TIGER TALK REVIEW: The First Off Week

It’s once again time for TIGER TALK — this time as Auburn enters its first off week of the season.

WHERE TO LISTEN: You can check here to see which radio station near you may be carrying the show. You also can click that link and get hooked into the stream through Auburn’s web portal.

WHERE TO WATCH: You can check here to see if the Tiger Talk Live Stream is active. I am told everyone can watch the stream on War Eagle + even if you’re not a paid member. I am not sure this is true. I will update this as conditions merit.

WE BEGIN WITH DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR DJ DURKIN

ANDY asks about handling things after A&M. “We need to focus on the things we need to get better at. Basic technique, fundamentals. Let’s get back to doing the little things really, really well.”

ANDY asks about the schedule this week. “It’s a good chance to look back and self-scout. What have we done well, what have we don’t done well. Each position group does that individually, too. We have a chance this week to spend a little more on (recruiting) and we’ll get out later in the week and see some guys.”

ANDY asks about self-scouting. How does it work? “I love it. It’s a healthy process. I have guys who … scout us and bring the information to me. If I was attacking this defense, this is something I would do, this showed up. We go through all those.”

ANDY asks about changes in the A&M game after the first drive. “That first drive, we made two mistakes back to back. And they were critical mistakes. We cannot start slow … and that’s what we did. We can fix what happened.”

ANDY asks about LB Xavier Atkins. “He wants to be great. He’s hungry to be great. Some guys want to be great on Saturday. Others understand that you have to be great … all throughout the week in order to be great on Saturday. He’s done a great job with that.”

ANDY asks if Xavier is a surprise. “The way he played in fall camp, this is what we expected. This is the player that I always envisioned him being, always thought he could be.”

ANDY asks about how they’ve been stopping the run. “Everything starts at the line of scrimmage. For the most part, we’ve done a good job of being clean with our run fits.”

ANDY asks about the tackles being good. “If you look at our snap counts, they’re dispersed pretty evenly. Those guys are fresh. They’re doing a good job of getting off blocks in the run game. Our depth allows that.”

ANDY asks about Durk’s message to the linebacker room. “Just how much we can improve. We’ve done some good things, but we can be so much better. The cool part is that they see it, too. We’ve got guys who are young and playing a lot for us.”

SECOND SEGMENT WITH DURKIN

ANDY asks about the LB vets. “Rob Woodyard has done a great job as a leader. He’s been in this program and continued to get better and better. He’s waited his turn. He is playing well for us. He does a really good job of being a leader in that room.”

ANDY asks about defending dual-threat QBs like Matter at OU and Reed at A&M. “It’s week in and week out. I do feel like we’ve done a good job. It’s an emphasis for us. They have made a concerted effort to do the things we tell them to do. Keeping these quarterbacks caged and in the pocket has been a big part of it.”

ANDY asks about … dual-threat QBs again. “Sometimes you’re asking some d-linemen to be unselfish. He has to stay in his rush lane. I think I can go win if I go way out here, but if I go win way out there, all it does it open up a lane for him to scrambling. You limit your losses. Corral him. We have some guys who can make up ground and run a guy down.”

ANDY asks about depth in the secondary. “You’re going to face some attrition every year. These are tough, hard-fought games. We’ve played anywhere from 25 to 30 guys on defense in every game this year. To me, you plan on those things. We play a lit of guys right away … it’s not a big deal if a guy’s snap count goes up. He’s been out there playing.”

ANDY asks about the off week. “I tell the guys: Control what you can control. We have so many things we need to work on and get better at — both as an individual … and collectively as a defense. That’s what a bye week is for. Some of the guys who are dinged up can get healthy.”

ANDY asks about caging QBs and also sacking QBs. “A lot of times the best way to cage them is to pressure them. You let these guys survey the field and then all the sudden it becomes a one-on-one with a d-lineman. They can get out on that. You’ve got to mix up the looks.”

ANDY asks about practicing this week. “It changes a bit, but a Tuesday practice is a Tuesday, a Wednesday is a Wednesday. It’s not: Let’s lay around and relax. We’ve got to get better.”

WE CONTINUE WITH OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DERRICK NIX

ANDY asks about the off week. “Leaving the field, the first thing that popped in my mind was: What could I have done better?”

ANDY asks what D-Nix saw from the game. “We caught ourself in a lot of 3rd-and-Longs. What did we do on 1st and 2nd down to get in that position? Penalties, playing on the road, false starts, crowd noise, holding.”

ANDY ask about penalties. “It’s about how we practice every day. You revert back to your training. Part of it is getting a chance to play at home in front of our home crowd.”

ANDY asks about the run game … all eight carries. “I think the running game is solid. We want to average 5 yards per game. The negative of our run game is that it’s not creating as many explosives as we’d like.”

ANDY asks about one play derailing drives over and over last weekend. “It is frustrating. Right now, you feel like you’ve got to be perfect on every single play. When you do have a negative play on 1st down … it does set us back and we haven’t figured out a way to overcome that yet.”

ANDY asks about approaching the off week. “You try to do a great job of taking advantage of the time. Obviously, you have to get prepared for Georgia. I think we do a great job with our own self-scout so we can see what our own tendencies are. Then on Thursday and Friday, go out and recruit. Still, that’s the No. 1 thing we’ve got to do — get great talent in here.”

ANDY asks about approaching practice this week. “A lot of fundamentals. A lot of individual work. Still getting team periods, getting two weeks of knowing (Georgia) inside and out.”

ANDY asks him to assess Jackson Arnold. “He’s been solid overall. We want him to get in position where he can feel comfortable in the pocket and make some plays down the field with his arm. We’ve just got to be on the same page at the same time. There are some times when he hasn’t had as much time — he had to use his legs to keep a play alive. He’s been a plus.”

ANDY asks about zero turnovers for the offense. “We emphasize it. Every position coach, we take time out on every Monday … for a ball-security period to re-emphasize the importance of it. Then it comes down to decision-making from the quarterback to take care of the ball and not compromise it and end every drive with a kick.”

ANDY asks about the OL. “I think they have gelled pretty well so far. Great job on the run game when they’re all on the same page … we move people, we create a new line of scrimmage. Again, that group is still fighting for consistency overall. The two new tackles … have been solid. I’d like to keep them out of some long-down situations on 3rd downs. All in all, they’ve come together fine so far.”

ANDY asks about Izavion Miller being so versatile. “He’s done a great job embracing his role. He’s like a spark plug. For him to come with that attitude has been great.”

SECOND SEGMENT WITH D-NIX

ANDY asks about tailbacks. “Jeremiah and DA have done a great job, number 1, of taking care of the football. They’re doing a great job with our inside zone runs. Challenged them both in the protection game as well. They’ve stepped up to the plate there.”

ANDY asks about them in pass-pro, which D-Nix just answered. “They’ve done a great job of taking the bull by the horns. Then going out and being physical to make it happen. They’ve been a plus in that area.”

ANDY asks if RBs can add more in the pass game. D-Nix says yes.

ANDY asks about the offense moving forward. “It’s all about … seeing what are we doing well? How can we build off that? And then find ways … to have plays off that. The magic is in the effort. When the opportunity presents itself, we have to step up and make the plays.”

ANDY asks how many times D-Nix has watched film since A&M. He says he watched on the plane ride back, all day Sunday, more on Monday morning. “A lot of film. A lot of ideas. Just trying to figure out ways to get it fixed.”

ANDY asks about D-Nix getting into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. “It basically told me that I mattered to somebody. And they you’ll probably always be remembered.”

D-NIX notes that his father passed away this summer and didn’t get a chance to see him get enshrined.

“It’s takes a village to raise a kid. Everything they did wasn’t in vain. It led to something good in the end.”

ANDY goes back to the football questions, which we’ve already covered. “It’s a rivalry game for us. Our kids will be juiced and pumped. Getting an opportunity for extra time to get ready is to our advantage.”

ANDY wants to talk about positives coming out of the two losses. “Overall, our guys competed hard. I do want to see more strain on each and every play. They see … that we were in position in both of those games to win it. It’s about fine-turning the details to get over the hump. When the road starts getting bumpy, you’re getting really close.”

ANDY asks about cohesion. “When you have adversity … it always reveals what our character is about. Are we going to forget all the things we’ve been taught to this point or are we going to rally right now and grow stronger together so we can dig out of this hole.”

ANDY is asking about which players are leaders on offense and the RB room. (He’s out of questions.) “In the running back room, I’d say Damari. For our offense, he’s that guy as well. Obviously, Jackson at the quarterback position. Offensive line, Jeremiah Wright. Those are the vocal guys. Connor Lew is more by example.”

D-Nix offers a steely, dry WAR EAGLE to close. He stands on business.