Jim Turner breaks down blocking schemes in SEC opener vs. Auburn

Key notes from Jim Turner interview

• You saw Le’Veon Moss come into his own. They used him the way they wanted to use him. I wish they used him more in the fourth quarter instead of doing those screens. That put them in a bad position. They could not stop #8. The other running backs did a good job, too.
   
• I thought the offensive line did a really good job. Some of those holds were an issue, but some of them, I don't agree with the officials at all. Some I do.
   
• Then, on the defense, the defensive line dominated the game. Taurean York played a great game. York was in on, had to be, 50 percent of the tackles. If you look at Auburn itself, they were not impressive. They were 0-for-13 on third down. They couldn’t convert one time on third down. They struggled to get targeted. Some of the things they did, they didn't commit turnovers. Their quarterback couldn't convert. They did not win the time of possession. The Ags had the ball for 34 minutes to Auburn’s 25 minutes.
   
• A&M had five sacks, and we gave up four. That can be cleaned up. The big thing for A&M on offense is you have every dimension covered. You have a good quarterback who can run and throw, your running backs who can run, the line is doing a good job, and you have receivers who are deadly. It is like a batting lineup. You need the guy who is going to get you the most runs. For our offense, it is probably Mario Craver, KC Concepcion and Moss. If you get it to Moss 25 times, Craver and Concepcion have to touch it eight times. I say stats are for losers, and I put a lot of emphasis on the line that you don't score touchdowns, but you produce those touchdowns, and you are the piece that gets everything done on that field. You've got to score. I know that will be a point of emphasis. There are games where you can’t cross the goal line. Being 3-for-14 on third down is not good. So, the best way to not be in those situations is to not get to third down. If you can get more yards on first and second down, you get yourself in a good space. We ran the ball 47 times, and that was a lot, but we should’ve run it even more.
   
• The problem they had, though, was having #7 and #1 on the outside. Every defensive coordinator starts with this: How do we not give up seven points on one play? That was their biggest fear. So, they lined up with two high safeties. When they do that, you run the football. When they board up the line, you throw.
   
• Adam Cushing is coaching the same. It is a repetitive job. Get off first meaningful contact. Grading yourself on all of that stuff. Can you do anything different? Well, you can clear up those personal fouls. Albert Regis had one, and Chase Bisontis had another. I don’t know if he said something to the ref. I defend him on that play, but it is the way you say it. Regis is an emotional kid and wanted to finish the play.
   
• Referees are just dominating football games. You watch the Monday Night Football game between the Broncos vs. Bengals. I couldn’t even watch it. If I am ref, I want to stay out of the spotlight. If I were a ref, I would not want all the attention. They must not have gotten attention when they were five years old from their mother. I would be constantly yelling at the linemen to get their hands down, saying, “If you are going to hold one more time,” then I would call it. Hands to the face is the dumbest rule ever. You are going to get hit in the face. Holding the hand in the face is against the rules, but if you get hit in the jaw from a swipe, that’s your problem. It is going to happen. If I were a referee, I would not call it, and I didn’t get that attention from my mom.
   
• I felt like at the end of the game, if they lined up in 12 personnel and said, “We are going to run the ball at this team.” They wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Going forward, I love the run package, which features a lot of zone, good blocking on the edge and pulling #71 as well as the back tight end and pulling a power play... Those plays, out of the whole SEC, I just don’t see, other than Georgia and Alabama, who are dominant in the trenches. Everyone else is beatable. In terms of being totally challenged, I don’t see it this year from a defensive standpoint. I think they will be able to run the ball effectively all season long.
   
• Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. You have a plan, and all of a sudden, you are minus five rushing yards and 20 passing yards in the first quarter. If you continue to run those plays, you are not a good coach. I used to call stuff that we hadn’t practiced in three weeks. “Hey, boys, he is reaching into the bag.” Like for comedians, if you have three jokes and nobody laughs, you've got to come up with something new. During a game, all of a sudden, you whip out one joke, and the crowd goes berserk. But then you get into a groove, there it is, and they can’t stop it. You see that with #1 and #7. How do you get them the ball? With #8, I know they have a great plan with them, but I would love to see Moss run the ball 40 times in a game.
   
• The big thing for Moss, the only thing that could hurt my view of him, is if he runs out of bounds. I look at the kids who play in high school, and they just run out of bounds, and I am like, “What are you doing?” I yell it out. You are 17 years old. You don’t run out of bounds at 17 years old. Running backs, to me, are the toughest guys are your football team. They are mean guys, that is why they are good. They love the contact and getting hit. A good running back is probably going to miss a couple of practices next week if he carries the ball 30 times.