| FTBL The Good, The Bad and The Ugly vs. UM Final Chapter

[Secondand26]

Ok, let's get all of this in. According to CNS's 24 hour rule, we only have a few more hours to bitch!

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Good - the defense. They were consistently put in bad situations but kept them out of the endzone.

Bad - Milroe. The announcers got it right when they said he doesn’t see the field. He has tunnel vision. He was a 50% passer. Throws weren’t on target, late (if he got them off) and he relied too much on his running history. A QB needs to be a QB and not a RB.

Ugly - Coaching staff. Where was the running game? Where was the adjustment on passing routes? Milroe didn’t play well (again) but the coaching staff didn’t help him.

This was an ugly way to end the season. I didn’t expect a NC but I also didn’t expect to lose to three teams when we were favored by 14+ points. I hope DeBoer learned a lot about what Alabama and the SEC is all about.

I think most of the fans now really concerned about the ability of the HC to handle a program like Bama. Nobody gives a shit about Washington and 2K fans for spring game is about the normal. This shit is life or death at Bama and the SEC.

The offense played the entire year with one hand tied behind their back with 4 at QB. The other teams aren't stupid, and they see much better what we as fans see thus they take away anything Bama did well and made Bama try to excel at what they can't.

Now you have to wait until September to confirm you even have a HC that can have success along with his staff.

 

[24and7]

Update

A poster on the Bama rant posted this AM that Milroe was going to opt out of the Bowl unless the U of A paid him 250k. The U of A declined his offer. He played anyway to avoid the fallout from not playing. I questioned the poster if he knew this from fact and he stated it was true.

Bama should have paid the 250 for him to NOT play.

Hell it worked for Michigan..

 

[mando]

I have no idea what “who has well … “ means but If you don’t think people connected to the program are concerned you’re absolutely wrong. And we were spoiled by Saban just as we were spoiled by Coach Bryant and the other great Bama coaches. Saying that isn’t a good thing makes me laugh. How do you think Bama has won NC’s in all but two decades since the 1920’s? Just the luck of the draw? Or because the fans accepted piss poor performances? Or because they didn’t get spoiled by Wade, Thomas, Bryant, Saban … and to a lesser extent Stallings? No, it’s because this fan base is spoiled and we don’t accept what other fan bases accept or exoect. Those of you who don’t think that way should be thankful for those of us who do. Otherwise, you’d be a fan of an Auburnesque program whose fans settle for one key win a year and who are always excited about the upcoming season.

I agree with this but I also know we need to be guarded in our support and how we express our disatisifaction especiallu year one. If we do not it will be self fullfilling and uncercut CKD's ability to be successful. We need to support the program and demand excellence but in a healthy way. I know I have expressed disatification but I hope I found the right balance especially year one. It is a fine line, one way will help the program and but the othwr will destroy it from within and it can become the Barn and Vile programs of the world.

The Debose and Shula years are examples of unhealthy ways to respond.

 

[Secondand26]

I agree with this but I also know we need to be guarded in our support and how we express our disatisifaction especiallu year one. If we do not it will be self fullfilling and uncercut CKD's ability to be successful. We need to support the program and demand excellence but in a healthy way. I know I have expressed disatification but I hope I found the right balance especially year one. It is a fine line, one way will help the program and but the othwr will destroy it from within and it can become the Barn and Vile programs of the world.

The Debose and Shula years are examples of unhealthy ways to respond.

to quote the judge in "My cousin Vinny" "That is a well thought out, lucid response" Good job!

 

[64Tide]

#1 is more about the standard of winning than the style of play or comparing eras in my mind. Foundational values, discipline, commitment, work ethic, team first, competitors etc... That is how I have always taken people saying that. Bear brought championships, Stallings brought back discipline, CNS brought back both in a big way until the last couple of years.

Foundational values are gone or very rare. You can thank the liberals for NIL, portal etc. The game has changed for the worse. We will be dragged along by the whims of 18-22 year olds. In a way, probably good that we fell off the last couple years or so under Saban. Can you imagine the doom /gloom we would be experiencing now?

 

[Secondand26]

Foundational values are gone or very rare. You can thank the liberals for NIL, portal etc. The game has changed for the worse. We will be dragged along by the whims of 18-22 year olds. In a way, probably good that we fell off the last couple years or so under Saban. Can you imagine the doom /gloom we would be experiencing now?

The same ones that beat that drum will be the same ones crying when cfb goes completely to shit. "These poor players".... I wouldn't mind my kid getting a free education, training, lodging, tutoring, meal table!

 

['65 Cobra]

I was told all season that Saban had gone 7-6 and lost to UL-Monroe in his first season. I don't know why people thought that was the same as this year. Saban inherited a dumpster fire that was so bad that 7-6 was probably an overachievement in 2007. Deboer inherited superior talent and severely underachieved. Saban turned chicken shit into gourmet cuisine and Deboer is doing the opposite

This is a total myth that Saban inherited a dumpster fire dearth of talent. Shula was not a good HC but he and his staff were good recruiters. Saban inherited in no particular; JP Wilson, Greg McElroy, Terry Grant, Glen Coffee, Roy Upchurch, DJ Hall, Jimmy Johns, Darius Hanks, Preston Dial, Andre Smith, Mike Johnson, Brian Motley, Leigh Tiffin, Brandon Deaderick, Wallace Gilberry, Lorenzo Washington, Josh Chapman, Rolando McClain, Eryk Anders, Prince Hall, Simeon Castille, Kareem Jackson, Rashad Jackson, Cory Reamer, Javier Arenas, PJ Fitzgerald... That is hardly a dumpster fire.

 

[24and7]

This is a total myth that Saban inherited a dumpster fire dearth of talent. Shula was not a good HC but he and his staff were good recruiters. Saban inherited in no particular; JP Wilson, Greg McElroy, Terry Grant, Glen Coffee, Roy Upchurch, DJ Hall, Jimmy Johns, Darius Hanks, Preston Dial, Andre Smith, Mike Johnson, Brian Motley, Leigh Tiffin, Brandon Deaderick, Wallace Gilberry, Lorenzo Washington, Josh Chapman, Rolando McClain, Eryk Anders, Prince Hall, Simeon Castille, Kareem Jackson, Rashad Jackson, Cory Reamer, Javier Arenas, PJ Fitzgerald... That is hardly a dumpster fire.

Most of the O line was horrible..THE JUMBO PACKAGE

 

['65 Cobra]

Remember that CKD originally had Ryan Grubb secured and on staff. Then he got the Seahawks OC job. I do believe things would have been different in a positive way if we had had Grubb all along. CKD had a really great relationship with him.

Having said that, I don't think Sheridan is a very good OC simply by virtue of the fact that he didn't do a good job of adapting playcalling to help focus on Milroe's strengths and mitigate his weaknesses. The book on Milroe was crystal clear from early in the season - full blitz pressure as much and as often as possible. He is easily shaken by the pressure. But did Sheridan adjust??? Rarely if ever. Even armchair OC's could see that any number of quick tempo adjustments would have helped a lot; roll-outs, quick hitches, slants, draw plays, delayed QB run, bootlegs, etc. Milroe apparently said Sheridan is "one of the best coaches I've been around." Sorry, I'm not seeing it.

Milroe... yeah, yeah, really great kid, loyal to the program, etc.... sadly, the weaknesses from 2023 were the same weaknesses in 2024. No improvement. There were several times this year he should have been pulled to give Ty at least a chance besides garbage time. CKD's loyalty to him proved to be detrimental, but we don't know everything behind the scenes. When Milroe decided to stay, it probably helped keep a lot of players from transferring. Even though we lost a few, it could've been worse. Ok, there's that. But ultimately it's about performance on the field. Sometimes a guy needs to be benched to get his head clear.

I am willing to give CKD the benefit of the doubt in that it was only his first year here and there may have been some wisdom in his loyalty to Milroe in order to keep the team engaged. Still, it would appear that some of our WRs were none too happy with Milroe's performance. I do think we have a very exciting stable of QBs for 2025. Let's hope CKD has his act together better next year including who he chooses to keep on his staff.

 

[Secondand26]

Remember that CKD originally had Ryan Grubb secured and on staff. Then he got the Seahawks OC job. I do believe things would have been different in a positive way if we had had Grubb all along. CKD had a really great relationship with him.

Having said that, I don't think Sheridan is a very good OC simply by virtue of the fact that he didn't do a good job of adapting playcalling to help focus on Milroe's strengths and mitigate his weaknesses. The book on Milroe was crystal clear from early in the season - full blitz pressure as much and as often as possible. He is easily shaken by the pressure. But did Sheridan adjust??? Rarely if ever. Even armchair OC's could see that any number of quick tempo adjustments would have helped a lot; roll-outs, quick hitches, slants, draw plays, delayed QB run, bootlegs, etc. Milroe apparently said Sheridan is "one of the best coaches I've been around." Sorry, I'm not seeing it.

Milroe... yeah, yeah, really great kid, loyal to the program, etc.... sadly, the weaknesses from 2023 were the same weaknesses in 2024. No improvement. There were several times this year he should have been pulled to give Ty at least a chance besides garbage time. CKD's loyalty to him proved to be detrimental, but we don't know everything behind the scenes. When Milroe decided to stay, it probably helped keep a lot of players from transferring. Even though we lost a few, it could've been worse. Ok, there's that. But ultimately it's about performance on the field. Sometimes a guy needs to be benched to get his head clear.

I am willing to give CKD the benefit of the doubt in that it was only his first year here and there may have been some wisdom in his loyalty to Milroe in order to keep the team engaged. Still, it would appear that some of our WRs were none too happy with Milroe's performance. I do think we have a very exciting stable of QBs for 2025. Let's hope CKD has his act together better next year including who he chooses to keep on his staff.

Another well thought out, reasonable post (I’m getting tired of this!)

 

[OldPlayer]

This is a total myth that Saban inherited a dumpster fire dearth of talent. Shula was not a good HC but he and his staff were good recruiters. Saban inherited in no particular; JP Wilson, Greg McElroy, Terry Grant, Glen Coffee, Roy Upchurch, DJ Hall, Jimmy Johns, Darius Hanks, Preston Dial, Andre Smith, Mike Johnson, Brian Motley, Leigh Tiffin, Brandon Deaderick, Wallace Gilberry, Lorenzo Washington, Josh Chapman, Rolando McClain, Eryk Anders, Prince Hall, Simeon Castille, Kareem Jackson, Rashad Jackson, Cory Reamer, Javier Arenas, PJ Fitzgerald... That is hardly a dumpster fire.

I wouldn’t include Jimmy Johns on your list.

 

[Slickmullet]

Watching Gameday and realizing a teenager coaching ASU did a better coaching job than Deboer this year.

 

[24and7]

Watching Gameday and realizing a teenager coaching ASU did a better coaching job than Deboer this year.

The coach of the Miami Dolphins is a computer nerd..

 

[Rolltide24]

Good: weather was beautiful outside of the 20 minute shower that hit in the 1st quarter. Defense played one of their best games, often with their backs against the wall, but Michigan offense was weak at best and missing most all their playmakers, so I don’t want to get carried away with our defense. We got to talk with the parents of a bunch of players and all were very nice (the QB Mack’s mom is about 6’1”, and his dad is at least 6’5”, so it’s easy to see where he gets his height). And we got to talk with Dre Kirk Sr. after the game which was exciting for me, he’s one of my all time favorites but my son has only heard talk of him. And our kicker nailed a nice kick under pressure. Scoring more than we scored against Oklahoma…

Bad: The way this season wrapped up. Losing to Michigan in consecutive bowl games. Having our $10MM coach get out coached by Sherrome Moore (who a bunch of UM fans didn’t want hired to begin with). Letting a RB get 100 yards that only had 20 yards on the season. Losing to a team that had 73 yards passing and 190 yards of offense (even LSU in the 2012 game of the century had 239 yards in that 9-6 game).

Ugly: Not getting the flyover of the fighter jets, copters, and Stratotanker because of the weather. Losing again for the third time to a mediocre at best team. Scoring 13 points and being held under 30 points for the 5th time this season (TerryP you mocked someone after the Georgia game for predicting a score early in the season for thinking Bama would score less than 30 this season after bringing in an offensive coach, that wasn’t nice!). How we squandered some excellent talent again in a game. The energy level on the sideline the entire game. The 4th down pass on the last possession. Milroe’s 18th, 19th and 20th turnovers of the season (if I calculated correctly from the play by play of each game). Milroe’s accuracy on a number of throws. The run game, our leading rusher for the game had 1 carry for 28 yards. Getting eaten alive by a patchwork Michigan defense. SEC teams getting their asses handed to them by B1G teams. Bama fans that thought Bama should have been in the playoffs over SMU. Our lack of adjustments, yet again, at halftime (I guess we made some adjustments in that we stopped giving the ball to Michigan so easily). The absolute blandness of our offensive play calling yesterday. Everyone around us agreed that it was painful watching how vanilla our plays were, and we were using our season-long starters, not a patchwork of reserves. The coach’s commitment to Milroe when it wasn’t working. That’s on CKD 100%. Do you want to win, or make friends? Not getting to see Simpson was a big deal and a real UGLY for this game.

I’ve missed a bunch of things, but those are my highlights.

An older couple sat on the row across from us on our flight to Miami after the game, they were heading to Turks. The wife was very nice, the man was angry and short because of the game. He was really angry so she was just letting him be. They had sat in a box and had their kids and grandkids at the game with them. I’m glad it’s not just us everyday fans that are frustrated with our performance.

 

[Secondand26]

I wouldn’t include Jimmy Johns on your list.

Million dollar body ten cent head

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

I wouldn’t include Jimmy Johns on your list.

His fumble near the goal vs ULM ended the Jimmy Johns saga. I was there that day. Just had to laugh.

 

[Secondand26]

His fumble near the goal vs ULM ended the Jimmy Johns saga. I was there that day. Just had to laugh.

I remember Saban’s response to all of the media questions about John’s. “ I’ve never had so many questions about someone who has done so little “

 

[Rolltide24]

His fumble near the goal vs ULM ended the Jimmy Johns saga. I was there that day. Just had to laugh.

Candyman, Candyman, Candyman.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Well, if the fans didn’t know the “inside scoop” how can they be criticized for “whining”? Or should fans only “whine” when they’re in the loop? By the way, what’s the difference in whining and “legitimate” fan frustration, anger, embarrassment,et al? I know a number of well connected donors who are extremely concerned by what they’ve seen this season. That kind of concern is what has made Bama Bama. So in my humble opinion we should all be thankful for their past “whining”.

On the other hand, it might all be moot now. I know this is one fan who will not donate a dime to an NIL fund and neither will some of the big donor whiners. With me, it’s no big loss … with them it is. So, if great programs going forward will now be the ones with deep NIL and deep coach’s buyout pockets, Bama won’t be among them. Those who are in the know, know there are about 25 or so “difference maker” Bama donors. Most are older and they too despise what’s happening to the game and the program they’ve loved generationally for many decades. Even if they are all extremely happy as they were with Saban, the sum total of their combined wealth isn’t anywhere close as the sum total combined wealth of Michigan’s donors as but one example. So, if the powers that be don’t add guardrails and speed bumps to the NIL and the transfer portal smaller money programs like Bama might be left out. Saban knew this and it’s why he checked out years before he had planned prior to their emergence.

When Fan A opines about DeBoer and his staff not having a grasp on team control, letting players dictate things, etc... And then Fan A turns around and lays blame on (and yes, whines about) DeBoer and his staff losing players to the portal, some of the very same players who were difficult to manage, then yes... I see it as unnecessary whining. It's whining in a circle if you think about it. They are welcome to do it, but it's silly. Which is why I said what I said.

IMO, the choice of the word whining fits, a least from the perspective I've seen and heard comments from. Yes, there can certainly be frustration, anger (if one wants to be angered over it), and even embarrassed (again, if fans want to be embarrassed). Constructive criticism? I see that as productive in most cases.

I also think the boosters have more skin in the game, and IMO, their voices hold more weight... But, I don't believe that their generous support should allow them any control whatsoever over the day to day goings on within the building. Bama went down that road and it led to some dark times. Also, see auburn. Or Texas. It's not good for the long term health of a program. If they want to stop giving $, for whatever reason(s) they choose, I'm 100% ok with that.