...that is often referred to with virtually no reference by certain people on here. I'm not sure I've ever been paid this much attention to, especially by folks that claimed to ignore me, let alone bring me up in post after post after post. So, let me actually put my dumbass opinion out there for all to see.
I'd like to reiterate that this is an OPINION. I don't know if any of this is fact. Like most others, I was not gifted with the ability to tell the future. If I did, I'd be in Vegas baby! However, nay.
This may be shockingly simple, but really, what else do we have? We have a whole lot of, well, not much. Not much to go on here when it comes to Gene Chizik as HC at Auburn. He simply hasn't been there long, and he hasn't coached a game yet.
Let me go point by point:
1. Am I happy with the hire? I think if you went back to the day the announcement was made, I had my pitchfork sharpened, torch, matches and was lacing up my bootstraps. Then, a little common sense hit me. Like most, I was pissed because Chizik was so out of left field. Nobody expected it. We were all looking for a bigger name, and had just gone through an embarrassment with Turner Gill. We had interviewed everyone short of my mother to coach. It sucked. I simply figured, I have to trust, that even though the timing of his hire couldn't be worse due to expectations of the fans, that people intimate with the situation knew better. These are highly educated men, that could not afford a major mistake in hiring a HC. Their lives, families lives and job security ALL depended on THIS hire. So, I put my pitchfork, torch down, put my flipflops back on and decided to watch, and see.
2. Coaches? Who can argue with who he's hired as a staff???? (Well, we know one or two that certainly will.) Malzahn? There are some here that would have been probably happier if we had hired HIM as HC. We got him anyway. Roof? A former HC at Duke, and a coach that brought a Big Ten cellar dwellar respectable defenses at Minnesota. Between Roof and Chizik, I like our D. Trooper and Luper? Serious recruiting presence and by all accounts know what the hell they're doing at their positional responsibilities.
3. Recruting? Well, I believe that they've got Auburn back into conversations where it had dissappeared here recently. In the living rooms of top recruits. I don't believe that Auburn will score loads of top talent in the first year or two simply because, we've got words and big weekends on top of NO results on the field yet. If we pull a few major recruits, show some results on the field (win or lose), I believe we'll see an uptick in the recruiting over the next few years.
4. Todd as QB? Well, let's face it. He was dealing with just a little bit last year. Coaches fucking up behind the curtain, and fucking each other in the mouth in front of it also. Injury to his throwing shoulder. I'm not a doctor, don't play one on TV, but I'm almost certainly positive that it effected his throwing abilities. No, we didn't know that a lot of last year, but having that information now, certainly can't be ignored..although some do anyway. An offensive line blocking from a two point stance and grossly underweight. Do I need to go on? I think if he came in, and understands the offense, executes it, has the players backing (which appears to be so from what I've seen or read), WINS the preseason competition to get the starters job, then I'm willing to support it. I've been on the road talking bricks and steel to customers, not watching the QB's practice and throw footballs. I'll leave this one up to the coaches right there. Could he curl up in a little ball continuously and lay a turd? Sure. You'll have to ask others for that one, certainly they seem to already know.
5. Other QB's? They must suck if Todd wins the job, right? Absolutley not. It just MIGHT be possible that Todd knows, and can execute the offense better right now. Kodi happily took a WR position in support of Todd. Tells me something.
6. Ames vs. Auburn. I think we almost all universally agree what a shitbag place Ames is compared to Auburn football speaking. I've lived near or in both. They're just is NOT the same thing.
7. Season Prediction? Shoot, I seriously hope we finish with a winning record. I don't know if we will or not. Depth is going to be an issue this year, and that's going to be something that we've got to get used to. If our offense can execute, then I'm hoping we can have early success in games and outscore a few folks. If we can't score, we're dead. Period. I think this year will probably be a lot like last year in a sense that we'll be in a lot of games, even a few we shouldn't, but in the end, it'll be an even split on the wins and losses.
I'm more interested in how the kids respond. How the coaches respond. How the recruits see it. Will Auburn fold like a cheap deck chair, or grind games out like AU vs. LSU '04, or other great games. Not sure. It's all brand new.
So, I suppose I'm a middle of the road guy. I've allowed myself to use enough common sense to understand that this season could go either way. They're my Auburn Tigers, just as much as any other one of you out there. I want only the best. I see things a little rosier than some sometimes, because I want to see my team do well. One thing I won't do is ignore circumstance and facts to form an opinion, only to call it fact. That's for others to do.
In closing....... WAR FUCKING EAGLE BABY! ONE WEEK!!!!!! Regardless of what happens, the drumline will march the band into JHS, Nova will take flight, the big board will play a bone chilling entrance theme and the crowd will go freaking crazy bringing every hair on your body to a standing ovation. It will be beautiful, if nothing else, because it's Auburn, and I FUCKING LOVE IT.
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