So while the fallout continues from the horrific loss last week, I was happy about a few things last night. I am happy for Jeremy Johnson. He had a great game in his last game in Auburn. He deserved it. I will continue to believe he was criminally under-coached at Auburn and any kind of decent quarterback coach could have made him into a very good quarterback. He has all the tools and his arm and accurate throws are very rare. He just needed a legitimate passing coach to help him make reads. He did not find that at Auburn but he did have a few good game moments. He also appeared to handle this very tough situation with a lot of dignity and class.
I was also happy for Kam Martin who while a freshman had maybe the best game of the night. I know it was in the second half against a lower echelon team but it sure looks like the team could have used him against Georgia last week. I was happy for the defense to get a shutout. Obviously Alabama A&M was completely overmatched but it is still hard to get a shutout. I was glad to see senior safety Rudy Ford get some snaps at running back. I know he is glad he moved to safety as it is a much higher paid position in the NFL but I always thought he would have been a great running back. Finally as I said earlier I am happy for all the players behind the scenes who got playing time last night.
I also want to give kudos to all the seniors who played their last game in Auburn last night. I have already mentioned Jeremy Johnson. I want to thank Montravius Adams, one of the better defensive tackles to play at Auburn. He has been special since he started as a freshman but really broke through this season. I want to thank Josh Holsey and Rudy Ford. These guys have been pillars and battled so hard in the secondary in their four years at Auburn. Holsey battled through injuries but really turned in a great season this year. Jonathan "Rudy" Ford will leave as one of the greatest tacklers in Auburn history. I want to thank Alex Kozan who also had to battle through a serious injury but was an impact player his whole time at Auburn.
Thanks to all the other guys who were kind of behind-the-scenes but had some great moments: Tony Stevens, T.J. Davis, Xavier Dampeer, Robert Leff, Marcus Davis, etc... I will never forget Marcus Davis catching all those clutch passes from Nick Marshall on that epic last second drive to beat Mississippi State in 2013. Finally kudos to Carl Lawson who we all thought was leaving for the NFL last January till he tweeted the "I am not leaving" scene from "Wolf of Wall Street" out to let everyone know he was staying at Auburn. I have never been so fired up in the offseason!!! He delivered too, he has been the leader of the defense and the leader of this team and has been awesome this season. Kudos to Auburn too for recognizing Lawson, a fourth year junior, as a senior last night.
There was a lot to be happy about last night but unfortunately I am still steaming mad over last week. All I have read this week from coaches and from fan posts on various sites is using injuries as excuses. I have read next to no accountability from the coaches other than a few obligatory lines. There has been no true sincere accountability from the coaches. There has only been continual in-so-many-words blaming the loss on injuries. Plain and simple INJURIES ARE NOT AN EXCUSE for losing to a team as bad as Georgia. I am sick to death of hearing it. Louisiana Lafayette somehow managed to score 21 points on the Georgia juggernaut yesterday.
The coaches had to work really hard to lose that game last week that would have meant so much to Auburn. I believe if the coaches put in John Franklin and Kam Martin in last week and run the entire second half that Auburn wins that game. I believe if the coaches put in Jeremy Johnson in last week for the entire second half that Auburn wins the game. ANY CHANGE would have resulted in our best offensive player, kicker Daniel Carlson, getting some opportunities. Instead our coaches in their stubborn lunacy stuck with a quarterback and strategy that DID NOT WORK AT ALL and basically RUINED THE SEASON. That was a game Auburn should have and could have won.
I also believe if we had any coaches that could remotely coach a good high-school level passing game we could have won. I think it says a lot that many Auburn people the last two seasons are mad that Auburn even threw a pass in the second half against Georgia. If that does not prove my point I do not know what will. I am incredulous when I hear that stuff. I believe the opposite, I believe we should have a good enough passing game to get the job done at critical moments. Nobody was more ground-based than Pat Dye and he did what he had to do to develop a passing game that got the job done in the critical moments. Gus Malzahn has not and never will.
With that said Auburn now heads to Tuscaloosa and the one team you cannot beat without a good quarterback and a good passing game. I do not think Auburn has much of a chance in this one with a fully healthy team. I do not believe Sean White on his best day is good enough to beat a really good defense like Bama has. Unfortunately I see a game a lot like last season where Auburn keeps it close mostly due to defense through 2 or 3 quarters before that defense wears out. Last season it was Bama 29 Auburn 13, I think that is pretty close to what it will be this season. I sure could have taken a game like that and another loss to Bama better if we would have beaten a bad Georgia team like we should have.
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