| FTBL 🏈 Spring Practice - 2019 : A few names are emerging as leaders

[TUSKtimes]

As to your "intellectual dexterity" comment on those two. If the breakdown happens from the booth to the sideline, are you going to fault the last in the chain?

I recall distinctly coach Saban telling the press that Mack Wilson was struggling with offensives changing formations and getting the right calls to his teammates. I don't blame Wilson, personally, I put the blame where it ultimately belongs, on the coaches. Even if Wilson was over his head, it's up to the men in charge to make it happen.

Golding has a lot to prove based on on-field results. And Jeff Banks and his COY award also need to tightnen it up. It's surreal to me that these are almost the last 2 coaches standing in our latest purging.

 

[TerryP]

I've also read a few articles that stated that Golding actually called the plays on defense last year.

Saban telling the press that Mack Wilson was struggling with offensives changing formations

That's twice in this thread you've referred to something I haven't seen. One, articles talking about Golding calling the plays. I've seen it on message forums, but never seen it in an article.

Secondly, Saban telling the press Mack was struggling with offensive changing formations. I've not seen or heard him say anything along those lines. But, I've seen it mentioned on fan sites.

I could have easily missed both. However, considering what floats across the site here for news from our bots...sure seems likely I would have caught an article like these.

You're right. It ultimately does fall back on the coaching staff. And, we've seen those repercussions. Where's Tosh?

Golding has a lot to prove based on on-field results.

That's such a dichotomy versus "they have to give Tosh a shot at the DC role because if they don't, someone else will hire him." The latter, unproven but given leeway. The former, Golding, with no leeway at all.

 

[TerryP]

My feelings on Sark aren't a secret, man. It is so pointless to get into that debate again. You know I think he is a terrible play caller.

It isn't a debate I'm looking for, Josh. It's an explanation on why you feel that way. There are no feelings in football His resume doesn't reflect a reason to dislike his play calling.

 

[TUSKtimes]

hat's twice in this thread you've referred to something I haven't seen. One, articles talking about Golding calling the plays. I've seen it on message forums, but never seen it in an article.

"After some early struggles during the season, Saban stripped Lupoi of defensive play-calling responsibilities and handed them over to co-defensive coordinator Pete Golding, according to sources."
Why Tosh Lupoi leaving Alabama was long expected - al.com

n message forums, but never seen it in an article.

Secondly, Saban telling the press Mack was struggling with offensive changing formations. I've not seen or heard him say anything along those lines. But, I've seen it mentioned on fan sites.

To begin with, Mack Wilson discussed this problem specifically himself, a number of times, beginning with the Louisville game and went into more problems he was having with communications after the Arkansas game. Coach Saban discussed these communication issues, beginning with Louisville. In that Wilson and Thompson called signals, who was he speaking about?

Mack Wilson after the Lousiville game:
“I was confident going into this game (but) I feel like they did some things that we didn't go over and I was kind of like 'What should I call?' or whatever,” Wilson added, “but I made a call and we were on the same page and we kinda executed that play. Of course, it probably wasn't (always) the right call, but at least we ran something."

Coach Saban:
“Louisville present(ed) a lot of multiples so it was a difficult game, especially (in the) first game, not knowing exactly what they were going to do,” Saban said. “The good news is when we did it correctly, we had good success. Most of the errors that we made are very correctable things. I think if the players have the right attitude — (be it) Mack or anyone else — about correcting these things, that will help us with growth.”

Communication still a work-in-progress for Alabama's inexperienced ...

Manning the all-important Mike middle linebacker spot in Alabama’s defense, Wilson is responsible for disseminating the defensive call before each play, determining any necessary on-field adjustments and then making sure all 10 of his defensive teammates are in the best possible position to properly execute the play.

“The challenging part is not knowing what’s coming, like not knowing what you’re supposed to check, like not knowing what play you can expect to come," the junior from Montgomery said last month. "Basically, it’s just trying to communicate with everybody on the field, (and) I’ve got to set the defensive line, then I’ve got to make sure the guys behind me got the call, so it’s definitely challenging.

“And sometimes I lose my voice because I’m trying to make sure all of us are on the same page, and that’s something I take pride in, also.”

Of course, if the defensive play-caller is unsure of what to do on any given situation, the entire defensive plan can easily fall apart. Which is why, following a disappointing personal performance in a 65-31 win over Arkansas, Wilson rededicated himself to extra film study and understanding every facet of his job.
Improved communication helping Alabama defense get on same page

That's such a dichotomy versus "they have to give Tosh a shot at the DC role because if they don't, someone else will hire him." The latter, unproven but given leeway. The former, Golding, with no leeway at all.

The defensive issue, most of last season is communication or lack thereof. It most certainly involved Lupoi, Golding, Mack Wilson. And it most certainly was a big reason we lost vs Clemson in the NC. The benefit of the doubt has already been extended to Golding, in that "sources" say he was calling defensive plays and he got a promotion to "the" DC of Alabama for next season. That is why I asked you if you knew who was calling plays. For me, it's particularly concerning because Pete Golding is also the ILBer coach and we struggled at the position as well.

He doesn't need to be defended, from my perspective, he just needs to show last season was a defensive anomaly.

 

[JoshB]

It isn't a debate I'm looking for, Josh. It's an explanation on why you feel that way. There are no feelings in football His resume doesn't reflect a reason to dislike his play calling.

You've clearly never watched the Falcons play under him.

 

[Tidestalker]

Tusk

1. Sounds like Tosh was the D play caller vs Louisville... Which was the first game of the year, against a pretty good O coach with all off season to prepare. So not sure that is a negative on Golding

2. The Clemson game most def falls more on Golding than Tosh if that article is correct

3. I agree he's got a lot to prove.... Especially as the LB coach. Wasn't impressed with many facets of last year's D except Q Williams and some of the DL play (Did the DL position coach get the most out of his position last year on D?)

4. Good read on the articles, thanks for sighting. I missed a lot of that stuff during and post season! RTR

 

[TUSKtimes]

Ale Kaho will be back ‘real soon’ for Alabama

 

[TerryP]

You've clearly never watched the Falcons play under him.

That's true. But wasn't one of those offenses ranked in the top 10 (#6, maybe) in the league?

I've also clearly stated that success in the NFL is seldom equatable to success in the collegiate levels. How often have we seen success from coaches in both scenarios? Not very.

It seems so simple to me to avoid using those comparisons, Josh. And, we can set aside coaching acumen and it continues. The field isn't the same. The rules aren't the same. The field goal posts are the same. It's all under "football," but so is soccer.

This reminds me so much of people hatin' on Kiff when he was hired all the while ignoring what he did at USC. Or for that matter, UT.

But hell, you don't like his play calling while Saban has complimented the same thing.

My opinion? Continue on your course with all fervor. A word of caution along with that.

Don't cling to a mistake because you've spent a lot of time making it.

 

[JoshB]

That's true. But wasn't one of those offenses ranked in the top 10 (#6, maybe) in the league?

I've also clearly stated that success in the NFL is seldom equatable to success in the collegiate levels. How often have we seen success from coaches in both scenarios? Not very.

It seems so simple to me to avoid using those comparisons, Josh. And, we can set aside coaching acumen and it continues. The field isn't the same. The rules aren't the same. The field goal posts are the same. It's all under "football," but so is soccer.

This reminds me so much of people hatin' on Kiff when he was hired all the while ignoring what he did at USC. Or for that matter, UT.

But hell, you don't like his play calling while Saban has complimented the same thing.

My opinion? Continue on your course with all fervor. A word of caution along with that.

Don't cling to a mistake because you've spent a lot of time making it.

I'm not sure what the rankings were but look at the talent that was there. There were many times where the entire second half was just Matt Ryan chunking it up to Julio in desperation because they were down by 14-20 points. Part of that was defense but part of that was how inconsistent the offense was for the majority of the game. His play calling in the red zone was absolutely repugnant. I think we were all the way to like Week 7 before he felt it was a good idea to try and utilize Julio in the red-zone. He outthinks himself constantly and has an absolute lack of consistency with his game plans or play calling would be by best description.

Okay, use his college resume. What did he do in college that set the world on fire? Coach a super mediocre USC team? Call a really bad game in the national championship? Yippe.

What fervor do I have? Am I writing weekly columns about what a dirtbag and crappy play caller Sark is? Am I going on Twitter rants about it every day? This is the first time I even brought him up since right after he was hired. You're the one clinging to it. You couldn't just go with the agree to disagree and just let me have my opinion on it. So what if my opinion is wrong? You know just as well as anyone else that if Sark comes out and looks like a genius playcaller I'll be one of the first ones to cheer him on and admit that I was wrong.

 

[TerryP]

Okay, use his college resume. What did he do in college that set the world on fire? Coach a super mediocre USC team? Call a really bad game in the national championship? Yippe.

USC HC record: .750 (12-6) in the later stages of their rebuild.
USC record as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach: .885 (46-6) And that situation is the closest we can compare a team to Bama, wouldn't you agree?

I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. If Saban thought he was calling a crappy NC game, why didn't he say or do something about his calls? After all, they were in fairly close proximity (if we consider standing next to each other fits that description.)

What fervor do I have? Am I writing weekly columns about what a dirtbag and crappy play caller Sark is? Am I going on Twitter rants about it every day? This is the first time I even brought him up since right after he was hired. You're the one clinging to it. You couldn't just go with the agree to disagree and just let me have my opinion on it. So what if my opinion is wrong? You know just as well as anyone else that if Sark comes out and looks like a genius playcaller I'll be one of the first ones to cheer him on and admit that I was wrong

I have no idea what you do on Twitter. No clue as to your username. I've no clue what you're columns are about.

It's not a matter of whether your opinion is right or wrong. It's your opinion. What I'm driving at is the reasoning behind your opinion. It's that very reasoning you're drawing your opinion from. I see it as faulty and I'm just trying to follow along.

 

[TerryP]

@TUSKtimes it took some time and effort to compile that.

 

[TUSKtimes]

@TUSKtimes it took some time and effort to compile that.

If I read it, somewhere, most of the time I'm getting back. As far as compiling it in logical order, that's just the things I'm willing to do for you.

 

[94 Grad]

That's true. But wasn't one of those offenses ranked in the top 10 (#6, maybe) in the league?

They were ranked 10th last year in points and 6th in yardage. ATL's issues were not offensive, it was defensive. We gave up a shit ton of points last year, which put the offense behind for way too many games. There were some questionable play calls for sure, but I don't find that out of the norm for any team... it happens. Hell, Saban's fake FG in the NC game was questionable for sure... but I wouldn't trade him for any other coach.

I've also clearly stated that success in the NFL is seldom equatable to success in the collegiate levels. How often have we seen success from coaches in both scenarios? Not very.

It seems so simple to me to avoid using those comparisons, Josh. And, we can set aside coaching acumen and it continues. The field isn't the same. The rules aren't the same. The field goal posts are the same. It's all under "football," but so is soccer.

I was going to say that calling plays in the NFL will be completely different than in the NCAA. There are much more "disparities" in talent from team to team to scheme against in the NCAA, not so much in the NFL.

I can say for me personally, I am not on Team Sark yet... I'll wait until I see him in action. I would have preferred a different hire, but I also trust that Saban knows what he is doing and has a better feel for what this team needs and what Sark can bring.

 

[JoshB]

They were ranked 10th last year in points and 6th in yardage. ATL's issues were not offensive, it was defensive. We gave up a shit ton of points last year, which put the offense behind for way too many games. There were some questionable play calls for sure, but I don't find that out of the norm for any team... it happens. Hell, Saban's fake FG in the NC game was questionable for sure... but I wouldn't trade him for any other coach.

I was going to say that calling plays in the NFL will be completely different than in the NCAA. There are much more "disparities" in talent from team to team to scheme against in the NCAA, not so much in the NFL.

I can say for me personally, I am not on Team Sark yet... I'll wait until I see him in action. I would have preferred a different hire, but I also trust that Saban knows what he is doing and has a better feel for what this team needs and what Sark can bring.

Offense was very much one of Atlanta's issues, especially the running game and in the red one...

Your last comment is pretty much what I've said from the beginning. I do not like the hire. Period. Terry has asked me several times why and I keep saying why and he just continues on with it. I'm perfectly fine with the wait and see approach but I'm not going to just say "okay fine, I like the hire now" for virtually no reason. I dont. I wont until I see the success on the field. I dont think that is unfair at all. I also dont have to think Saban is infallible and never makes a mistake.

 

[94 Grad]

Offense was very much one of Atlanta's issues, especially the running game and in the red one...

Your last comment is pretty much what I've said from the beginning. I do not like the hire. Period. Terry has asked me several times why and I keep saying why and he just continues on with it. I'm perfectly fine with the wait and see approach but I'm not going to just say "okay fine, I like the hire now" for virtually no reason. I dont. I wont until I see the success on the field. I dont think that is unfair at all. I also dont have to think Saban is infallible and never makes a mistake.

As a note, ATL was ranked 10th in RedZone offense at 64% which was up from the prior year at 49%... so that wasn't the issue.

The run game was pretty poor, in my opinion, but injuries played a pretty big role all year long in that area.

As a note, points per game were up to 25.9 for 2018 from 21.6 from 2017. Also on an interesting note, the Rushing Yards per attempt was UP from 2017. 4.5 (ranked 13th) as opposed to 4.2 in 2017. If find that interesting because watching the games I felt like the running game was doing worse...

I understand that if you look at 2016 prior to Sark, the numbers drop going to him... so there is some argument that he coach the team "down" in potential, but keep in mind that in 2015 and 2014 we were a low 20's team. 2016 was a bit of the abnormally than the norm.

On the defensive side, ATL gave away 26.6 points per game in 2018 (rank 25th) up from the 2017 season of 19.1 points per game. We had a lot of defensive injuries at key positions early in the year that really killed that side of the ball.

You can have whatever opinion you want on Sark... maybe TP cares, but I don't. Our opinions won't change the OC for next year and in reality our opinions are founded on very little compared to what Saban is basing his off of. So, yes he can make a mistake; however, he also has a much larger data set of info to pull from... BTW, I thought the Kiffin hire was the worst thing that ever happened to Bama.... I'm still eating crow for dinner on that one

 

[Tidestalker]

I wasn't super excited about Sark... But I don't know who we could realistically get that was mo betta?

Everyone is pretty much 1 and done at UA... If nothing else, Sark seems to know how to develop QB's and we have 3 young ones, 1 will need to be ready to step up next Spring.

I personally really liked our set up last year, disappointed to see that group leave. My only complaints where Jacobs not being our #1 and obviously lack of running game in the Natty... But hell, last year was amazingly efficient until then. Not to mention both QB's seemed to develop tremendously... RTR

 

[OldPlayer]

It's been a long offseason. Five pages of debate after one day of practice.

 

[TerryP]

I would have preferred a different hire, but I also trust that Saban knows what he is doing and has a better feel for what this team needs and what Sark can bring.

I'm looking at the same, but under the scope of it being Tua. And then Jones, et. al., It makes sense to m

Observation: With Flood, the atmosphere has changed in the offensive line drills. He's position-instruction oriented so far and we all like that. He's more of a vocal guy versus what they've heard. The thing that's stuck out to me is he's been faster with his work with the guys. Big boys moving at a clip.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Under Locksley's direction, we were a pass first team and pass first teams tend to be more finesse than power oriented. Bama has to honestly ask themselves this offseason if that didn't hurt our performance vs Georgia and Clemson and even the second half against Oklahoma. It felt like we were running as a change of pace and not because we wanted to and it felt at times we are just not stubborn enough about the run and tend to airmail it too much. That stuff tends to show up the closer we get to the better defenses and the better teams.

Power run teams run the ball because they can. That mentality builds toughness with the big uglies up front and against physical, likeminded teams can carry the day. In our big games, we need to control the clock and play field position better. Plus I would be more inclined to believe at this point that being more physical at the LOS is really what breaks defensive morale and not always points on a scoreboard.

There is a happy balance that it takes to be that kind of offense. Maybe with Tua, the temptation is just too strong to harness some of that passing creativity but Sark needs to give it a go. Lawd knows we got the studs to do it and frankly, nothing would slow down all those cheap shots Tua took last season than an in your face power run game. It might end up being the best gift we could give Tua in the long run.

Now, can Sark give us that?

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

It's been a long offseason. Five pages of debate after one day of practice.

and the coaching staff sucks as well... Players need to do their part on both sides of the ball. If your plan is to outsmart the opposition in every game then good luck. I do believe is going back to more of a meat and potatoes team with his staff hires.