Monday Morning Quarterback, Game 2: The offense
Here’s how four former Auburn standouts saw the offense in Saturday’s 59-13 victory over San Jose State at Jordan-Hare Stadium:
Former QB Ben Leard on the quarterbacks
“Overall, they continue to do well. Nick Marshall has grown as a passer. He’s improved, but he’s not perfect. The true paradigm shift is that fans see how well Nick is at running the offense. Meanwhile, Jeremy Johnson is throwing the ball really well. We see how good he can be, but you also know how good Nick is at running the offense. He’s grown as a passer. Everybody that’s scrutinizing every little thing now, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. Let the work he’s put in play itself out for more than two games, regardless of what’s happened to this point.
“Assessing Nick’s play against San Jose State, he was slightly above 50 percent. The coaches’ expectations are perfection, so with anything less, it has to get better. In looking at some of the attempts, there was one key third down that Nick and Duke Williams had a miscommunication and the ball landed at Duke’s feet. It appeared that Nick recognized the blitz and Duke didn’t, but that’s part of the growth process.
Maybe Nick can be more accurate, but he made some nice throws - one to Duke on a corner route, a nice slant to Duke after missing him the throw before and one in particular a nice play checking down to Cameron Artis-Payne. The Nick of old would have tucked and run. Checking that ball down was small, but it was a good thing to see.
“For the bye week coming up, I think you focus on being as accurate as you can on the gimme-type routes, routes you expect to be completions. That has to continue to develop.”
Former RB Brad Lester on the running backs
“It’s hard to tell against a defense like that, but the running backs had another productive day. Of course, we were excited to see Roc Thomas. I can see him being one of the premier guys. He’s electric. Artis-Payne continued his solid play, and while Corey Grant didn’t bust a long one, he worked the edges nicely and was patient getting upfield and not running himself to the boundary too quickly.
“On Roc, you don’t have to say much about the fumble. It happens. He’s so young, I can imagine he felt really bad. You tell him welcome to college football and don’t do it again. He’ll be fine. He’s too talented not to learn from his mistake.
“On Artis-Payne, he seemed to bounce his runs outside the tackles more on Saturday. He was productive and he looks quicker than last year, but as I said last week, I sometimes wish he was more patient. I think he has great feet and is ready to cut, but he can be patient. He made the plays, but there are times when bouncing it outside too much will hurt you if it becomes a habit. The top-tier SEC defenses won’t allow that. One thing I always loved about Tre Mason was he stuck his nose in there and moved forward and got his yards. He rarely lost yards by bouncing runs outside.”
Former WR Jeris McIntyre on the receivers
“There weren’t too many big plays in the passing game this week. Duke Williams had some nice catches and Ricardo Louis caught a touchdown on a well-designed play, but there wasn’t much testing of the San Jose State secondary. One thing that stood out was Duke’s and Nick’s miscommunication on the hot route, where it seemed that Duke didn’t see the blitz coming and Nick did, resulting in the incompletion. That’s part of the learning process for Duke. Against LSU, Alabama, Georgia and other talented and aggressive defenses, you have to be on the same page with Nick or bad things will happen.
“I actually thought they missed Sammie Coates some. They tried to stretch the field with Ricardo, but the success didn’t come. I think Sammie brings an added dimension to the receivers that is more obvious when he isn’t out there.”
Former OL Cole Cubelic on the offensive line
“These guys are gaining an understanding of the expectations. They are still having some issues on getting to the second level. I think some defenses are playing more men in the box, more five-man fronts, more looks, so they have to adjust. But I’d like to see more second-level blocking. That’s something Greg Robinson was great at. The pass protection has looked good, but they have to work on finishing across the board. One guy not finishing is the difference in good runs and touchdown runs. They aren’t great yet, but they seem to have their assignments down and the understanding is good, so that’s a good start for this new group.
“Heading into the off week, working on depth would add lots of value. I really like Xavier Dampeer when he gets in. I think Auburn would be OK with him. Braden Smith looks good, but he’s got a ways to go on the technique department. When he gets his hands on somebody, he’s going to be good. I think you go into the week with some extra time and work on developing depth and emphasizing finishing and pad level.”
