If we still had McElwain?

Bamabuzzard

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Aug 15, 2004
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Exactly... aTm was having more fun. What happened to making his --- quit? And while I partially agree with you on comparisons, comparing our performance against MI to ND's performance against them will be one of the most important things voters consider if we want to creep back up the rankings.

I hate to sound so negative and disagree with so many of you. I just think a program like ours deserves better than citing an OC's inexperience as an excuse. Isn't that what our friends across the state have been doing all season?
Unfortunately we saw it with McElwain so it is impossible to deny a learning curve exist. You can express how you think it ought to be but reality and evidence we've seen right before our very eyes point to the contrary. McElwain went through a growing process, had to adjust to the SEC and had to simply grow as a playcaller in general. Now what makes us think that Nuss should be held to a higher standard and be perfect from the get go is beyond me.
 

cbi1972

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Nov 8, 2005
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Seems like grinding away at the other team has been a successful M.O. for Bama the past few years. Saban always talks about offensive balance, and we did not have it Saturday. We played right into A&M's hands.
 

Bamabuzzard

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Seems like grinding away at the other team has been a successful M.O. for Bama the past few years. Saban always talks about offensive balance, and we did not have it Saturday. We played right into A&M's hands.
Totally agree. And as great as Coach Saban is we still have to remember he's human (OMG I HOPE I DON'T HAVE TO BAN MYSELF! :biggrin2:). He makes mistakes during games, has those post game thoughts of "I wish I would have done....". It happens. Now, after losing and getting the "pressure" of number one off our backs I wouldn't be surprised if even Coach Saban doesn't "take a deep breath" or two and go back and watch some tape of our last three games or so and come away learning something. I guess some of the older fans have worn off on me and I'm not taking this loss as I probably would have a few years ago.

But I've got full confidence in our staff, players and the direction we're going. As I mentioned in another thread, I wish all of our "bumps in the road" were going from 9-0 to 9-1. LOL!
 

TideHiFlyer

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Sep 3, 2012
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Jim could frustrate us too with his play calling in the red zone. Nuss is just mirroring what has been pretty successful for us in the past. Nuss cant throw the ball for AJ who has a small case of the yips right now. We're gonna be fine and besides, look to the bright side, AJ will be back next year. :smile:
 
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Alasippi

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Aug 31, 2007
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I like Nuss better than I did Mac. Both are very good but I like the aggressiveness of Nuss.
One thing he needs to get away from though is basically abandoning our game plan when we get behind.
 

TideFan in AU

Hall of Fame
Take away a fumble and interception at the goal line and we aren"t having this conversation . rtr...
True enough, but the way Eddie was running the ball, I would have rather seen us to try to run the power running game with 1st and 6. It had worked twice earlier, and it is what we do best. If we had lined up and mashed them, I don't think we're talking about an INT on 4th and 2.
 

hotwillz33

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Nov 7, 2012
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If you look at the game, Bama's defense was off or at least a step behind. It seemed as if we were stubborn and refused to admit our base package wasn't gonna cut it. The players they had on the field were recruited for smash mouth football. I know the games over but man we didn't adjust till we were forced.
 

mrusso

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Apr 17, 2006
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Remember the good ole days with the "jumbo package". Personally I think we have it really good folks. It does not matter one bit who the OC is and what plays he calls. If it works he a genius and if it doesn't then maybe he's not the right man for the job. What if that screen to Yeldon doesn't work last week against LSU. I mean AJ was passing downfield almost at will on that drive...and we have the nerve to call a screen. If Yeldon gets tackled for a minimal gain or even a loss, the clock continues to run, and suddenly that's the stupidest call anyone could have made. Coaches make the calls because they've practiced them and trust the players to execute. I wouldn't trade any of our coaches or players on this team for anyone else.
 

mrusso

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It's not so much If we still had McElwain, but rather, if we still had Jalston Fowler.
We were discussing this very thing at the game when we were down at the goal line. Would have made that decision to run much easier.
 

glasscutter256

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If we score on that last drive they are great calls. If we run it 4 times and get stuffed, then we would ask why didn't we throw. Just like Saban said, he doesn't question the play calling at the end of the game. Obviously in retrospect you make a different call cause the one we called didn't work.

THis. I don't hear you criticizing any of the plays during the other 58 minutes of the game. There were times I thought play calling got bland, but I have very little criticism for the last series. The definition of a good play caller is someone you can't predict the calls. I think everyone was expecting us to run on the last series, so its the perfect time to pass. The last play was very similar to the last play at Awbarn in 2009. There isn't a defenseless play. We didn't execute it well. AJ threw it late and too far inside, and Cooper wasn't able to pick the DB. It just makes me sick that a defense that weak stopped us to win the game.
All in all, I think Nuss has been pretty good.
 

CapstoneTider

Suspended
Dec 6, 2000
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I remember how we grilled McEwain during 2010, then came the 2011 season with the improved line. Also we can't forget the undercurrent in the NC game where coach Saban influenced opening up the offense more, and it ended up being one of Coach McElwains better called games. Many credited Coach Saban for some of that.

The OC's run the Alabama offense with some of their own added in the mix, and they cal plays. I can't really tell much difference, which is a credit to the type of program Coach Saban runs. We are always prepared, and we never put to much on anyone. It's all designed to be able to seamlessly replace someone.

Coach Saban will jump, I mean go to the lake before he runs a spread offense that relies on one player to win the game.
 
Admittedly I don't understand a lot of the technical aspects of the game, but I refuse to criticize this coaching staff and the players over one game. The staff made huge adjustments after the debacle of the first quarter, but, the damage was done. These men sacrifice time with their families and normal social activities to be an outstanding football team. With all of A&M's offense, It is ironic that Alabama was beaten by their defense at the end. All I can say now is RTR
agreed
 

BamaMark.

1st Team
Jun 21, 2012
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It's not so much If we still had McElwain, but rather, if we still had Jalston Fowler.

I love Fowler but I don't think his injury has hindered us from running up the middle this year. We've run up the middle with Lacy all year with good results but he can't run it if his number isn't called...
 

GCtidefan

1st Team
Sep 23, 2010
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I think Nuss will learn. He's made some brilliant calls this year. The only pattern I've seen develop is that if AJ misses on first down, we'll run up the middle 7 out of 10 times - even when the defense is stacked against the run. Mac was way more predictable on first and third downs.
 

bmfcox

BamaNation Citizen
Oct 23, 2012
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We complained when we had McElwain that our playcalling was too predictable. I think we also have a much better redzone production this year than we had with Coach Mac. I guess the grass is always greener...

Don't forget, if AC gets the pick on the safety, Bell is wide open for an easy TD. Game over. Great call. It's all about the execution.
I agee.
 

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