Byrum Brown's Seven Sacks Against Florida Don't Tell the Whole Story

Byrum Brown finished the Auburn Tigers 44-39 loss to Florida with 271 passing yards and 65 net rushing yards.

And if you only looked at those numbers, you might think Brown had a pretty good night.

But I don't think it's quite that simple.

Brown started the game 0-for-5 passing with an interception, and Auburn finished the first quarter with minus-3 yards of total offense.

That's a difficult way to start an SEC football game.

And although Brown eventually found his rhythm, the Tigers spent much of the night trying to overcome that start.

Alex Golesh took responsibility for it afterward.

"I got to do a better job giving him an opportunity to go get going," Golesh said.

That's important, because I don't think everything that went wrong offensively was Brown's fault.

But I also don't think Auburn's seven sacks tell the entire story about its offensive line.

It appeared initially that Auburn's offensive line actually looked better for portions of the game than it had during the first two weeks, and also that Byrum Brown was holding onto the football too long on some of those sacks.

That appeared to be true.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Byrum Brown is taking longer to throw than any other starter in the SEC.

And with the revolving door with the questionable offensive line, and the talented defensive fronts inside this conference, that is not a stat you want to lead in.

Now, there's a pretty significant difference between an offensive lineman getting beaten immediately and a quarterback holding the football until the protection breaks down.

Both can result in a sack, but they aren't necessarily the same problem. This is something both Alex Golesh and Joel Gordon will need to work to adjust before the Tigers take the field again on Saturday against Vanderbilt.

Brown also showed why Auburn needs him to be more involved in the running game.

His ability to extend plays and create yards with his legs became increasingly important as the game went on.

And honestly, I would have liked to see more of that earlier.

Auburn struggled to establish its running backs against Florida, which put even more pressure on Brown to create something offensively.

But by the time Auburn started putting together consistent scoring drives, Florida had already built a substantial lead.

The Tigers scored 14 points in the final 6:20, and Brown deserves credit for continuing to fight.

Still, I think it's fair to question how much those late numbers tell us about his overall performance.

Brown made some impressive plays, but he also missed opportunities and struggled to get Auburn going early.

The offensive line had its problems, too.

But before putting all seven sacks on that group, Brown deserves some of the blame as well.

Regardless, Auburn needs better protection, better decisions from Brown, and a better plan for getting its quarterback into rhythm.