Question: Could the team have just simply looked past USF?

[Tenntiderman]

And have possibly settled for some who aren't up to the task...........I realize Steele is doing a decent job with the talent he has, but the offensive side is sorely lacking

Agree. "sorely lacking" is still leaving it to one's imagination. Awful comes to mind. BUT........I wish this subject was the only thing I had to worry about...because I am certain it is not. I wish these young fellas the very best, and Roll Tide for a better season!

 

[Tenntiderman]

I agree with this. Coaching turnover. Year after year after year. At one time we had guys like Kiff, and Sark calling the offense, and guys like Smart/Pruitt calling the defense. We simply are no where that level from a coaching standpoint.

It is mind boggling at the same time, that even a halfway decent assistant could field a competent team with the player talent we have.

With all the fabulous Defenses and players we have had....and we get a LB coach from Liberty? And an OC from UTSA? What is up with that?

 

[RTR2u]

I don't think Saban's method of coaching works with pro players. It used to be about pride, integrity, building a future for yourself. Now the future is now and it's all about money. The players don't appear to actually even LIKE playing football. Zero enthusiasm. They get paid no matter how bad they suck. Arch Manning is a third string QB at Texas and has NIL deals worth 3.8 million dollars. Why would he even try? he could retire today.

This is absolutely INSANE!!!! I get all the reasons for NIL, but what happened to all the other ordinary students in college who are not athletes???? Sure, they can have scholarships, but who has an NIL equivalent for majoring in chemistry?

 

[We_are_Bama]

The hard part to wrap my mind around is the wasted talent. This is the most talented team in college football, and they are playing like Vandy.

Do you happen to remember our 2000 season? We were absolutely loaded, minus of course, Shawn Alexander. We were preseason #3 and we opened the year getting clobbered by a UCLA team we were hands down better than. Well, on paper, anyway. We went from preseason #3 to finishing 3-8. Granted, that was a different time. But still, this team (like the 2000 team) is way too talented to be looking like this

 

[Cruloc]

Do you happen to remember our 2000 season? We were absolutely loaded, minus of course, Shawn Alexander. We were preseason #3 and we opened the year getting clobbered by a UCLA team we were hands down better than. Well, on paper, anyway. We went from preseason #3 to finishing 3-8. Granted, that was a different time. But still, this team (like the 2000 team) is way too talented to be looking like this

Yep, I remember one of the talking heads on ESPN predicting Alabama vs Kansas State for the national title in 2000. Every time I see him, which isn't much now, I think about that.

 

[Tideflyer]

This.

We do not have a good team. I still happen to believe we have many good players. But the coaches have been unable thus far to get the right players playing in the right places with the right attitude.

This may actually turn out to be a true rebuilding year. Bryce covered a ton of deficiencies for two seasons and true rebuilding, which was necessary, got passed over because the possibility of a title was very real because of Bryce. But the problems remain now that he’s gone.

And I for one, would be fine with that if actual rebuilding gets done. Fix the toughness on this team. Develop actual leaders who will stand up and hold others accountable. Fix the fundamentals that keep the games from turning into a penalty fest.

At the end of the season if truly fixing that for the future means 9-3 and a Citrus Bowl, I’d take it. Because Im afraid if it’s not fixed, 6-6 is a real possibility and I don’t want to think about what that means for the future. Every season under Nick Saban is championship or bust. I think it may have finally caught up with us.

But as I’ve typed all that out I begin to wonder, is that kind of development and building even possible in this NIL/Portal era?

IMHO, a 6-6, 7-5 season would mean a complete reset for the program. I personally think CNS would retire, because at his age and station in life a complete rebuild would require more time and energy than he would be willing to give. In your 70`s you just don`t have the drive, energy and stamina like you did in your 50`s and even early 60`s. Ask me how I know! Then again, of course, one need only look at our national political landscape to see a number of examples where people, due to ego, bad advice or whatever, have exceeded their practical vocational " use by" dates.

 

[davefrat]

We hear the players talk about playing up to the "Bama Standard" but I'm guessing that a lot of them are so new to the roster that over the last 3 years they've never really even experienced that standard, or whatever of it they have experienced isn't really consistent with what that standard was during and before the 2020 season.

If I'm being honest here, even though we won the SEC in 2021 and lost in the CFP finals, that season is where we saw the beginning of the current slide to where we are today.

 

[BamaMoon]

IMHO, a 6-6, 7-5 season would mean a complete reset for the program. I personally think CNS would retire, because at his age and station in life a complete rebuild would require more time and energy than he would be willing to give. In your 70`s you just don`t have the drive, energy and stamina like you did in your 50`s and even early 60`s. Ask me how I know!

The last time we went 6-6 in the regular season under CNS he did a pretty good reset.

I wouldn't put anything past him.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I don't think Saban's method of coaching works with pro players. It used to be about pride, integrity, building a future for yourself. Now the future is now and it's all about money. The players don't appear to actually even LIKE playing football. Zero enthusiasm. They get paid no matter how bad they suck. Arch Manning is a third string QB at Texas and has NIL deals worth 3.8 million dollars. Why would he even try? he could retire today.

You are right. Randy McMichael is on Atlanta radio over here and he has said several times that the reason Saban did not work out in the pros was because the pro players did not want to listen to him. He played for Saban in Miami.

 

[Tideflyer]

The last time we went 6-6 in the regular season under CNS he did a pretty good reset.

I wouldn't put anything past him.

Quite true. He was also in the prime of his career.

 

[BamaMoon]

Quite true. He was also in the prime of his career.

Yeah, that's the unknown right now.

If we don't win the NC this year, it'll be the first 3 year span without one since he moved to T-town.

This is an uncertain time for the program, for sure!

 

[davefrat]

I don't think Saban's method of coaching works with pro players. It used to be about pride, integrity, building a future for yourself. Now the future is now and it's all about money. The players don't appear to actually even LIKE playing football. Zero enthusiasm. They get paid no matter how bad they suck. Arch Manning is a third string QB at Texas and has NIL deals worth 3.8 million dollars. Why would he even try? he could retire today.

I see and hear this said often, so how are other coaches getting their players to buy in and execute at a high level?

 

[Scobaman]

How many times have you seen Alabama Football go thru a season without some close calls or losses? Even the best teams struggle at times. The 1974 team was undefeated in the regular season but struggled to beat a winless Florida State team 8 - 7 in Tuscaloosa. The 92 Championship Team beat Southern Miss by 7 points. The 2011 championship team lost to LSU in Tuscaloosa and could not even score a touchdown. The 2017 team lost to aubie and did not play in the SEC championship game but won the National Championship game (thank you Georgia). I thought the 2020 team was going to the 1st that I had seen that was not in a close game but had a couple of plays been changed in the SEC championship game, they could have lost to that Florida team. We go into every game not knowing how it will turn out. No one in college football is better than coach Saban. This year we have spent too much time trying to bring out the best in Milroe and he may be the best we have this year. He is the kind of quarterback that scares opposing coaches because any play can result in a score either thru the air or on the ground. Unfortunately, any play can also result in a disaster. All we can do as fans is to trust the process and hang of for a wild ride. It may not take us where we want to be but it can still be fun.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

This bunch needs 2007-2015 CNS to put a metaphorical foot in their you know what along with some ‘chewings’.

That’s what they need…

But also…

I don’t think they would respond well to it like former players did.

This bunch would all be in tears like that Dolphins player that CNS got into when he was the HC there.

These dudes as a whole are the Softest bunch I’ve seen since Shula was on the sidelines.

We’ve got LB’s getting pancaked 5 secs past the whistle and on the other side RT and LTs getting beat at the point of attack by undersized LB’s from Group of 5 schools.

SOFT as Triple Layer Cottonelle.

 

[davefrat]

This team lacks heart and ferocity - things that are difficult to quantify but you know it when you see it (and know when you don't).

Too soft mentally.

Could this have anything to do with S&C? Seems like a lot of times, it's the S&C coaches who build a lot of fire in players' bellies.

 

[OakMtn4Bama]

Mac and Cube this morning indicated that there might be some dissent in the locker room as to the benching of the former QB1. They said that he didn't react well and it rubbed off. That is why he didn't go in the game Sat.

 

[colbysullivan]

Mac and Cube this morning indicated that there might be some dissent in the locker room as to the benching of the former QB1. They said that he didn't react well and it rubbed off. That is why he didn't go in the game Sat.

Boo freaking hoo. Maybe don’t throw the ball directly to the other team with a clean pocket…TWICE. Tired of this soft crap from these players.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Mac and Cube this morning indicated that there might be some dissent in the locker room as to the benching of the former QB1. They said that he didn't react well and it rubbed off. That is why he didn't go in the game Sat.

If this is at all true then he and anyone that responded similarly need to be benched and gone. I don't care who they are. I don't care if we start a bunch of walk-ons and true freshman. Play the people that want to be here and want to give maximum effort.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Could this have anything to do with S&C? Seems like a lot of times, it's the S&C coaches who build a lot of fire in players' bellies.

Not imo - ime that attitude trickles down from the top. We cannot expect ferocity when 'grandpa' Saban is on the sidelines instead of fire-breathing Saban.

Y'all keep referring to 'soft generation' - maybe, maybe not. I don't think there's any coincidence that the 'kinder gentler' Saban came along about the same time we started hearing about players having anxiety and such.

I'll say this much - if this is how Bama plays going forward, NIL and the transfer portal destroying CFB won't make a difference, as I've zero interest in watching highly talented players fold emotionally and physically.

And note - this is not blaming the players, these attitudes and emotions have been allowed to exist. Possibly even fostered. They would not have been allowed 10 years ago - Saban is the only constant. He's created this mess and now we have to see if he can fix it.

 

[crimsonaudio]

If this is at all true then he and anyone that responded similarly need to be benched and gone. I don't care who they are. I don't care if we start a bunch of walk-ons and true freshman. Play the people that want to be here and want to give maximum effort.

Honestly, if I saw a player taking snaps off or found out they were causing issues, I'd yank their scholarshiup like I was starting a mower.

I mean, if you're going to field a team that underperforms, you may as well have the excuse that you had to eliminate a certain percentage because they were too damn soft.