vs Ole Miss
81 snaps
Couldn't keep the 14 points or fewer streak going this week, but still a very solid performance from the first team unit. Gave up more plays than we are used to seeing, and had trouble adjusting to the tempo Ole Miss was playing with... but outside of a few coverage hiccups in the slot, nothing to worry about too much.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Derrick Brown 48
Jeff Holland 48
Dontavius Russell 42
Marlon Davidson 41
Nick Coe 38
Tyronne Truesdell 29
Andrew Williams 26
TD Moultry 18
Paul James III 17
Big Kat Bryant 14
Gary Walker 8
Tyler Carter 3
LINEBACKERS
Darrell Williams 41
Deshaun Davis 40
Montavious Atkinson 38
Tre Williams 13
Richard McBryde 9
KJ Britt 8
Chandler Wooten 8
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Stephen Roberts 66
Carlton Davis 65
Jamel Dean 64
Tray Matthews 57
Daniel Thomas 55
Nick Ruffin 39
Jeremiah Dinson 20
Jordyn Peters 20
Traivon Leonard 19
Jason Smith 11
Devin Guice 11
DEFENSIVE STATS:
Jamel Dean - 5 solo tackles, 2 assists
Nick Ruffin - 5 solo tackles, 2 assists
Deshaun Davis - 4 solo tackles, 3 assists
Derrick Brown - 2 solo tackles, 4 assists
Daniel Thomas - 3 solo tackles, 2 assists
Tray Matthews - 1 solo tackle, 4 assists
Tre Williams - 3 solo tackles, 1 assist
Jordyn Peters - 3 solo tackles, 1 assist
Chandler Wooten - 3 solo tackles, 1 assist
Stephen Roberts - 2 solo tackles, 1 assist
Montavious Atkinson - 1 solo tackle, 2 assists
Traivon Leonard - 2 solo tackles
Jeremiah Dinson - 2 solo tackles
Jeff Holland - 1 solo tackle, 1 assist
Darrell Williams - 2 assists
Paul James III - 2 assists
Nick Coe - 1 solo tackle
TD Moultry - 1 solo tackle
Tyrone Truesdell - 1 solo tackle
Carlton Davis - 1 solo tackle
Richard McBryde - 1 solo tackle
Dontavius Russell - 1 assist
Devin Guice - 1 assist
KJ Britt - 1 assist
GAME THOUGHTS:
Even though we are all probably a little bit disappointed with the overall effort in the 2nd half of Saturday's game (we seemed to be simply going through the motions a la the Tuber-shell days of yore), it was still a more than solid effort by the 1's this weekend. There were some definite mistakes early on that were uncharacteristic of Kevin Steele's defense, and this was by far the worst tackling performance of the year.
Auburn was lucky not to give up points on the first possession of the game this weekend, as Ole Miss was able to get their offense going early with their patented quick stop routes. We were giving them a lot of cushion early on and their big WRs were able to take advantage of the lax coverage early and often... though the 1's played well enough to limit the scoring chances for the most part.
Not really sure what was going on with Jeremiah Dinson in the first half. His effort on the long pass play to the TE on the first drive was concerning (no harm though due to the FG clanking against the upright), and then yet again on the next drive he looked lost when he completely was turned around while trying to get in position to make the play. He was yet again the culprit for the 3rd straight drive, when #1 for the Landsharks? (lol) split he and Tray Matthews for what should have been at minimum a huge gain down the seam... but #1 didn't hold on to the ball. Not sure if he was nursing an injury, or if he was just pulled in the second half due to his play in the first.
**** it was interesting to see Auburn employing an odd man front on multiple occasions (usually on 3rd down passing situations). I really liked what I saw out of Derrick Brown off the edge from a bull rush perspective in a few of these 3 man fronts, and that allowed Jeff Holland to become a stand-up linebacker and blitz from a multitude of different spots. There were some pretty cool interior stunts and blitz combos that came off of this look. I look forward to seeing a lot more of it.
The one TD that the first unit gave up was littered with missed tackles, and it surely appeared to me as though the defense was gassed. Seemed to struggle with the tempo that Ole Miss was operating. Both of the passing TDs allowed were poorly executed from Auburn's perspective. The DBs lost the leverage and #14 for Ole Miss made them pay after a simple 3-5 yard stop route.
I personally am not going to worry too much about giving up points in the second half of a blowout victory, BUT the issues in the slot in coverage have hurt us a couple times this year and need to be addressed. Also, I was surprised to see how much the tempo seemingly bothered our guys... the depth up front at DT continues to worry me. Truesdell actually saw more snaps this week than Andrew Williams... but he still has a tendency to stand up and get knocked back off the line way too easily.
Shea Patterson can ball... just sayin'. He may not have much else to work with from a talent standpoint surrounding him, but that kid showed some serious talent all day in a game that was over almost immediately. To throw for the amount of yardage that he did against this defense is extremely impressive. It wasn't all on the 2nd and 3rd team guys either. Kudos to him.
3.5 stars is as high as I am willing to go this week. Nothing special at all, but nothing overly troubling either. First team guys gave up 10 points.
