Stay strong, Auburn family, stay strong. This will pass - I promise. So we've lost three games in a row..

I want you all to keep in mind that it's not the end of the world, first of all. Second, there's no reason why the Tigers can't come out and beat Ole Miss. 

But what I really want to talk about is Auburn's quarterback situation. I've heard a lot of talk about "bring in Neil Caudle." Well, I disagree. I think Chris Todd can still get it done. Like many of you, probably, I see that Auburn offensive woes don't trace back solely to Todd. And his performance isn't indicative of his talent level or ability. In fact, I think it's more telling of just how little depth Auburn has at offensive line. It's the line's performance that has made Todd look so bad.

There were plenty of instances I can think of from the LSU game where Todd made a check at the line to account for a coming blitz, only to be let down by a veteran offensive lineman or back who was supposed to block a blitzing defender. The result: he was sacked or was forced to fumble the ball because he was blindsided by the defender. Due to this kind of play from the line, Todd has tried to force balls in certain situations and throw earlier than he should. This is part of the cause for his recent interceptions. Now don't get me wrong. He has made some poor choices, such as the final throw of the Kentucky game and the interception he threw against LSU into double coverage. He never would have attempted those throws in the first four or five games this year.

There's also poor receiver play. Auburn's receivers got away with some sloppy route running in the first few games. But as the competition has improved, our receiver inadequacies have been exposed. Our guys must learn to run crisper routes. I think we might see a little more of the younger guys, like Emory Blake and Philip Lutzenkirchen, in the coming games.

So that's that.

Of course, Neil Caudle has played pretty well when given the chance. As well he should, since he was one of the top seven quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school - the guy was incredible and won a lot of games. He entered college football alongside guys like Tim Tebow, Josh Freeman, Matt Stafford and Jevan Snead. He was considered just as good, if not better than, all but Stafford and Tebow. 

So why hasn't he won the QB job the whole time he's been at Auburn? I don't know. But do I believe in him as a backup? Heck yeah.But I also believe Chris Todd is right choice to be our starting quarterback and I think he'll snap out of his slump, as will the offensive line. I just hope the receivers will do the same and find a way to get open so Todd can hit them when the time comes.

Commitments should always be honored

There are some things in this life that should never happen. I believe that if you make a commitment to something or someone and it holds true to you, that you should try your best to stay true to it. Simply put, do what you say you’re going to do. It’s just the way I feel.

I could take this to many different levels – everything from relationships to taking on job responsibilities to playing on a team.

I could easily fill these 20-some-odd column-inches with ramblings about relationships – believe me – but I’d rather talk about the other stuff.

A commitment is a promise. It’s promise not only to yourself, but also to everyone else involved with whatever you’re doing. It’s a promise that you’ll be there when asked and give your best effort. It’s a promise that if things aren’t going your way, you’ll still be there and try to help in any way you can.

If you make a commitment to your employer, you must realize that not only is the employer counting on you, but so are your coworkers and so are the customers or recipients of whatever service you provide. Just like on a team, where your teammates are counting on you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to be perfect, because nobody is perfect. If you’re on a baseball team, you are going to make mistakes – it’s inevitable and absolutely impossible to avoid. If you play baseball and fail 70 percent of the time, you’re considered a phenomenal hitter. But regardless of what happens, you should continue to show up and give your best effort, if not for you, for everyone else who made that same commitment to the team that you once made.

I’ve recently had experience with commitment issues in several aspects of my life. One aspect involved my job and another involved a sports team I’m playing on and happen to also be coaching.

Without getting into specifics in regard to my job, I’ll simply say that when people you work with don’t honor their commitments, it puts a strain on every other employee in that company – because one person generally can’t take on someone else’s responsibilities while continuing to fulfill their own. Otherwise, the first person was probably not even needed in the first place. And if that person isn’t going to be there – barring an emergency – prior notification should be given to allow others time to prepare. Anything less is unacceptable and just not fair.

As for teams, if someone signs up to play on the team, he or she should make sure that they can attend the games and if the team decides to hold a practice, they should try to be there. If someone doesn’t show up, it’s not just hurting that person’s game, it’s hurting the entire team. How are team members supposed to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to play together? How are team members supposed to learn to count on one another? And as for quitting the team… if somebody wants to quit, that person shouldn’t just do so on a whim, leaving everyone else on the team hung out to dry. That person should at least give prior notification, just like with a job.

The bottom line is that I hate it when people say they’re going to do something and then don’t do it. Too many times I’ve been in a situation where I have counted on somebody to do something – because they said they would – only to find out later that they didn’t do it. I believe that people should be held accountable for what they say they are going to do and there should be no excuses. There is plenty of room for explanation, but not excuses.

Someone very wise once told me something about excuses that I’ll never forget. I can’t exactly print the maxim in this publication, but in short, everybody’s got one. So rather than offering an excuse that nobody even wants, just keep it to yourself and make sure that you’re never in a position to even give one. Do what you say you’re going to do and honor your commitments. It’s amazing how much can get done when that happens.