It's certainly been a long and eventful drivel season hasn't it? Players getting arrested, Auburn being doomed because of Danny Sheridan's unspecified antics, and let's not forget the famous HBO4 displaying their poor attempt at making others take pity on them because they didn't make the best career choices after college. Sour grapes doesn't get you very far nowadays.
Did I mention that the first few games of the season are early kick-offs? I love night games, but staying up until 4am for Clemson and South Carolina drained me, not to mention messing up my sleeping pattern.
I see this as the SEC repaying this Brit for being so faithful and giving me some time to sleep. Thanks Mike Slive.
Anyway, I digress.
Fall practice begins tonight and even though Auburn lost all of their good players (Trooper Taylor said it, not me) there still seems to be an excitement and a sense of optimism going into the season, and why shouldn't there be?
Auburn naturally plays better when people don't expect them to win, you can go back through the history books and see that Auburn doesn't respond well to pre-season hype, but on the flip-side feeds off of poor pre-season evaluations. But enough of history, we aren't Notre Dame after all.
Fall practice begins with the hope that several young and older guys will step up into their roles and lead by example over the course of the season. Losing that many seniors last year, and not replacing them will severely damage a team, and even though Auburn has barely any seniors on the roster, it doesn't mean that younger guys can't step up and provide the leadership that Auburn needs and lacks right now.
Though I'm not being negative, far from it.
I'm looking forward to this season and what wonders it may bring, sure it may be classified as a "down season" to some but I see it as a chance for younger guys to learn, develop and grow into new roles left by the seniors of last year. Some older players need to step up into key positions (Eltoro Freeman, DeAngelo Benton to name a few), though in saying that, I see a lot of true freshman seeing plenty of playing time this fall.
I am also looking forward to seeing pictures/videos and what not of the players practicing in the brand new indoor practice facility. It really is quite something.
Sure, Auburn does have questions going into September but which team doesn't? Gene Chizik and the rest of the staff will find ways to incorporate new strategies and plays into our game-plan, that I'm sure of. This program has a great staff and head coach and that will show this season. I may not be as optimistic as every fan out there, but I know for a fact that Auburn won't simply fall off the map because we don't have Cam Newton any more.
Get real.
Fall practice is a time for young and older guys to prove their worth to the coaches, and for those positions that are open for competition, expect to see certain player raise their game in the hunt for that starting spot.
P.S My SEC predictions are coming very soon, and I have kind of surprised myself at the level of unbiasedness (Yes that's a word) that they contain. I've grown not to look at everything through orange and blue glasses (Ok, that's a lie), though I admit I still do it quite a lot.
Would I even be an Auburn fan if I didn't?
