| GAME THREAD 🏈 Auburn vs Alabama 🏈 ~ Alabama Downs Auburn, 49-27, for Third-Straight Iron Bowl Victory

[rick4bama]

Already posting about the game! A very sweet lady from church.

War Eagle! I am proud that Auburn did not give up but kept fighting!

 

[PurlJam]

The entire playoff structure is manufactured.... based on ridiculous untangleable standards and "gut feelings"... stuff I wouldn't use to choose puppy at dog shelter. LOL. Coupled by the fact that anything can happen in football...there's no way anyone can say Bama doesn't belong much less say they wouldn't have a chance. The very level of skilled players and coaching absolutely verifies their eligibility and odds of winning.

Which skill level players are you referencing...which go to receiver, which game changer on defense, which coordinator making game changing play calls/schemes? Kudos to your confidence in their abilities, I dont see or have that same confidence. Of course all my opinion and I'm definitely no guru, but also IMO, we just dont have that "it" factor this year.

 

[94 Grad]

I really don’t think we want to see this team in the playoff. That would be total embarrassment

I’d rather see this team play in and win/lose in a playoff game than some meaningless bowl game where we will have zero fire to play some rank-ass team that has every reason to want to beat us…

 

[BamaFisher]

Did it seem to anyone else the sideline reporter at the end of the game was baiting Saban to drop a juicy sound bite and when he wasn’t giving it to her, he tried to bait Young into one?

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Did it seem to anyone else the sideline reporter at the end of the game was baiting Saban to drop a juicy sound bite and when he wasn’t giving it to her, he tried to bait Young into one?

She definitely was with Young, trying to get him to give CBS some news which he was never going to do. In possible fairness to her, many of those women are told what to ask....

 

[Sgt. Lincoln Osiris]

If USC loses tonight....... maybe we could sneak in judges realizing the 2 games we lost were both slim loses on the last plays. Maybe?

No.

 

[PurlJam]

I’d rather see this team play in and win/lose in a playoff game than some meaningless bowl game where we will have zero fire to play some rank-ass team that has every reason to want to beat us…

I understand what you're saying, but I believe you should earn it and IMO this team has not.

 

[Secondand26]

I understand what you're saying, but I believe you should earn it and IMO this team has not.

I agree with you about earning it, but has Clemson, Oklahoma, ND, others always earned it?
I still say the gnashing of teeth would be great if we got in.

 

[mando]

Those two stats highlight this years team.

 

[bamafan9201]

I believe Will Anderson ended the entire year without a single hold called against an O-lineman guarding him. That's impressive by opposing teams Oline.

 

[rick4bama]

I believe Will Anderson ended the entire year without a single hold called against an O-lineman guarding him. That's impressive by opposing teams Oline.

How many got away from holding him?

 

[Davestwin]

In his press conference tonight, Saban got all over us fans who have been critical of this year’s team but admitted that criticism is what drove the team to come together and play better. Something had to wake this team up. We kept thinking each week they would come around. First with the Texas close call then again with the close call with A&M and then for sure following the loss to the vile’s but nothing changed. So, Saban and the players may not like the fans who’ve been critical but the Bama fan base and their high expectations is a huge part of why Bama has been so successful for so many decades. No other program comes even close to having won NC’s in nine of eleven decades. Auburn fans for example are happy as long as their team beats Bama. Georgia fans are happy as long as their team wins a NC every 40+ years. Bama fans expect championships every year and aren’t satisfied with anything less. Does that create a lot of pressure on the coaches and the players? You bet it does but that pressure and those expectations form the culture that’s Alabama football. Yankees fans aren’t happy unless their team wins the WS. It absolutely creates a lot of pressure on their coaches and the players but that’s also their culture. Now, I know Saban’s thin skinned and takes the criticism personally but he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the job. Just as he knew when he signed all of the extensions and accepted all of the raises making him the highest paid coach in the game year after year … and deservedly so. Though it’s not just us fans who’ve been critical this season … many former players have been critical too. Like us, they can see there’s something that’s been missing from this team. Is it the coordinators? Is it the players? Is it Saban? It’s probably a combination of all three. Regardless, it all falls on the man making the Big Bucks. Now, it’s understandable that he doesn’t like being criticized but unlike Coach Bryant, he rarely takes responsibility. That’s OK as long as he figures out what has happened and makes the moves to correct those deficiencies. And now’s the time … Bama could back into the playoffs this season and win another NC. They’ve backed in before and won it all. If that happens we fans will have played a part in it.

 

[94 Grad]

I understand what you're saying, but I believe you should earn it and IMO this team has not.

How many 4th seeds have “earned it”?!? In all honestly I’ve never liked the 4 team format it should just be too 2 if you ask me… but that $$$ keeps on singing.

 

[PurlJam]

I agree with you about earning it, but has Clemson, Oklahoma, ND, others always earned it?
I still say the gnashing of teeth would be great if we got in.

How many 4th seeds have “earned it”?!? In all honestly I’ve never liked the 4 team format it should just be too 2 if you ask me… but that $$$ keeps on singing.

Think its about to be 8.

 

[MunchyOs]

Beating the barn never hurts. Especially considering what a thorn in the side they’ve been. Between the end of the Bryant era and the beginning of the Saban era, we had one streak of 3 wins over them, 1990-1992. Outside of that, we were doing good to beat them every other year. Saban has now had two 3 game win streaks against them in less than a decade and has won 11 out of 15 since ending their 6 game streak. Dare I say…did they finally play a complete game yesterda?

 

[mando]

Dare I say…did they finally play a complete game yesterda?

Bama? Not even close. See 27 points and giving up 350+ yards rushing and 11 penalties.

 

[Scrape&Search1032]

The safety is supposed to give help but was late getting over and Branchwas slowed down by the WR and slot slants to the middle. Wheel route was open.

Going back and watching the film, I was wrong about the safety play. Than ran two shallow routes meant to clear out the two DB's while making pretty much a pick play on Branch, that's one reason why he was late getting in his man. The post safety has all areas of the field since we were in cover 1. He still gets the deepest receiver, but aside from the Touchdown recipient, they all ran short underneath routes, so that wasn't the reason he was late getting over, good eye. Be ready it right, just didn't react fast enough. Seemingly our problem all year.

 

[BamaFan334]

In his press conference tonight, Saban got all over us fans who have been critical of this year’s team but admitted that criticism is what drove the team to come together and play better. Something had to wake this team up. We kept thinking each week they would come around. First with the Texas close call then again with the close call with A&M and then for sure following the loss to the vile’s but nothing changed. So, Saban and the players may not like the fans who’ve been critical but the Bama fan base and their high expectations is a huge part of why Bama has been so successful for so many decades. No other program comes even close to having won NC’s in nine of eleven decades. Auburn fans for example are happy as long as their team beats Bama. Georgia fans are happy as long as their team wins a NC every 40+ years. Bama fans expect championships every year and aren’t satisfied with anything less. Does that create a lot of pressure on the coaches and the players? You bet it does but that pressure and those expectations form the culture that’s Alabama football. Yankees fans aren’t happy unless their team wins the WS. It absolutely creates a lot of pressure on their coaches and the players but that’s also their culture. Now, I know Saban’s thin skinned and takes the criticism personally but he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the job. Just as he knew when he signed all of the extensions and accepted all of the raises making him the highest paid coach in the game year after year … and deservedly so. Though it’s not just us fans who’ve been critical this season … many former players have been critical too. Like us, they can see there’s something that’s been missing from this team. Is it the coordinators? Is it the players? Is it Saban? It’s probably a combination of all three. Regardless, it all falls on the man making the Big Bucks. Now, it’s understandable that he doesn’t like being criticized but unlike Coach Bryant, he rarely takes responsibility. That’s OK as long as he figures out what has happened and makes the moves to correct those deficiencies. And now’s the time … Bama could back into the playoffs this season and win another NC. They’ve backed in before and won it all. If that happens we fans will have played a part in it.

Why is it the fans responsibility and criticism that got these guys motivated? We still gave up a ton of yardage to a team that wasn't that good, rivalry or not. I get Saban creating a narrative, but it doesn't fit here. You better look internally if you're going to blame/praise the fans for their crticisms. That's a million opinions versus a handful I'm afraid. What are they seeing that you aren't, and vice versa?

 

[BamaFan334]

Going back and watching the film, I was wrong about the safety play. Than ran two shallow routes meant to clear out the two DB's while making pretty much a pick play on Branch, that's one reason why he was late getting in his man. The post safety has all areas of the field since we were in cover 1. He still gets the deepest receiver, but aside from the Touchdown recipient, they all ran short underneath routes, so that wasn't the reason he was late getting over, good eye. Be ready it right, just didn't react fast enough. Seemingly our problem all year.

We put so much on Branch it's unreal. The one thing I questioned about that wheel route for the touchdown was he has to know that play isn't developing in the flat and it is a deeper pass, so him getting taken out by the pick has to change his attack angle (the back never turned his head for the ball, so you know it's not a flat route). He came up and it caused him to be late instead of getting deep and cutting the route off. Especially with as little room as that play could have taken place in that back corner, we gotta be smarter and understand where we are. It was a hell of a throw by Ashford though. Had to be on the money and it was.