Crimson&WhiteGecko
Member
He was spot on with the issues & with the solutions.
I will add this... McElroy pointed out the 4 quarter conditioning program used to be absolute hell! I don't get the sense that is happening anymore & that may very well be why we cannot shut teams down consistently in the 4th quarter anymore, especially on defense.
I will add this... McElroy pointed out the 4 quarter conditioning program used to be absolute hell! I don't get the sense that is happening anymore & that may very well be why we cannot shut teams down consistently in the 4th quarter anymore, especially on defense.
So we coddling the players now. Word gets out about it being too tough, may scare some off. Much rather have the tough kids vs the talented ones that can't perform when the chips are down. Coach Bryant used to say, "we don't want them to quit in the 4th quarter, there's been enough of that going on around here". Hope the current coach figures this out...
I still believe the problem is not the wide receivers. The problem is the offensive coaching. GM says that Alabama runs a matchup offense, but that's not true. Bill O Brien runs a vanilla, simplistic NFL system in which the receiver just lines up and beats the guy across from them. He never runs plays that create favorable matchups. Sarkisian did a fantastic job of creating mismatches. I have said all year that BoB does not create favorable matchups. There's hardly any motion, no strange sets with receivers and TEs in unusual places. The route tree is like a peewee football route tree. BoB is using crayons to draw his plays while everyone else is using IPADs and big screen tvs. It's pitiful and it has made me so angry this year. BoB is the worst OC we have ever had. Hands down.
McElroy makes some very valid points. He is not afraid to say what he thinks about Bama football. Yes, sometimes it upsets the fan base.
Fans need to be upset sometimes. As fans, we're on the outside looking in. Greg has been on the inside and sort of knows what's going on. Granted he hasn't been on the inside for a number of years. But I guarantee you he has more of insight than anyone on this board.
And I can agree with his thoughts about the "4th Quarter Program". Sometimes, it seems as though the guys just aren't playing as tough as the ones did a few years ago. They just don't look like they have that killer mentality. Used to, the defense took it rather personally if another team scored points on them. Now, it seems as though they try to do just enough to stay ahead. The guys just don't seem as hungry as before.
musso
Member
But McElroy is claiming we don't have anyone who creates matchup problems, besides Gibbs. And Gibbs really is a problem only in space, not physically inside the tackles. Elsewhere I heard Finebaum claim that we really missed attracting the WR transfer from Pitt who was close to Bryce and went to SC instead.
I don't know the offensive Xs and Os well enough to judge the schemes. But I do see obvious things like dropped passes, scarce separation, poor run blocking, poor vision by our running backs not named Gibbs, stupid and excessive penalties, and declining DB coverage and ball skills over several seasons now.
I understand that we have receivers dropping passes and blocking poorly, but that goes back to coaching. I refuse to believe that Bama has signed so many high caliber receivers and every single one is a bust. Brooks - 5* No 2 WR; Earle - 4* No 5 WR; Holden - 4* No 32 WR; T Bell - 4* No 25 WR; Burton - 4* No 15 WR. And that's just the upper classmen. I just cannot believe that they are all busts. That is a reflection of coaching more than ability. Or it's a reflection of poor evaluation skills. Regardless, it's a huge problem.
JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Member
With all due respect, our upper class WR's are awful. Nick understood that last year and was able to get Williams and he was a super get. Nick again went after two this year and it hasn't worked out for the team.
Secondand26
Member
^This . I could buy 2 or 3 busts. But all of them? Start looking for the common denominator
TideatMileHigh
Member
Greg Mcelroy is JoshB confirmed. He has been with us this whole time. Literally the Q-Anon of rolltidebama.
JoseyWalesTheOutlaw
Member
The text version of his comments.
www.al.com
It’s one thing to go get a guy from Vanderbilt. It’s another thing to go get a guy from Georgia Tech,” said McElroy on ESPN’s podcast, referring to left tackle Tyler Steen and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. “But when you’re taking on guys from LSU and Georgia, why is it that you think LSU and Georgia allowed those guys to leave? ... If they’re willingly allowing guys to walk out the door, do you really think it’s in your best interest to bring them onto your roster? Probably not.”
Saban responds to McElroy's concerns about Tide's direction
“This is the first time that I have ever actually been concerned about the future of the program," McElroy said.
It’s one thing to go get a guy from Vanderbilt. It’s another thing to go get a guy from Georgia Tech,” said McElroy on ESPN’s podcast, referring to left tackle Tyler Steen and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. “But when you’re taking on guys from LSU and Georgia, why is it that you think LSU and Georgia allowed those guys to leave? ... If they’re willingly allowing guys to walk out the door, do you really think it’s in your best interest to bring them onto your roster? Probably not.”
musso
Member
I don't disagree with you at all. When I say I agree with Greg, specifically when he claims our offense doesn't possess match-up problems for opposing defenses, I allow that it could be due to either poor development but also to possible evaluation errors during recruiting. I mean, we saw what happened last year after we lost Metchie and then when we lost Williams early in the natty. This whole bunch of receivers and TEs has been suspect. Too many drops and too little separation. I read somewhere that when you account for drops and yards in the air, Bryce is performing better than last season. Bryce has made more mistakes this season for sure, but he's carried more pressure on his shoulders too. We can't ask him to do any more than he's been doing.
Remember when Mark Barron refused to come off the field in the 2010 IB even after shredding his pectoral muscle?
Amazing how much softer kids are a decade later.
Players not catching balls with their hands and not getting separation is position coaching (or lack thereof). Do we even practice catching tennis balls anymore? Doesn't look like it. How many drops have we seen where balls make it straight through their hands and hits them in the chest? Shit technique. And THAT is coaching.
Ugh, I miss Curt Cignetti. Dude coached the hell outta 3* WRs and made them better than their eval sheet suggested.
Or Julio playing with basically a a broken hand for a good portion of the season and not telling the coaches about it.
Right?
And THEN showed up at the combine with a broken foot and still ran a 4.3 forty with a 38" vertical
bamascw
Member
Where oh where to begin….
Yes, today’s players are not the same that they were a decade ago, just like the players a decade ago or not the same from the decade before that and so on.
Yes the NIL has changed the landscape, and like all change you either change with it or you die watching it pass you by.
Yes, there is something definitely off with this team this year, mental preparedness, focus, which shows up on the field in penalties, dropped balls, poor coverage and so on.
All of that being said, we had our chances to win at Tennessee and we lost on the last second field goal, we had our chances to win at LSU and we lost on the last play of the game which is a two point conversion. I don’t feel like the sky is falling because if that were the case, we would be getting blown out, and one unexpected, not living up to expectations season does not end a program.
Truth be told, we will not know if the end is upon us until next season or possibly the next season, I know it is difficult for all of us to watch our team drop a few games, and to not have a valid chance to compete for a championship but to be overly cliché you can’t win them all every single year, it could boil down to a chemistry thing, let’s see what chemistry gets stirred up next year
Yes, today’s players are not the same that they were a decade ago, just like the players a decade ago or not the same from the decade before that and so on.
Yes the NIL has changed the landscape, and like all change you either change with it or you die watching it pass you by.
Yes, there is something definitely off with this team this year, mental preparedness, focus, which shows up on the field in penalties, dropped balls, poor coverage and so on.
All of that being said, we had our chances to win at Tennessee and we lost on the last second field goal, we had our chances to win at LSU and we lost on the last play of the game which is a two point conversion. I don’t feel like the sky is falling because if that were the case, we would be getting blown out, and one unexpected, not living up to expectations season does not end a program.
Truth be told, we will not know if the end is upon us until next season or possibly the next season, I know it is difficult for all of us to watch our team drop a few games, and to not have a valid chance to compete for a championship but to be overly cliché you can’t win them all every single year, it could boil down to a chemistry thing, let’s see what chemistry gets stirred up next year
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