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I miss those great Auburn defenses from 2003-2008...
Posted on 4/7/14 at 6:27 pm
Posted on 4/7/14 at 6:27 pm
2003-2004: Ranked 14th in the country with 17.4 points per game allowed
2004-2005: Ranked 1st in the country with 12 points per game allowed
2005-2006: Ranked 6th in the country with 15.6 points per game allowed
2006-2007: Ranked 6th in the country with 13.9 points per game allowed
2007-2008: Ranked 8th in the country with 18.1 points per game allowed
2008-2009: Ranked 13th in the country with 17.8 points per game allowed
After that great run of defenses under Tommy Tuberville, Gene Chizik arrived as head coach, and everything went completely down hill...as most everyone on this board knows. It was amazing to see us finish so great through all the years listed above, and then become so bad, so fast. Cheers to getting our defense back to the way it was before. The talent is coming, and we have some great coaches on defense now.
The future is bright.
2004-2005: Ranked 1st in the country with 12 points per game allowed
2005-2006: Ranked 6th in the country with 15.6 points per game allowed
2006-2007: Ranked 6th in the country with 13.9 points per game allowed
2007-2008: Ranked 8th in the country with 18.1 points per game allowed
2008-2009: Ranked 13th in the country with 17.8 points per game allowed
After that great run of defenses under Tommy Tuberville, Gene Chizik arrived as head coach, and everything went completely down hill...as most everyone on this board knows. It was amazing to see us finish so great through all the years listed above, and then become so bad, so fast. Cheers to getting our defense back to the way it was before. The talent is coming, and we have some great coaches on defense now.
The future is bright.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 6:44 pm to TTsTowel
I agree. And that is the true beauty behind Gus. We have a HC who can put up points. You have to score to win. We have been told that D wins championships, and it is true. So, we also have EJ. A man who is good enough to be hired as a D1 HC. We get to keep him qs well. The longer we have both of them, the better IMNSHO.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 6:53 pm to TTsTowel
And with all that defense, we still managed to lose 21 games over those six years averaging 3.5 losses per season.
"Defense wins championships" is one of the most overrated bromides in the sport.
"Defense wins championships" is one of the most overrated bromides in the sport.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 7:04 pm to TTsTowel
I like SEC Championships better... if that meant sacrificing a top 15 defense for offensive production, then so be it.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 7:07 pm to lowspark12
It's not like we won an SEC Championship during that time or anything.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 7:44 pm to TTsTowel
As a result of an absolutely loaded offense full of NFL talent... We had far less pure talent on our 2010 and 2013 teams.
It takes less talent now than it did playing tuberville's style.
It takes less talent now than it did playing tuberville's style.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 7:46 pm to TTsTowel
Has anyone got the score of the Auburn/FSU game? I was busy that day and just now getting caught up with AU football. TIA
Posted on 4/7/14 at 7:48 pm to RockyMtnTigerWDE
34-31... NEVER FORGET
Posted on 4/7/14 at 8:01 pm to TTsTowel
To be fair with an offensive style like ours it will be hard to get our defense to the top Nationally. Too many teams like Bama and LSU chew up clock with their offense. We're just as likely to go 3 and out in under a minute as we are to score.
Posted on 4/7/14 at 8:14 pm to TTsTowel
quote:
It's not like we won an SEC Championship during that time or anything.
Yeah, well AU never made a NC during that time frame. I'm happy with the current situation. Plus, those Ds rarely faced a spread attack, if at all.
This post was edited on 4/7/14 at 8:16 pm
Posted on 4/7/14 at 11:47 pm to AUsteriskPride
The game has changed radically from the Tubs Era at AU.
To put it in perspective, in 2004, when we were #1 in scoring defense, there were only 3 BCS teams that averaged more than 36 points a game on offense - coincidentally, #2 & #3were the two teams who met in the Championship, USC and Oklahoma (Cal was #1 at 37.1) And with three first-rounders in our backfield that year, we averaged 33.4 per game, good enough to be the 8th highest scoring offense among BCS schools.
Fast forward to 2013, and we managed 39.5 ppg, nearly a TD more each time we set foot on the field - yet were still #8 in the BCS.
And FWIW, in '04 we didn't face a single offense that averaged more than 30 points a contest (Arky was the most potent attack we faced at 29.8). This past year we played 5 teams that broke 35 points a game.
To put it in perspective, in 2004, when we were #1 in scoring defense, there were only 3 BCS teams that averaged more than 36 points a game on offense - coincidentally, #2 & #3were the two teams who met in the Championship, USC and Oklahoma (Cal was #1 at 37.1) And with three first-rounders in our backfield that year, we averaged 33.4 per game, good enough to be the 8th highest scoring offense among BCS schools.
Fast forward to 2013, and we managed 39.5 ppg, nearly a TD more each time we set foot on the field - yet were still #8 in the BCS.
And FWIW, in '04 we didn't face a single offense that averaged more than 30 points a contest (Arky was the most potent attack we faced at 29.8). This past year we played 5 teams that broke 35 points a game.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 7:51 am to lowspark12
quote:
As a result of an absolutely loaded offense full of NFL talent... We had far less pure talent on our 2010 and 2013 teams.
It takes less talent now than it did playing tuberville's style.
Can you really quantify that though...I mean using recruiting rankings, Auburn is more talented than ever before IMO.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 8:24 am to TTsTowel
I just want to get back to the days when if we were up by 17 or more points, it was over with. Since 2009, I have not felt comfortable with a lead no matter how large it was.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 8:32 am to TTsTowel
The only thing Tuberville hated more than his team scoring points was the other team scoring points
Posted on 4/8/14 at 11:10 am to jvilletiger25
quote:Would you also prefer the days when the game was over when we fell behind by 14 or more points? Offhand I can only think of one such occasion under Tubs: against Syracuse in '02. But I can think of numerous occasions where we built up a big lead, went into Tubershell mode and watched it slipping away. Granted, we hung onto win a lot of those games, but frequently they were still in doubt in the final minute.
I just want to get back to the days when if we were up by 17 or more points, it was over with. Since 2009, I have not felt comfortable with a lead no matter how large it was.
During the four seasons we've played under a Malzahn offense, I would be willing to bet AU has overcome double-digit deficits more often than the rest of our history combined. If not, it's awfully close.
This post was edited on 4/8/14 at 11:13 am
Posted on 4/8/14 at 11:22 am to See5
quote:
Can you really quantify that though...I mean using recruiting rankings, Auburn is more talented than ever before IMO.
you quantify it with the NFL... Campbell, Cadillac, Brown, McNeil, Grubbs... and a couple WRs who managed to stick around in the league longer than most would've imagined -- Aromashodu and Obomanu. Courtney Taylor and Anthony Mix were also on active NFL rosters for a short period of time, I believe.
2010 offense had Cam... then brandon mosley taken in the mid rounds... that's it. Darvin, LZ, Pugh, Fannin, Zachary, etc... none of those guys have ever seen an active NFL roster (compared to the guys listed above from the 2004 team).
This post was edited on 4/8/14 at 11:26 am
Posted on 4/8/14 at 11:52 am to TTsTowel
What I don't miss AT ALL, notwithstanding 2004 or 2005, were Tuberville's offenses.
Or the classic Tubershell.
Or the classic Tubershell.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 11:58 am to beatbammer
quote:
Or the classic Tubershell.
even more than this, I hated the fact that we would come out flat (usually at home in the 11:30 JP timeslot) to a team we had no business losing to... Arky 2002 and 2006 are great examples. MSU 2007 being another.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 1:33 pm to FearlessFreep
It is overused, but it isn't total BS either. I know that isn't your implication. There are more temas than ours that can score a bunch of points. Defense is the difference between really good teams, and championship teams IMO.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 1:42 pm to lowspark12
quote:
even more than this, I hated the fact that we would come out flat (usually at home in the 11:30 JP timeslot) to a team we had no business losing to... Arky 2002 and 2006 are great examples. MSU 2007 being another.
This...I hated that so much. I know there was a collective sigh when the time of the games were announced. Squeaked out wins that should have been blowouts too.
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