Auburn's Option v. Tech's Option

[BainbridgeJacket]

They vary their formations to create numbers advantages for certain plays/players more than we do. Additionally, they have a little bit simpler blocking scheme and have the mesh further back from the line which allows the runner to pick a gap.

We do all of these things occasionally, but auburn has success because they do it every play so quickly the defenses aren't having time to adjust.

 

[AE 87]

We win 10 games if we had their D.

 

[Randy Carson]

How bout if we swapped Malzahn for CPJ, what do you think he could do with the players we currently have?

He could teach them to play crisply, he could install a hurry-up offense, he could insist they actually block their men instead of falling do....er, cutting, he could eliminate mental errors, he could instill confidence, he could...

 

[Randy Carson]

One other line of questions:

1. Did CPJ watch the game last night?
2. Did he learn anything?
3. What?
4. Will we see any of that Auburn option on the Flats next year?
5. Why not, dammit?

 

[techman78]

He could teach them to play crisply, he could install a hurry-up offense, he could insist they actually block their men instead of falling do....er, cutting, he could eliminate mental errors, he could instill confidence, he could...

Not trying to be a smart@ss but how could he eliminate mental errors? I'm pretty sure every coach trys to teach his players not to make mental errors but that is squarely on the players. I do agree that Malzahn is a heck of a coach though and wish that CPJ would tweak to fit his players talent like he does.

 

[stylee]

Gus has a great football mind. He also obviously has a lot of talent on that team.

I liked the brutal simplicity of what he was doing. Reminded me of our gameplans v Duke and 'Cuse this year.

I also liked how many non-option run plays they ran that looked exactly like option plays on a superficial level. We do that a lot with our zone dives, blasts, and so on.

 

[Animal02]

Something happened to Vad. He brought a fire, a spark and a quickness to the field in 2012 that he never showed in 2013. I don't know what it was, but I cannot help but to think he was coached to be part of a system that didn't fit him, rather than tweaking a system to fit his abilities. Kinda reminds me of Tebow. In the right system, he could be a winner, but he didn't fit the formula.

The difference between the way the offense operated with Tevin, with far less natural ability, compared to the way it ran under Vad (or even Vad of 2012) was obvious. Of course people will say he gave it is all. People also said Obamacare was going to reduce costs, not raise taxes and insure more people.

 

[Techster]

Gus has a great football mind. He also obviously has a lot of talent on that team.

I liked the brutal simplicity of what he was doing. Reminded me of our gameplans v Duke and 'Cuse this year.

I also liked how many non-option run plays they ran that looked exactly like option plays on a superficial level. We do that a lot with our zone dives, blasts, and so on.

Some on here would argue that since we ran a lot of Diamond and Pistol there wasn't too much "brutal simplicity" against Duke.

 

[Randy Carson]

Not trying to be a smart@ss but how could he eliminate mental errors? I'm pretty sure every coach trys to teach his players not to make mental errors but that is squarely on the players. I do agree that Malzahn is a heck of a coach though and wish that CPJ would tweak to fit his players talent like he does.

Simplify? Repetition?

 

[Techster]

Not trying to be a smart@ss but how could he eliminate mental errors? I'm pretty sure every coach trys to teach his players not to make mental errors but that is squarely on the players. I do agree that Malzahn is a heck of a coach though and wish that CPJ would tweak to fit his players talent like he does.

Difference between good coaching and bad coaching. Malzahn took basically the same roster that was undisciplined last year under Chizik and won the ACC and was a few stops from being the National Champs this year. Only thing that really changed for Auburn this year was the coaching staff and the starting QB.

Not saying CPJ is a bad coach, but when players keep making the same mental errors it's on the coaches. Detroit Lions have the same problem. Tons of talent but they pretty much beat themselves.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Difference between good coaching and bad coaching. Malzahn took basically the same roster that was undisciplined last year under Chizik and won the ACC and was a few stops from being the National Champs this year. Only thing that really changed for Auburn this year was the coaching staff and the starting QB.

Not saying CPJ is a bad coach, but when players keep making the same mental errors it's on the coaches. Detroit Lions have the same problem. Tons of talent but they pretty much beat themselves.

The new qb was HUGE in that equation. He fits that O to a T on top of being a helluvan athlete. Wish I could say the same for our guy.

 

[IronJacket7]

We win 10 games if we had their D.

Err meh gerd.

 

[Techster]

The new qb was HUGE in that equation. He fits that O to a T on top of being a helluvan athlete. Wish I could say the same for our guy.

Yup...but a very good argument can be made that Malzahn and his staff coached up and developed Marshall to play at the level he played at towards the end of the year. Marshall at the beginning of the year is a totally different player than the guy playing in the National Title game.

That's the gist of coaching. Taking talent and squeezing out every bit of it. Look at Tom O'Brien at NC State who had two future QBs on his roster (Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon). Obvious talent there but he didn't squeeze the most he could out of them. Sure having talent is huge, but if you don't know how to use it, what good is it?

 

[IronJacket7]

One other line of questions:

1. Did CPJ watch the game last night?
2. Did he learn anything?
3. What?
4. Will we see any of that Auburn option on the Flats next year?
5. Why not, dammit?

1. Yes
2. He knows everything thing so... NO.
3. Huh?
4.
5. Because CPJ is our daddy.

 

[stylee]

Some on here would argue that since we ran a lot of Diamond and Pistol there wasn't too much "brutal simplicity" against Duke.

I'd respectfully disagree with those people. We ran the same few plays repeatedly and then punished Duke through the air for cheating up to stop those plays.

Vad had a good game with his arm there. IIRC, two of his TDs were thrown from under center, for what that's worth.
Better overall game than against UGA for him, IMO.

Vad's passing problem wasn't that he wasn't capable of making great throws - the TDs v. Duke to Smelter (the first one) and Laskey, the long pass v. Pitt, the scramble and throw to Smelter v. UVA - it's that he wasn't making them consistently and that he often got lost in coverage looks/locked in on guys.

I don't think JT has Vad's arm. Maybe though, with enough work, he'll be better at consistently reading defenses in the passing game.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Yup...but a very good argument can be made that Malzahn and his staff coached up and developed Marshall to play at the level he played at towards the end of the year. Marshall at the beginning of the year is a totally different player than the guy playing in the National Title game.

That's the gist of coaching. Taking talent and squeezing out every bit of it. Look at Tom O'Brien at NC State who had two future QBs on his roster (Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon). Obvious talent there but he didn't squeeze the most he could out of them. Sure having talent is huge, but if you don't know how to use it, what good is it?

True, but I can't tell if your saying that Vad's failure to fit our O is a product of poor development by his coaches or not. Is that what you're saying?

 

[Techster]

I'd respectfully disagree with those people. We ran the same few plays repeatedly and then punished Duke through the air for cheating up to stop those plays.

Vad had a good game with his arm there. IIRC, two of his TDs were thrown from under center, for what that's worth.
Better overall game than against UGA for him, IMO.

Vad's passing problem wasn't that he wasn't capable of making great throws - the TDs v. Duke to Smelter (the first one) and Laskey, the long pass v. Pitt, the scramble and throw to Smelter v. UVA - it's that he wasn't making them consistently and that he often got lost in coverage looks/locked in on guys.

I don't think JT has Vad's arm. Maybe though, with enough work, he'll be better at consistently reading defenses in the passing game.

Yup...agree. I think a lot of people on here confuse formations and window dressing with respect to "simplifying" and returning to the Flex. We run a lot of the same plays from different formations, which isn't different from what Malzahn does with his offense. Or what Friedgen did with his offense. Of course running plays from different formations does change some keys and read points.

People point to UGA as Vad's best game, but the Duke game was Vad's best game IMHO. He made a lot of great throws, showed anticipation and touch, and made some really good decisions. He also did a great job managing our option game.

Also agree on JT. Lots of GT fans like to say JT's arm is just as strong as Vad's, but that's false. Of course, you don't need to have a super strong arm to be great passer on this level. If JT can understand the pass game as well as Tevin, who I thought made HUGE strides understanding coverages on where the ball needs to go within our passing concepts, we should be just fine.

 

[Techster]

True, but I can't tell if your saying that Vad's failure to fit our O is a product of poor development by his coaches or not. Is that what you're saying?

I'm saying it's a combination of player and coaches.

 

[Animal02]

Yup...agree. I think a lot of people on here confuse formations and window dressing with respect to "simplifying" and returning to the Flex. We run a lot of the same plays from different formations, which isn't different from what Malzahn does with his offense. Or what Friedgen did with his offense. Of course running plays from different formations does change some keys and read points.

People point to UGA as Vad's best game, but the Duke game was Vad's best game IMHO. He made a lot of great throws, showed anticipation and touch, and made some really good decisions. He also did a great job managing our option game.

Also agree on JT. Lots of GT fans like to say JT's arm is just as strong as Vad's, but that's false. Of course, you don't need to have a super strong arm to be great passer on this level. If JT can understand the pass game as well as Tevin, who I thought made HUGE strides understanding coverages on where the ball needs to go within our passing concepts, we should be just fine.

I agree.....you don't need someone that can throw the ball 50+ yds.......I would rather have someone that can find the open receivers and make the right decisions consistently.

 

[techman78]

Simplify? Repetition?

Fair enough. I get what your saying. Well here's to next season and hoping that we improve.