Link: Three Departing Players Explain What Went Wrong in 2013

RTR91 · Jan 24, 2014

We mock Auburn for having Bo Jackson or some other former player on the sideline during games. The former players on Bama sidelines are Ingram, Julio, and guys who played under Saban. It wouldn't be a horrible idea to have some older players have a talk to the team to help them understand what the rivalry is about.

Prof mentioned what Barrett Jones said. He's not alone. Jay Barker compared Stallings to Saban...

OWB: As a leader on the '92 National Championship team, as well as other great teams under another "statue coach" Coach Gene Stallings, how do the Tide teams of your era compare with the Tide teams in this current era of dynasty?

JB: Coach Stallings really did a great job of taking the talent he had and getting the most out of it, while Nick Saban appears to be a little bit more about mindset and having the right mentality. He brings in Dr. Kevin Elko to make sure he his players stay focused and have the right mindset to compete at a high level. In my time, the mentality was, "You wear that crimson jersey, realize what and who you represent." Coach Stallings would make us go to the museum on campus and learn about the teams of the past, so that when we took the field, we didn't just think we were going to win, we expected to win. From an X's and O's standpoint, offensively, Coach Saban and his staff do a little more with the passing game, but it's still a pro-style offense. The fundamentals are the same, though: run the ball well, play defense and special teams, control time of possession...all of those fundamentals are the same. One difference is that while Coach Stallings did well with recruits, there is simply not a more relentless guy at recruiting than Nick Saban. He recruits the best talent, and when those players get there, he develops them not just as good potential NFL players, but as good men. A lot of his players who never play pro football go on to success in other things, like business. He isn't the most extroverted guy, and he has that reputation partially because of his interactions with the media, but he's very involved with the guys and develops great relationships with them. Those relationships are the reason he is able to sell guys on coming to Alabama, and then getting them to excel during their time there.

A stroll through the Bryant Museum wouldn't hurt nor would a conversation with some former players.

bamamoss2 · Jan 24, 2014

I still think the fact that many out of state origin players do not have the appreciation of the IB game is more than some on this board realize. It is not the value of one game by the player alone. If you were born and/or have extended family in Alabama AND it is likely that you will reside in Alabama after departing the University of Alabama, you can be sure that the value of winning the IB is MUCH MUCH more important than players from California, Texas or Florida. For the rest of your life as a former player at Alabama, you can bet it will be remembered not only by you, but your family and by those Auburn people that know you.
At least that is the case with the former players that I know that still live in Alabama. Just ask them sometime.

Bamaro · Jan 24, 2014

glasscutter256 said:
Wow! I wish my fellow bama fans would quit blowing up and saying our players didn't care. I think the players cared about playing their best no matter who is on the other side.
You see, Saban has trained the team to play to their best level despite who the competition is. If you start to think about how good the competition is, you are focused on the wrong things. You aren't focused on doing your job. Not focused on playing each play like it has a life of its own. When they say they play for their teammates, that is what they should be thinking. Don't let the hype of the "rivalry"(which is what we as fans love) overcome your focus of playing your best.

In sales, we are taught, make your goals at the beginning of the year, quarter,or week. Once the week starts, don't focus on your long term goal, focus on what you have to do for the next 2 hours. It is the same with sports. Sometimes it is easier for out-of-state kids to push aside the jitters of a big rivalry. Even AJ tried to downplay the opponent and say it is just another game, a faceless opponent. Lets leave the hype to the fans and the media.

Unfortunately, I think the results say otherwise about a few of them.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 24, 2014

Former players? How about Greg McElroy, Colin Peak, Javier Arenas, Mark Ingram, Roy Upchurch and Trent Richardson?

Where you from?

bamamoss2 said:
I still think the fact that many out of state origin players do not have the appreciation of the IB game is more than some on this board realize. It is not the value of one game by the player alone. If you were born and/or have extended family in Alabama AND it is likely that you will reside in Alabama after departing the University of Alabama, you can be sure that the value of winning the IB is MUCH MUCH more important than players from California, Texas or Florida. For the rest of your life as a former player at Alabama, you can bet it will be remembered not only by you, but your family and by those Auburn people that know you.
At least that is the case with the former players that I know that still live in Alabama. Just ask them sometime.

GrayTide · Jan 24, 2014

Alabama 24 Commits: Alabama (4) California (1) Florida (2) Iowa (1) Minnesota (1) Ohio (1)
SC (1) VA (1) Arkansas (1) CO (1) GA (2) LA (2) Miss (2) OK (1) Texas (1)

Auburn 21 Commits: Alabama (7) GA (8) FL (2) Miss (4)

Does this mean or show anything at all about the importance of the IB to the players?

BamaPokerplayer · Jan 26, 2014

GrayTide said:
Alabama 24 Commits: Alabama (4) California (1) Florida (2) Iowa (1) Minnesota (1) Ohio (1)
SC (1) VA (1) Arkansas (1) CO (1) GA (2) LA (2) Miss (2) OK (1) Texas (1)

Auburn 21 Commits: Alabama (7) GA (8) FL (2) Miss (4)

Does this mean or show anything at all about the importance of the IB to the players?

I think so. I fear the less players we get from Alabama the less they will understand want the IB is about. A second level of players would be players from Ga, Miss, Pan handle Florida, and Tenn. Would also add lower La. After that it gets scary IMO. We run into what I call the Miami problem.

CrimsonProf · Jan 26, 2014

CrimsonEyeshade said:
Former players? How about Greg McElroy, Colin Peak, Javier Arenas, Mark Ingram, Roy Upchurch and Trent Richardson?

Where you from?

You're missing the point. I'm sure all the players you mentioned "get it" but I'm not sure all our currents one do. And in any event, I think it is blindingly obvious that they are not taught the signifiance of this game - and the fact that Auburn looks to be a significant obstacle to the SEC Championship for the foreseeable future only amplifies the point.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 26, 2014

No I get your point. I just don't agree. You say something is "blindingly obvious" when the only proof you cite are the zip codes of our players and the 1 in a 10,000 outcome of our rivalry game. Unless we're on the practice field or in the locker room, none of us know how the game is treated. Besides, this team "didn't get" a lot of things. To say we lost the AU game because we didn't take it seriously enough ignores what the season should have taught us. RTR.

CrimsonProf said:
You're missing the point. I'm sure all the players you mentioned "get it" but I'm not sure all our currents one do. And in any event, I think it is blindingly obvious that they are not taught the signifiance of this game - and the fact that Auburn looks to be a significant obstacle to the SEC Championship for the foreseeable future only amplifies the point.

RTR91 · Jan 26, 2014

CrimsonEyeshade said:
No I get your point. I just don't agree. You say something is "blindingly obvious" when the only proof you cite are the zip codes of our players and the 1 in a 10,000 outcome of our rivalry game. Unless we're on the practice field or in the locker room, none of us know how the game is treated. Besides, this team "didn't get" a lot of things. To say we lost the AU game because we didn't take it seriously enough ignores what the season should have taught us. RTR.

We've also mentioned what Jay Barker said and what Barrett Jones said.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CrimsonProf · Jan 26, 2014

CrimsonEyeshade said:
No I get your point. I just don't agree. You say something is "blindingly obvious" when the only proof you cite are the zip codes of our players and the 1 in a 10,000 outcome of our rivalry game. Unless we're on the practice field or in the locker room, none of us know how the game is treated. Besides, this team "didn't get" a lot of things. To say we lost the AU game because we didn't take it seriously enough ignores what the season should have taught us. RTR.

We've played flat against every Auburn team that had a pulse.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 26, 2014

RTR91 said:
We've also mentioned what Jay Barker said and what Barrett Jones said.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

True. But Jay graduated 20 years ago. I'd take anything he said about coach Stallings as gospel but not coach Saban. As for Barrett, I interpret his remarks as parroting his coach's philosophy about clutter.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions about our team. I'm much more worried about Nick Saban's batting average developing QBs than I am his attitude about our big rivalry game. We played badly. We were due.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 26, 2014

CrimsonProf said:
We've played flat against every Auburn team that had a pulse.

Saban is also winning at the historic average of the series. Two of the Auburn teams we lost against were pretty darn good, and the third was underrated by just about everyone on this board. Besides, in 2010 we played the two best quarters of the season before turnovers, injuries and luck turned the tables, and the same weaknesses that were exposed in every loss that year resurfaced. It was not just Auburn. It's revisionist to say it was.

BamaPokerplayer · Jan 26, 2014

CrimsonEyeshade said:
True. But Jay graduated 20 years ago. I'd take anything he said about coach Stallings as gospel but not coach Saban. As for Barrett, I interpret his remarks as parroting his coach's philosophy about clutter.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions about our team. I'm much more worried about Nick Saban's batting average developing QBs than I am his attitude about our big rivalry game. We played badly. We were due.

CNS has can't seem to process Auburn, like he has the rest of the SEC. Again, every decent Auburn team CNS has faced has either beat us, or gave us all we wanted and the some. As much as I believe in the logic of the process, the IB is war and should be treated as such.

gamersfuel · Jan 26, 2014

take a look at some comments, actions, and twitter messages from some of the players and you will see that some thought we could just show up. we were able to get away with it early but it caught up with us. my biggest fear before the auburn game was that we would overlook them while they were coming in hungry. i was hoping we wouldnt show that same overconfidence before the Sugar Bowl but i was wrong.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 27, 2014

gamersfuel said:
take a look at some comments, actions, and twitter messages from some of the players and you will see that some thought we could just show up. we were able to get away with it early but it caught up with us. my biggest fear before the auburn game was that we would overlook them while they were coming in hungry. i was hoping we wouldnt show that same overconfidence before the Sugar Bowl but i was wrong.

And this is a key point, gamers fuel. Both our 2010 and 2013 teams had fatal flaws that were apparent season long, not just at Auburn.

GrayTide · Jan 27, 2014

CrimsonEyeshade said:
And this is a key point, gamers fuel. Both our 2010 and 2013 teams had fatal flaws that were apparent season long, not just at Auburn.

I am in total agreement with this statement. IMO 99% of Alabama fans would not agree with this statement because they simply refuse to give auburn any credit for beating us in both of those years; they like to say "we beat ourselves". I have no idea whether the number of out of state players or the coaching staff not singling out this game has anything to do with losing the IB, but I do know this, with the exception of Chizik's final two years, auburn is not intimidated by Alabama and CNS and they will not quit.

CrimsonEyeshade · Jan 27, 2014

Ditto. It's the best rivalry game because it's perhaps the most competitive rivalry game. We should have won this year. Heck, I think we should win every year. But history doesn't agree.

GrayTide said:
I am in total agreement with this statement. IMO 99% of Alabama fans would not agree with this statement because they simply refuse to give auburn any credit for beating us in both of those years; they like to say "we beat ourselves". I have no idea whether the number of out of state players or the coaching staff not singling out this game has anything to do with losing the IB, but I do know this, with the exception of Chizik's final two years, auburn is not intimidated by Alabama and CNS and they will not quit.

deliveryman35 · Jan 27, 2014

GrayTide said:
I am in total agreement with this statement. IMO 99% of Alabama fans would not agree with this statement because they simply refuse to give auburn any credit for beating us in both of those years; they like to say "we beat ourselves". I have no idea whether the number of out of state players or the coaching staff not singling out this game has anything to do with losing the IB, but I do know this, with the exception of Chizik's final two years, auburn is not intimidated by Alabama and CNS and they will not quit.

Absolutely agree, and I think this statement better than anything explains why we have been unable to put our foot on auburn's throat during the Saban tenure, strongly accounts for his very mediocre 6-6 career record against them, and why we have not been able to do better than a 2 game win streak in the series at any time in over 20 yrs.

CoachJeff · Jan 27, 2014

Saban lost to 2 of the best 3 Auburn teams of the past 25 years.

This year is the only one we came out flat in. In 2010 we were anything but flat.

I think we've just hit a statistical anomaly. It's like watching a coin hit tails 5 times in a row. If Saban stayed at Alabama for 100 years he'd probably end up 80-20 against Auburn.

BamaPokerplayer · Jan 27, 2014

CoachJeff said:
Saban lost to 2 of the best 3 Auburn teams of the past 25 years.

This year is the only one we came out flat in. In 2010 we were anything but flat.

I think we've just hit a statistical anomaly. It's like watching a coin hit tails 5 times in a row. If Saban stayed at Alabama for 100 years he'd probably end up 80-20 against Auburn.

No way he wins 80 out of a 100. We also came out flat in 2008. This is not a statistical anomaly, CNS believes in treating each game the same, for the most part, but that is not the best approach to take against Auburn.

Link: Three Departing Players Explain What Went Wrong in 2013

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