uggghh.....it's been a long week. i've been sick for most of it. it probably was all the poison escaping my body following the loss to LSU last week, or maybe i'm dying. whatever it is, i've avoiding thinking about the Tennessee game all week. from the beginning of the year i predicted Auburn would go 10-2 in the regular season and one of the losses would be to this Vol team...but i was sort of thinking it was gonna follow a win against LSU, thereby making it a lot easier to swallow. now Auburn can't afford another loss if they've got any kind of shot at going to Atlanta in December.
Tennessee enters this game wounded and beaten at 1-2 with a blowout loss to Florida last Saturday. The Vols running game has been coughing the ball up even more than Auburn's has and their new offense looks equally as unimpressive as the Spread Eagle. and so that puts this all on the defense again for both teams. last week LSU showed everyone that a big offensive line and a power running game can move the ball at ease against the very fast but undersized Auburn front 7. let's see, what does Tennessee have at their disposal? hmmm...giants on the offensive line? check! Montario Hadesty and Aarion Foster in the backfield (assuming they don't fumble every time they touch the ball)? check. looks like another recipe for disaster. luckily Jonathon Crompton hasn't showed us anything this season and Auburn might actually have an advantage in the passing game....dear god, how? but with the way that Auburn's defensive backs got shredded against LSU in the 2nd half last week, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Crompton went out and chuck it for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns and Lucas Taylor flew past Powers and McNeil.
Chris Todd gets the start again at QB for Auburn and he did actually have a halfway descent game against LSU...except for the interceptions (oh wait, isn't the QB NOT supposed to throw interceptions? yeah, well then fuck Todd!) he also proved that he's just as fleet of foot as Brandon Cox was and got sacked for big losses that killed Auburn drives. where was Kodi Burns? possibly in the witness protection program. no one will say for sure. Todd's rainbow bright lofts will surely be mouth watering to Eric Berry and the rest of Tennessee's very talented secondary. so if you like interceptions this could be the game for you. and after Tony Franklin said he plans on throwing the ball more this week, interceptions are likely to be something we see. Ben Tate and Brad Lester both completely disappeared last week as Auburn's running game was non-existent. wouldn't now be the perfect time to put Kodi Burns and Mario Fannin in the backfield together and see how that whole read option thing works when you've got a couple of playmakers back there? just think Oregon 2007, Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart and then tell me that isn't the vision that a Burns and Fannin backfield doesn't give you. i love Lester and Tate but those guys were recruited to run up the middle behind a fullback and a run blocking offensive line. neither of them seems to have the speed to get to the outside, especially when the QB handing if off to them is no threat to run. Triston Davis and Mario Fannin are both much better fits for the spread and despite Burns lack of passing accuracy he's the biggest weapon the Tigers have and are refusing to use. one can only hope that if Tennessee knocks us off tomorrow that it might actually force a change in the backfield and we can finally move on with the FUTURE instead of being tethered to this idea of some kid who doesn't have the talent to play in the SEC just because he's got some experience running the spread.
as you can tell i have no confidence at all about this game, despite Tennessee's record. they lost a heartbreaker to UCLA that they basically dominated all game and then gave away. they destoryed UAB. and then they got beat by one of the top 5 team's in the country at the Swamp in a game where their offense had a complete meltdown. i don't believe the Vols are really as bad as their record shows. and now they are backed into a corner. and what better way to tell everyone in the SEC that they still are a team to be feared then to go into Auburn and play a Tiger team that got their hearts ripped out in a very physical game the week before and and pull off a minor upset? Misery loves company.
potential for tragedy: 9.5, i have such a horrible feeling about this game. Tennessee looks bad...and that just makes me all the more afraid that they are gonna roll into the Plains and just kick Auburn's ass. hopefully a loss might bring some changes...like a new QB perhaps?
method of suicide: Asphyxiation by Carbon Monoxide...oh wait, you'll need gasoline in your car for that. nevermind.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment