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Just taking a look at Auburn's stats through two games....

CJFisJoePaII

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Sep 6, 2019
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It's pretty clear their offense is pretty one-dimensional. Their rush offense is very good - have averaged 250 ypg and 6.5 ypc through 2 games. However, the passing numbers are pretty weak (103rd in the Country through 2 games), but what really jumps out at you is 4 INTs vs only 1 TD through the first 2 games.

On the other side of the ball, Auburn's Defense mirrors their offense - extremely stout run defense, but the pass defense numbers are pretty so-so (opponents have completed 60% of their passes and they've given up roughly 230 passing yards per game, given up 2 TDs and no INTs).

I really believe this game is going to come down to a couple things - PSU's ability to stop their running game.... and PSU's QBs' ability to recognize Auburn's max-pressure fronts. If PSU QBs make the right decisions regarding running and passing depending on what Auburn is doing in "the box" - I think we win. I'm feeling good about our defense being able to contain Auburn's run game because of the one-dimensional nature of their offense.

On offense, this does not come down to PSU being able to establish a run game imho - it really comes down to Yurcich and the QBs making the correct run/pass decision depending on what Auburn is showing in "the box". In some ways, this is very similar to the Purdue game - PSU made Purdue pay big when they took chances and loaded the box. Urban Meyer did a great job breaking down PSU's last TD - PSU made the correct call against Purdue loading the box. The Auburn game is going to come down to the same thing - making the correct call depending on the Front 7 that Auburn is in.
 
It's pretty clear their offense is pretty one-dimensional. Their rush offense is very good - have averaged 250 ypg and 6.5 ypc through 2 games. However, the passing numbers are pretty weak (103rd in the Country through 2 games), but what really jumps out at you is 4 INTs vs only 1 TD through the first 2 games.

On the other side of the ball, Auburn's Defense mirrors their offense - extremely stout run defense, but the pass defense numbers are pretty so-so (opponents have completed 60% of their passes and they've given up roughly 230 passing yards per game, given up 2 TDs and no INTs).

I really believe this game is going to come down to a couple things - PSU's ability to stop their running game.... and PSU's QBs' ability to recognize Auburn's max-pressure fronts. If PSU QBs make the right decisions regarding running and passing depending on what Auburn is doing in "the box" - I think we win. I'm feeling good about our defense being able to contain Auburn's run game because of the one-dimensional nature of their offense.

On offense, this does not come down to PSU being able to establish a run game imho - it really comes down to Yurcich and the QBs making the correct run/pass decision depending on what Auburn is showing in "the box". In some ways, this is very similar to the Purdue game - PSU made Purdue pay big when they took chances and loaded the box. Urban Meyer did a great job breaking down PSU's last TD - PSU made the correct call against Purdue loading the box. The Auburn game is going to come down to the same thing - making the correct call depending on the Front 7 that Auburn is in.
Great post. I think we may need to pass to set up the run. Their pass defense appears to be a weakness. Force them to take guys out of the box to defend and then we'll see rush lanes.

As far as PSU defense, I think you are right. Make their passing game beat us. Trust our secondary to do their jobs and load the box until they show they can consistently pass on us. I don't think they can.
 
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Urban Meyer did a great job breaking down PSU's last TD - PSU made the correct call against Purdue loading the box. The Auburn game is going to come down to the same thing - making the correct call depending on the Front 7 that Auburn is in.
And, as UM said, then EXECUTING that correct play.
 
It's pretty clear their offense is pretty one-dimensional. Their rush offense is very good - have averaged 250 ypg and 6.5 ypc through 2 games. However, the passing numbers are pretty weak (103rd in the Country through 2 games), but what really jumps out at you is 4 INTs vs only 1 TD through the first 2 games.

On the other side of the ball, Auburn's Defense mirrors their offense - extremely stout run defense, but the pass defense numbers are pretty so-so (opponents have completed 60% of their passes and they've given up roughly 230 passing yards per game, given up 2 TDs and no INTs).

I really believe this game is going to come down to a couple things - PSU's ability to stop their running game.... and PSU's QBs' ability to recognize Auburn's max-pressure fronts. If PSU QBs make the right decisions regarding running and passing depending on what Auburn is doing in "the box" - I think we win. I'm feeling good about our defense being able to contain Auburn's run game because of the one-dimensional nature of their offense.

On offense, this does not come down to PSU being able to establish a run game imho - it really comes down to Yurcich and the QBs making the correct run/pass decision depending on what Auburn is showing in "the box". In some ways, this is very similar to the Purdue game - PSU made Purdue pay big when they took chances and loaded the box. Urban Meyer did a great job breaking down PSU's last TD - PSU made the correct call against Purdue loading the box. The Auburn game is going to come down to the same thing - making the correct call depending on the Front 7 that Auburn is in.
Take it from someone who learned the hard way. Sometimes the team you see going through the motions vs lesser competition is not the critter you play when the bright lights come on.
 
I’ve been caught off guard at how PJ is being used this year. I’ve seen him line up between the guard and tackle a lot this years. We are slanting or DL on nearly every play. Think PJ is going to need to get back over the center and eat up space. Usually a player like PJ would take a center and guard to try to open up the middle. So far this year I’ve seen away from a typical NT play. LB’s worry me. Sutherland is a huge liability as a run defender. Our front 4 are going to need to penetrate and get tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
 
Our tackling has been a concern for a few years. This year Purdue was pass crazy and Ohio U isn’t a good test. We need to tackle the tank with tenacity if we are going to win.
 
I’ve been caught off guard at how PJ is being used this year. I’ve seen him line up between the guard and tackle a lot this years. We are slanting or DL on nearly every play. Think PJ is going to need to get back over the center and eat up space. Usually a player like PJ would take a center and guard to try to open up the middle. So far this year I’ve seen away from a typical NT play. LB’s worry me. Sutherland is a huge liability as a run defender. Our front 4 are going to need to penetrate and get tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

I don't know if anybody has asked JF about it yet, but outside looking in I think they are protecting PJ from double teams. Moving him to the 3 basically forces a 1v1 with a guard. The bad part is, he's not disrupting the game at all this year. He's probably considerably weaker in his legs right now than he was last year and it's showing.

The good news is that he should improve every week. Other good news, we've rotated a lot of guys in. Bad news, we aren't seeing a highly effective unit yet.
 
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I don't know if anybody has asked JF about it yet, but outside looking in I think they are protecting PJ from double teams. Moving him to the 3 basically forces a 1v1 with a guard. The bad part is, he's not disrupting the game at all this year. He's probably considerably weaker in his legs right now than he was last year and it's showing.

The good news is that he should improve every week. Other good news, we've rotated a lot of guys in. Bad news, we aren't seeing a highly effective unit yet.
It’s also a new DC. Has he used a NT before? Or does prefer a three technique? Or some other variation?
 
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It’s also a new DC. Has he used a NT before? Or does prefer a three technique? Or some other variation?


Some resources of info.

The plays I saw PJ at 3, we had Van Der Berg at the 1 and maybe another player.

Based on a lot of what you see in articles like this, I'm not sure how much of Manny's defense we've seen vs are our front 7 ineffective at certain parts of it. Additionally, most every resource mentions stopping the run as a weakness of his defenses. Not a good thing to know when it comes to an opponent like Auburn.
 
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Some resources of info.

The plays I saw PJ at 3, we had Van Der Berg at the 1 and maybe another player.

Based on a lot of what you see in articles like this, I'm not sure how much of Manny's defense we've seen vs are our front 7 ineffective at certain parts of it. Additionally, most every resource mentions stopping the run as a weakness of his defenses. Not a good thing to know when it comes to an opponent like Auburn.
Some good stuff there. Seems he doesn’t use a NT a lot but will mix it in. Likes to show a variety of fronts.
 
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It's pretty clear their offense is pretty one-dimensional. Their rush offense is very good - have averaged 250 ypg and 6.5 ypc through 2 games. However, the passing numbers are pretty weak (103rd in the Country through 2 games), but what really jumps out at you is 4 INTs vs only 1 TD through the first 2 games.

On the other side of the ball, Auburn's Defense mirrors their offense - extremely stout run defense, but the pass defense numbers are pretty so-so (opponents have completed 60% of their passes and they've given up roughly 230 passing yards per game, given up 2 TDs and no INTs).

I really believe this game is going to come down to a couple things - PSU's ability to stop their running game.... and PSU's QBs' ability to recognize Auburn's max-pressure fronts. If PSU QBs make the right decisions regarding running and passing depending on what Auburn is doing in "the box" - I think we win. I'm feeling good about our defense being able to contain Auburn's run game because of the one-dimensional nature of their offense.

On offense, this does not come down to PSU being able to establish a run game imho - it really comes down to Yurcich and the QBs making the correct run/pass decision depending on what Auburn is showing in "the box". In some ways, this is very similar to the Purdue game - PSU made Purdue pay big when they took chances and loaded the box. Urban Meyer did a great job breaking down PSU's last TD - PSU made the correct call against Purdue loading the box. The Auburn game is going to come down to the same thing - making the correct call depending on the Front 7 that Auburn is in.
Great post!
 
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