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Still The Truth: Only John Franklin Can Save Malzahn From Himself
I haven’t tried to disguise, at all, my opinion that John Franklin III should be — and should have been against Clemson — Auburn’s starting quarterback.
And after watching Saturday’s debacle of an offensive performance against the ACC Tigers, I continue to have zero doubt that John Franklin is the guy.
I’ll start with the same refrain I always do: nothing I’m about to say has anything to do with the talent of Sean White or even Jeremy Johnson.
Everything I’m about to say has to do with the capabilities of Gus Malzahn as a play-caller and what he can — and, most importantly, cannot — do.
But Malzahn broke Auburn records with Chris Todd in 2009! He doesn’t need a dual-threat quarterback!
This frequently stated defense of Malzahn’s ability to field an elite — or even effective — offense with a pocket-passer always leaves me scratching my head. It would take only minutes of research to discover this:
In 2009, Todd completed, overall, 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,612 yards, with 22 touchdown passes against just six interceptions.
That’s a nice looking stat-line . . . and the reason so many are mistaken.
Against SEC competition, Todd’s line looked like this: 55.6 percent, 1,295 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.
In eight SEC games, Todd averaged 162 yards and 0.75 touchdowns through the air per game.
In five non-conference games: 263 yards and 3.2 touchdowns.
Those five non-conference opponents, by the way, were Louisiana Tech, West Virginia, Ball State, Furman, and Northwestern.
So, no, 2009 is not a witness for the defense of Malzahn and pocket-passers.
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But his NCAA-leading offenses at Tulsa!
I’m sure Malzahn also put up great numbers in his Arkansas high school football days. Neither have much to do with fielding an offense against SEC-caliber defenses.
If Malzahn will just let White be the quarterback and quit rotating White, Johnson, and Franklin, Auburn will be fine!
Not according to the game I watched Saturday, not according to last season, and not according to Malzahn’s entire tenure at Auburn without a dual-threat quarterback.
Numbers can be contorted in a lot of ways, but I’m not sure anyone can reasonably defend one touchdown pass in 164 career attempts, which is where White currently stands under Malzahn’s play-calling.
White’s lack of arm-strength is exposed in the redzone, where the ability to zip balls through tight windows is even more vital.
And since he gets no help from Malzahn — with a play-action pass on first down, for example — and is usually facing third-and-long after two failed, utterly predictable run calls, White’s struggles inside the 20 will likely continue.
But Franklin can’t throw!
He can throw enough.
It is of absolutely zero surprise that Kerryon Johnson and the run game got a sudden surge when Franklin was on the field. That’s what he brings. He makes the entire ground attack better just by being in the game. That’s something at least and something very valuable at that.
He, because of his speed and what he adds to the run-game, also would regularly face much easier defenses to throw against than either White or Johnson.
He makes Auburn’s rushing attack dynamic — and dangerous — and that needs to become the team’s identity.
But, of course, Franklin was instead lifted mid-drive after that sudden surge.
Things were going too well, it seems.
Malzahn will apparently never stop running on first down either, which every defensive coordinator and, well, fan knows about. And when the defense doesn’t have to account for the quarterback, Auburn is regularly facing second-and-long, which is yet another example of Malzahn handicapping both White and Johnson.
How can you be so sure about Franklin being the right choice?
Because I’ve seen Malzahn call enough games for pocket-passers. Because the numbers back it up.
I’m not saying Franklin will be Nick Marshall or put up the numbers Marshall put up. But I am saying that he’s the only way that Malzahn can turn this into a successful season.
The defense looked good, yes, and the defense will likely continue to look good. But it won’t be enough if Malzahn is calling plays for White and Johnson.
Malzahn gives away first down routinely with those aforementioned, all-but-guaranteed first down runs. The line between winning and losing against above-average competition is razor thin, and Auburn simply can’t win if it’s giving away first down on 95 percent of its drives.
And that may seem like something that can easily be changed, but this is the head coach who thought running Jeremy Johnson out of an empty backfield on fourth-and-one was the right call. Literally telling the defense what was coming was fine with him. He saw no issue with it.
Why not use Franklin with Kerryon Johnson beside him and at least make the defense hesitate?
Why not run Kamryn Pettway, with all of his power?
Why not — finally — utilize a play-action pass in short-yardage?
Why not do anything other than tell the defense exactly what’s coming with a somewhat hesitant runner to boot?
It just seems that Malzahn is lost, quite frankly, without a dual-threat option at quarterback.
Offensively…I haven’t seen a game called more poorly since the ’98 UVA game!!! #horrible
— Ben Leard (@btleard) September 4, 2016
People keep asking, “But, if White’s the guy, why doesn’t Gus Malzahn tailor the offense to his quarterback?”
It’s because he can’t. He doesn’t know how to have a cohesive offense in this league with a pocket-passer. It’s really that simple.
What else could it be? After going 2-9 in his last 11 SEC games, if he could change, don’t you think he would have by now?
With the current offense, a sack virtually means the end of the drive. With Franklin, a sack by the defense would be harder to come by — not only because they’d have less opportunities but because he’d be harder to bring down.
With Franklin, the first down run calls that will apparently never go away can actually be dangerous or at the very least occasionally very productive.
With Franklin, the redzone won’t be as difficult to find sparse spaces to either run to or throw into.
With Franklin, Malzahn can rediscover what is his all-too-obvious comfort zone.
Most importantly, with Franklin, Malzahn has a chance — and from where I’m sitting, it’s his only chance.
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