The Auburn Beat

Some believe in a world where there are only excuses. I happen to believe that facts matter, and it's more reasonable (perhaps "fair" is a better word) to acknowledge the reality of reasons.
It's my job as a beat writer to learn everything I can about what I cover and be fair, based on what I know. Never know better --- or have reason to believe better --- than what I write.
And never, never pander to popular misperceptions. It's nothing more than a ploy to score points with some readers --- or get by with ignorance.
That's how I approach writing for the newspaper and, in my opinion, that's how to approach a blog. It's all publication, just in a different forum.
Now that I have that off my chest, there are few reasons to explain why Auburn's offense struggled so in its season-opening victory over Kansas State on Saturday.
There are reasons to explain some of it.
Kansas State came in with a new 3-4 defense, new coordinator and a lot of new schemes off of its alignments. Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges said Sunday that 30 to 40 percent of what K-State ran Saturday never showed on game film from last season.
Normally, a team with an established coordinator and schemes and/or game film from the current season will toss in about 5 to 10 percent new wrinkles, Borges said.
I've not known Borges to be an excuses guy in the three-plus years that I've covered him. I'm also not a coach, nor was I in film study with him.
I'll give benefit of the doubt here.
That said, it sure seemed to take a long time for Auburn to adjust. It wasn't until Auburn's drive to its go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter that Borges went to quick slant passes with short dropbacks, and it worked.
The way the game played out, perhaps it was smart coaching to hold that changeup until the right time.
Perhaps Auburn wouldn't have needed to rally from behind so late, had the change come earlier.
Still, there were plenty of problems with Auburn's offense Saturday. Again, I'll start with what seem to be good reasons.
An offensive line with four new starters looked like it. A running game without suspended starting tailback Brad Lester looked like it.
Then again, why did the one returning starter on Auburn's line, senior left tackle King Dunlap, seem to have the worst game of the bunch?
Why did a fifth-year senior quarterback in Brandon Cox struggle as much as he did with reads? Why did he make poor pass decisions that resulted in both of his interceptions?
Why, when Auburn's running game struggled so, did Auburn's coaches leave redshirt freshman running back Mario Fannin on the bench? He's supposed to be one of Auburn's up-and-coming talents, a ball carrier with game-breaking ability.
I know the explanation. Fannin seems to be a liability in pass blocking, the same reason why Auburn held Kenny Irons back in 2005.
Irons went on to lead the SEC in rushing that season, despite his delayed insertion into the starting lineup. He showed he had take-it-to-the-house ability, which Fannin is supposed to have.
I wonder what difference it would have made had Irons/Fannin punished aggressive defenses with one long touchdown run. Might Irons have slowed Georgia Tech's defense in the 2005 opener, which Tech won by blitzing Cox into five turnovers? Might Fannin have caused Kansas State's defense to back a safety or two off the line of scrimmage?
All it takes is one hole and one running back with speed and vision, and he's beyond those nine guys in the box, in a foot race with cornerbacks.
Against Kansas State, Auburn's receivers could have helped by beating man coverage deep, and Cox could have helped by getting the ball down field.
Perhaps Auburn's receiving corps still struggles to get open, like it did last year. Outside of Rod Smith, perhaps Auburn has only possession receivers who catch reliably and young game breakers who don't catch reliably.
Games down the road will confirm or refute whether that liability still exists. Games down the road will show whether the offensive line will gell, and whether Cox will regain his 2005 form after he struggled through injuries in 2006.
Through one game, every preseason question mark for Auburn's offense looks like a real liability ... which could be a reason, if the Tigers struggle to sustain and finish drives like they did in 2006.