Tommy West's Vent

Dare I say, I told you so?

Another of my columns from The Citizen of East Alabama:

When Auburn hired defensive guru Gene Chizik to replace Tommy Tuberville late last year, there was an overwhelming number of people who not only disagreed with the decision, but made fun and argued that it was the worst decision that could have been made. It’s not really my style to gloat, but I was not one of those people.

I’ll admit, when I first heard the news I was not excited. I got a text from my dad confirming the news and I was like, “Are you kidding me?” I wanted someone who had a proven track record for putting up big numbers on offense. I wasn’t thrilled to have a 5-19 coach come to the Plains.

But then I began doing my homework. I read A LOT of stories about Chizik and what he had to overcome at Iowa State. I quickly understood that it was a program in disarray before he arrived and he started 11 true freshman while there. It was obvious why he hadn’t won many games. I also looked at his experience and record as a defensive coordinator, which nobody can deny is second to none. Who else can say they coached three straight Thorpe Award winners? Had consecutive undefeated seasons with two different schools?

Then I began to hear what former players were saying about Gene Chizik. Carlos Rogers spoke out in support, telling how Auburn couldn’t have made a better decision. But of course he would say that. He went from virtually unknown on the national scene to becoming the nation’s best defensive back. But when Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams spoke well of him, saying he is a player’s coach that really knows how to get players to rally together and unite behind him, I was sold. Then came Kirk Herbstreit’s thoughts of how good of a fit Chizik would be at Auburn. Well that was just icing on the cake.

So I began telling people that I was sold and I thought he would be a good one. I can’t express to you how much criticism I got around here for supporting him. People called me an “Auburn homer,” and said I was simply trying to convince myself that it was a good hire. They went on to call him Cheez-it, and other such names. But I continued to believe in the new coach, even if I didn’t have much of a choice.

One thing people don’t seem to understand is that it does no good for people to criticize and belittle their own, so they might as well support them. While this was not my rationale, it was something I tried to impress upon other Auburn fans who weren’t quite as keen on Chizik as I was.

So as the offseason progressed, Chizik went on to hire the most prolific, up-and-coming offensive coordinator in the game, Gus Malzahn, and then hired two big-gun recruiters as offensive assistants, in Trooper Taylor and Curtis Luper, and a defensive coordinator, Ted Roof, who shared very similar beliefs as he, one of the best in the business. Then he pulled in Jeff Grimes, a laid back offensive line coach that many claim to be the best recruiter on the staff. He followed that up with a surprise hire out of North Carolina: the silent assassin Tommy Thigpen – one of the best recruiters in the country.

Over a span of just two months, Gene Chizik had come in and hired one of the best coaching staffs in the country, then followed it up with upgrading an already solid recruiting class to top 20, including pulling several four-star recruits that didn’t even have Auburn on their radar before he was hired.

Since then, all he has done is take a squad with severe depth issues and win seven games, including a few that Auburn wasn’t supposed to win this year. And he’s done it all with record-setting offensive numbers. The Tigers will now move into Amen Corner at 7-3, with a real shot at beating Georgia in Athens. But then will come the real test: the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide. Can Chizik fare any better than his predecessor’s 0-36 mark last year? I don’t know. But I do know this: I told you Gene Chizik was a good fit and now you understand.

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.