Auburn Daily’s Lance Dawe doesn’t believe Hugh Freeze’s words during press conferences aren’t matching the actions of his Auburn football program on the field — taking a stand against the Oxford, Mississippi native’s criticisms of the offense’s insistence on an ineffective two-way system between Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford.
“Freeze’s words don’t seem to match the product on the field,” Dawe prefaced before saying, “While he says he’s not content with the current state of the offense, Auburn hasn’t changed anything.
“Outside of starting receiver rotation, the play calling is the same. The tempo is the same. The execution is the same. The anemic offense offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery and Hugh Freeze possess has not seemed to differ much at all throughout the course of the season.”
Hugh Freeze on Auburn football offense: ‘I’m not content with anything’
Freeze gave a scathing review of the offense on October 23, prompting Dawe to question what the incentive was to say one thing and do another as the Tigers remain winless in SEC play.
“Whatever our offensive staff convinces me is the best chance to win us a game,” Freeze said. “I’ve said from day one that I think Robby (Ashford) has a place. Is his place every down? We’ll see this week. If it’s a package that enables us to continue drives, we always have to look at those things right now with the current state of kind of who we are […] I’m not content with anything right now offensively, so.”
Is the publically stated unhappiness with the offense just a front to make offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery the fall guy? A five-game losing streak and 0-5 conference record feels like a reason to make a significant change to the coaching staff.
Cadillac Williams filling in on an interim basis as the calendar turns to November is something that has worked before; something to consider for Freeze as he continues to be at odds with how the offense is run.