ejvols4
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Just to start off, I am in no way blaming the entire Auburn debacle on CBJ. The talent disparity between Auburn and Tennessee is so vast that no amount of good coaching could have brought us a victory last Saturday.
That said, several of CBJ's decisions (especially on special teams) cost us dearly and could've been easily avoided. Everyone realizes how embarrassingly slow our team is at every position, and most people who watch Auburn football can realize how fast they are as a team. There is no reason that we should have been kicking to them and allowing their best athletes an opportunity to have the ball in space.
The punt coverage was inexcusable. Chris Davis has proven himself to be a dangerous return man in several Auburn games this season, and after we dodged a bullet on his first return, it was inexplicable that we would continue to kick it to him. His returns single-handedly swung momentum in their favor during the first half.
On kickoffs, Auburn sends back Quan Bray and either Tre Mason or Corey Grant almost every time. Quan Bray is an incredibly average football player. I've yet to see him make a truly explosive play in my three years as an Auburn student. Yet CBJ continued to kick it to Mason and Grant, who have either returned a kick for a touchdown this season (Mason) or was the single fastest player in Neyland Stadium that day (Grant; 4.2 speed).
CBJ can do absolutely nothing about the cancerous talent that is in our program, but it's squarely on his shoulders that Auburn's best athletes were allowed to touch the ball in such open space. His decision making (or lack thereof) put our below average athletes in difficult positions against Auburn's best athletes.
TL;DR: Tennessee is slow. Auburn is fast. We continuously kicked it to their best athletes, allowing their fastest players to take advantage of our sluggish coverage teams. CBJ can't continue to make foolish mistakes like this in future seasons.
That said, several of CBJ's decisions (especially on special teams) cost us dearly and could've been easily avoided. Everyone realizes how embarrassingly slow our team is at every position, and most people who watch Auburn football can realize how fast they are as a team. There is no reason that we should have been kicking to them and allowing their best athletes an opportunity to have the ball in space.
The punt coverage was inexcusable. Chris Davis has proven himself to be a dangerous return man in several Auburn games this season, and after we dodged a bullet on his first return, it was inexplicable that we would continue to kick it to him. His returns single-handedly swung momentum in their favor during the first half.
On kickoffs, Auburn sends back Quan Bray and either Tre Mason or Corey Grant almost every time. Quan Bray is an incredibly average football player. I've yet to see him make a truly explosive play in my three years as an Auburn student. Yet CBJ continued to kick it to Mason and Grant, who have either returned a kick for a touchdown this season (Mason) or was the single fastest player in Neyland Stadium that day (Grant; 4.2 speed).
CBJ can do absolutely nothing about the cancerous talent that is in our program, but it's squarely on his shoulders that Auburn's best athletes were allowed to touch the ball in such open space. His decision making (or lack thereof) put our below average athletes in difficult positions against Auburn's best athletes.
TL;DR: Tennessee is slow. Auburn is fast. We continuously kicked it to their best athletes, allowing their fastest players to take advantage of our sluggish coverage teams. CBJ can't continue to make foolish mistakes like this in future seasons.
