musso
Member
Sorry for the late night rant, but ...
Remember Mark Ingram's legs, calves, and arms? Even though he was short he was rock solid. Remember him running the ball into the end zone on the first possession of the 2nd half against UF in '08 when he bulldozed Andre Smith??? As a true freshman, mind you.
Do I need to say anything about Trent's stature? Remember all the homemade highlight reels on YouTube of him breaking all sorts of tackles during his career???? How about that long run at Ole Miss when he juked #15 twice, once in the backfield and again before crossing the goal line????
Remember Lacy's build, a bit taller than Mark and Trent but still thick arms, thighs and calves. Remember him tossing that Notre Dame defender like a rag doll????
Remember how difficult it was for defenses to get those three RBs down on the turf???? So many times Mark, Trent, and Lacy would have to be forced out of bounds, or the refs would simply blow the whistle when enough defenders had stopped their forward progress.
Obviously Henry and Najee Harris were difficult to tackle too, but less so. Henry could get tripped up easily with his long legs. Due to his long stride, he actually would outrun defenders more often than he would run over them. Najee was certainly an athletic freek for his size and famously hurdled defenders, most notably that Notre Dame defender in '20. But not even Najee would seek contact the way that Mark, Trent, and Lacy would.
How about CJ Mosley sacking the Notre Dame QB on an attempted draw and suplexing him????
Speaking of suplexing, how about Rolando suplexing that Texas ball carrier, or LeMichael Fanning suplexing that Mizzou player in the final minutes of that blowout????
Remember how physically imposing Julio Jones was as both a receiver and blocker in his first season????
Remember that devastating tackle Ragland had at Georgia in the rain????
Remember Sunseri's hit on a running back against Michigan in a season opener??????
Remember Reuban Foster's hit on a So Cal ball carrier in another season opener???? Or his hit on Fournette's kickoff return????
How about how we almost crippled LSU QB Mettenberger by the end of that game when he was crawling off the field after a late sack??? Or how about that Citrus Bowl route of Michigan State when we kept sending their QBs out of the game?????
Remember when we cranked out impenetrable nose guards, one after the other: Cody, Chapman, Jesse Williams, etc.????
Remember when we had safeties and corners who actually contested balls on a consistent basis and intercepted opposing QBs on the regular???
Remember when no defender wanted to tackle fullback Fowler in the 4th quarter when he would get mop up duty?????
Remember when we had DL who could actually eat up blocks and pass rush???? Remember 300+ pound Dareus intercepting a shovel pass, doing a 180, and then stiff arming the Texas QB into the ground on his way to a pick-six???? Remember Jonathan Allen taking flight over a OL in a home game against A&M early in the game for a sack??? Remember his attitude when replying to a reporter after the 38-0 win against Michigan State: "Alabama does."
Remember having so many big bodied, strong, and agile DL that we used them on offense in short yardage situations????? Remember when Deron Payne was catching TD passes against Clemson??? Remember when Payne time after time in the 2nd half of the natty against UGA made crucial stops at the line of scrimmage when we needed to get Tua the ball again?????
Remember how big Landon Dickerson was and how dominating that 2020 OL was???
Remember how so many games with Tua and in '20 Mac Jones at QB quickly became boring to watch????
Remember when Saban's teams were among the leaders in turnover margin, among the least penalized teams in the country, and only celebrated with teammates rather than seeking individual attention after making plays???? Remember when we might be ahead by only 2 or 3 possessions, but watched in comfort because we knew the opposing offense couldn't move the ball on our defense and we wouldn't turn the ball over either????? We also knew if our offense got the ball with less than 5 min remaining in the game with the lead, the opposing offense would never see the field again.
Remember when Mark Ingram scored a TD in a game, and immediately after crossing the goal line, he stopped to go thank and celebrate with Marquis Maze who had made a key block that allowed him to score??????
Sorry guys, just been thinking how our players just don't look the part or act the part anymore. Maybe it was unrealistic to expect Saban to corner the market on these specimens forever. Maybe the rules against hard hits and targeting have neutered Saban's defenses. Think about it, would Dareus's hit on Colt McCoy be legal today??? Maybe too many kids are going vegan. Maybe the concern with CTE has players playing more cautiously. Maybe tempo and spread offenses have softened defenses which now have to play more downs. When I watch Georgia I don't see caution or soft play.
I just miss the days when our players were men among boys.
Remember Mark Ingram's legs, calves, and arms? Even though he was short he was rock solid. Remember him running the ball into the end zone on the first possession of the 2nd half against UF in '08 when he bulldozed Andre Smith??? As a true freshman, mind you.
Do I need to say anything about Trent's stature? Remember all the homemade highlight reels on YouTube of him breaking all sorts of tackles during his career???? How about that long run at Ole Miss when he juked #15 twice, once in the backfield and again before crossing the goal line????
Remember Lacy's build, a bit taller than Mark and Trent but still thick arms, thighs and calves. Remember him tossing that Notre Dame defender like a rag doll????
Remember how difficult it was for defenses to get those three RBs down on the turf???? So many times Mark, Trent, and Lacy would have to be forced out of bounds, or the refs would simply blow the whistle when enough defenders had stopped their forward progress.
Obviously Henry and Najee Harris were difficult to tackle too, but less so. Henry could get tripped up easily with his long legs. Due to his long stride, he actually would outrun defenders more often than he would run over them. Najee was certainly an athletic freek for his size and famously hurdled defenders, most notably that Notre Dame defender in '20. But not even Najee would seek contact the way that Mark, Trent, and Lacy would.
How about CJ Mosley sacking the Notre Dame QB on an attempted draw and suplexing him????
Speaking of suplexing, how about Rolando suplexing that Texas ball carrier, or LeMichael Fanning suplexing that Mizzou player in the final minutes of that blowout????
Remember how physically imposing Julio Jones was as both a receiver and blocker in his first season????
Remember that devastating tackle Ragland had at Georgia in the rain????
Remember Sunseri's hit on a running back against Michigan in a season opener??????
Remember Reuban Foster's hit on a So Cal ball carrier in another season opener???? Or his hit on Fournette's kickoff return????
How about how we almost crippled LSU QB Mettenberger by the end of that game when he was crawling off the field after a late sack??? Or how about that Citrus Bowl route of Michigan State when we kept sending their QBs out of the game?????
Remember when we cranked out impenetrable nose guards, one after the other: Cody, Chapman, Jesse Williams, etc.????
Remember when we had safeties and corners who actually contested balls on a consistent basis and intercepted opposing QBs on the regular???
Remember when no defender wanted to tackle fullback Fowler in the 4th quarter when he would get mop up duty?????
Remember when we had DL who could actually eat up blocks and pass rush???? Remember 300+ pound Dareus intercepting a shovel pass, doing a 180, and then stiff arming the Texas QB into the ground on his way to a pick-six???? Remember Jonathan Allen taking flight over a OL in a home game against A&M early in the game for a sack??? Remember his attitude when replying to a reporter after the 38-0 win against Michigan State: "Alabama does."
Remember having so many big bodied, strong, and agile DL that we used them on offense in short yardage situations????? Remember when Deron Payne was catching TD passes against Clemson??? Remember when Payne time after time in the 2nd half of the natty against UGA made crucial stops at the line of scrimmage when we needed to get Tua the ball again?????
Remember how big Landon Dickerson was and how dominating that 2020 OL was???
Remember how so many games with Tua and in '20 Mac Jones at QB quickly became boring to watch????
Remember when Saban's teams were among the leaders in turnover margin, among the least penalized teams in the country, and only celebrated with teammates rather than seeking individual attention after making plays???? Remember when we might be ahead by only 2 or 3 possessions, but watched in comfort because we knew the opposing offense couldn't move the ball on our defense and we wouldn't turn the ball over either????? We also knew if our offense got the ball with less than 5 min remaining in the game with the lead, the opposing offense would never see the field again.
Remember when Mark Ingram scored a TD in a game, and immediately after crossing the goal line, he stopped to go thank and celebrate with Marquis Maze who had made a key block that allowed him to score??????
Sorry guys, just been thinking how our players just don't look the part or act the part anymore. Maybe it was unrealistic to expect Saban to corner the market on these specimens forever. Maybe the rules against hard hits and targeting have neutered Saban's defenses. Think about it, would Dareus's hit on Colt McCoy be legal today??? Maybe too many kids are going vegan. Maybe the concern with CTE has players playing more cautiously. Maybe tempo and spread offenses have softened defenses which now have to play more downs. When I watch Georgia I don't see caution or soft play.
I just miss the days when our players were men among boys.
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