re: Auburn fans, what IYOs has changed from last year to this year for your team?

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First off I'd like to say I am very, very impressed with your team. They run the ball extremely well and the defensive line is full of studs.

My question is what changed from last year? Is it just maturity on the player's part or the change in play calling by Lashlee? Is Steele motivating the defense better than Muschamp was?

What do you think has been the catalyst for this team?

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With regard to the defense, the biggest change (besides a new coordinator) is better coaching at the LB and DB positions (I insist the Ole Miss game was an outlier ). Travis Williams and Wesley McGriff may not be better recruiters than Lance Thompson and Travaris Robinson (though they are very good recruiters), but they ARE better coaches of players.

On offense, the biggest change is the OL finally gelled. Was that because of Herb Hand? I'm sure he had a lot to do with them finally playing more cohesively and as a unit. The injury to the starting center at the beginning of the season (Dampeer) also kind of forced the coaches to go with what turned out to be a much better combination of players up front.