re: Auburn Fall Camp 2018 Thread

Well we don't need to score much if our defense stops them from scoring

Glad to see the usual suspects uploading their negative outlooks to the board. Ahh, football season.

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Glad to see the usual suspects uploading their negative outlooks to the board. Ahh, football season.

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Time for the alters to show up....

It’s a defense mechanism... always think bad shits gonna happen... that way you’re never disappointed.

My concerns, non concerns


I am not worried about the following units

DLine - I don't see any fall off from last year. Could be better actually

QB - Not worried about Stidham other than just getting rid of the ball

Linebackers - These 3 guys are going to be good.

Receivers - Other than losing Stove and Hastings. Hastings gave us that sneaky down field threat that was hard to cover. Just too fast and he catches the ball
Stove on the swing pass was very good along with the end around. We will see who gets that play because you know we wil run it


Concerned about

Oline - Has been talked to death. Hopefully, they will be fine

Running back - Picking a workhorse back by the 3rd game is important to a Gus offense. He needs someone he can trust. We have some guys. Just need to see who "the guy" is

Safety - Who will be the imposer back there and fill T. Matthews place

Corner - Losing Steven Robert and Carlton Davis won't be easy. Lots of production between those two..

Gus - I want Gus to get fired up. In 2013, he was coaching better and he was more edgy. I want to see him getting pissed on the sidelines and dropping the "Boom " every now and then.

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That's a huge mistake. Petersen is second to none, as far as I am concerned. He has a great QB. They have a solid team. This is as tough an opener as Clemson was, IMO.

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Here is where I disagree with people. In no way do I think UW is going to be an easy game. This is a huge step up from the Louisville team we played a few years ago, and could absolutely beat us. But I refuse to put them up on Clemson’s level.

One of those Clemson teams won a National Championship. When you look at the blue chip ratio, UW is not on the list of true national title contenders. Only one PAC12 team is, compared to 4 SEC teams. Bottom line is they just don’t have the same size and speed as several of the SEC teams we play every year. The PAC12 has proven to be behind the other conferences in recent years.

I believe Peterson is a good coach, and Gaskon is a solid RB, and their secondary is legit. But UW is going to have talent that is on par, or slightly less, than a number of SEC teams we will face during the year. Auburn won’t be afraid/unprepared to play a talented UW team. This is likely to be the most talented team Washington faces all year. I think that was proven 2 years ago when they were man handled by Bama. Auburn will used to playing great teams every year, just hopefully we are ready for it week 1.

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Gus - I want Gus to get fired up. In 2013, he was coaching better and he was more edgy. I want to see him getting pissed on the sidelines and dropping the "Boom " every now and then.

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For whatever reason, Gus needs to feel like his back against the wall. I'm only mostly joking that I almost think he loses a game on purpose every year in order to get that "coaching with nothing to lose" edge every year.

Its game week boys. Line is now down to AU -1.5 as I expected. Let's hype ourselves up a bit and highlight UW's impact players.

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After 2 years at bottom, Grimes vows to end negative plays

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Auburn ranked last in sacks allowed and second-to-last in tackles for loss allowed per game in the nation after two weeks last season, which included 11 sacks allowed against Clemson, the most by a team on the FBS level in 2017. In 2016, the Tigers ranked last in the country in tackles for loss allowed through three games.

Offensive line coach Herb Hand is gone after leaving for Texas amid discussions about his contract in January. His replacement is J.B. Grimes, the offensive line coach who helped piece together an offensive line that paved the way for the SEC’s first rushing offense to lead the country in rushing (2013) during his first stint as the Tigers’ position coach.

“I always go back to this: when you say the offensive line gave up 11 sacks, I think … the whole thing is a work in progress,” Grimes said. “But the answer is, yes (it will not happen again). … One thing we have done is stay more square. We have not turned our shoulders and hips as much and it’s all about that. Thats’s how you keep from giving up penetration and penetration by the defensive line is what causes lost yardage plays — and then fundamentals in pass protection. Again, it goes back to staying square. And that goes back to the coaching that we do. We’ve gotten better at that. It’s no different than when I hit that Crowther sled. I know that’s a technical thing but when we first went out there in spring, that Crowther beat us up. We’re beating it up right now and that’s the No. 1 test of can you keep your hips down the field, and if we can continue to do that and improve on that, we will definitely go forward in not giving up lost yardage plays and sacks.”

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Sixth-year Auburn coach Gus Malzahn credited Clemson, Auburn’s common opponent in the early-season games, for pushing his team to the bottom of the country in negative plays allowed.

“That's been a focus,” Malzahn said. “ We've tried to eliminate the negative plays. Obviously, the sacks, that's really, from an offensive standpoint, that's the big-picture thing that we've been really focusing on, eliminating the sacks and the negative plays. That's been on our mind. That's been something we've worked extremely hard doing.

“The thing really about the first game, a lot of it is adjustments, too. You predict how they're going to play certain ways, and you get out there, and they might have a complete different plan. First games are also about adjustments, so I expect that there will be some adjustments that will need to be made throughout the game.”

Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey would rather spread the blame around rather than focus solely on the offensive line. Still, it’s an issue that can not be ignored.

Auburn returns three starters — left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho Jr., left guard Marquel Harrell and right guard Mike Horton — but will lean on UMass graduate transfer Jack Driscoll at right tackle and former backup Kaleb Kim at center, a job coaches have said is the second-most important on the offense.

“Obviously, being that we lost some players up front, I understand where that’s coming from,” Lindsey said. “[Grimes] is the perfect guy for that without a doubt, 100 percent I believe that. And I think you can see that each day as they continue to improve and get better and better and better. We’re glad he’s here, and I think he’ll do a great job.”

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247 Marcello LINK

Grimes be grindin

Btw, someone ITT mentioned Gus and his 1s vs 2s practices/scrimmages, has maybe lead to slow season starts. A couple of weeks ago I remember reading from few different closed practice observers that Gus has finally changed it up and was doing a ton of 1s vs 1s, esp on the line all camp. Could be bullshite. TIFWIW.

Al.com's James Crepea takes a first look at #6 UW.

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Chris Petersen opens his fifth season in Seattle with new play-callers on offense and defense. Bush Hamdan, 32, is the Huskies' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, replacing Jonathan Smith, who left to be the head coach at Oregon State. Jimmy Lake takes over play-calling for Washington's defense. While neither side is expected to perform an overhaul, the fact remains two new play-callers will be making their debuts in a massive game and challenging circumstance.

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Impact players:

QB Jake Browning

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Browning is the most accurate returning quarterbackin the country.

When he's protected, the senior signal caller is one of the most lethal operators in the sport.

The question of Browning this season is how effective he'll be without game-breaker Dante Pettis to aim for and with a new offensive coordinator and play-caller in Bush Hamdan.

As far as this game in concerned, Auburn has to look to pressure Browning, who has not fared as well against better defenses.

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RB Myles Gaskin

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An AP preseason first team All-American, Gaskin has run for over 1,300 yards in each of his three seasons, with 1,380 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. He's agile and shifty and can hit the edge but also capable of breaking through tackles over the middle of the field

He's also an effective receiver and is expected to add kick returning duties to his repertoire this season.

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S Taylor Rapp

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An AP preseason first team All-American, Rapp has had over 50 tackles in each of his two seasons with the Huskies, including 59 with 3.5 for loss and two sacks with an interception last season.

He was the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American in 2016 as well as the MVP of the Pac-12 Championship Game that season.

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CB Byron Murphy

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An AP preseason second team All-American, Murphy managed to have 16 tackles with three interceptions in just six games as a redshirt-freshman last season.

He ranks 23rd among returning cornerbacks with a 51.3 passer rating when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus.

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LB Ben Burr-Kirven

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A second team All-Pac-12 honoree last season, Burr-Kirven led Washington with 84 tackles, 24 more than any other player and up from 44 in 2016.

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Interesting stats:

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-Dating back to 1989, Washington is 5-7 when opening the season against ranked opponents
-Washington is 1-9 all-time against the SEC, last beating Florida in the 1989 Freedom Bowl
-The last time Washington beat a ranked Power 5 team was the 2010 Holiday Bowl against Nebraska, losing five such games since.
-The Huskies have led the Pac-12 in total defense and scoring defense for three years in a row
-Browning and Gaskin are the most prolific QB-RB tandem in the nation in career statistics. With Browning's 9,104 career passing yards second-most and his 78 career TD passes most among returning players and Gaskin's 4,055 career rushing yards and 45 career rushing TDs most among returning players

-Auburn is 8-3 all-time against current Pac-12 teams, though it has never faced Washington
-Auburn is 4-1 in season openers under Gus Malzahn
-Auburn is 28-14 all-time when opening the season in neutral-site games, including 3-1 in Atlanta
-Auburn is 10-10-1 all-time in domed stadiums, including 2-3 under Malzahn
-This will be Auburn's fifth matchup against an AP top 10 opponent in its last six games, tying a school record

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LINK

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I didn't know or don't remember Davidson being that hurt last year. Huh.

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He strained his elbow and missed much of the spring (thus the arm brace all year) and hurt his knee in the fall. He had a third non-disclosed injury that made him miss the Mercer game. He was definitely banged up most of the year.