Tate's NFL potential

Just wanted to go on the record as saying Ben Tate will be one HELL of an NFL running back. Picture Michael Turner from the Atlanta Falcons. He is big and FAST and will be great. I've been thinking this for a while but just now thought to put it in writing... i may even write a column about it in the future. If he'd have had the same opportunity last year as he did this year, he'd be more in the Heisman race than Mark Ingram at Alabama.

In terms of NFL potential, Tate may be the best Auburn has had since Bo Jackson. He's every bit as good as Rudi Johnson was, just with much better speed. He reminds me of a faster Stephen Davis.

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.

All I wanted was a hotdog...

Friday night at the Russell County vs. Central football game, from about the second quarter on, there was only one thing I could consistently think of: food. I didn’t get to eat much before the game and I ate an early lunch.

So you might say, ‘Why didn’t you get something to eat at halftime?’ Well, I was covering the game for The Citizen and halftime is when we tally up all the yards and statistics and think about what happened during the first half. There really isn’t much time to trek down to the concession stand, wait in line and get back in time to be ready to cover the second half, especially if you’re recording each play.

Anyway, when the game was over, I did my best to hurry up and catch Coach Rico White for an interview while continuing to take pictures, which is what I was doing this particular game. As soon as I was finished, I headed over to the concession stand and was relieved to find that there were still people inside and I was even more pleased that there was a big tray filled to the brim with hotdogs.

It was most definitely a sight for hungry eyes.

So I walked up and told the ladies inside I would like to purchase a hotdog please. This is where they crushed me. They replied that they are no longer selling food. I was stunned.

What, then, is the tray FULL of hotdogs doing sitting there? I made sure I heard them correctly and asked for clarification, “There’s nothing left for sale,” while staring at the dogs. They said that’s right, and said they were sorry.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Last time I checked, the Russell County school system was not exactly rich, to put it nicely. Now I’m not sure exactly where the concession money goes, but if it’s to the athletics department, kids on the varsity football team have to wear jerseys that are so old that the numbers don’t all even look the same. Some of the helmets don’t even have team decals on both sides, meaning that inevitably, some kids probably don’t even have a helmet of their own, but rather have to share with other reserves. Are you telling me THEY don’t want my money? Or that THEY couldn’t use it?

Or maybe the money goes into the school system’s general fund. Or maybe it just goes to the Athletic Booster Club. My point is that the money surely goes somewhere to help the students in some way.

All this and they can’t sell me one of the 50 hotdogs that were left?! I don’t get it. Was it a function of selfishness? Did the ladies inside want to take them home to their family? Or did they want them for themselves? I don’t understand. Or maybe they were saving them for the football players. But isn’t the whole point of the concession stand to SELL food and drinks? Isn’t that why they cooked the food in the first place? If not, then I would certainly like to know what it’s there for.

The school system is in proration and they can’t sell me a freakin hotdog. Not to mention that I probably would have bought three. I know it’s only three dollars (I think), but I’d be willing to bet that I’m not the only person this has happened to.

Whatever. Explain it to the kid who’s only got a decal on one side of his helmet.

I hate Monday holidays

If there’s one thing that really screws up my week here at the Citizen of East Alabama, it’s a holiday that either falls on, or is observed on, a Monday. And it’s not just me – it’s everyone who works here.

The way our week is laid out, it begins on Wednesday, the day after we go to press, or in other words, send the files to the printer so we can send out the newspaper on Thursday. Wednesday is when we have all of our meetings, talk about what we’ll write that week and how much space we’ll have, etc. Then the later part of Wednesday, and all day Thursday and Friday, we reporters go out and find more stories and write the stories we talked about on Wednesday.

Monday is supposed to be reserved for anything else that might suddenly come up – like breaking news – and we also use it to write about whatever happened over the weekend. Now, it’s inevitable that something will always come up every Monday or some source we need to talk to won’t call us back until Monday, and sometimes even Tuesday.

Basically, Monday is the catch-all day that we use to basically gear up for the storm that is press day, which like I said before, is every Tuesday. We NEED our Mondays around here.

So when there are holidays observed on Monday’s where we can’t come into the office, it really cramps our week and puts a tight crunch on all of us. Not only do we have to come in early on Tuesday morning to make sure we have covered all of our bases, but we also have to make sure nothing happened on Monday that requires our attention and make sure we are ready to put the newspaper together, period.

This past weekend, we had to cover high school football games on Friday. For those of us who had plans and were gone all weekend after that, it meant coming in Tuesday morning and writing the story of those games , in addition to finishing anything else that needed to be done, before the paper could be sent off to the press. It was either that or write our stories off the clock, which I’ve done many times, but obviously would prefer not to do if I had a choice.

So what to do about it? I suggest that for the country as a whole, we start observing holidays on Fridays. It makes sense.

Not only would that preserve the traditional beginning of the week that so may people require to keep a regular schedule of events, but it would also remove people’s desire to take the Friday before a Monday holiday off. I mean, seriously, how many people try to turn a three-day weekend into a four-day weekend by doing just that? I’d say it’s probably a lot.

If holidays were observed on Friday, I don’t think people would be very inclined to also take Thursday off – it would be too obvious, I guess. And does anybody really think people would go ahead and take Monday off, too, to make it a four-day weekend. I don’t think so. I know I certainly wouldn’t do that. I would rather go ahead and get my week started right, and not have to play that furious game of catch-up I so love.

Maybe I’m in the minority in this, but I sure know it would make my life, as it is now, a lot easier. And anyone else who works with me in this particular weekly publication would almost certainly agree with me. I know this, because we’ve all already complained about it together first thing this morning (which was Tuesday, when I wrote this, although you’re probably reading it on Thursday). But I guess it would be just one more thing that will never get done. Why? Well, because it makes too much sense, obviously.