| FTBL This year’s team plus bonus Get off my Lawn content…

[ElephantStomp]

The players on D are elite. It’s coaching. Bama has better players than TAM but Elko is a far better DC than Golding.

This was maybe the worst performance by a Bama DC in the Saban era.

Derrick Ansley was discussed in a different offseason as potential DC replacement. Glen Schumann is a LB coach at UGA - think he wouldn’t want the promotion to DC?

Bryce Young is playing incredibly. BRob too. Metchie is a disappointment. He won’t go after contested balls. You can’t win titles in football without a WR to win 50/50 balls.

Latu dropped a TD. Billingsley did nothing . OL busts.

CNS isn’t firing Golding. It’s not all on the coaches. At some point players have to line up and kick the dude’s ass across from them and last night that didn’t hardly at all. Against Ole Miss that same defense with the same DC held one of the top offenses in the country in check.

I think we need an update on the defensive scheme like what we got on offense when CNS decided to bring in Kiffin

 

[ElephantStomp]

I have yet to see a single player on the defense that you would consider "elite," To'o To'o may be the biggest disappointment I think I've ever seen. So much hype about this guy - even from the coaches - and he has done nothing but miss tackles, be out of position, etc. I keep seeing people say that Anderson is still "banged up" so IDK if thats it but he disappears completely for loooooong stretches of the game. Armour-Davis seems to be the only decent DB, the rest just let guys run past them and start grabbing because pass interference is there only defense against a pass. That is when they dont just play zone when everyone else is in man (or vice versa). I personally think it's a combination of things, that being a severe lack of development with a lot of these guys (which may be the most maddening thing), lack of execution from players, unbelievably poor game planning/scheming and pathetic play calling. Saban has proven (IMO) he will not fire Golding for whatever reason, so we're going to have to suffer through this until someone is dumb enough to hire him elsewhere.

And I haven't even touched on the horrible o-line or Bill O'Brien's braindead play calling, especially in short yardage/goal line situations. I agree we were spoiled by Sark and Kiffin but I think even Locksley dwarfs BOB's ability as a play caller.

This same “poor defense and poor DC” held one of the top offenses in country in check a week ago. I think after “getting up” for Ole Miss and this team’s complete lack of leadership led to what we saw last night.

BOB’s play calling last night was atrocious, I still don’t understand inside the 3 and we throw it 3 straight times. We were spoiled with Sark and to a degree Kiffin, but even my non OC ass knew to feed B Rob inside the damn 3.

 

[Davestwin]

I totally get the displeasure with PG but I think it’s a mixture between poor schemes/coaching and poor execution. It’s impossible to tell which is more to blame because the players continue to miss tackles, miss assignments, use poor techniques, commit stupid penalties, lack the consistent intensity required for elite status. Meanwhile, no one’s accused the coaches of having coached anyone in a while … their schemes don’t seem to change much from the first to the fourth quarters with very few mid game adjustments … and they’ve failed to develop the alpha dogs that are needed for elite defenses.

Of course, we’ve always heard that coaches don’t play the games … players do. And that’s always followed up by pundits and former players saying it’s not the X’s and O’s it’s the Jimmy’s and Joe’s. Well, Bama has the best Jimmy and Joe’s in the land but the defense continues to remain mediocre and while still potent, the offense isn’t close to being the juggernaut it was last season. The 2020 team … now that team included some really great Jimmy’s and Joe’s … plus Sark wasn’t half bad himself! So, I wish the players would do their jobs consistently for the entire 60 minutes of at least one game. If they do and the opponent still puts up 35 then we’ll know more about the schemes and the coaching deficiencies.

Last thought … and I think I’m right about this but if not, I feel certain I’ll be set straight soon. Anyway, Bama won 3 NC’s in 4 years with more 3 Stars starting than 5 stars. That’s not been the case since that period. Today, it’s rare for a 3 star that isn’t a ST player to contribute for Bama much less start. So maybe the X’s and O’s are a little more important than the PC crowd likes to think.

 

[Davestwin]

CNS isn’t firing Golding. It’s not all on the coaches. At some point players have to line up and kick the dude’s ass across from them and last night that didn’t hardly at all. Against Ole Miss that same defense with the same DC held one of the top offenses in the country in check.

I think we need an update on the defensive scheme like what we got on offense when CNS decided to bring in Kiffin

I totally agree … especially on the need for a new defensive scheme. Saban’s has been studied to death and so many of his former coaches and their former coaches know it so well. An ESPN guest said Kirby uses Saban’s D as a framework for UGA’s but he’s tweaked it so much as to make it his own scheme. Now I’m not sure that’s all true but as Coach Saban said “the game has changed and we had to change with it because it’s now more about offense than defense”. So, why not an updated defense to go with the updated offense? Besides, why does one preclude the other? All I know is something needs to change … including my expectations. Deep down I knew Bama couldn’t simply reload following what was lost last year. Yet, I drank the rat poison right along with everyone else … except for maybe Mullen and Jimbo. That’s not fair to Coach Saban, the current players or to the players from the 2020 team who moved on to the NFL.

 

[mando]

Bama has better players than TAM but Elko is a far better DC than Golding.

That great defense of Elko's gave up 38 points and almost 600 yards of offense and was on a 2 game losing streak.

All I know is something needs to change … including my expectations. Deep down I knew Bama couldn’t simply reload following what was lost last year. Yet, I drank the rat poison right along with everyone else … except for maybe Mullen and Jimbo. That’s not fair to Coach Saban, the current players or to the players from the 2020 team who moved on to the NFL.

Based on history it was not unreasonable to assume they can reload since Saban has been the best at it. Unfortunately with so much turnover on the team and the coaching staff it is not realistic that a down turn would never happen. Even that is relative because Bama is still one of the best teams in the country in my view just not to the Bama standard. This may be one of those times patience is called for which us Bama fans are not used to.

 

[Secondand26]

That great defense of Elko's gave up 38 points and almost 600 yards of offense and was on a 2 game losing streak.

Based on history it was not unreasonable to assume they can reload since Saban has been the best at it. Unfortunately with so much turnover on the team and the coaching staff it is not realistic that a down turn would happen. Even that is relative because Bama is still one of the best teams in the country in my view just not to the Bama standard. This may be one of those times patience is called for which us Bama fans are not used to.

Stated very well!!

 

[JoshB]

This same “poor defense and poor DC” held one of the top offenses in country in check a week ago. I think after “getting up” for Ole Miss and this team’s complete lack of leadership led to what we saw last night.

BOB’s play calling last night was atrocious, I still don’t understand inside the 3 and we throw it 3 straight times. We were spoiled with Sark and to a degree Kiffin, but even my non OC ass knew to feed B Rob inside the damn 3.

Yeah but also the same defense that got damn near pummeled to death by Florida, too. That inconsistency is part of the problem.

Even Smitty was on Twitter screaming "RUN THE BALL" after that debacle on the goal line.

 

[ElephantStomp]

Yeah but also the same defense that got damn near pummeled to death by Florida, too. That inconsistency is part of the problem.

Even Smitty was on Twitter screaming "RUN THE BALL" after that debacle on the goal line.

True. I fully believe our defense is in need of an overhaul like the offense got when Saban hired Kiffin.

That not running the ball was the absolute stupidest crap

 

[RollllTide!]

ATM had a great night at our expense. They played lights out and were all in on the gamble. It payed off with a full house. We still have wins ahead of us. A scarred up elephant is respected more. I pity miss state. We will come back better.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

ATM had a great night at our expense. They played lights out and were all in on the gamble. It payed off with a full house. We still have wins ahead of us. A scarred up elephant is respected more. I pity miss state. We will come back better.

And a ll said and done...toasted and buttered...
We get the ball with 2 or so minutes...
First down...B-rob runs right totally misses cutting it back in...hugh hole gets 2-3 yards...
Second down...F'ing dropped pass...would have beenfirstdown..
Third down...pass is rushed...throws shorts..
Just those things that are the difference between bitching about a loss...or bitching about a close win..

 

[NickelDoubleDog]

CNS isn’t firing Golding. It’s not all on the coaches. At some point players have to line up and kick the dude’s ass across from them and last night that didn’t hardly at all. Against Ole Miss that same defense with the same DC held one of the top offenses in the country in check.

I think we need an update on the defensive scheme like what we got on offense when CNS decided to bring in Kiffin

You understand that the D was able to play like they did against OM because they took out all the checks at the LOS for the D each play, and let them just play the initial call?

And vs. A&M, they went back to all the checks at the LOS, trying to communicate to all 11 players, and the players don't know what the call is and are thinking and then playing slow. Can't get off the ball, can't cover folks, assignment busts all over.

That is the definition of coaching.

 

[PurlJam]

JMO, but I believe our issues do come from the "rat poison" deal. Those kids heard all week how Lane was going to torch our defense and they played up to the challenge. This week it was about how great they had progressed on defense now and aTm had 2 losses in a row... may have gotten in to that "we just have to show up" mentality a little there and promptly got their asses handed to them... think this is what CNS has been preaching about week in and week out, coach can see ahead in football better than Nostradamus's Les Prophéties.

​

 

[ElephantStomp]

You understand that the D was able to play like they did against OM because they took out all the checks at the LOS for the D each play, and let them just play the initial call?

And vs. A&M, they went back to all the checks at the LOS, trying to communicate to all 11 players, and the players don't know what the call is and are thinking and then playing slow. Can't get off the ball, can't cover folks, assignment busts all over.

That is the definition of coaching.

I’m aware of what coaching is.

The decision to add the checks or not I guarantee is approved or not by Saban just as every decision to do with the program is.

It still comes down to players lining up and kicking the dude’s ass across from them. Not tackling is on the player. I had a rodeo coach in high school and he was damn good and won coach of the year 3 times, but at the end of the day when I wrapped my hand onto the bull it came down to me, the same thing can be said about tackling, blocking, covering a dude in man coverage, etc. Now don’t get me wrong we got out coached in every facet Saturday

 

[alabama mike]

I appreciate your post and commentary. Thanks for sharing.

IMO, I think on defense, we sometimes try to do to much with the kids on the field. CNS and his defense is tough and should be for opposing coaches to try and figure out. When we blow coverages and kids are out of position, I think we need to simply things. Just my point of view, not sure if any will agree or not. Our DL is not as strong IMO, as I thought we would be. At times, we look really good but overall, I give us a C or C+ so far this season.

Hopefully, this game will be a huge learning tool for all of our players. As bad as we played in the first half, we played pretty well in the second half except that last drive. Its time to regroup and work hard this week in practice. Looking into my crystal ball, I see us going undefeated the rest of the way and taking on Kirby and UGA in the SEC championship game. There is still a lot of football to be played this year. Hopefully, we improve each week.

 

[NickelDoubleDog]

I’m aware of what coaching is.

The decision to add the checks or not I guarantee is approved or not by Saban just as every decision to do with the program is.

It still comes down to players lining up and kicking the dude’s ass across from them. Not tackling is on the player. I had a rodeo coach in high school and he was damn good and won coach of the year 3 times, but at the end of the day when I wrapped my hand onto the bull it came down to me, the same thing can be said about tackling, blocking, covering a dude in man coverage, etc. Now don’t get me wrong we got out coached in every facet Saturday

It is on Saban, ultimately.

The players on D play slow because they don't know what they are supposed to do. They are thinking as the ball is snapped. On a lot of plays half the team thinks it's one call, the other half are playing a different call.

The DL is catching block,s not able to fire off. That makes the LBs catch blocks with OGs having 4 yards head of steam while they try to remember 5 different things they may have to do, and determine if it's a run or a slant on an RPO behind them.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

ATM had a great night at our expense. They played lights out and were all in on the gamble. It payed off with a full house. We still have wins ahead of us. A scarred up elephant is respected more. I pity miss state. We will come back better.

Pretty much. A&M played their A+ game. Bama played a C-. Aggies barely won. If both teams had played their C- game, Bama wins by 3 TD's. Could be wrong, but I think this resets the team a bit. They'll be favored in all their remaining games (obviously not fool proof, but shows they don't all of a sudden suck despite losing a wheel in College Station). In fact, I'll go so far as to say Bama would be favored over UGA if they played the SECCG this week. Not by much, but they would have the edge in Vegas. This is still a really good football team.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Pretty much. A&M played their A+ game. Bama played a C-. Aggies barely won. If both teams had played their C- game, Bama wins by 3 TD's. Could be wrong, but I think this resets the team a bit. They'll be favored in all their remaining games (obviously not fool proof, but shows they don't all of a sudden suck despite losing a wheel in College Station). In fact, I'll go so far as to say Bama would be favored over UGA if they played the SECCG this week. Not by much, but they would have the edge in Vegas. This is still a really good football team.

The question is why did they play a c game? Is it the we gonna win without giving it our all, Coaching on the coordinators relaying to the players, no mental focus that every game they play is a big game, cause all are coming at us? I know Coach Saban is not liking a c performance,( and I think you are being liberal with that) He he.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

The question is why did they play a c game? Is it the we gonna win without giving it our all, Coaching on the coordinators relaying to the players, no mental focus that every game they play is a big game, cause all are coming at us? I know Coach Saban is not liking a c performance,( and I think you are being liberal with that) He he.

Well, C- overall. I'd say first half defense was a D- or F, most of the 2nd half they were much better. Offense made a lot of mistakes, 2 turnovers, dropped passes, etc. But they still put up enough points to win and moved the ball well. Bryce was a dropped TD pass away from throwing for about 380 and 4 TD's. As for the cause? I think of defense, some was scheme early on and lots of missed assignments. On offense, lack of execution on a lot of good plays, but they were also burdened with some head scratching calls as well (like near the goal line). Good news? It's all correctable. Will it be corrected? Don't know, that's easier said than done, but it ain't like we lost because we lacked playmakers. That's what would concern me.