Auburn Thoughts

[Todd4State]

Glad we beat them. Auburn started the BS about banning cowbells back in the day and then Cam Newton. Suffice to say I don't like them.

Nick is who he is. I think he's too far gone to be an average passer but he is an elite runner. I can't wait to see Joe's offense with a QB who reading defenses isn't like me reading Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Kylie and Aeris are a great RB combo and I like how we use them. Especially after we have taken away the P out of the RPO some.

WR's must work on catching the ball during the bye week. They're hurting us. I'm not sure what the solution is except to recruit better WR's.

I like that we thew to the TE's more. We have three pretty good ones.

OL looked much better. Obviously run blocking is their forte but they did much better in pass protection as well.

DL is as advertised. Sweat had his best game at MSU. That dude is a freak! My favorite play of the game was when he sacked Stidham and Stidham just started going down before Sweat got there. That's domination.

We have to defend screens better. Maybe getting Peters back will help because he is more physical than Smitherman. I'm sure we're going to see people throwing screens against us the rest of the year.

Creating the fumble as the Auburn RB was going into the end zone was the key play of the game. It killed their comeback attempt and allowed us to kill the clock.

Special teams was inconsistent. We had a bad snap on the blocked field goal and kicked the ball out of bounds on a kickoff but we also recovered a fumble on a punt, made our other field goals and did OK punting the rest of the night.

The bye week comes at a great time for us. I hope the alleged legend about it taking 5-6 games for Moorhead's offense to start clicking is true. We need to use the time to work on the passing game, pass blocking, and defending screens.

I know some are disappointed because we thought we could go 10-2 or even 12-0 with the right luck becaus of the talent we have. Just because this team is very talented doesn't mean we won't be this talented in the years ahead. Especially if Joe can get recruiting going. And in the future he will have his players that fit his system and SEC experience. It's only going to get better for us IMO. Kudos to Joe for proving me wrong on some things- mostly about making adjustments. He knows what we are and what we have now and I think we're in for a great second half of the season. While our offense is limited our defense is going to give us a chance to win most games.

[tcdog70]

It helps our pass pro if the defense thinks we are running. We have to run to be able to pass. Our wideouts still struggle with separation and catching.

[Bully13]

I hope AU fans got an earful of responsible ringing. AU Deranged Bitch did not scream responsibly though. AU's tackle had no answer for Sweat's spin move. The announcers were correct about NFL GM's foaming at the bit to sign the guy. The 3 way combo of Fitz, Hill & A-Train is lethal when utilized like it was last night. The fakes one way then the ball carrier going the other can fake opposing D's out of their jock straps. Was a thing of beauty and I hope we learned a lot from it. Would love to see us use that threat to open up some play action. At the end, was our kicker intentionally kicking out of bounds? Maybe thinking that a kick out of the endzone not a guarantee or something? The 25 not guaranteed so let's go with the sure 35? We kicked some good field goals. was happy with that. Long snapper recovering the fumble was awesome. He earned some dog chain.

Opening the 2nd with a long drive was uuuge. Even though we didn't get it into the end zone. Would have liked a little more creativity at the end of the 2nd qtr. Should not have been that close. Not necessarily a pass but some fake and maybe some A-Train.

[yjnkdawg]

I agree with what you said. I am glad for the short term adjustments, but I really want to see what JoeMo's offense looks like and can do when he has a quarterback who can actually run it (full blown) as it was designed to be run. We may have to wait short trem on getting those really highly recruited receivers (4*) because they want a quarterback who can get them the ball, and we haven't seen that, in our offense so far this season. They also want somebody who can develop them where they can reach their highest potential at the next level. I think Getsy is a good drawing card for that once they see we have a quarterback who can get them the ball. Fitz just hasn't seemed to have been the same Fitz since he got injured, with that horrendous injury that could have ended his football career, and that's understandable, but he still gives his all for our team, and he leaves everything on the field.

[Matt3467]

Was hovering on some of the AU message boards earlier and they are stunned they lost to the "trash" that is MSU. They feel it's inexcusable Gus is 3-3 vs us. Unreal the amount of disrespect MSU gets.

[Jack Lambert]

Was hovering on some of the AU message boards earlier and they are stunned they lost to the "trash" that is MSU. They feel it's inexcusable Gus is 3-3 vs us. Unreal the amount of disrespect MSU gets.

Well anytime your team loses to a team that you as a fan thinks is inferior to, that other team did not beat you. It was bad calls or you just played bad. But the truth is our O and D line whipped them all night.

[gravedigger]

Was hovering on some of the AU message boards earlier and they are stunned they lost to the "trash" that is MSU. They feel it's inexcusable Gus is 3-3 vs us. Unreal the amount of disrespect MSU gets.


Our fans have acted that way about teams we lost to.

[dawgday166]

Our fans have acted that way about teams we lost to.

Like KY? Good post.

[justwin]

Glad we beat them.

WR's must work on catching the ball during the bye week. They're hurting us. I'm not sure what the solution is except to recruit better WR's.
.


excellent summary.

Of the six WRs who are playing in Mitchell with 13 catches, Guidry 10, Jesse 2, Mixon 6, Deddrick 7, Austin 7. You basically have Mixon/Deddrick/Austin competing for 1 of 3 spots. That leaves 3 guys in Guidry, Jesse, and Mitchel. battling for 2 other spots. Got to get Whop incorporated in the bye week. has the size, pedigree, enrolled early, toughness

[Dawg61]

I thought the key to the game for us offensively was the RBs lining in the slot and then being brought back in motion right before the snap. It messed Auburn up all night and freed Fitz to be able to keep it and run straight up the middle for 195 yards. I love this wrinkle to Joe's offense and can't wait to see the extra pass wrinkles added to it. This was the first game I really could see how effective the RPO can be for us once we are able to hit downfield passes. Keep throwing the check downs to the TEs and backs though as they are open on every play.

[maroonmania]

Very much enjoyed being there to see us beat up on the Newtonites last night. I only have 2 questions:

1. How can the entire SEC team be so terrible at catching the ball? Drops all around with Guidry, Mitchell and Gay with big ones last week and last night big ones from Guidry and Abrams. And those are just the ones I remember vividly. Just seems every ball that hits us in the hands on offense or defense is pretty much a 50/50 ball at best. Just never seen a team having so much trouble watching a ball in for a catch.

2. WHY does every trick play that's ever run against work to perfection?? Doesn't seem to matter who our DC is or which year it is, we are the most undisciplined, susceptible team to a trick play I've ever seen while rarely seeing them work when we try one. Last week we were beaten by FL on a trick play and then last night we let a guy run wide open down the field on a trick play and only a horrific throw by Stidham cost them not scoring a touchdown. Last year with Grantham we were burned by Auburn on a similar play. Georgia as well on the first play of that game last year. I honestly can't remember us running one that's worked against a high level SEC team.

[Pit Bull]

Was hovering on some of the AU message boards earlier and they are stunned they lost to the "trash" that is MSU. They feel it's inexcusable Gus is 3-3 vs us. Unreal the amount of disrespect MSU gets.

Been that way for a long time. They think everything in Alabama is better than anything in Mississippi. It just doesn't compute in their brains that they could lose to any team in Mississippi.

[Cooterpoot]

A lot of the drops y’all are talking about were bad passes. Just rockets with no touch and behind the receivers a little. Fitz is as bad a passer as the receivers are catchers.

[Bully13]

A lot of the drops y’all are talking about were bad passes. Just rockets with no touch and behind the receivers a little. Fitz is as bad a passer as the receivers are catchers.

I was thinking about this when Guidry had that drop across the middle. The announcers blamed it all on Guidry but my initial thought when I saw the play was damn he fired that hard as hell.

anybody else see / remember that play? not saying it was uncatchable or anything like that.

[StateDawg44]

I was thinking about this when Guidry had that drop across the middle. The announcers blamed it all on Guidry but my initial thought when I saw the play was damn he fired that hard as hell.

anybody else see / remember that play? not saying it was uncatchable or anything like that.

I thought he was going deep as hard as he rared back and threw it. Receiver couldn't have been 10 yards away from him.

[LC Dawg]

I was thinking about this when Guidry had that drop across the middle. The announcers blamed it all on Guidry but my initial thought when I saw the play was damn he fired that hard as hell.

anybody else see / remember that play? not saying it was uncatchable or anything like that.

That pass was a rocket. Guidry still should have caught it but it wasn't an easy catch and I think Guidry had his eyes looking around a little for someone about to knock the shit out of him. The pass to Guidry in the end zone was a big miss. If Fitz had thrown the ball when Guidry made his cut he would have been open but Fitz waited and the db caught up and batted the ball down.

[maroonmania]

That pass was a rocket. Guidry still should have caught it but it wasn't an easy catch and I think Guidry had his eyes looking around a little for someone about to knock the shit out of him. The pass to Guidry in the end zone was a big miss. If Fitz had thrown the ball when Guidry made his cut he would have been open but Fitz waited and the db caught up and batted the ball down.

An SEC WR shouldn't be dropping that pass but I will say it was more forgiveable than the 5 yard dump pass he dropped last week against Florida that cost us getting a first down.

[tcdog70]

We are 6 games in and Guidry has not caught 1 50-50 ball. We need a WR that will go get the ball. All of our WRs wait for the ball to come towards them. The last WR we had that would go get the ball and screen the DB off with his body was the Bear. We don't have WRs that get separation. Some is on Nick but most is on our WRs. We are going to have to throw to the TEs and RBs.

If we want a WR that will get open and catch it--go sign Drummand (sp) from Scooba Tech.

[BulldogBear]

Every team is going to run screens against us on 3rd and long until we learn to expect it.

[RougeDawg]

An SEC WR shouldn't be dropping that pass but I will say it was more forgiveable than the 5 yard dump pass he dropped last week against Florida that cost us getting a first down.

Let?s not forget how sticky the gloves are that all players wear. I don?t recall this many drops when guys didn?t wear gloves. The gloves they have now, all you need to do it get a single hand on the ball and it sticks. There is no excuse to drop anything that hits the hands, with those gloves.

Hopkins last night for Houston is a prime example. The ball hits his hands and just sticks. Those gloves are amazing and just think how bad we would be if we were not wearing them.

[DancingRabbit]

Our WRs need this drill in their daily routine


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfRRclqLrgg

[MedDawg]

Fitz threw several passes that were right to the recievers but defended really well by Auburn. Whether that is great defense or good defense helped by receivers unable to get separation, I don't know, but the passes were there. Against a little worse defense, they would have been completions. Unless they were dropped.

[parabrave]

Our WRs need this drill in their daily routine


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfRRclqLrgg

They needed to do this since Brett threw 100mph fastballs. If Guidry can't catch Fitzs bullets then what is he going to do with the Tom Bradys

[maroonmania]

Our WRs need this drill in their daily routine


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfRRclqLrgg

Given where Getsy came from I would think he would know that drill very well.

[maroonmania]

Every team is going to run screens against us on 3rd and long until we learn to expect it.

Heck, why don't they just run 7 or 8 trick plays a game because I've never seen us successfully defend one.

[Tbonewannabe]

They needed to do this since Brett threw 100mph fastballs. If Guidry can't catch Fitzs bullets then what is he going to do with the Tom Bradys

Fitz has a stronger arm than Brady, just saying. Brady is just real damn accurate.

[3rdGen]

They needed to do this since Brett threw 100mph fastballs. If Guidry can't catch Fitzs bullets then what is he going to do with the Tom Bradys

What the heck have you seen from Guidry that makes you think he will be catching passes from anybody in the nfl?
Just saying. For all the hype I am not impressed. Great players make plays. I don’t see him making them.

[parabrave]

What the heck have you seen from Guidry that makes you think he will be catching passes from anybody in the nfl?
Just saying. For all the hype I am not impressed. Great players make plays. I don’t see him making them.

Dam son just a hypothetical question. Guess I forgot these****. But you are correct about making plays, esp going to get the ball instead of it coming to you. Bear would've gone to grab that pass in the Endzone instead of waiting for it and letting the DB get to it.

[Todd4State]

What the heck have you seen from Guidry that makes you think he will be catching passes from anybody in the nfl?
Just saying. For all the hype I am not impressed. Great players make plays. I don’t see him making them.

I'm hopeful that Guidry is just adjusting from JUCO. He needs to step it up regardless.

[Commercecomet24]

I'm hopeful that Guidry is just adjusting from JUCO. He needs to step it up regardless.

It has been said it takes jucos about half a season to adjust. I'm hoping he's just making the adjustment but he better get it wired right pretty dang quick.

[Pit Bull]

Bout the only things that bothered me in the game was 1) getting the FG blocked, and 2) the play we ran on 4th down when Fitz got stuffed. Not sure if Christmann kicked the ball too low....why not spot his kick holder a yard further back since it was not a long FG? We still don't pass very well, so might as well run it 75% of the time.

[Todd4State]

Bout the only things that bothered me in the game was 1) getting the FG blocked, and 2) the play we ran on 4th down when Fitz got stuffed. Not sure if Christmann kicked the ball too low....why not spot his kick holder a yard further back since it was not a long FG? We still don't pass very well, so might as well run it 75% of the time.

On the blocked field goal the snap was definitely high. I'm not sure how much that affected the kick.

I do wish that Fitz would hand it off more sometimes because it seems like he sometimes tries to do everything himself.

[3rdGen]

Dam son just a hypothetical question. Guess I forgot these****. But you are correct about making plays, esp going to get the ball instead of it coming to you. Bear would've gone to grab that pass in the Endzone instead of waiting for it and letting the DB get to it.

My bad! Had that on my chest for the last two weeks. I felt better after you let me vent. Thanks!

All seriousness though .... I am not trying to be a dick to the kid, because I damn sure couldn’t even get open and a lot of people will talk about these players and have no idea all they have going on in thier lives and heads. I just don’t think he is playing to his potential and I think he doesn’t understand that nobody is going to push him like he can push himself if he puts his mind to becoming the number one receiver. He has to decide that for himself just like an addict has to decide its time to quit the addiction. It’s a coach/father disappointment if you know what I mean. I am still glad he is a dawg and I will pull for him cause he is a part of this great family we call MSU.

So if by some chance you read this Guidry, push yourself!
If your having trouble catching Nicks passes, guess who you need to be in the ear of and spending time with. It’s a qb/receiver relationship thing it ain’t all on you my man. Good luck!

HAILSTATE!

[Dawgfan77]

I'm hopeful that Guidry is just adjusting from JUCO. He needs to step it up regardless.

I remember a certain coach saying it takes 6 games or a year for JUCOs to adjust to SEC ball
This week off maybe the best thing to happen to us coming off a win

[BB30]

Very much enjoyed being there to see us beat up on the Newtonites last night. I only have 2 questions:

1. How can the entire SEC team be so terrible at catching the ball? Drops all around with Guidry, Mitchell and Gay with big ones last week and last night big ones from Guidry and Abrams. And those are just the ones I remember vividly. Just seems every ball that hits us in the hands on offense or defense is pretty much a 50/50 ball at best. Just never seen a team having so much trouble watching a ball in for a catch.

2. WHY does every trick play that's ever run against work to perfection?? Doesn't seem to matter who our DC is or which year it is, we are the most undisciplined, susceptible team to a trick play I've ever seen while rarely seeing them work when we try one. Last week we were beaten by FL on a trick play and then last night we let a guy run wide open down the field on a trick play and only a horrific throw by Stidham cost them not scoring a touchdown. Last year with Grantham we were burned by Auburn on a similar play. Georgia as well on the first play of that game last year. I honestly can't remember us running one that's worked against a high level SEC team.

Florida hit LSU with a trick play that worked on the TE throw back. It happens. Hard to stay disciplined when the margin of error is so razor thin on a run being corralled in the backfield by a DB firing down hill and or it turning into a 10 yd gain because we sat back. Every team gets caught off guard at some point during the season on a trick play.

The key defending it is for the DL and LBs to get in there and disrupt the play before it can really get started since most trick plays take a bit longer to develop.

[Cooterpoot]

Fitz threw several passes that were right to the recievers but defended really well by Auburn. Whether that is great defense or good defense helped by receivers unable to get separation, I don't know, but the passes were there. Against a little worse defense, they would have been completions. Unless they were dropped.

Those throws were late and he didn't lead the receiver. They were open and he just held it too long.

[Commercecomet24]

Those throws were late and he didn't lead the receiver. They were open and he just held it too long.

Exactly! He trusts his arm to much, he thinks his arm is strong enough to throw it by defenders. His completion rate would go up at least 10% if the ball was delivered on time. And I'm a big Fitz fan.