The Waiting

So now it's less than 2 weeks before the start of another college football season. It will come soon enough. Let's not try to rush it.

The Difference Between Auburn & Alabama People

Alabama fans love Alabama football.
Auburn fans love Auburn.
There is a big difference.

First Football of the Year

Let the record show that I saw my first live football of the 2010 season last night. I went to Vestavia to see 3 preseason "games." Shades Vally beat Calera. Briarwood Christian beat John Carroll. And Vestavia beat the Fairfield Tigers coached by Jim Vakakis 16 to 14 in the most exciting scrimmage I may see all year. Fairfield seemd to have the game won when Vestavia went 70 yards in 22 seconds to win the game 16 to 14. I was pulling for Fairfield. Despite this outcome, Coach Vakakis has a good team. I'll be surprised if anybody beats them in their region.

The Questions

Some of the preseason questions seem to be things like who will start at right tackle, who will be the backup QB, and which of the freshmen will play. This is certainly better than the questions we faced last year with a new coaching staff. The key is still the defense. We need a significant improvement on that side of the ball.

What to Think

I read about the scrimmage last night. On the one hand I don't know what to think with, according to reports, the offense dominating so heavily. But then I've kept up with stuff long enough to know that you can't jump to any conclusions reading about preseason practice. There is no way for sure to know what is going to happen with this or any other Auburn football team before the season starts.

I Can't Wait

To see 290 lb. running Ladarius Phillips carry the football.

Trovon Reed make a big play.

Ontario McCalebb with his increased weight.

If Mike Blanc and Nick Fairly can stop everybody from running the football.

The broken field running of Cameron Newton.

The Players Report

Fall practice officially starts today when the players "report." Of course, the players are already there. This is just a formality. It's not like it was in old days when players went home for the summer, had jobs, and truly reported for fall practice.

We wonder who will start at right tackle. We wonder if Cam Newton is the real deal. How quickly will he learn the offense? Can he throw the ball downfield? What about depth in various areas?

But the biggest thing is the defense. No football team is truly good without a strong defense. This is especially true in the SEC. The offense will move the football. The offense will score points. Can the defense stop the other team from scoring? This is what I want to know.