Ziemba (etc.) FYI

Helpful JCCW reader Jason saw Tuberville speak at the Columbus Quarterback Club this week and e-mailed a few tidbits of information that I thought you might want to know about, assuming you well-connected Internet types don't already:

--Lee Ziemba is playing on a bum knee that will require surgery after the season. He had the option of having the surgery already and giving up the remainder of the season, but elected instead to play through the pain and wait. It's an admirable, gutsy decision that's especially appreciated when you consider that he's playing through said pain for an Auburn team that's going nowhere, and his play hasn't been all that bad, particularly in first halves. It definitely helps explain both why he's had so much trouble in pass protection this year and why it gets worse as the game progresses. Which raises the issue: since this team is going nowhere and by the time the third quarter rolls around there might be other players who could do almost as well and he's putting his long-term career at further risk ... should he have the surgery? It's of course quite obviously not my place to say, but I think it's worth wondering about.

--Tubby said that the "mental fatigue" (in Jason's words) inherent to the process of the offensive linemen getting set, getting unset, looking at the sideline, getting a call, getting re-set, then executing said call played a part in the line's spate of second-half penalties. On the one hand, I'm not so sure I buy this as an excuse; tons and tons and tons of successful teams use the same process, and it smacks a little of a need to scapegoat a certain former offensive coordinator. On the other, these other successful spread teams don't look over every play the way Auburn did through the first part of the year. Often, they would do this weird thing Auburn never did where they would run up to the line of scrimmage, get set, and then actually run the play. Combine Auburn's every-down meerkat routine with an unfamiliarity with the process and potentially less-than-optimal coaching for the given offense, and I can see how this might not be helpful.

--Tubby said Auburn had had "more injuries than the last four years combined." To be frank, I think this is a pretty rank exaggeration. Auburn has lost three probable starters: Ramsey, Savage, and now Blackmon. I know there's a truckload of guys who have nagging stuff or have missed a couple of games. But around nine guys who started on offense vs. ULM will start on offense and around nine more on defense. Lots of other teams have it worse.

Just so's you know. Abbreviated Ole Miss preview soon.