George Teague Asks Whether "The Strip" Counted

[tusks_n_raider]

Michael Rogers

Interview is at 1:08:20 on the video below:

There goes my faulty memory again..lol

I thought it was post game jubilation but the interview was actually mid game.

 

[dtgreg]

Michael Rogers

Interview is at 1:08:20 on the video below:

That's it! Got 'em confused. Thanks.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

There goes my faulty memory again..lol

I thought it was post game jubilation but the interview was actually mid game.

Here's what stood out about that interview to me:


That interview happened right after the controversial "unsportsmanlike conduct" call on Derrick Lassic (perhaps the most preposterous call in the entire game). We'd just taken a 13-3 lead in a game we supposedly had no chance.

Oh - and on December 29, I'd had my wisdom teeth all pulled, so I'm both on a lot of pain meds, in a lot of pain, eating crap that I can sort of liquify and pumped my team is leading Miami while angry we just got denied four points.

So I'm high on medication and adrenalin listening to Rogers talk while high on medication and adrenalin........it's the kind of thing that inspires symphonies (go look up "Symphonie Fantastique")

 

[TideEngineer08]

That play buried them.

And yes it was critical that Teague did what he did. Thomas was going to score easily, and it would have made it 27-13 with plenty of time for Miami to come back. And remember, Jay Barker did absolutely squat passing the the ball that game. It wasn't like we had the tools to get into a shootout with Miami and win.

Now it may have amounted to naught in the end; Kevin Williams did return a punt for a TD later in the game which did bring it to that same 27-13 score. But the damage had been done. Miami's offense was not going to score a TD all night, and Teague's rundown of Thomas was the final nail in that coffin.

 

[rolltide7854]

It made a HUGE difference in the game, it definitely counted.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

That play buried them.

And yes it was critical that Teague did what he did. Thomas was going to score easily, and it would have made it 27-13 with plenty of time for Miami to come back. And remember, Jay Barker did absolutely squat passing the the ball that game. It wasn't like we had the tools to get into a shootout with Miami and win.

Now it may have amounted to naught in the end; Kevin Williams did return a punt for a TD later in the game which did bring it to that same 27-13 score. But the damage had been done. Miami's offense was not going to score a TD all night, and Teague's rundown of Thomas was the final nail in that coffin.

In the Super Bowl, though, Jay Barker would have won the MVP.

You will notice I did not use the blue font.

 

[TNBama]

Has anyone heard where Teague said he messed up big time at the beginning of the play? Years ago I had bought my dad a series of DVDs on big moments in Alabama football history. One that they covered was this play. I'm going by memory here, but Teague said in the interview something along the line that he slacked when the play started. And as Thomas ran by him, he thought to himself that another Bama player (I can't remember which one) would have Thomas covered. When he looked and saw he DIDNT, all he could think of was "COACH IS GOING TO KILL ME!", which motivated him to chase down Thomas. I was laughing so hard watching that interview.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

That play buried them.

And yes it was critical that Teague did what he did. Thomas was going to score easily, and it would have made it 27-13 with plenty of time for Miami to come back. And remember, Jay Barker did absolutely squat passing the the ball that game. It wasn't like we had the tools to get into a shootout with Miami and win.

Now it may have amounted to naught in the end; Kevin Williams did return a punt for a TD later in the game which did bring it to that same 27-13 score. But the damage had been done. Miami's offense was not going to score a TD all night, and Teague's rundown of Thomas was the final nail in that coffin.

Ironic that Barker did nothing much in that game, but in a later game against UGA he outpassed Eric Zeier and made UGA look bad

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

Has anyone heard where Teague said he messed up big time at the beginning of the play? Years ago I had bought my dad a series of DVDs on big moments in Alabama football history. One that they covered was this play. I'm going by memory here, but Teague said in the interview something along the line that he slacked when the play started. And as Thomas ran by him, he thought to himself that another Bama player (I can't remember which one) would have Thomas covered. When he looked and saw he DIDNT, all he could think of was "COACH IS GOING TO KILL ME!", which motivated him to chase down Thomas. I was laughing so hard watching that interview.

I remember that................Teague said Stallings would kill him if he didn't catch Thomas, but I think the other player was supposed to cover

 

[dtgreg]

Ironic that Barker did nothing much in that game, but in a later game against UGA he outpassed Eric Zeier and made UGA look bad

That was when he was older and had Homer Smith coaching him. I loved Mal Moore and he did what he could (esp in '92 against Ole Miss) but here in Huntsville, the joke was Jay could do anything with a football but write his name on it.

 

[TideEngineer08]

Ironic that Barker did nothing much in that game, but in a later game against UGA he outpassed Eric Zeier and made UGA look bad

A few things.

First, Miami's defense was really good that year. Jay Barker was a soph that year, and he really did not come into his own until his senior year in 1994, under Homer Smith, as dtgreg pointed out. I've often wondered what might have in 1994, had Palmer returned for his senior season and played on that team.

So Miami had a great defense and they fairly easily shut down Alabama's passing game. Barker was 4/13 for something like 28 yards, and he threw 2 interceptions himself. What Miami could not account for was Derrick Lassic and Alabama's undersized OL's athleticism. Even so, without the heroics of Alabama's all-time great defense, the game is probably more along the lines of 20-13, or even worse.

We look back at that game as a blowout, and it was, but Miami outgained Alabama in total yardage. It's just that it turned out to fit the pattern of all Gene Stallings games. Run the ball, stop the other team from running the ball, and win the turnover battle. Miami couldn't run, Torretta threw 3 INTs (one pick 6), to Barker's 2 INTs (neither of which were consequential to the score), and Lassic et. al. were extremely effective running the ball.

Lassic won the MVP with 135 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs, but the real MVP was Teague. He had the pick 6, and the strip play this thread is about. But I guess the entire defense deserved it, and since they couldn't award them all, they gave it to Lassic. Sorry for the essay, but I do get nostalgic about those years.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

Lassic won the MVP with 135 rushing yards and 2 rushing TDs, but the real MVP was Teague. He had the pick 6, and the strip play this thread is about. But I guess the entire defense deserved it, and since they couldn't award them all, they gave it to Lassic. Sorry for the essay, but I do get nostalgic about those years.

I’m nostalgic about those early 90s teams too.

It’s funny to go back and watch highlights where so many players were a bit flashy compared to the Gruff CGS.

If you watch the Sugar Bowl highlights you see Lassic spin the ball and do the Fred Sanford heart attack celebration and later the Cartwheel.

Sherman does the Shake.

Teague does the high stepping.

They definitely had personality…lol

I agree that Teague could easily have been MVP too.

Both he and Lassic had a 2 TD effect on the game.

 

[uafan4life]

Has anyone heard where Teague said he messed up big time at the beginning of the play? Years ago I had bought my dad a series of DVDs on big moments in Alabama football history. One that they covered was this play. I'm going by memory here, but Teague said in the interview something along the line that he slacked when the play started. And as Thomas ran by him, he thought to himself that another Bama player (I can't remember which one) would have Thomas covered. When he looked and saw he DIDNT, all he could think of was "COACH IS GOING TO KILL ME!", which motivated him to chase down Thomas. I was laughing so hard watching that interview.

Yep, we played a couple of coverages against Miami with two receivers split out on the weak side and the TE on the strong side. When the weak LB took the flat, it was a zone scheme where the inside corner (usually Tommy Johnson) would bail and the outside corner (League or Langham) would play tight with either a single-high or cover-two safety responsible for deep routes. When the weak LB blitzed, it was man on both receivers - usually with a single-high safety covering the middle of the field.

On that play, Teague played tight like it was zone when it wasn't. Thomas was his responsibility. Willie Gaston doesn't get enough credit on this play as it was his recognition - seeing the bust or at least feeling the play and coming over from the middle of the field to help - that slowed up Thomas just enough to give Teague the possibility to catch Thomas.

Of course, based on Thomas' comments before the game, Teague probably would have needed a motorcycle to catch Thomas if Thomas had told him where he was going and given him a head start.

I'm pretty sure I'm remembering this correctly. This breakdown isn't from my own football knowledge. I tried rewatching the play to verify my memory but the quality is so poor it doesn't really help. I got this from some VHS tape celebrating that National Championship which had the comments from Teague and others that we've all seen online but also had a little breakdown from someone on the coaching staff (I want to say it was Ellis Johnson). I've looked for that video online in the past with no luck.

ETA:
After finishing this post and then rewatching the play a few times (trying to find the highest-quality version), I've decided that saying Willie Gaston slowed up Lamar Thomas might be a little misleading. It's more accurate to say he affected the throw. If he hadn't been there, Toretta could have led Thomas farther downfield - and Teague never would have caught him. The throw caused Thomas to slow up, but the throw was affected by #22.