Should we fear Auburn's defense this year?

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by SeN-SaTioN, May 24, 2006.

  1. cadillacattack

    cadillacattack Illegitimi non carborundum est

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    there are some good, valid points in this thread that are IMO accurate.

    Auburn's third DC in as many years, LSU catches them early in the season (big advantage), undersized LB's , and turnover along the D-front.

    The bad news is that Tuberville has been dealing with virtually the same issues each season and has managed quite well.

    AU has new faces on the D-front, but they have seen playing time courtesy of regular rotation last season. Their tandem of Corners could arguably be the best in the conference as a tandem. There is speed and depth at CB and DE, with safety being the only real concern. The undersized LB's haven't hurt us much yet due to solid support up front.

    Although it is assumed that Muschamp will play a riskier style of coverage, that may be a false assumption - at least in year one of the Muschamp era.

    I expect AU's defense to be about 3rd in the conference this season, so no, they probably are not a unit to be "feared," but definitely one to have a healthy respect for......
     
  2. pharpe

    pharpe Founding Member

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    If he thought so highly of him why did he downgrade him to a position coach?
     
  3. CParso

    CParso Founding Member

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    Here's Muschamp's main advantage - he knows Fisher's style. Fisher, on the other hand, doesn't know Muschamp's real style because he was facing Saban's defenses in practice.

    I think Muschamp will prove himself this year at AU for those who doubt him and think our defense was entirely due to Saban. Muschamp called all the plays & learned enough about Saban's defense that he could simply implement it if he wished. Most likely, it will be a variation of that system without the high risk that turbo mentioned where a single mistake can cause a huge play for the opposing offense.

    Even if AU has the third best defense in the conference as cadillac predicts, that could very well be good enough to be top 10 in the country.
     
  4. TejasTiger

    TejasTiger Founding Member

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    "Fear"? That's a heck of a strong word there.

    It's going to be a heck of a challenge, no question, especially w/ key contributors on offense coming back from injury, but...fear?

    Hardly.
     
  5. Logan

    Logan Founding Member

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    While it might be suitable for a young, relatively inexperienced coach like Muschamp to be a co-coordinator with a man like Saban on the college level, it's no surprise that he wasn't given a equal or higher position in the NFL. Guys with more experience that know the NFL system are going to be at the helm of those jobs. I'm sure Saban does think highly of him, but he knew that Will wasn't knowledgable to handle one of the hier tier jobs on his own.

    Or at least that's my take on it.
     
  6. Deceks7

    Deceks7 Founding Member

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    I do expect that Mr. Irons would have a very high opinion of his own, but it is not completely without merit. He does know football, aside from being an entertaining man to dialogue with. He will tell you when Kenny or David screws up, and is not just some Little League Dad living his life through his boys.
     
  7. cajdav1

    cajdav1 Soldiers are real hero's

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    Mine too, Will did not have the NFL experience necessary to be the DC.

    First off, I'm sure a guy who is highly motivated as Will is, working for a guy as highly motivated as Saban, did not stagnate while in Miami. He had the chance to learn a lot of football in order to better prepare him for his role as DC, and I'm sure he has. I also think he had a lot more imput and sayso in Nick's system than most give him credit for, both in planning and in calling the defenses, so I do think he should get more credit than is being given and is more prepared to be a good DC than the guys that completely dismiss how much impact he had under Nick.
     
  8. Chip82

    Chip82 Founding Member

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    Auburn will be vulnerable against the run this season. That is why I am NOT picking Auburn to win the SEC West.

    I watched the Auburn Spring Game on CSS and the linebackers were making way too many stops.

    Losing Jackson and McGlover on the DL will open the door for a team like Arkansas to pull off an upset.

    I see Auburn losing 3 or possibly even 4 games.
    (LSU-Arkansas-Georgia and possibly one out of Alabama, Florida and South Carolina)

    Meanwhile, Auburn had better hope that Cox stays healthy as Booker is leaving for Georgia Tech.
     
  9. Ch0sn0ne

    Ch0sn0ne At the Track

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    If he puts in Saban's Defense we already all know where the weakness is.

    All we have to do is hit the RB on a 7 yarder over the middle out of a 3 wide set and there will be no one to cover it. Saw it happen quite often even in 03 when our D was the best.

    Every defense has a weakness, that was Saban's.
     
  10. Contained Chaos

    Contained Chaos Don't we all?

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    I'd actually hope that he is trying to implement Saban's defensive scheme. Not just because of the high risk/reward style, but also because Saban's defenses are notoriously complex and difficult to learn. It would be more of a liability than anything else so early in the season, and Will would likely have to limit it's implementation because of that.
     

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