A-Day Thoughts

[wesfau2]

I just finished watching most of the A-Day game (pre-empted for fucking lacrosse?) and here are my thoughts in no particular order:

QBs:
-Caudle throws very nice, tight passes.  He's patient and seems to work his way through the progression to find an open man.  Neil had a nice scramble in the 3rd quarter.

- Newton was patient in the pocket, but his accuracy is pretty poor.  The long bomb to Carr was short, otherwise it would have been a TD.  He threw another deep ball, this time to Blake, that was low and in front of the receiver.  

- Trotter was impressive.  Accurate passing and the offense seemed very efficient with him on the field.  Not sure of the level of competition that Trotter was facing, though.  He was sacked by Joe Jones.  Who the fuck is Joe Jones?  Trotter showed some good mobility outside the pocket.  

- Mosely throws a very pretty pass.  He was, however, the only QB to fumble the exchange.  He recovered the ball, though, and that's good work for a frosh.

RBs:
-Fannin did a good job of adjusting back to RB mentality and away from slot receiver.  He had some opportunities to bounce the ball outside, but he stayed patient and ran inside.  He showed that he still has good hands with a nice catch from Trotter.

-McCalebb is...slower.  He's not the same kid that came out of the gate last year.

-Eric Smith looks bigger than last year.  Showed good hands on a play negated by a hold, but dropped a Caudle pass later (pass was low).

-Dontae Aycock had some nice runs and made a very nice block to pick up a blitz in the first quarter.

-Davis Hooper.  I don't know who the fuck he is either, but he was a busy man today.  

WRs:
-Wisner had some ugly drops in the first half.  Redeemed himself a bit in the 3rd quarter with a nice 3rd down grab.

-TZach had a beautiful catch and run for TD.  Lots of poor tackling on the play, but Zachary looked like nothing was going to keep him out of the endzone.

-Carr is very, very fast, but that play doesn't go yard if Savage (I think he's #8) doesn't stumble inside at the line of scrimmage.  Lucky break.

Defense:
-Antoine Carter was everywhere.  The kid looks ready to ball.

-That's it.  No one else made any memorable plays on defense.  You saw the scoreboard, right?  Which leads me to...

I was confused by the distribution of talent on the squads, so I can't tell if our defense is fucking horrible, our offense is scoring on scrubs or our offense is remarkably efficient and productive.  With Malzahn that last option doesn't seem so far-fetched.  Notice that all the QBs had very efficient numbers...except Newton.  Which leads me to...

If I had to pick a QB right now to start the season, it would be Barrett Trotter, with Neil Caudle a very, very close 2nd.  Newton is 3rd place until his passing accuracy improves.  I realize that he didn't run the ball much and that some will say that his performance was hindered by not being able to showcase his entire arsenal.  HOWEVER, his only attempt was a loss of yardage and all the other QBs (save Mosely, but he's not really in this race) managed to scramble for positive yards and look good doing it.

Lots of good in this game and some cause for concern.  We need that frosh class to show up ready to play in some places.

[Birmingham]

I thought you guys looked alright.  I didn't watch most of the game but it seemed like every time I flipped the channel over a big play was being made.

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Just got back from the game and getting ready to head back out to dinner, so a few thoughts quickly...

RB's...  Fannin looked great.  Looked like the Fannin vs. GA a few years ago, and now he's the man.  Aycock looked pretty good and stayed with the blocks the most.  Sometimes that was good, sometimes it wasn't.  He'll need to pick his spots as he picks up the speed of the game.  McCalleb looked a little slower, but it seemed like his runs were mostly to the outside and the speed on defense was very telling there.  I wouldn't sell him short, but he's going to have to be a Brad Lester type, and get more aggressive up the central gaps.  JMO there....

QB's... Mosley looked good in the second half.  Stronger arm than I imagined.  Sat in the end zone, and paid most attention to the throws to the flats, as it seems that's going to be a large part of our base offense.  Newton was strong, but lacked some accuracy when on the run.  When he set and threw, it was beautiful.  Looked a lot like Campbell with a wrist flick and it's gone type feel.  His throws to the outside were quick and gave the receivers time to adjust and make plays.  Trotter was similar.  Strong arm, and quicker on his feet than most people expected I think.  Caudle looked just like he should.  Efficient.  I don't believe that he had the strongest arm out there today.  I'd have Trotter 1.  Newton 2. and Caudle a close 3rd.

Our offense has the QB's making some runs, and it was very clear that Trotter and Newton were very quick.  If a lineman farted in the direction of a QB the play was dead, so it was hard to gauge, but the QB running function seems to be well in hand with this group.

Special teams.  There were definitely some hit or miss punts.  A few great ones at the beginning.  A few real shitty ones in the middle, and a few average ones a the end.  Byrum looked solid for the most part.  Not sure who kicked the missed PAT early in the game.  Demond Washington looked REALLY quick on kick offs.  He breaks at least one or two this year if he gets ANY space and stays healthy.   Quindarius Carr looked great all day and did a solid job of catching punts.  Never had a bobble that I noticed and secured the ball before he started running.

It was very fast paced out there, and was very basic and repetitive, so I'm not sure how much one could really take, but there definitely seems to be a good bit of talent out there.  Our coaches have their hands full over the rest of this spring before summer.  I'll be ready to see some of our newbs come in and mix it up in August.

War Eagle....

[jmar]

I thought Trotter looked the sharpest but it's hard to get a read when the defense is at such a disadvantage.
Fannin looked strong and Carr had a good day. About what I expected.

[Townhallsavoy]

Defense was awful.  Absolutely awful.  That's all I got.

[JR4AU]

Without knowing what the coaches were looking at/for...it's hard to take much from what you see at A-Day.   The fact that Cam isn't wowing anybody concerns me, but it's only 2 weeks in to the system for him.  If they get 2 weeks in to fall camp without getting down to a 1 and 2 QB, we may be headed for a tough season. 

[jadennis]

I agree with most of the observations, as all of those things were the things that clearly stood out.

However, for Newton, I really don't feel like I know any more about him now than I did yesterday.  He only threw 8 passes, and there was all kinds of time and series in between his appearances.  I don't know that it really told us anything.  We've all seen some of the best quarterbacks in all of football history look like poop, going 3 for 10 to start a game, then get in a groove later and go 9 of their next 10.   Reaching any kind of conclusion based on 8 passes is like watching a guy warm up before a game and then making a decision about what kind of player he is.  It's just not enough to go on.

I don't think we saw nearly enough of him to know anything at all.  That isn't as true for Caudle.  He threw 21 times and I felt better about him than I did last year, for sure, no question.  Trotter looked alright too, but I don't think I would take him over Caudle at this point.  They're similar.

I kind of feel the same about the defense.  It's hard to tell anything because of how things were broken up.  It was too hard to tell who was going against who (from a talent stand point).  Chizik said during the broadcast that it was just a base defense vs base offense set up that was just for evaluating random things.  

Outside of a "feeling" about individual players, I don't think much can be gleaned from what we saw, good or bad.

[Snaggletiger]

I don't think the rotation or playcalling really worked in Newton's favor today.  That's the way it is when you're in every few series with a different bunch.  Caudle looked sharp as hell.  I think the O is going to be unbelievable no mater who they choose at QB.  The addition of Carr stepping up and TZach seemingly coming into his own..makes me moist.

The D?  As one hell of an incredibly knowledgeable AU person told me today..."Underwhelming at best".

[Snaggletiger]

With as veteran an O-line as we've ever had and the emergence of so many skill position players, this offense should do incredible things.  Defensively...I'm so not a Roof fan yet.  I railed on his lack of schemes all last year until the Bama game when he threw the kitchen sink at them with his formations.  But, the bottom line is that nobody has tackled under Roof. They ALL try to knock you off your feet instead of breaking down & wrapping up.  It seems they would have learned after the Northwestern embarrassment but I saw the same crap out there all day today.  Even the announcers for ESPN were commenting on it.

[The Prowler]

I was happy to see DeAngelo Benton actually catch the ball a lot.  Also, no dropped punts....and Caudle's throws were not all tight, notice they didn't call that many deep passes for Caudle...probably because the coaches didn't want to see interceptions.  Just going off of today's scrimmage, Trotter looked the best...but, taking all 15 days of Spring Practice, IMO, the QB Depth Chart will be 1. Cam, 2. Trotter, 3. Caudle...Also, the no contact on the QBs handcuffed what Newton can and will do.

#13 Craig Sanders and #33 Jessel Curry had pretty good games.  Curry was all over the field.

I'll be surprised if Demond Washington doesn't return a couple Kickoffs for TDs.

I was very impressed with Hot Boy, he's gotten bigger.

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

I was happy to see DeAngelo Benton actually catch the ball a lot.  Also, no dropped punts....and Caudle's throws were not all tight, notice they didn't call that many deep passes for Caudle...probably because the coaches didn't want to see interceptions.  Just going off of today's scrimmage, Trotter looked the best...but, taking all 15 days of Spring Practice, IMO, the QB Depth Chart will be 1. Cam, 2. Trotter, 3. Caudle...Also, the no contact on the QBs handcuffed what Newton can and will do.

#13 Craig Sanders and #33 Jessel Curry had pretty good games.  Curry was all over the field.

I'll be surprised if Demond Washington doesn't return a couple Kickoffs for TDs.

Throwing the ball to the flats is going to be a huge part of this offense.  C. Newton and Trotter did that with the most authority in my opinion.  Trotter got it out there quickly.  Newton made a few NFL calibur strength throws to the sidelines.  Caudle seems to be Todd2.0 to me in the arm strength department.  He's an improvement over Todd, but he's not going to have the big arm threat that Trotter and Newton seemed to have.  ....and just because he didn't hit Carr in stride on that bomb didn't mean he couldn't have, he just missed on his touch. 

Summer practice is going to be very interesting come fall.  I'd be happy with Trotter over Cam, but see either one starting.  I think Caudle is capable, but I don't think he'll beat out Trotter and Newton.

As Prowler said, not being live left a LOTTTTTTT on the table.  I have confidence in all three being a threat in the open field. 

[The Prowler]

Throwing the ball to the flats is going to be a huge part of this offense.  C. Newton and Trotter did that with the most authority in my opinion.  Trotter got it out there quickly.  Newton made a few NFL calibur strength throws to the sidelines.  Caudle seems to be Todd2.0 to me in the arm strength department.  He's an improvement over Todd, but he's not going to have the big arm threat that Trotter and Newton seemed to have.  ....and just because he didn't hit Carr in stride on that bomb didn't mean he couldn't have, he just missed on his touch. 

Summer practice is going to be very interesting come fall.  I'd be happy with Trotter over Cam, but see either one starting.  I think Caudle is capable, but I don't think he'll beat out Trotter and Newton.

As Prowler said, not being live left a LOTTTTTTT on the table.  I have confidence in all three being a threat in the open field. 

I went back and watched the replay of that pass.  It was a 45-50 yard BOMB (from where the QB threw the ball to where the WR caught it), that Newton floated out there...which is pretty fuckin' amazing.  Newton stepped up to throw the ball, but he didn't step into it.

[Birmingham]

However, for Newton, I really don't feel like I know any more about him now than I did yesterday.  

lol, couldn't have said it better myself, I bet you don't.  Let me help you since he confirmed exactly what I posted on this board a few days ago.  He will disappoint you.  He's not very good at football.  The end.

[The Prowler]

lol, couldn't have said it better myself, I bet you don't.  Let me help you since he confirmed exactly what I posted on this board a few days ago.  He will disappoint you.  He's not very good at football.  The end.

You will be wrong.

[The Prowler]

Also....over 63K to watch Auburn's A-Day game was pretty fuckin' awesome.  We didn't have a brass statue or "special" NASCAR paint theme for 'Dega to unveil and we charged $5 a head ($316,085 at the gate for Auburn/$0 at the gate for SPuat).

[djsimp]

I really feel Fannin is ready for an outstanding senior season. He looks really good carrying the ball. McCalleb didn't impress but it's kind of hard to overcome expectations he created for himself after last years A-Day. Carr does look really good. The WR corp should be ready to roll for the 2010 season. Watching the game on TV, Chizik stated to Mr. Tom recruitnik that the coaches were more interested in calling plays for Newton to examine and polish his run game skills and operating that part of the offense. Chizik also stated that they were not too concerned with his ball throwing or scrambling skills and that is the purpose for play selection. As for Trotter, I really like this kid. I too would not be concerned one bit if Trotter won the starting job. This guy has the skills to be a big time SEC QB.

[Townhallsavoy]

Without knowing what the coaches were looking at/for...it's hard to take much from what you see at A-Day.   The fact that Cam isn't wowing anybody concerns me, but it's only 2 weeks in to the system for him.  If they get 2 weeks in to fall camp without getting down to a 1 and 2 QB, we may be headed for a tough season. 

You're right.  There's not much to get from an A-day game.  I think Luginbill and Belotti explained it the best - you're just looking to see guys fly around the ball and try to get better technique wise. 

I wasn't expecting Cam to come in and look like Peyton Manning with Michael Vick legs.  I wasn't expecting the defense to knock helmets off and cause snot bubbles.  I wasn't expecting Mario Fannin and McCalleb to have Reggie Bush-like highlights.

I was expecting to see basic, fundamental football.  I saw a lot of that from the offense.  They looked like typical spring football caliber football players. 

The defense?  They don't have a damn clue what's going on.  Josh Bynes, god bless his heart, is slow as molasses.  I guess he can't do much about that except take proper pursuit angles.  And that's the worst part about it.  They don't track the ball carrier.  They get out of position and can't make a proper tackle. 

I don't care if the offense outsmarts us in a spring game.  But Quindarrius Carr, who by no means is a superstar, should not be running by our entire defense.  Way too many missed tackles.  Way too many guy still looking like they don't know how to read and react.

That's you, Ted Roof and Gene Chizik.  Get it right, or just give Malzahn the head coaching job.

[Snaggletiger]

You're right.  There's not much to get from an A-day game.  I think Luginbill and Belotti explained it the best - you're just looking to see guys fly around the ball and try to get better technique wise. 

I wasn't expecting Cam to come in and look like Peyton Manning with Michael Vick legs.  I wasn't expecting the defense to knock helmets off and cause snot bubbles.  I wasn't expecting Mario Fannin and McCalleb to have Reggie Bush-like highlights.

I was expecting to see basic, fundamental football.  I saw a lot of that from the offense.  They looked like typical spring football caliber football players. 

The defense?  They don't have a damn clue what's going on.  Josh Bynes, god bless his heart, is slow as molasses.  I guess he can't do much about that except take proper pursuit angles.  And that's the worst part about it.  They don't track the ball carrier.  They get out of position and can't make a proper tackle. 

I don't care if the offense outsmarts us in a spring game.  But Quindarrius Carr, who by no means is a superstar, should not be running by our entire defense.  Way too many missed tackles.  Way too many guy still looking like they don't know how to read and react.

That's you, Ted Roof and Gene Chizik.  Get it right, or just give Malzahn the head coaching job.

Couldn't agree more with the defensive take.  They all seem to take the wrong angles and don't tackle when they do get there.  What the hell has happened to the art of tackling?  What is this obsession with trying to knock someone off their feet intstead of wrapping up and exploding through the ball carrier?  As I said earlier, the Northwestern game wasn't embarrassing enough to make them go back to Tackling for Dummies 101?  They did that shit all last season and it culminated with The Outback Bowl.  ESPN even showed that one play where every guy on the defense had a shot at the one white boy as he ambled down the sidelines for a 164 yard score.

Chizik is supposedly the defensive guru.  He needs to forget everything else, get together with Roof and get that unit's shit together.

[Kaos]

Simple take from me.  

It's not time to push the panic button, but it might be a good idea to at least know where it is.  

We're still in the "we have five quarterbacks but no quarterback" quandry.  

Prop Fannin all you want, but he's going to make us miss Ben Tate like a fat kid misses cake.

I stand firmly by my "if the 2010 team can just sustain the level of last year's team it will be a win" statement.   I saw a team that could win eight games -- and could just as easily lose six or seven.

[Townhallsavoy]

Simple take from me.  

It's not time to push the panic button, but it might be a good idea to at least know where it is.  

We're still in the "we have five quarterbacks but no quarterback" quandry.  

Prop Fannin all you want, but he's going to make us miss Ben Tate like a fat kid misses cake.

I stand firmly by my "if the 2010 team can just sustain the level of last year's team it will be a win" statement.   I saw a team that could win eight games -- and could just as easily lose six or seven.

I know we hate the "skreets" concept, but supposedly, yesterday was about picking a backup between Trotter and Caudle.  They were running option plays with Newton to get him a few reps but limited his PT. 
He's got the job all locked up and has looked good all spring.

Just what I read...