Why I Remain Optimistic (and why you should too)...

[Moro Creek]

I'm not optimistic since CKD has not held anyone accountable yet.

 

[CB4]

Your optimism is noted. What I noted was that Bama basically sucked in game time execution (including the players and coaches as far as play calling and schematics) in the fsu game…..same thing I saw in our games against Oklahoma and Michigan from last year.

I was one to say “Year 1 is a write off”. Give CKD time to do things his way. The your team rolls out a performance like this in the first game of your second year? This is more than troubling and leaves little room for optimism for me.

Granted, we don’t know how good FSU is at this point. That will be determined in the next few weeks. However, we DO know 1) Oklahoma had been devastated by injuries and was a shell of what they were at the start of the season, and Michigan about half strength due to players sitting out.

I had lunch with a former high school HC and Alabama grad yesterday. He sent two kids to the University, and one played there. Another played at another SEC school. And one son spent a number of years working in the AD in various positions during the Saban years. His exact words were “In less than two years CKD and his staff have destroyed the no-nonsense, business like culture established by CNS”. His son (he is on the support staff at another non SEC program) says the very much the same thing. Lack of attention to detail, lack of discipline and very little commitment to excellence. Very little accountability at the top it seems.

Look, I’m all for letting CKD do things “his way” but you don’t need to “tear the house down to the foundation in order to patch a hole in the roof”.

I felt, among the names mentioned at the time CNS stepped down, that CKD was the best possible choice. Today, I have doubts, serious doubts and little room for optimism. My gut tells me this was a “square peg for a round hole” hire from a culture standpoint.

 

[dvldog]

Let’s just count that as a college football league pre-season game and move on. No harm no foul.

 

[bamamc1]

i will be sacrificing goats and other small animals daily to try to bring this about.

I want us to win just where you can talk smack to those clowns. Can you imagine the meltdown? RTR

 

[stlimprov]

I hope they smoke UGA like a cheap Cuban cigar. We'll see.

Sidetrack:

Wait...there are cheap Cuban cigars? I mean...are we defining "Cuban" by the broader use of Cuban (originated) seed, or made in a Cuban tabalcalera?

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I had lunch yesterday with a former high school HC and Alabama grad yesterday. He sent two kids to the University, and one played there. Another played at another SEC school. And one son spent a number of years working in the AD in various positions during the Saban years. His exact words were “In less than two years CKD and his staff have destroyed the no-nonsense, business like culture established by CNS”. His son (he is on the support staff at another non SEC program) says the very much the same thing. Lack of attention to detail, lack of discipline and very little commitment to excellence. Very little accountability at the top it seems.

Look, I’m all for letting CKD do things “his way” but you don’t need to “tear the house down to the foundation in order to patch a hole in the roof”.

I felt, among the names mentioned at the time CNS stepped down, that CKD was the best possible choice. Today, I have doubts, serious doubts and little room for optimism. My gut tells me this was a “square peg for a round hole” hire from a culture standpoint.

Take this for what it's worth, but Finebaum said yesterday on ESPN that "he's been told" DeBoer doesn't have control of the program. So far, there have been enough signs to make it hard to say what Paaawwwl heard was wrong.

 

[RammerJammer15]

After my 72 hour crash out, I was able to settle down and not be as pessimistic as I previously was.

The team played like garbage, yes but I do think there’s a chance we won’t see that version of Bama show up again, then again, there’s a chance that this is how Bama is.

The next two weeks will tell us a lot, if they look bad even in wins, whew trouble lies ahead, but if I see effort and want-to and clean football, my optimism meter will go up higher.

 

[bamajas]

What fooled me wasn't that the media was hyping them up, but former players like McCarron and McElroy who actually attended practices and scrimmages singing the team AND THE CULTURE's praises. That's what had me bought in. I know the media is full of crap and will say and do anything for ratings and clicks. But when former players are coming back from practices and scrimmages saying "Man, this team is good" and "the culture is definitely different," then I started buying in, only to be wrong....again.

Saban said it Sat AM, too. "The culture is different, it's better. The culture is good."

 

[CB4]

Take this for what it's worth, but Finebaum said yesterday on ESPN that "he's been told" DeBoer doesn't have control of the program. So far, there have been enough signs to make it hard to say what Paaawwwl heard was wrong.

Has there been anything CKD has said or done in his 20 months on the job that would lead you to believe his DOES have control of the program?

The comment was made yesterday about waiting until the end of the season before “giving him the pink slip. Okay….im good with that as long as Byrne has had a discussion with him and his assistants about a 30-60-90 day work plan. In other words, “Get your crap together…”

 

[PGDocBama]

It's good to be realistic and good to be hopeful. One can be both at the same time. Blind optimism however is not realistic and not practical. FWIW (and it's probably not worth a whole lot sure) ESPN's analytics predict a 6-6 finish for Bama.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

It's good to be realistic and good to be hopeful. One can be both at the same time. Blind optimism however is not realistic and not practical. FWIW (and it's probably not worth a whole lot sure) ESPN's analytics predict a 6-6 finish for Bama.

Going by the first game, that sounds about right.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Where's the altar? I've got a box of Oatmeal Cream Pies.

Don’t forget the broken headset.

 

[CB4]

Don’t forget the broken headset.

And a tin horn….

 

[gtgilbert]

There is a culture rot in the program that began before Saban left.

If DeBoer turns this around it means he cracked down on the crap going on.

Oklahoma, Michigan, FSU.....he's setting a precedent that he needs to change quickly.

You say he trusts his coaches and let's them do their jobs, but we were fundamentally unsound on OL and DL....looked unprepared on D entirely. Gap integrity was non-existent.

If he can turn this around I'll be more than happy to admit I was wrong.

Shula trusted his coaches also - to a fault.

 

[Cruloc]

Shula trusted his coaches also - to a fault.

Exactly. If my job depends on the job my assistants are doing.....and then they wet the bed entirely.....there is no come to Jesus meeting.....you either get it straight or your out and I'm going to be working with you to direct it how I want.

DeBoer has let it go on long enough though that he's got quality control issues all over the place. If he had 1 spot not doing an adequate job that's easy to fix....but man, he's got issues at almost every position.

 

[BamaMoon]

So it seems I'm the only one willing to share any positive thought after what was a very disappointing loss to FSU. Rather than continue to argue the point, I thought I'd share my feelings in one post.

Firstly, I'll talk briefly about the game and then I'll talk about the program as a whole. It wasn't good. We know that. Was it a complete disaster? No. FSU were always going to be a hard team to beat given the circumstances. Week 1...on the road in a tough environment...while raining...against a team that's been looking forward to this match for over 18 months and a team that was looking to start fast after a below par season. This clearly wasn't the same 2-10 FSU. That doesn't excuse our performance, but I think it's worth noting.

Offensively, we were bad but I think the issue is rather simple. It's the offensive line. If we can get that fixed, we'll be fine. Ty looked good and in command. We'll get Jam back hopefully by conference play. I thought some of the backup RBs looked solid. I didn't like some of Grubbs calls but then again the offensive line plays into that.

Defensively, we were poor but they had their moments. They played hesitant. I don't think I have much to say that hasn't been said. It starts in the trenches. Injuries don't help either.



Now I want to talk about the broader reaction, which I happen to find ridiculously over the top.

Firstly, it's week 1. You can't jump to any meaningful conclusion after 1 game. I feel a history lesson would do this point justice.

As I'm sure we all know, Notre Dame lost to MAC team Northern Illinois last year in Week 2. The reaction to that game? Much the same as what we have here. I'll post some comments from fans regarding that loss.

"Riley Leonard is trash."
"Price and Love combining for 15 carries is coaching malpractice"
"Riley Leonard is so bad...This team is a perennial laughing stock...I’m so sick of losses like this."
" You have to fire him (Freeman)."
"Something about the way the program under him approaches game day is fundamentally broken. There’s no consistency in effort, discipline, game planning, competence, etc. Some games we show up looking like mental and physical beasts and some games we show up looking like we thought we were just going to a walkthrough."

And my personal favorite...

"Marcus Freeman is simply not a great or even a good coach. And no amount of grace years are going to turn him into one. If Notre Dame cares about being relevant in football, he needs to be fired by the end of the year (at the latest)."

Now as I'm sure you're all aware, Notre Dame made the national championship. Notice any similarities in the comments made then and the comments made right here, right now?

FSU are superior to Northern Illinois. It's been 1 game. This doesn't define a whole season.

DeBoer ran a very good offense at Indiana, he turned Fresno State around and he took the Huskies from 4-8 to 12-0 and Conf. Champs in 2 years. He did so while beating teams that had double the talent. They bullied Oregon in the Conference Championship game. This was a team with a bunch of three stars and just a handful of 4 stars. He's clearly got an eye for talent. His win-loss record speaks for itself. Also important to mention is that "He lets his supporting cast around him with position coaches and everything really do their jobs and he trusts them. He doesn't overstep his boundaries in that sense."

What about the lack of SEC experience? Saban had none. It's not a huge deal.

DeBoer has had to come into a program that has known nothing but Saban for SIXTEEN years. He come into a program where cracks were beginning to show. He has to make it is own and implement his systems. That is going to take TIME. Give him TIME.

He went 9-3 in the first year and that was with shaky QB play. His FIRST year. It wasn't pretty at times, I know, but let's not ignore the good.

It's week 1 guys, settle it down.

I appreciate this post. I hope you are correct.

One thing I'd add that gives me a glimmer of hope:

Multiple media guys saw this team in fall camp and they believed they saw a very good team coming together. Guys like Josh Pate (and others that were there who he said agreed with him) saw Bama scrimmage and he said there was general agreement that they flying around, were knocking heads and they looked very, very impressive. So that gives me some hope that this FSU game was a "one off" and that's NOT who this team is.

I know it's hard to reconcile what we saw with what we expected to see, but the bottom line is every now and then a good/great team just lays an egg.

 

[BamaMoon]

Take this for what it's worth, but Finebaum said yesterday on ESPN that "he's been told" DeBoer doesn't have control of the program. So far, there have been enough signs to make it hard to say what Paaawwwl heard was wrong.

Most of the time we dismiss Paul Finebaum as click bait.

But if this is true it confirms what many of us feared: This problem wasn't created by CKD, it was inherited from CNS.

 

[bama579]

I agree with the main message However, factually, not so much. The following is taken from your post:


"What about the lack of SEC experience? Saban had none. It's not a huge deal."

Saban was at LSU from 2000-2004. He won a National Championship in 2003.


and....

"He went 9-3 in the first year and that was with shaky QB play. His FIRST year. It wasn't pretty at times, I know, but let's not ignore the good"

Agreed, again. Lets also not ignore that the season record was 9-4. The Embarrassment Bowl loss to Michigan is considered
part of the 2004 season.

.


.

 

[BamaMoon]

I agree with the main message However, factually, not so much. The following is taken from your post:


"What about the lack of SEC experience? Saban had none. It's not a huge deal."

Saban was at LSU from 2000-2004. He won a National Championship in 2003.




.

I assumed he was referring to when CNS came to LSU, but was able to start winning there having never coached in the SEC before then.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Most of the time we dismiss Paul Finebaum as click bait.

But if this is true it confirms what many of us feared: This problem wasn't created by CKD, it was inherited from CNS.

After what we saw in the second half of last season and the first game of this season. It's hard for me to say Paaawwwwl isn't telling the truth.