It appears a lot of Auburn fans have been ranting recently in favor of benching junior quarterback Barrett Trotter.
Who should play then? True freshman Kiehl Frazier, of course.
What's new, though? If Auburn isn't undefeated, fans want a different quarterback.
Jason Campbell helped Auburn find its way to 13-0 in 2004. Then, Brandon Cox, Kodi Burns and Chris Todd took snaps until Cam Newton arrived and changed the way any Tigers fan watches the game.
Burns clearly was not a quarterback, and with him as the primary starter, Auburn went 5-7. Remember that year?
Todd did just enough to get by in coach Gene Chizik's first year. With offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's offense and the personnel surrounding him on the field, he did all he needed to.
Auburn fans want a quick fix, and it doesn't stop with quarterbacks.
The firing of Tony Franklin midway through the 2008 season was the first example. Despite the offensive coordinator getting the appropriate blame for the unsuccessful offense, the team continued to struggle the remainder of the season. How should the Athletic Department handle that? Fire the head coach.
Despite everyone being happy with Chizik's almost-instant national championship, it only reinforced the logic that Tuberville's fire was the right way to handle the situation.
But back to the quarterback situation.
Benching Trotter would work, except there's one major problem: there's no one better to play the position.
I knew fans would want Frazier to start because his playing style is comparable to Newton's. Frazier just doesn't have two national championships, a Heisman Trophy or a collegiate start to his name.
Frazier's playing time substantially increased against Arkansas, but his actual play did not.
This season Frazier has completed two of only four pass attempts for 18 total yards. He also has two interceptions under his belt. His efficiency rating is -9.76.
And while Frazier has 135 yards on 26 attempts on the ground, Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb both still average more per carry than the freshman.
Despite Frazier's effectiveness on the ground--especially on third-and-short situations--and Trotter's virtual lack of mobility in the pocket, passing is the element that a quarterback must have. Frazier doesn't have that ... yet.
Meanwhile, Trotter has a 126.73 rating, as he's completed 79 of 141 passes for 976 yards, averaging 162.7 yards a game. He has nine touchdowns outweighing six interceptions.
He's our quarterback. Just be happy his name isn't Stephen Garcia.
Coming into the season, it was known the team wouldn't be able to live up to the success of last year's team. Most admitted 2011 would be a rebuilding season.
But at some point, many fans forgot that. To be sitting at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the hardest conference in the nation heading into the season stretch is better than any football-savvy person expected Auburn to be after the Utah State game.
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