 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Back |
Previous on Jeremy Bosch Memorial HOF |
Next on Jeremy Bosch Memorial HOF |
Calvinist Dawg
(66.156.25.252) on 9/27/2004 - 9:06 p.m. says: ( 6 views
)
|
"Re: My prediction for the UAT/Arkansas...."
|
|
The whirring song of the August locusts saturates the shimmering and sultry air. Its hot in Dixie. Which means only one thing. The pigskin is
about to fly.
Its this time of year that the smell of freshly mown Bermuda can bump
the Southern heartrate. Football is coming; worship is about to begin.
And its no different on the Plains. The drudgery of sweltering two-a-day
practices have ended. The team goes into preparation for an actual opponent
now. Focus sharpens. The pieces are put into place.
The key piece was fastened Saturday evening when Tommy Tuberville
announced Jason Campbell as the starting quarterback for the 2001 Tigers. The
prodigiously talented redshirt freshman assumed the role I presumed he would
last fall. The vexation of Noel Mazzone over whether to redshirt him then
spoke volumes.
Simply put, he's the real deal. Tall, fast, a cannon arm with touch. How
talented? So talented the coaches feel to not start him this year would have
been a waste. Campbell will be eligible for the NFL draft after his sophomore
season. Its a good bet this factors into any decisions about his long term
future at Auburn.
In the spring, Mazzone implemented more option plays and roll out
passes. He wasn't doing this to suit the talents of Cobb or Klein. The
coaches were expecting Campbell to do what he's done. They announced last
week that Wednesday's scrimmage would dictate the starter. Campbell failed to
step out strongly, so they delayed the decision. Only after Saturday's
stellar performance by Campbell did they give the nod. They were holding the
door open as long as possible and who could blame them.
Auburn may be in a position to surprise some folks, but don't count on
it. Campbell is still a freshman, after all, and he's going to make mistakes.
That's why they're called "growing pains."
Behind Campbell will be about the best backfield combo Auburn has seen
in a few years. Rudi and Heath were and brutal pair, for sure, but these guys
will have a more complete game to bring to the table. By all indications,
fullback Brandon Johnson is not too far behind Evans, and may actually be a
better blocker. And though there is no relentless workhorse like Rudi, there
are a trio of backs who have better natural skills than the recently departed
Johnson. Ronnie Brown has stepped out front with authority and developed
consistency in August. Cassinious Moore has good hands, knows the system
well, but needs to work on his field vision. Then rookie phenom Carnell
"Cadillac" Williams is proceeding about as planned. He's pushing Moore hard.
Williams might well move to second string before the Vandy game.
Tight end is solid.
Wide receiver is nowhere at the level as last year, but that's still not
bad. Marcel Willis seems to have picked up where he left off last year, as a
go-to guy in the tight situations. Tim Carter is a formidable weapon that is
going to light the NFL on fire. DeAndre Green is back and playing very well.
Whether this is his last season on the Plains is still up in the air, but he
is in orange and blue for the time being. Allen Tillman has made a remarkable
transition from quarterback and has pleased the coaches. Jeris McIntyre is
doing fine and Joe Walkins (an Eric Metcalf clone) is giving the defensive
backs fits.
The offensive line boasts four returning starters. A veteran line can
give Campbell time to grow, can keep him out of trouble. And they'll need
experience to take on the variety of blitzes defensive coordinators are
itching to throw at the green signalcaller. As crucial will be the amount of
rotation the second string can get in this year. Auburn was very fortunate
with injuries last year and that may not be the case again. And the line's
continuity will be a bigger question heading into next season, one in which
Auburn could start the season ranked in the top fifteen.
The defense is brimming with potential. Speed abounds, experience is
another story.
The front line is not a question. The biggest goal of the coaches for
this bunch is a better pass rush; their run defense is just fine. They would
like to get pressure without sending the linebackers. Lovett has a tendency
to sit back and he'll especially do so this year, sending the linbackers back
to help a young secondary. Demarco McNeil and Spencer Johnson appear ready to
return to all-star form. Marcus White, Dexter Murphy, and Dante Booker have
solicited praise. Alton Moore and Javor Mills return at one end and James
Callier has overtaken Reggie Torbor at the other end. Callier's play has been
steady throughout the summer and it looks like he is ready to overtake Alex
Lincoln's leadership role as well.
The lineackers are fast and strong. Mark Brown, Tavarreus Pounds, and
Dontarrious Thomas are playing good. They need seasoning, but can wreak some
havoc.
The secondary is of concern. The corners are fairly inexperienced.
Travaris Robinson's fill-in duty last season was spotty. Roderick Hood has a
lot of ability opposite him, but is untested.
Safety Stanford Simmons has seemingly improved on his inconsistent play
from last year. The rest of the interior secondary is filled with a ton of
kids long on talent and that's about it. There will likely be their share of
missed assignments early on in the season.
The placekicking/punting duties are being handled admirably by Damon
Duval who plugged a 59 yard field goal in Saturday's scrimmage. His talents
as a punter are documented by his post season awards last year.
While talent is everywhere, experience is woefully short. This will cost
the Tigers a couple of early ones. Likely LSU, unless the bipolar Rohan Davey
is on a down cycle.
The Ball State warm-up will look as vanilla as last year's Wyoming
match. Then, Eli will roll into town, but I think the speed of Auburn's
defense and Auburn's offensive line will be the difference that day.
Going to Syracuse at 2-1 will be tough. Syracuse, however, doesn't have
what it takes to stay on the carpet with Auburn. Watch their Kick-Off Classic
match with Georgia Tech to see what I mean. The road trip for Auburn to New
York will be the real battle. Will it be enough to wear down the Tigers?
Tough to call.
Vandy is Vandy.
Then State rolls into town. This guys will likely be their usual selves:
tough, physical, and fast. They have the SEC's most experienced quarterback
and a great backfield. Another Sherrill team. If everything went the Tigers'
way, if they shut down Walker AND Miller while stopping Madkin, then kept
their own turnovers and mistakes to a bare minimum, they would have a good
shot. That's a tall order.
Florida is a juggernaut. Loaded from top to bottom, these guys are one
of the best teams in the nation, legitimately.
LaTech will offer some respite. Then the journey to "The Waller" in
Fayetteville looms. Arkansas' scouting report for this year is the same as
last. Great running back, good size on both lines, unsettled everywhere else.
Auburn's star seems to be on the rise, Houston Nutt's is static. Barring
injury, the Tigers should just be getting everything in high gear by this
point. Auburn will take the Hogs.
The journey to Athens will be different this year. Auburn destroyed
"home loss" streak last year. Will the Dawgs return the favor? Unlikely.
Bowden disciple Mark Richt is overtaking a program that keeps shooting itself
in the foot. Though Brother Tommy has met with success over the border at
Clemson, Richt reminds me more of Diddy Bowden offshoot L'il Terry. But it
will still be a close one.
The Iron Bowl comes back to Jordan-Hare and Auburn will avenge the
Tide's victory in '99. The Crimson Tide will be limping in struggling to
break stay above .500 for the season. That's right, the mighty Tide. The same
team picked in the top twenty five for the preseason. How could they...?
Well, the key phrase here is "sameteam."
This is the same Tide team that was picked Number Three this time last
year. The very same team that couldn't beat an Auburn team that couldn't
manage a touchdown. For years, with this one no exception, people have talked
about the sheer talent on bama's squad. Well, where was that talent last
year? Where was it when it came time to prove on the actual field of battle?
Sure, the coaching staff was shoddy, but come on. Talent the likes of what
we've been told resides in the Capstone can't be stymied to only three wins.
Sure, the individual players on the tema might have impressive stats, but the
one thing they don't have, that they can't win without, is chemistry. For
whatever reason, most of it stemming from the spot behind center, they just
ain't got it.
Add to that the spectre of NCAA investigation, and it won't be pretty.
Dennis Franchione won't be talking about "ropes" come December.
Auburn, however, will be looking at another bowl game. Granted any of
these close conference matches could be frought with youngsters' mistakes,
but even 6-5 teams qualify for bowls nowadays.
And through it all, Auburn will merely be setting the stage for next
couple years.
|
|
