There were a handful of times when only one Auburn defensive player had a chance to make a tackle and prevent a huge LSU play. Every one of those times, that last defender made the play. Sometimes it was not a pretty tackle, but the job got done. It takes great effort to make those plays, or to even have a chance of making it. Tray Matthews had a couple of those, Rudy Ford had at least a couple, and T.J. Neal had one. Every time a player is able to make one of those key plays, he is encouraged to give the effort to make one again the next time it presents itself.

I thought the officiating crew was unusually weak. They missed numerous holding calls, called Auburn defensive linemen twice for offsides when they were back out of the neutral zone before the snap, and allowed LSU to run plays without wide receivers being set before the snap. I don’t like to complain about officials in a loss, but in a win, they’re fair game IMO.

I thought overall, Sean White played well. He missed a couple of deep throws, but was under pressure at the time.

Tony Stevens dropped a couple of passes that would have made Auburn’s red zone offense look a lot better.

Kerryon Johnson matured a bit during the first half of the game. He was quite a bit more of a “man” in the second half. On the subject of KJ, I hope AU will use some reserve backs more in this week’s game vs LaMo. I’m a little concerned about the wear and tear KJ and Bubba are absorbing, and would love to see them get some rest when possible.

Robert Leff continues to improve, in both run blocking and pass protection. He’s not real pretty doing it, but he gets after people and is steadily becoming more effective.

Marlon Davidson is a highly-developed defensive lineman for a true freshman. He’s got great body position, good use of his hands, proper pursuit angles, etc. Either he was extremely well coached in high school, or he’s a really fast learner, cause he’s way ahead of the learning curve.

Saw Byron Cowart read down with the offensive tackle on a play, and do it really well. He’s not as quick as most of us hoped, but he’s coming along now. I won’t be surprised if he ends up moving to DT this spring.

Terrific play by the safeties and the nickel this week. Tray Matthews and Rudy Ford atoned for their missed opportunities last year vs LSU. Nick Ruffin made some plays as well.

Lining up Mon Adams at nose paid off big-time for Kevin Steele and Rodney Garner. The LSU center, at 6-7, 305, is expected to be a high draft pick, and Adams absolutely took his lunch like the school bully. Adams was a major factor in disrupting LSU’s inside running game.

Didn’t try to watch him a lot individually, but I thought Dontavious Russell played his best game of the season. There was an Andrew Williams sighting as well, as he made a play inside. The quality of our DL is pulling those younger guys up, which is a great thing.

Was surprised there wasn’t a drop-off in the defensive performance following the Tre Williams ejection. DeShaun Davis came up big again. His physical, attacking style of play is fun to watch and I believe helps set the tone for our defense. Darrell Williams is making the occasional rookie mistake, but he’s playing very well and looks like a future leader of the defense.

Chandler Cox appears to be struggling with the “block in space” assignment that’s such a key part of Malzahn’s offense with the H-back. For those that have done it, there’s kind of an “art” to blocking in space, where you run hard to get there, but then have to come under control as you arrive at the target, and then explode into the block. Chandler seems to be still running wide open when he throws his block, and missing more than he hits. I hope he gets it soon, as that is a critical part of the Malzahn offense that we are sorely missing right now.

Ryan Davis seems to be moving into a more involved role with the offense. He has good hands, but is definitely not the ideal size. He had a reputation as a big-play guy in high school down here in Tampa Bay, and I’m expecting him to shake loose and take a short pass all the way at some point.

Darius Slayton keeps catching my eye as a blocking wide receiver, and not in a good way. He does seem to be trying, but either misses or gets man-handled often.

Hope I don’t jinx him, but Marcus Davis looks very confident and comfortable handling punts. So far, he’s shown good judgment back there.

Darius James, the 330-lb transfer offensive lineman from Texas, got some playing time this week on running plays. I mostly liked what I saw from him. Big, powerful guy.

With Louisiana Monroe coming up, it’s time now for Auburn to focus on Auburn. What needs to be changed? What’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be kept or discarded.? What are we doing that helps our opponents anticipate our play? Lots to be done, and this is a good time to start tweaking.

---