Years ago, when UCLA's last Bill Walton team lost to N.C. State, some writer commented that John Wooden never lifted a finger or called a timeout as the game slipped away. Apparently, he'd been battling that team all year long and Wooden had had enough. and so he left them out there to figure things out themselves. Wonder if any of that you're on your own" mentality came into play during the Sugar Bowl?
JessN: Spring analysis: Seven big questions facing the 2014 team
- Thread starter JessN
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I'm not sure but moving a TE over to help a linemen out isn't something a player decides to do on his own. The coaches normally make that call.
That's my point, Buzz. Seemed like an obvious move, but it was never made. Was there a message involved?
What a helluva time to send a message. Not being able to block that guy was a big reason we lost the game.
First, I don't portend to believe we'd get a 100% straight answer from that question.
Second, the uncomfortable truth is that it was a bad coaching decision, and there was as much of that going around, especially at the end of the year, as there were bad attitudes from the players. The problem is, some people want to believe Saban is/was perfect, just like Bryant was perfect, but in neither case is it true. In regards to the OU game specifically, it's not like the Bama offense hadn't shown the flexibility to use tight ends as blockers on the left side before. When Travis McCall and Nick Walker were playing together early in Saban's tenure, it happened on a regular basis.
Perhaps this was Nussmeier's call and that was part of the reason he was allowed to leave, I don't know. I'm hoping so, that it was Nussmeier who failed to properly assess the threat, rather than the alternative, which is arrogance or stubbornness -- "by gawd, Kouandjio ought to be able to block anybody, we ain't changin' nothin'."
What makes me most optimistic is that I don't think all this talk of a system reboot is hot air. I think Saban figured out where his problems were and made the appropriate changes. We'll see how much harder the team appears to play, because as Saban noted this week, there are positions at which the talent isn't what it's been in recent years (which I took to mean OL, QB and DB) and people are going to have to work harder to make up for it.
Thanks Jess.
The last paragraph in bold is proof how recruiting "stars" aren't always right. How many top five classes have we had in a row now and we've got positions that's not as talented as years before? That's amazing.
Well, some of that comes from whether you filled needs in the class or not.
Tom Luginbill uses it as part of his rating matrix and so do I. However, I see fans discount this, some going so far as to make fun of analysts who use it, and all I can say is "I told you so" when it comes back to haunt you. Hypothetically, you could sign 25 5-star wide receivers and you'd set a record for the most highly-rated class ever. But that would be dumb to do, as at best, you'd get some DBs, maybe a running back or two, possibly a tight end or linebacker out of that. No linemen at all, and probably no quarterbacks.
It's possible, however, for teams to overload at certain positions and under-recruit at others, and then when you get a string of busts at the positions you recruited lightly, the situation magnifies itself. In Alabama's case, there were some misevaluations in regards to OL recruits about 3-4 years ago, and the secondary has both injury issues and early-NFL entrance issues (along with Eddie Williams washing out of the program) that are coming together at the same time. The QB, whoever it is, isn't going to be as good as McCarron.
The gap years between serviceable quarterbacks are confounding, though Bateman's continued improvement would lessen the problem somewhat. If you take only one or two a year, the misses become bigger.
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The problem with recruiting more than one QB a year is getting more than one QB a year (who's worth a darn) to sign with you.
Some of the fallout from the ascendance of recruiting sites, Elite 11, etc., is that you don't get a lot of duplication in regards to where these top guys sign. They tend to each pick a different school. So if you sign multiple QBs in a year, it's typically like the Bateman class, where UA took Bateman and then also offered McLeod, who was several rungs lower in the ratings. You just have to hope that your stud doesn't bust, and/or the red-chipper you signed for depth is one of those guys like Greg McElroy, who ultimately advances beyond expectations.
On top of that, QB is somewhat unique in that there's no good way to evaluate just how solid your depth is unless the starters get hurt and they have to play. You learn nothing letting them run out the clock in blowouts over East Popcorn, and when they're facing the defense in practices and scrimmages, everyone knows each other's plays and calls.
I wish would would see a shift in "clean up" duty against East Popcorn so that the back up qb is allowed to run the same offense as the starter. That way the backup could get some quality experience in a real game situation and we might get a "look" at what he's capable of.
I know CNS respects opponents and doesn't want to "run up the score" when a game is already won. I appreciate that and think it is classy when we take a knee at the end of the game when we could score again, but I also wish the second teamers, especially the qb, could just play and get experience.
I've definitely had this same feeling. At times I've found Saban kind of unfair on this issue when he criticizes fans for leaving early. The fans would probably hang around if the game continued to be exciting and we actually got to see some backups play as if we would a normal game. He talks about not looking at the scoreboard and playing each play like it has a history and life of it's own but then doesn't do that himself. I know it's the coaches job to watch the score and adjust teh strategy accordingly, but I can see the players losing focus once we shift to the super conservative game plan.
In all honesty this applies to several SEC games we've had over the last few years, the second team is very rarely given an opportunity to play the game like an actual game would be played. Coach Saban has a tendency to get conservative even against higher quality teams once getting a lead and it has bitten us in the past.
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