Thoughts after watching the replay on ESPNU.

[AzzurriDawg4]

1. The O-Line didnt get any better on replay. BUT, I do think our scheme will mask a lot of the problems. Croom would still be in a world of trouble with this team.

2. Bumphis, Heavens, Berry, Wilder and McRae are going to be as productive as any unit we have had in a long time. Sure, Bumphis came off a few blocks, but they will get that straightened out. No question he has playmaking ability. Nice throw on the first play of the game too (but a little concerned that Wilder couldn't get behind the coverage). Heavens will also make some huge plays this year - he had a great reverse called back on a penalty and got behind the defense easily in the endzone on an underthrown ball by Lee.

3. I really think Dixon is going to be a star in this offense. The Relf/Dixon option should be effective. I dont think we will see too many more fumbles from Ducre. Elliot is a good RB, but I am not sure if he is a gamebreaker yet.

4. Relf was good, no question, but I am not sold on him yet. Great throws to Green and Bumphis for TDs. Lee was not as bad as it seemed.

5. The D-Line was not as bad as it seemed early. McPhee got a ton of push, but the ball was gone before he got there a lot. Cox was tough to block and Boyd tied up multiple blockers. Burns played well. Not sure about Cooper's side. Didn't see much there.

6. Linebackers played well, secondary didnt look much better on replay, but I think they can improve. Hopefully we can do some blitzing to take some of the pressure off the outside. Mitchell looks good both in run support and coverage. Bonner has some more learning to do, but he is an athlete and made some great plays on ST.

7. I wish I could have seen Omarr and Jerious in this offense.

8. I am not worried about Brauchle.

9. If we can get some of the mistakes ironed out this week, we will put up some points on Auburn. I am more worried about keeping them off the board. I really think we have a shot at beating them.

 

[Seinfeld]

I know that we didn't break many long runs in the game, but I was actually saying how I was a little impressed with the pass blocking after the game. I couldn't remember a single sack the whole game. Of course, Relf and Lee may have just done a good job scrambling.

 

[AzzurriDawg4]

Sherrod could have done better against the speed rush. They made some good plays too, but my entire post was also in the context that we were playing JSU. Should have dominated them, especially in the trenches. They made a hell of a hole on the Elliot TD run, would have liked to see a little more of that. We need T. Smith back for sure.

Their WR's beating our CB's doesnt concern me as much, for example, because JSU can put some good skill players out on the field. I think that is fairly indicative of what they may see going forward, with the exception of a few SEC studs like J. Jones. Both JSU receivers were supposed to be pretty good. I dont think covering Auburn will be dramatically different.

 

[Seinfeld]

We were saying the whole game how how difficult it was to gage anything due to the fact that we were playing JSU. The offense should have scored a minimum of another 13 points, but I was glad to see how we got things going in the second half. I'd just feel a lot better if we had played the whole game that way.

Above everything else, I was thrilled with the special teams. Punting and kickoff coverage was outstanding, the punting itself was solid, and Brauchle looked better than anything we've had in 5 years. He pushed a couple kicks, but I think he'll be fine. The mechanics were too good for him to do that very often.

 

[Columbus Dawg]

My 3 favorite defensive plays:

1. JSU ran the option. KJ Wright killed the QB just as he pitched the ball and still got outside to tackle the RB.
2. Fletcher Cox read screen, turned and caught the RB 8 yards down the field. Impressive looking true freshmen.
3. McPhee nailed the QB just as he released it and Mitchell made the nice pick where he tipped it to himself.

I'm not too impressed with our outside receivers. Wilder hasn't shown anything yet. I think we may need to play Berry and McRae on opposite sides instead of the same position. I was surprised that we played Chris Smith and Dennis Thames. I thought we would play one and redshirt the other. Johnathan Banks played too.

Ducre, physically, looks great. He just has to hold onto the ball. We will see Ducre and Dixon in the backfield together next week. #35 probably won't see much gametime with Dixon coming back. Stallworth has great hands and runs hard, but the burst isn't there. Elliot is a nice backup.

I don't care who plays QB, but we need to pick one and go with him. I hate rotating QB's. It just doesn't work, never has. People mistakenly cite Tebow and Leak as working, but that's just not true. Chris Leak was the QB of that team. Tebow was just a guy they used in certain situations much like the Wildcat formation that everyone uses now. A team needs to know who their QB is and an offense depends so much on rythem and timing. Relf looked good in the 2nd half because we quit playing him one series and then taking him out the next. If the competition is really that close then I'll take the guy who is 6'3, has a stronger arm, is a better runner, and is only a sophomore.

 

[TaleofTwoDogs]

play a lot smarter. I watched the game replay and noticed also that we got a good push but rarely got to the QB in time. But my biggest concern was that fact that on quite a few plays the line (and LBs) collapsed inward which left the edges wide open. You do that against SEC competition and you will get burned badly. Rutland took advantage several times. Our #50 was taken out way to many times.