| FTBL I hate what football has become these days

[TideatMileHigh]

I hate what football has become these days. And no, I don't enjoy watching shitshows like that 3-2 game Auburn had against MSU back in 2008, but holy shit the types of games you see today are an abomination to the game of football.

A good football game was like LSU vs Florida in 2007, or Alabama vs Florida in the 1992 SEC Championship Game, or Super Bowl 13 between Dallas and Pittsburgh. Games like those were suspensful as hell because they featured teams that were capable of scoring on a badass defense or stopping a high octaine offense.

Football today has degenerated into basketball on grass, and it fucking sucks. It doesn't feel special anymore to see a Bama QB (or any QB for that matter) throw for over 300 yards in an epic peformance. It doesn't feel special anymore to see a shootout anymore because they are the rule of the land now. And this is all because of these stupid fucking rules that handcuff the defenses, and while part of it is for player safety, another part of it is because the powers that be want this great game to become basketball on grass.

When the NFL changed the rules to clamp down on defenses going into the 1978 season they set the precident for the clusterfuck Big 12 shit you see today. My question is if they have the balls to fix the mess they've created in today's game? The answer is probably no, because they are a bunch of profit driven pricks who would fuck a bag of nails if it meant a game on the Nielsen Ratings went up two percentage points.

/End Rant.

 

[TerryP]

I hate what football has become these days. And no, I don't enjoy watching shitshows like that 3-2 game Auburn had against MSU back in 2008, but holy shit the types of games you see today are an abomination to the game of football.

I certainly understand your sentiment here. And I'll once again beat the horse here; it's far from dead.

We are nine years and one week removed from Saban asking, "is this what you want football to be?"
We are seven years and six weeks removed from Saban beginning to transform the offense to what it is today; "the football a lot of us don't want to see." Let's not forget, there was a good sized segment of the fan base that wanted a more explosive offense as evidence by so many criticizing the 'game manager' role we saw from the QB position.
We knew what happens to teams, as a whole, when we saw this type of transformation in offensive schemes.

But now, knowing all of this years ago, what's the prevalent reactions among fans? In spite of the game changing, people want to see the 'leather helmets' again.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

I certainly understand your sentiment here. And I'll once again beat the horse here; it's far from dead.

We are nine years and one week removed from Saban asking, "is this what you want football to be?"
We are seven years and six weeks removed from Saban beginning to transform the offense to what it is today; "the football a lot of us don't want to see." Let's not forget, there was a good sized segment of the fan base that wanted a more explosive offense as evidence by so many criticizing the 'game manager' role we saw from the QB position.
We knew what happens to teams, as a whole, when we saw this type of transformation in offensive schemes.

But now, knowing all of this years ago, what's the prevalent reactions among fans? In spite of the game changing, people want to see the 'leather helmets' again.

is it the transformation of the game...or just bad execution and preparation by an inexperienced coordinator..... last year was same....and blamed it on injuries...everyone accepted that.... but this was an awful ...terrible...performance....

reminds me of late 60s whenBEAR got disengaged from program ( somewhat)...

the talent appears to bethere....on this D unit...
But they are out of position.... dont tackle...line up incorrectly...lose receivers....
Thats not "the game" thats bama D

 

[mando]

The game of fundamentals has not changed. Tackle, hold your gap, communicate and simply do your job. There is only so much of "the game has changed" excuse will take you. It explains some of what we saw last night but not all. Be better at doing your job with technique and you will not see the pathetic display we saw last night. Could they still have scored 30 points, maybe. In another thread I said Kiffin is a hard prep for sure but when you do not have these fundamentals they get exposed big time as they did last night. Probably not another offense they will play that will be as difficult from a prep but they will have to improve greatly at the basics but that has been an issue going on 2 years now.

We have a systemic issue that is on Saban to fix - Recruiting? Coaching? Scheme? I personally do not think it is Scheme but what do I know. I do think we have missed some on recruits but I think a BIG part is also coaching. May take the off season to solve these problems. Hope I am wrong and just overreacting but doubt it.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

The game of fundamentals has not changed. Tackle, hold your gap, communicate and simply do your job. There is only so much of "the game has changed" excuse will take you. It explains some of what we saw last night but not all. Be better at doing your job with technique and you will not see the pathetic display we saw last night. Could they still have scored 30 points, maybe. In another thread I said Kiffin is a hard prep for sure but when you do not have these fundamentals they get exposed big time as they did last night. Probably not another offense they will play that will be as difficult from a prep but they will have to improve greatly at the basics but that has been an issue going on 2 years now.

We have a systemic issue that is on Saban to fix - Recruiting? Coaching? Scheme? I personally do not think it is Scheme but what do I know. I do think we have missed some on recruits but I think a BIG part is also coaching. May take the off season to solve these problems. Hope I am wrong and just overreacting but doubt it.

hopefully....its going to start a change come Monday morning...

 

[Tidestalker]

We have a systemic issue that is on Saban to fix - Recruiting? Coaching? Scheme? I personally do not think it is Scheme but what do I know.

It's not recruiting....

 

[BAMAneck]

They need to tighten up the O lineman down field rule to 1 yard like in the NFL or else defense’s will never be able to be consistent unless they play a team who doesn’t use the RPO in their offense. right now defenses are being asked not to read their keys or believe their lying eyes .....

 

[rammerjammer]

They need to tighten up the O lineman down field rule to 1 yard like in the NFL or else defense’s will never be able to be consistent unless they play a team who doesn’t use the RPO in their offense. right now defenses are being asked not to read their keys or believe their lying eyes .....

I have been beating this drum for years.......it would swing the advantage back to the defense a little bit and help even things out. I think if this were to happen, you would see the HUNH start to cycle out and we see football start to swing back to a traditional style of play......pro set, power I, wishbone. Something old school with a new twist of some sort.

 

[TerryP]

The game of fundamentals has not changed. Tackle, hold your gap, communicate and simply do your job. There is only so much of "the game has changed" excuse will take you. It explains some of what we saw last night but not all. Be better at doing your job with technique and you will not see the pathetic display we saw last night. Could they still have scored 30 points, maybe. In another thread I said Kiffin is a hard prep for sure but when you do not have these fundamentals they get exposed big time as they did last night. Probably not another offense they will play that will be as difficult from a prep but they will have to improve greatly at the basics but that has been an issue going on 2 years now.

We have a systemic issue that is on Saban to fix - Recruiting? Coaching? Scheme? I personally do not think it is Scheme but what do I know. I do think we have missed some on recruits but I think a BIG part is also coaching. May take the off season to solve these problems. Hope I am wrong and just overreacting but doubt it.

Interesting post because of what it leads to here.

One thing few consider here is what we've seen since 2007. Saban's defense has always had issues covering a running back, tight end, or wide receiver going into the middle against linebackers. How badly were guys like Sunseri roasted by fans when they lost coverage (and he was a defensive back?) It's always been a weakness of this defensive scheme. Yet, several years ago we didn't see the offenses of today's games. Now, we are seeing in almost weekly in a conference that's had quite a few run the 3-4, over/under scheme on defense.

Now I see you mentioning scheme. I've been pointing to that for two years now while others have pointed to a position coach.

This is basic, simple, logical reasoning to me here. It starts with a simple question. Did Saban bring Golding in to implement Pete's system or to run Saban's? The answer is the latter.

Saban saw the game was changing eight and nine years ago. He brought in Kiffin and Locks to implement the changes on offense so Bama could move into "today's game." They are there.

He has not brought in any new changes on defense. It's basically the same scheme, with a few tweaks in personnel traits.

I don't expect few, if any, to step back and look at all of this. It's no different than the "Fire Bobby Williams" threads when they were running? You got it, Saban's special teams playbook.

 

[UAgrad93]

I expected Ole Piss to put 30-35 points on the board. We all know what Lane was capable of and his knowing the nuances of our defense from head to head battles every day in practice. For me, what is the most frustrating is the missed tackles and missed assignments. Numerous times, we have seen guys flying to the ball, but be out of control and miss a tackle. I can live with being in position and a guy just being better. What I can’t stand is blown assignments and being out of position.

 

[TerryP]

I expected Ole Piss to put 30-35 points on the board.

As did I. What I didn't expect was to see so many elements of Art Briles offense integrated into what Kiffin is doing. His experience with Kendall has meant a great deal to his ability calling plays: better now than it was five years ago.

 

[TideatMileHigh]

I expected Ole Piss to put 30-35 points on the board. We all know what Lane was capable of and his knowing the nuances of our defense from head to head battles every day in practice. For me, what is the most frustrating is the missed tackles and missed assignments. Numerous times, we have seen guys flying to the ball, but be out of control and miss a tackle. I can live with being in position and a guy just being better. What I can’t stand is blown assignments and being out of position.

The missed tackles is what kills me. From 2008-2013, if one of our defensive players met you in the field, they were bringing your ass down no exception. These days it looks like our defensive players are trying to tackle offensive players coated in pam.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

As did I. What I didn't expect was to see so many elements of Art Briles offense integrated into what Kiffin is doing. His experience with Kendall has meant a great deal to his ability calling plays: better now than it was five years ago.

o what the hell...just blame it on :
A...stealing signals
B...covid
C..injuries
D...the draft
E...Trump

..pick any 2...

 

[Tidestalker]

He has not brought in any new changes on defense. It's basically the same scheme, with a few tweaks in personnel traits.

I don't expect few, if any, to step back and look at all of this. It's no different than the "Fire Bobby Williams" threads when they were running? You got it, Saban's special teams playbook.

Good points in your post... Which brings me to a question.

If the DC is simply doing what Saban wants him to do, how important is he? Obviously he's going to have the positional responsibilities... But if he's not really implementing anything, has little say in the "calls" and/or "scheme", what does it matter if he's fired or not?

 

[TerryP]

o what the hell...just blame it on :
A...stealing signals
B...covid
C..injuries
D...the draft
E...Trump

..pick any 2...

Oh geez. Some choose to blame, others acknowledge a job well done even if it is from an opposing coach, coaching staff, or player(s.)

It's quite clear Kiffin has matured with his offensive approach.

 

[TerryP]

If the DC is simply doing what Saban wants him to do, how important is he? Obviously he's going to have the positional responsibilities... But if he's not really implementing anything, has little say in the "calls" and/or "scheme", what does it matter if he's fired or not?

The "calls" aspect certainly comes into play. A lot of those are 'rehearsed,' as the week goes on leading up to game day covering things like down, distance, set, etc. At the speed in which Ole Miss was calling and running plays yesterday I have no reason to think Kirby, Boom, Pruitt, or any others would have slowed down that offense. Hell, Grantham is a fairly respected DC and he didn't have any answers.

I know Saban is pleased with what CPG brings in recruiting. It's another "responsibility" considered in retention. And speaking of retention that was weighing heavily on Saban's mind due to the past two seasons.

You're asking a question only one person can answer completely. I can only speculate based on what I've learned about CNS.

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

The Bama game starts at 5 on the SEC network.....take another look

Bama has no Bell Cow on defense. #31 has the most potential of all those with their hand in the dirt but he is trying to find his way. He has more hustle than any of them. 18,57,48,92,4 are all average. 58 is a loose cannon but he does make shit happen. He is a threat to their team and ours.

 

[Tidestalker]

The "calls" aspect certainly comes into play. A lot of those are 'rehearsed,' as the week goes on leading up to game day covering things like down, distance, set, etc. At the speed in which Ole Miss was calling and running plays yesterday I have no reason to think Kirby, Boom, Pruitt, or any others would have slowed down that offense. Hell, Grantham is a fairly respected DC and he didn't have any answers.

I know Saban is pleased with what CPG brings in recruiting. It's another "responsibility" considered in retention. And speaking of retention that was weighing heavily on Saban's mind due to the past two seasons.

You're asking a question only one person can answer completely. I can only speculate based on what I've learned about CNS.

You've answered it really well! And I ask because you know the program as well as anyone not employed there... Which we all appreciate. Every staff and management style is different (in every aspect of life & work), and I've always figured Saban was pretty stingy with his leash. But just like every other staff, some guys get more and some guys get less... And since he was brought back, I would assume he would be trusted with a little more.

In regards to recruiting, there can't be any complaints. When you're in the top 3 it's hard to go up. We have tons of talent. In the same fashion, Tosh Lupoi was really good at that also... And found himself elsewhere quickly after a down year with Saban's "scheme". Didn't we later find out Goulding was making the "calls" in the latter part of that season as well? Eesh.

Your greatest insight and point, IMO, is simply the retention aspect. I can imagine how sick CNS was of replacing assistants which gave a little leeway in that regard.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Oh geez. Some choose to blame, others acknowledge a job well done even if it is from an opposing coach, coaching staff, or player(s.)

It's quite clear Kiffin has matured with his offensive approach.

@Tidestalker
Time will tell....if u likethe D performance...hats off to you....
Ifyou think the STs coach does a great job...hats off to you...
If you think nick is telling everyone what todo and micromanaging every thing...including multi million dollr coaches responsibility.. so be it...
If youthink kiffin is that great....that he can produce such a great Offense that includes having a Bama D out of position....creating poor execution...including awful tackling....hates off to you....

personall...when i see a problem...i look for issues...
Just blame it on Covid..or Trump.......12 men on field ....is ok i guess...and losing a big...no hugh tradition game....by having wrong nmber of players on field.....is ok....giving up
600 yards vs a D..to a bottom of conference dweller....thats ok too...

i was just expressing my....thoughts....

 

[Tidestalker]

@Tidestalker
Time will tell....if u likethe D performance...hats off to you....
Ifyou think the STs coach does a great job...hats off to you...
If you think nick is telling everyone what todo and micromanaging every thing...including multi million dollr coaches responsibility.. so be it...
If youthink kiffin is that great....that he can produce such a great Offense that includes having a Bama D out of position....creating poor execution...including awful tackling....hates off to you....

personall...when i see a problem...i look for issues...
Just blame it on Covid..or Trump.......12 men on field ....is ok i guess...and losing a big...no hugh tradition game....by having wrong nmber of players on field.....is ok....giving up
600 yards vs a D..to a bottom of conference dweller....thats ok too...

i was just expressing my....thoughts....

I thin you meant @TerryP , but I appreciate the shoutout nonetheless!