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

[Moro Creek]

Nobody knows this.

Your wrong. Everyone knows I'm not optimistic.

 

[Toddrn]

I think CKD is posting on TideFans under the guise of someone from another country. LOL

 

[tideindc]

I think CKD is posting on TideFans under the guise of someone from another country. LOL

No other explanation, unless it’s someone from Auburn.

 

[JustNeedMe81]

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'm so happy to see posts like this. Balanced approach.

 

[bamamc1]

Kirby was a position coach for 1 year and DC for 8 seasons.

How many years were ‘grooming’ only those two know the answer to.

This is KD’s 11th season as a HC and his 6th in Division I

He honestly had the entirety of last season to learn the SEC was different.

He had 8 months to make adjustments and still put an embarrassment on the field and got pantsed by an NR team for the 4th time in 10 games and 3 out of 4 and Back to Back to bookend seasons.

The last paragraph is a lot of ifs and buts and as Red Forman once said ‘If a Frog had Wings it wouldn’t bump it’s ass when it hops’.

Kirby was with CNS at LSU and the Dolphins before joining him in Tuscaloosa.

 

[FF4bama]

I'm just a fan. I'm not an insider or a coach or former player. I defer to the experts here when it comes to knowing X's and O's and what's happening behind the scenes. I just love Alabama football even though over the last couple of years my interest in the sport overall has waned. That said, to my untrained eye the team looked awful last week after the opening drive. I also know that the criticism all week has been hard for the players and coaches to ignore. I have to believe that there are leaders among the players and coaches on this team that are going to step up this week and lead, and if they do I like this team's chances of improving. If they learn to play hard for four quarters every week win or lose the results will show on the field.

And if they don't play hard, Roll Tide anyway. Nothing can take away the 17 year thrill ride that CNS brought, or the Bryant years, or the rich history and winning tradition of Bama football that so many coaches and players have contributed to. It's gonna be aight, y'all. RTR.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

Well said!

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Rome didn’t fall in a day either, but here we are discussing whether or not that’s a possibility for Alabama football.

Augustus said he found Rome a city of bricks and was leaving her a city of marble. Alabama was marble when CKD arrived, albeit with some blemishes…

 

[Windsortide]

This game today will go a long way in determining my level optimism.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Yeah, but that's not my point.

If CKD is trying to clean up what was left behind but there are still attitudes left over from the last couple of years of CNS's tenure, it has put him in a very tough place.

He’s getting $11 million per year to not make excuses. If he doesn’t have the gravitas or ability to get the players focused where they need to be, he shouldn’t be making more annually than most people earn in their entire lives.

 

[JazzBama]

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

How do you know he hasn't held anyone accountable?

 

[Carollovestide]

Great post . I can't say Ive been that optimistic but I'm going to give supporting our coach the old college try. I'm looking forward to seeing how our guys come out today and I really hope they show us some fire !!!!!! Roll Tide !!!!!

 

[Moro Creek]

How do you know he hasn't held anyone accountable?

I don't know, but I haven't seen or read anything that would change my opinion. Perhaps you know something that you can disclose.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

In 2022, ND lost to Marshall and Stanford.

Not sure of the relevance, but OK.

Now in 2023 they were solid, yes. Louisville were barely ranked.

Yes, my point being they had a great record against, well, nobody.

Regardless, the narrative after the NI loss was that Freeman couldn't prepare his guys properly and he couldn't win the easy games.

Well, Northern Illinois will do that to you, but the issue is not DeBoer isn't ready for the easy games; it's how woefully unprepared we've looked particularly in the Vandy, OU, and Michigan games followed by Florida State.

As a number of us have noted, it isn't the LOSS, it's the entire picture around it that's disturbing. Alabama has looked flat-footed and unprepared four times in a ten-game span.

I'll give him this: Mike DuBose would have found a way to either lose or scare the hell out of everyone yesterday, DeBoer didn't. It remains to be seen - maybe just maybe FSU is a contender or caught lightning in a bottle and our first game will be an anomaly. But I think the concern is that our schedule is way too tough to have any of those games much less at a .400 clip.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

To the OP, what is there to be optimistic about? DeBoer is soft. Soft doesn't translate to the SEC.

I'll reserve judgment on this only since we're used to tough as nails Saban and that won't work any longer.

If he cries after a performance like 2000 Southern Miss, then I'll concur. Or something along those lines.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Not sure of the relevance, but OK.



Yes, my point being they had a great record against, well, nobody.




Well, Northern Illinois will do that to you, but the issue is not DeBoer isn't ready for the easy games; it's how woefully unprepared we've looked particularly in the Vandy, OU, and Michigan games followed by Florida State.

As a number of us have noted, it isn't the LOSS, it's the entire picture around it that's disturbing. Alabama has looked flat-footed and unprepared four times in a ten-game span.

I'll give him this: Mike DuBose would have found a way to either lose or scare the hell out of everyone yesterday, DeBoer didn't. It remains to be seen - maybe just maybe FSU is a contender or caught lightning in a bottle and our first game will be an anomaly. But I think the concern is that our schedule is way too tough to have any of those games much less at a .400 clip.

I am hopeful that FSU game will end up looking like the 2015 Ole Miss game, which ended up galvanizing the team around Coker and we went on a run and won it all. Recall there was a road trip to Athens a couple of weeks after that Ole Miss game. Hopefully there is a repeat of that result a couple of weeks from now.

And I realize that game in 2015 against the Rebels was circus. There was a QB controversy. We knew Ole Miss was a strong team (didn’t really know that FSU would be that competitive). I’m just saying an early season, unexpected loss. Maybe the team’s attention was gotten. We are certainly going to find out.

 

[Cruloc]

I am hopeful that FSU game will end up looking like the 2015 Ole Miss game, which ended up galvanizing the team around Coker and we went on a run and won it all. Recall there was a road trip to Athens a couple of weeks after that Ole Miss game. Hopefully there is a repeat of that result a couple of weeks from now.

And I realize that game in 2015 against the Rebels was circus. There was a QB controversy. We knew Ole Miss was a strong team (didn’t really know that FSU would be that competitive). I’m just saying an early season, unexpected loss. Maybe the team’s attention was gotten. We are certainly going to find out.

I just don't trust this staff or the players. They've shown what they can do now.....its time to get consistency of effort and focus.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I just don't trust this staff or the players. They've shown what they can do now.....its time to get consistency of effort of focus.

I don’t yet either. I’m “wait and see” until the end of the season. But last night went the absolute best way that it could (and it could have gone several bad ways) so there is that.

 

[mlh]

I just don't trust this staff or the players. They've shown what they can do now.....its time to get consistency of effort and focus.

They've shown what they can do against ULM. Maybe we should play ULM every week.

If we can sustain the effort and intensity we played with against ULM, we'll have a good season. We'll just have to wait and see if we can remain focused and not get complacent after this easy win.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I don’t yet either. I’m “wait and see” until the end of the season. But last night went the absolute best way that it could (and it could have gone several bad ways) so there is that.

I trust a few guys right now.

Ty, Germie, Brailsford, Riley, Cuevas, and the Kickers.

I really liked what I saw from Brooks. He was snatching the ball out of the air with his hands and running routes with a purpose. That kid wants to play and help the team win.

I liked seeing some emotion from the Offensive guys in the booth too. They were getting amped over the Backups making plays.

I just want to see more consistent effort week to week from everyone else.

If guys keep playing hard and effort is there then I’ll have nothing to complain about with the team.

 

[CoolBreeze]

This thread has aged well. Good stuff.